This Keto Strawberry Shortcake has everything you love about the classic dessert. Tender low carb biscuits, sweet strawberry filling, and fluffy whipped cream come together in perfect harmony. It’s the best way to enjoy fresh strawberries!
Stop whatever you are doing right now and head to the kitchen. Just do as I say and you won’t regret it. Because this Keto Strawberry Shortcake recipe is the real deal, my friends. One bite and you will be transported back to those happy summers as a kid.
My mum made a fabulous strawberry shortcake when I was growing up and I have a strong nostalgia for this dessert. I remember warm summer evenings in Toronto, sitting on the back patio and digging in with a fork.
So you know that when it comes to a keto friendly version, I accept nothing less than perfection. I am a stickler for taste and texture!
If you love fresh strawberry desserts, be sure to try these Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries as well!
Why you will love this recipe
This is classic strawberry shortcake made with keto ingredients. What do I mean by classic? I mean it’s made with a proper shortcake biscuit rather than sponge cake.
I think I die a little inside every time I see something called shortcake that actually uses sponge cake. It makes me deeply sad that some people don’t understand the difference, because they are missing out. This is not cake in the classic sense.
Shortcake refers a slightly crumbly biscuit or scone made with plenty of butter. Anything made with a sponge texture is just a cake with cream and strawberries. Delicious, certainly, but not at all the same thing.
So I created some lovely, sweet keto drop biscuits and I grated in cold butter for a short texture. I macerated the strawberries to help them release their juices. And I whipped up some fluffy sugar free whipped cream. Perfection!
This Keto Strawberry Shortcake is easy to make, too. So you can whip it up all summer long!
Ingredients you need
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- Keto flours: I think that a combination of almond flour and coconut flour gives the best biscuit texture. I use this same combination in my Easy Keto Biscuits.
- Protein powder: The protein powder is critical to achieving a lighter texture and helping the biscuits rise. If you replace it or skip it, I cannot guarantee the results. You can use whey protein or egg white protein. Some plant based proteins may work as well but collagen protein will make them too gummy.
- Sweetener: I like allulose for macerating the strawberries, and Swerve for the biscuits and the whipped cream. Make sure to check out the Expert Tips for other sweetener options.
- Butter: Make sure you freeze the butter and then grate it into the dry ingredients. This gives the biscuits a flakier texture.
- Strawberries: Chop the strawberries fairly small so that you can spoon them easily onto the shortcakes.
- Lemon: A little lemon zest in the biscuits and some lemon juice in the strawberries adds a wonderful fresh flavor.
- Heavy whipping cream: Chill the cream properly so it whips into nice stiff peaks.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, baking powder, vanilla, salt.
Step by Step Directions
1. Macerate the berries: In a medium bowl, whisk together the chopped strawberries, sweetener, and lemon juice. Let sit to allow the juices to release.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, whey protein, sweetener, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt.
3. Grate in the butter: Grate the butter into the bowl with a cheese grater and whisk to distribute throughout the dry ingredients. The stir in the eggs and vanilla until the dough comes together. If the dough is very dry and won’t hold together, stir in the cream one tablespoon at a time.
4. Bake the biscuits: Drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls into 10 mounds onto a silicone lined baking sheet. Gently shape by into high, rounded mounds and bake at 325ºF for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown and the tops are just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely on the pan.
5. Whip the cream: In a large bowl, whip the cream with the sweetener and vanilla until it holds stiff peaks.
6. Assemble the cakes: Cut each biscuit in half carefully. Place the bottom half on a plate and top with some whipped cream and berries. Place the top half of the biscuit on top and add another small dollop of whipped cream.
Expert Tips
These keto strawberry shortcakes are easy and delicious. But I have some great tips for you to make the most of them!
I recommend chopping the strawberries on the smallish side so you get better distribution in the shortcakes. If they are cut too large, the cakes are harder to assemble and harder to eat! Make sure you drizzle some of the juices over the biscuits too. So yummy.
These lightly sweetened biscuits do have a tendency to spread so make sure to only add the cream if the dough is too dry. If you prefer, you can bake them in silicone muffin cups instead. I tried a half batch that way and they were just as good but took a bit longer to bake. I just prefer the classic biscuit look.
Don’t assemble the shortcakes until close to the time you want to serve them, as they become soggy. All parts of the recipe will keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days so you do not have to put them all together at once.
Sweetener Options: I used allulose in the filling for a more syrupy consistency but other sweeteners should work as well. If using erythritol, use a powdered version to avoid grittiness.
The biscuits will work with most granular sweeteners. But if you use allulose, they may darken more as they bake. Keep your eye on them! You can use almost any sweetener for sugar-free whipped cream, but again you want powdered so it’s not gritty.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can enjoy strawberries on a keto diet in moderation. Per 100g, they have 7.7g of carbs and 2g of fiber. Because they are sweet and delicious, it’s easy to overeat them so be mindful of your serving size.
Conventional strawberry shortcake can have as much as 65g of carbs per serving. But this Keto Strawberry Shortcake recipe has 8.1g of carbs and 3.2g of fiber. So it has 4.9g net carbs per serving.
Store the biscuits, whipped cream, and strawberries separately to avoid sogginess. They can all be kept in covered containers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More recipes you will enjoy
Keto Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Ingredients
Strawberries
- 2 cups (288 g) chopped strawberries
- 1 tbsp allulose sweetener
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Biscuits
- 1¼ cup (135 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (27 g) unflavored whey protein powder, (or egg white protein powder)
- 1/4 cup (30 g) coconut flour
- 1/4 cup (45.5 g) Swerve Granular
- 2½ tsp (2.5 tsp) baking powder
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 3 tbsp frozen butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tbsp (1 tbsp) heavy cream, if needed
Whipped Cream
- 3/4 cup (177.44 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp sweetener, powdered or liquid extract
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
Instructions
Strawberries
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the chopped strawberries, sweetener, and lemon juice. Let sit to macerate.
Biscuits
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a large baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, whey protein, sweetener, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt.
- Grate the butter into the bowl with a cheese grater and whisk to distribute throughout the dry ingredients. The stir in the eggs and vanilla until the dough comes together. If the dough is very dry and won't hold together, stir in the cream one tablespoon at a time.
- Drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet into 10 mounds. Gently shape by into high, rounded mounds and bake 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown and the tops are just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely on the pan.
Whipped Cream
- In a large bowl, whip the cream with the sweetener and vanilla until it holds stiff peaks.
To assemble
- Cut each biscuit in half carefully. Place the bottom half on a plate and top with some whipped cream and berries.
- Place the top half of the biscuit on top and add another small dollop of whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Not a fan, I guess I actually enjoyed those little spongcakes we used to have. These are too lemony, too crumbly, yes I added the cream,
Sorry to hear they weren’t to your taste. We love them and the classic shortcake style. 🙂
This recipe is wonderful. It is as close to texture and taste as my mom’s traditional shortcake. It has the right crumb and flavour. Thank you for this Carolyn. I have missed strawberry shortcake and a lot of the keto recipes are just not right…this is perfection! Every year when strawberry season came, mom would make her strawberry shortcakes…and that would be dinner!!! Oh how we waited all year for that. It is once again possible (but only once a year…as it is still a treat!)
I haven’t made this yet but thank you for sharing a summer favorite!!
Hi.
What can I substitute for the whey protein powder?
Egg white protein powder works. Please read the post as to why protein powder is necessary.
I have Vanilla Whey Protein Powder. Could I use it, or must it be unflavored?
These make a perfect shortbread! I love the texture, so light and airy, perfect for purpose. My son can’t tolerate erythritol so I used vanilla whey powder which is sweetened with stevia. I added about 1/8 cup extra, and that provided enough sweetener for the shortbreads. They are delicious. Next time I might leave out the lemon zest or cut back (I may have gone overboard on that as I didn’t measure). Thanks for all your efforts to ketofy recipes. I have a learned a lot making your recipes and have never had a disappointment.
This recipe is amazing!! The shortcake biscuits are excellent and I plan to use them for other berries, as well! This was my first shortcake of the season; definitely won’t be the last!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
These look amazing and are one of my favorite desserts. Do the biscuits freeze well? For those of us ketoing alone, many of these recipes make a huge amount with very short storage windows. It would be very helpful to list counter, fridge, and freezer storage info. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Carolyn,
I just love all your recipes, especially the “sweet” ones. However, I found that (not sure what the number is yet) Erythritol sweeteners cause my heart to race. How would I calculate the # for a serving? Or would it be possible for that to also be listed per serving so I can keep an eye on the total per day?
thanks for all your efforts in these recipes they are great and easy to follow.
Deb
Swerve has 4g of erythritol per teaspoon. There are 3 teaspoons per tablespoon and 16 tablespoons per cup. So figure out the total amount of erythritol per recipe and then divide by the # of servings.
Made this today and it was amazing! The biscuits had a great texture, and they were delicious! Best Keto dessert I have ever had!!
I am delighted to hear that!
Made this today and it was amazing! The biscuits had a great texture, and they were delicious! Best Keto dessert I have ever had!!
(*Spelling correction for my first response). Autocorrect 🙄
Made this today and it was amazing! The biscuits had a great texture, and they were delicious! Best Keri dessert I have ever had!!
I haven’t tried the recipe yet, since it’s still a little early for local Northwest strawberries, but I sure will be trying this one and the other strawberry recipes you suggested! Thank you for the wonderful recipes.
Oh I am in the PNW and we have a ways to go for strawberries this year! I had to buy the rather woody ones from the regular store… not the same but at least I could get this recipe done and ready for when the good ones are in season!
Does the coconut flour give it a coconut taste?
Not at all!
In your ingredient list it shows coconut flour, but in the instructions it doesn’t. Is this a mix of almond flour, a protein powder, and coconut flour? Or no coconut flour?
Thanks! The biscuits look great!
Thanks for the catch! It’s corrected now.
This was absolutely delicious and so much like “the real thing”. The biscuits were so good that both my husband and I had a couple of them on their own with no topping. I used egg white protein and it did work just fine. Thank you for this.
Yay, glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much. I have a very old recipe from the Toronto Star recipe section that I have treasured and it’s yellow and well loved. It is the biscuit version and when I made it for my husband, he was in heaven saying that is classic strawberry shortcake as he remembers it. Thank you for “ketofying” it so I can enjoy it now too.
Sounds grand, but are the nutritional values for a completed dessert or just the one biscuit? Just seems to be low when sweetener is in the recipe for berries and whipped cream and the berries have carbs as well.
It’s the full dessert. Please read the nutritional disclaimer at the bottom of the post. I do not count erythritol carbs as carbs… because they have zero impact on glucose.