These Healthy Paleo Pop Tarts are fully AIP and vegan. You'll never guess they are made from sweet potato and contain no refined sugar! Enjoy this healthier version of a classic 90's treat this weekend.

I'm a 90's kid, so I grew up on Pop-Tarts and Toaster Strudels. In all honesty, I wasn't really a Pop-Tart kid, they never quite did it for me. As much as I loved sugar growing up, I always thought real pop tarts tasted too sweet and artificial. So I have to say, I think my healthy pop tarts are far better than the original! With no weird additives, fake ingredients, and insane amounts of sugar, my AIP Pop Tart recipe is one you can feel good about.

Dealing with an autoimmune disease is hard and doing the full AIP diet is even harder. Something I wasn't going to let happen while completing AIP, was missing out. Whenever I've completed an elimination diet, I refuse to miss out on delicious food and just eat boring, bland options the whole time. My goal has always been to create fun and yummy recipes for every diet and allergy type, and I think I really nailed it with these Paleo Pop Tarts. This recipe has consistently been a popular recipe on my website!

Why You'll Love This Paleo Pop Tart Recipe

They aren't just paleo, they are fully Autoimmune Paleo compliant which means they are grain free, gluten free, nut free, vegan, and refined sugar free. These pop tarts also work if you are on a low FODMAP diet. These homemade pop tarts will fit almost every diet.
This healthy pop tart recipe is made from white or Japanese sweet potato! Not only would you never know, but it adds a nutrient boost to this sweet treat. The perfect paleo dessert does exist.
The filling is made with real fruit.
They are customizable. I love berries, so I made berry pop tarts, but you can make them to suite your preference. Make a blueberry pop tart, strawberry flavor, brown sugar pop tarts, or chocolate ones.

Paleo Pop Tart Ingredients

Japanese sweet potato: this is the base for our dough. You'd be surprised how versatile sweet potato is. When mixed with flour, mashed Japanese sweet potato becomes a pliable dough that can be used for many different recipes!
Cassava flour: a mix of paleo flours is used for the best texture. There is no almond flour to keep this recipe AIP.
Coconut flour: mixed with the cassava flour, this helps keep the dough from being gummy.
Coconut butter: used in both the dough and as the icing on top. This is a healthy addition that adds some sweetness.
Maple syrup: the main, unrefined sweetener in the dough. Be sure to use real maple syrup!
Non-dairy milk: I love using coconut milk, but any milk will do.
Coconut oil: we just need a little bit of coconut oil to get the pop tart edges to crisp up in the oven.
Berries: for the filling. I use mixed berries, but feel free to pick one type or see below for other options. You can use fresh or frozen berries, but if using frozen, be sure to thaw and drain off any excess juice.
Coconut sugar: mixed with the berries for the filling to keep things refined sugar free!

How to Make Gluten Free Pop Tarts

Mix together the cooked and cooled sweet potato with the flours, coconut butter, maple syrup, milk, and coconut oil until you have a smooth dough. You can use a hand mixer, high speed blender, or food processor to do this.
Cut in the coconut oil then form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Pop dough it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes until it's easier to work with.
While dough rests, make your filling by mashing the berries and coconut sugar together. Drain off any excess liquid and save it for the icing.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F.
Roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper until it's about ⅛-1/4 inch thick. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to slice dough into 3x4 inch rectangles, making sure you have an even number. If you don't have a huge work space, you can work with half of the dough at a time.
Place half of the rectangles on a parchment lined baking sheet and add 1 tablespoon of filling, leaving at least ½ an inch around the edges. Add the other piece of dough soon top and use a fork to crimp the edges of the pop tart together. Since this recipe is vegan, we aren't adding an egg wash, but you can use olive oil instead.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.
Let cool before icing with coconut butter or a homemade icing of choice.

Substations and Variations

Sweet potato: Sometimes Japanese sweet potato can be hard to find. If you are unable to find it, white sweet potato will work. If you really want to use Japanese, try checking at your local Asian, Caribbean, or Mexican market.

Filling: If berries aren't your jam, you can certainly personalize these vegan pop tarts to fit your preferred flavor. Try using Nutella (or a healthy chocolate spread of choice). For a brown sugar pop tart, you can make a coconut or maple sugar mixture like in this recipe.

Icing: I love using melted coconut butter for the icing. I make a mix of coconut butter and leftover berry juice. This doesn't make for the smoothest icing, but it's very clean with no extra added sugars. Another option is to mix ½ cup of powdered sugar with 1-2 teaspoon of milk of choice until you get a smooth glaze. Add some berry juice or spices like cinnamon depending on the flavor you are going for.

Shapes: Feel free to to cut the dough into any shapes you want! For example, if it's Valentine's Day, use a large heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the dough. I haven't attempted to make pop tart bars with this dough, but that could be a fun idea. Let us know if you try it!

Tips and Tricks

The dough can be a little finicky to work with if it gets too warm. The texture should be like sugar cookie dough when you roll it out- able to work with it, but not sticky. If it becomes too hard to work with, just scoop any leftover dough into a ball and pop it back in the fridge for 30 minutes. You can place any already cut pieces on a baking sheet and back in the fridge too.
Use a clean spatula to gently lift the cut pop tarts onto a baking sheet.
This recipe is meant to be fun. Take your time, but make these pop tarts your own!

Storage

Store leftover pop tarts in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I prefer to keep these in the fridge, as they will get soft at room temperature. These gluten-free pop tarts taste best fresh, so I do suggest eating them within 1-2 days and don't suggest freezing them.

More Fun Recipes

My Gluten Free Raspberry Vanilla Cake has a sweet potato icing!

If you want more AIP desserts, my Sweet Potato Scones are always popular.

Looking for savory? Try my Mashed Sweet Potato and Rutabaga for a delicious side dish. Or my Skillet Herbed Japanese Sweet Potatoes which are my all time favorite side!

Print Pin

AIP Pop Tarts

A healthier take on an American classic, these Paleo Pop Tarts are completely gluten-free, AIP, and vegan. Fill your pop tarts with whatever your heart desires and enjoy a healthier version of a nostalgic treat.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword AIP, autoimmune paleo, classic, comfort food, dairy free, gluten free, healthy, vegan

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 2

Servings -8 pop tarts

Author Victoria Faling

Equipment

Ingredients

Dough

1 cup cooked and mashed Japanese sweet potato white fleshed sweet potato will also work
¼ cup cassava flour
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup melted coconut butter
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoon non-dairy milk
¼ cup softened coconut oil

Filling

1.5 cups berries mashed*
¼ cup coconut sugar

Icing

½ coconut butter optional
Or see above for alternative icing options

Instructions

First, cook your sweet potato either by steaming or roasting. Let cool before mashing the flesh with a fork so that you have 1 cup of mashed sweet potato.
Blend the sweet potato, flours, coconut butter, maple syrup, and milk in a blender or food processor or with a hand mixer until smooth.
Transfer batter to a bowl and cut in the coconut oil until it is combined in the dough (don't over mix). You should have a pretty soft dough at this point. Form it into a ball and place plastic wrap over the top of the bowl.
Place dough in the fridge for an 30-60 minutes so that the dough can firm up some. It should be like sugar cookie dough- firm but malleable. If you leave it in the fridge longer or it becomes too hard, just leave it at room temperature for a little bit until it begins to soften and become easier to work with.
While dough rests, make the filling by mashing the berries with a fork in a small bowl. Pour of any excess liquid and reserve. Mix in the coconut sugar until well combined and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Sprinkle the dough with some cassava flour then roll it out between 2 sheets of parchment paper to be about ⅛-1/4 inch thick. You can split the dough in half and work in batches if needed. Cut rolled dough into the shapes you want for the pop tarts (mine were 3x4 inch squares). Make sure when you cut a shape, you cut two matching ones so you have the top and bottom of the pop tart.
Using a spatula, gently transfer one cut shape (bottom of the pop tart) to a parchment lined baking sheet and transfer the other shape (top of the pop tart) to a holding tray (another baking sheet or a cutting board.
Scoop up the scraps of dough and repeat the same process until you've used up all the dough. If the dough becomes too soft to work with, just place it back in the fridge for 30 minutes. This may apply to the cut shapes, as well. If dough begins to soften too much on the baking sheet, just place it in the fridge (you don't want it to get too hard that it crumbles when working with it though).
You should end up with a total of 12-16 squares.
Take about one tablespoon of the filling and place it in the middle of a pop tart that is on the baking sheet. Spread the filling slightly on the dough, leaving about a ½ inch around the edges. [See image]
Dip your finger in cold water and run it along the edges of the bottom crust, place the top crust piece overtop so edges line up and gently press the two pieces of crust together with your fingers. Repeat with all the pop tarts.
Use a fork dipped in water to crimp the edges of the pop tarts together. Brush the tops of the pop tarts with olive oil (or an egg wash) if desired.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.
Ice with melted coconut butter or your favorite icing. You can also mix some of the reserved berry juice with the coconut butter for a colored icing.

Notes

*I used frozen since it is winter, just thaw and pour off excess juice. You can also use fresh. Alternatively, you can use whatever filling you want, like a chocolate spread!

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