Homemade Toaster Strudels without artificial colors, TBHQ, or high fructose corn syrup (Easy Recipe!) (2024)

This recipe for homemade Toaster Strudels is gonna blow your mind! Let me tell you…

These flaky and buttery pastries are DEADLY delicious. And even better…

They are SO EASY to make. And look so fancy. You’ll impress your family and friends with your mad cooking skills. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that you weren’t spending hours in the kitchen to make these (they only take 30 minutes!) Shhhh…It’s our little secret.

Yes…these DO taste as amazing as they look.

I almost hate to call them “Toaster Strudels” because they are a million times better than those Pillsbury ones made with gross ingredients. Have you seen what’s in those things?

Besides all the crazy chemicals they use, did you know there aren’t really strawberries in Strawberry Toaster Strudels?

Pillsbury uses a tiny amount of “Strawberry Juice Concentrate” which are strawberries that were boiled to death into a syrup, mixed with artificial colors, thickeners, artificial flavors, and corn syrup, to make it taste and look like real strawberries. Yuck!

It’s sad to think how many parents are unknowingly buying these for their children…who might even be eating all these man-made processed ingredients for breakfast… potentially disrupting their young immune systems and triggering inflammation.

Thankfully, we now have a MUCH better option:

Make sure to choose your ingredients carefully, otherwise your homemade version will be just as unhealthy as Pillsbury’s version.

Most store-bought pastry dough and jam is made with dreadful ingredients, like hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. Ideally, you will take a little extra time to make homemade organic jam and pastry dough. This is the best way to control the ingredients, especially since it isn’t always easy to find clean and organic versions of these products in the store. However, there are some better options available.

Here’s how to choose the best store-bought versions:

1. Puff Pastry Dough: You can try Dufour brand, which is found in the freezer section at Whole Foods and many grocery stores. Although I prefer to buy organic products, this is one exception I sometimes make because it’s made with butter. I’m not a fan of “natural flavors” either, but until I find a better option this is what I use in a pinch. Whatever you do, don’t buy Pepperidge Farm puff pastry. It contains high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated cottonseed oil instead of butter…BLECH!
2. Jam (Strawberry or any flavor you like): Choose an organic fruit jam that’s made without added sugar or corn syrup, like Crofter’s Just Fruit Spread or LOOV Fruit Spread. Steer clear of Smucker’s made with high fructose corn syrup and other non-organic brands. Conventionally grown berries (and other fruits) are treated with synthetic pesticides. Berries, in particular, are some of the most contaminated fruits. These pesticides are hormone disruptors, neurotoxins, or reproductive toxins which are strongly linked to many diseases and health issues. That’s why it’s super important to make or buy organic jam made with organic fruit. My homemade jam is absolutely delicious in these toaster strudels, and it’s made with just fruit, lemon juice, and raw honey. You’ll find my jam recipe here.

Let’s make some Toaster Strudels!

You actually won’t use a toaster at all… as we bake these in the oven instead. They would get quite messy if we tried to use a toaster, and they get perfectly flaky and puffy when you bake them in the oven.

To get started, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.

Measure out 1/2 cup of jam and put it in a small bowl. Stir in half a tablespoon of arrowroot powder (this will thicken up the filling a bit). Set this bowl aside.

Grab another small bowl and whisk together one egg with a tablespoon of heavy cream. This is the egg wash that you will brush on the pastries before baking. Set this bowl aside too.

Take out your puff pastry, and cut the sheet into8 equal size rectangles. Place these on the baking sheet like this:

You’ll want to keep the puff pastry as cold as possible while working with it, so move quickly onto the next step.

Put one heaping tablespoon of jam onto the center of four rectangles, leaving roughly 1/2” around the edges. Brush the edges lightly with the egg wash. You can use a brush, or it’s just as easy to use your finger since it’s a small surface and you only need a little bit.

Place an empty puff pastry rectangle on top and seal it together using the back of a fork until it looks like a Toaster Strudel. Repeat with remaining ingredients until you end up with 4 strudels:

Brush the tops of each strudel with the egg wash and bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.

While the strudels are baking, it’s time to make the icing.

Mix together the icing ingredients (powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla) in a small bowl. You’ll want to be able to drizzle it over your strudels, so add more cream if necessary to thin it out. The thicker the icing the more it will have that bright white color once drizzled on top. The thinner the icing is, the more it will be transparent after it is applied.

Once the baked strudels have cooled, drizzle the icing on top. Now they’re ready to enjoy!

They taste incredible when they’re fresh and still warm from the oven. Are you drooling yet?

Here’s the printable recipe that you’ll want to keep handy!

Please share this recipe with anyone in your life who is still buying Pillsbury Toaster Strudels full of artificial colors, fake “strawberries”, and high fructose corn syrup. I promise you that they’ll love this homemade version so much more!

Xo,

Vani