These No Bake Strawberry Tarts are a deliciously healthy treat – light, fresh, and bursting with summer berry flavour. Featuring a quick homemade chia jam and a nutrient-rich oat and nut crust, they make the perfect no-fuss snack or dessert on warmer days.
But before we dive into the recipe, there’s a special moment I’d love to share — one I’d been quietly dreaming about for years…
A Sweet Strawberry Milestone
Until fairly recently, neither for love nor money could Lil’ L be encouraged to eat strawberries. Sadly, along with all other berries, as well as oranges, plums and grapes, strawberries fell in his ‘too squishy’ camp. On the odd occasion that he did actually attempt to eat one, he’d end up gagging with tears streaming down his face. It was so torturous to watch. He did like the flavour of berries though and would happily drink them in smoothies. So as long as he was consuming berries in some shape or form, I didn’t really mind.
Still, I quietly held onto the dream of one day going berry picking with my son… though, over time, I’d started to pretty much give up on the idea.
THEN, everything changed this Easter, during our trip to Spain. The supermarkets were overflowing with crates of the most beautiful strawberries — big, deeply red, and incredibly fragrant. We couldn’t resist picking up a crate (just €3!) and, to my surprise, Lil’ L offered to carry it. I could see him eyeing up the strawberries. They were that inviting.
He took a tentative bite… and lo and behold — no gagging! He then proceeded to eat another five. You can imagine my joy. Finally, at the age of 11, he’d moved on from loathing to loving strawberries.
Our First Strawberry Picking Outing
Back home, with strawberry season in full swing, we headed off to a local pick-your-own farm. Watching Lil’ L search for ‘the perfect strawberry’ with such delight was pure joy. He’s since mentioned more than once how much he loved that outing — proof that some things really are worth the wait.
The strawberries were so sweet and juicy that we ate them by the handful. To avoid waste, I also froze a bunch for ice creams and smoothies, and made a few batches of my favourite chia jam.
Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Chia Jam
If you’ve never tried chia jam before, you’re in for a treat. It’s so simple to make and tastes incredibly fresh — nothing like the overly sweet store-bought jams. I first came across the idea on Angela Liddon’s Oh She Glows blog back in 2010 and have been hooked ever since.
This strawberry chia jam takes just a few minutes to prepare, keeps for up to a week in the fridge, and is delicious spread on toast or scones, swirled into yogurt, or used as a tart filling…
Introducing… No Bake Strawberry Tarts
These little tarts are one of our favourite ways to enjoy the jam. With last week’s mini heatwave, I was in no mood to turn on the oven, so these no bake tarts were just the ticket. They’re cool, light, and packed with feel-good ingredients.
Lil’ L and M have been enjoying them as post-school/work snacks, while I’ve found them to be the perfect post-dinner ‘treat’ — indulgent enough to satisfy cravings, yet healthy enough to feel good about.
The oat, nut, and date base is inspired by my Pina Colada ‘Cheese’ Cake crust. It’s naturally sweet, packed with fibre and healthy fats, and gently spiced with vanilla and coconut. While it’s softer than a traditional pastry, it holds together beautifully and pairs perfectly with the jam.
Ready to make them? Let’s go!
Recipe Card
No Bake Strawberry Tarts (Dairy-Free | Egg-Free | Vegan)
Ingredients
Strawberry Chia Jam
- 200 g / 1½ cups fresh or frozen strawberries chopped
- 1½ TBSP maple syrup or sweetener of choice
- ½ TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 TBSP chia seeds
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
No Bake Tart Shells
- 50 g / ½ cup rolled oats use certified gluten free, if needed
- 40 g / ¼ cup raw cashews
- 30 g / ¼ cup walnuts or pecans
- 100 g / ½ cup soft sticky pitted dates (e.g. Medjool)
- 1 tsp maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 22 g / ¼ cup desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Prepare the jam: Gently cook the strawberries, syrup and lemon juice until the berries start to break down. Stir in the chia seeds. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until the jam has started to thicken. Give it a stir now and then with a wooden spoon and mash the berries to break them down. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer to a glass jar, leave to cool then add a lid and place in the fridge. The jam will thicken up as it chills.
- While the jam is simmering, prepare the tart shells. Loosely line a shallow tart/mince pie tray with cling film (plastic wrap).* Place the oats and nuts in a food processor and blitz into crumbs. Add the dates, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt and continue processing until the mixture starts to come together. Add the desiccated coconut and whizz for a few more seconds. The mixture should easily stay together when you press it. If it’s still crumbly, keep processing until it sticks together.
- Press the crumbs together to form a dough ball. Place between two pieces of baking paper (or use a large silicone pastry mat folded over) and roll out to a thickness of ½ cm / ⅕ inch. Press out using a 6 cm / 2½ inch pastry cutter and place in the lined tart tray. Repeat until all the dough is used up, re-rolling as needed. Chill in the fridge until the jam is ready. When the jam is completely chilled, spoon it into the tart shells and serve.
- These tarts will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
If you make these No Bake Strawberry Tarts, I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations. Leave a comment below or tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.
With love,
I made these glorious tarts & loved them so much! I used strawberries from my own garden! x
I’m so thrilled that you liked them 😀 And how lucky you are to have your own strawberry patch <3
Amazing how kids (and young adults) keep amazing us with changes big and small! We were laughing about that the other night at dinner with our formerly fastidiously clean-shaven son is now sporting a beard. ‘No bake’ is certainly the order of the day with the hot weather we’ve been having, and there just can’t be too many recipes right now to take advantage of the abundance of fresh berries!
Oh gosh is the beard fashion worldwide? I thought it was some crazy trend exclusive to the UK. I must admit I’m not mad keen on them so I really hope my hubby doesn’t decide to join in. He definitely won’t be getting any kisses if he does haha 😉
These look so cute! I used to love going strawberry picking when I was younger, haven’t been in forever!
Thanks Lauren! I don’t think I’d been since I was about 5! It was so much fun 🙂 If you get a chance, you must go. There’s still plenty of time for berry picking xx
I’m so excited to try these.
We are going strawberry picking tomorrow, so along with homemade jam and ice cream I’ll add these to the list.
Thank you so much for the recipe.
Sam
Plantingthoughtfulseeds.com
Hey Sam! So lovely to hear from you! I hope you had lots of fun berry picking 🙂 xx
These look PERFECT! I’m so glad Lil L has a new passion for strawberries…I can’t imagine life without them 😉
This is such an awesome use of chia jam (which I love, by the way!). The weather has been crazy hot here, too…this is my kind of cool summer ‘baking’!
Thanks Koko ♥ You can imagine how excited I was when Lil’ L finally ‘got’ how awesome strawberries are. I never dreamed in a million years that I’d have a berry-hating kid. Mind you, I shouldn’t complain as he’s always loved a myriad of veggies. I guess you can’t have it all ways 😉
I’m so glad your son has embraced berries! I love them so much and can imagine how it would be to have a child that hated them 😛 These tarts look utterly delicious too.
I really need to figure out the where and how of berry picking in the UK. I have spotted some wild blackberries nearby that aren’t yet ripe but I fear I’m going to miss all the berry picking times out of sheer ignorance! It looks like you went somewhere for your strawberry picking?
Hey Kari! Blackberries usually ripen in September, but now’s perfect for other soft fruits like strawberries and raspberries. There are quite a few PYO farms on the fringes of London. Here are a couple of articles that could come in handy:
http://www.timeout.com/london/food-and-drink/london-s-best-pick-your-own-farms
http://www.pickyourownfarms.org.uk/London_area_pyo.php
Have fun! xx
Oh wow, thanks so much 🙂
Brilliant! I have to make these! Thanks so much for the recipe. When I lived in Bath I took my daughter to Avon Valley farm in Saltford to pick broad beans and soft fruit. Surprisingly, she liked the broad beans best!
Oh wow I didn’t realise that Avon Valley did PYO too. (We went all the way to Hungerford for our strawberries). I’m going to check out their website and see if it’s still open. That could be a fun activity for the summer hols. I’ve never picked beans before!
Thank you Sharon, you’ve just inspired me to search for a local strawberry farm and I think I’ve found one!
This recipes looks so nutritious and the chia strawberry jam looks yum! We get the St Dalfour range too and I agree, nothing beats home made!
Glad Lil’L likes stawberries now!
I hope you get to go on a berry picking adventure this summer. It’s so much fun! And if you do, please do tweet me a pic 🙂 xx
Scrummmmmmy!
They sure are 😉 Have a lovely summer gorgeous! xx