Healthy Homemade Pop Tarts for Kids (5g Protein, Maple Sweetened!)

Easy Pop Tarts From Scratch

Have you ever wanted to try making healthy homemade pop tarts for kids instead of feeding them the prepackaged version from the store that’s full of highly processed ingredients? Well, I’m here to tell you it’s easier than you think to make pop tarts from scratch at home!

This recipe for healthy pop tarts only requires 5 ingredients (6 if you choose to make the icing), it’s simple to make and it’s far healthier than the pop tarts that come in a box from the store shelf.

Oh, and did I mention these easy pop tarts are also completely refined sugar free and kid-approved? That’s right 🙂 And despite the challenges I had creating the perfect pop tart recipe, making them with this finalized recipe is low-effort.

I have been trying to create a healthy pop tart recipe for a while now, but I’ve never been able to arrive at the perfect pop tart that my kids actually liked. My earlier recipes failed for having too much butter in the crust and/or too much sweetness in the crust and jam.

I never thought my kids would turn down a treat for being too sweet. But if they didn’t like it, I knew I had not successfully created healthy homemade pop tarts for kids that would truly appeal to picky taste buds.

So I took a break for a little while from trying to come up with the perfect pop tart recipe. And when I revisited the process, as usual, I came to the mixing bowl with a fresh perspective and ideas for how to improve.

This time, I got it right on the first try. With less maple syrup in the crust and jam and some yogurt in the crust for protein, the flavor and nutrition were both perfectly on point. My kids quickly and eagerly confirmed that these protein pop tarts were indeed a winning recipe.

And now that the recipe has been perfected, all you have to do is follow it to make some easy homemade pop tarts for your own kids 🙂 (and let me assure you that even though the instructions look long at first glance, if you read through them, you will see that it is actually a very simple recipe to follow).

When to Make Homemade Pop Tarts

We’ve touched on why you would want to make your own healthy pop tarts, and you obviously know the benefits of homemade pop tarts if you are looking for this kind of recipe. They are healthier and offer real fruit flavor instead of the artificial, overly sweetened taste of the prepackaged version.

But, even though this recipe is easy to make, it is obviously going to take more time to make your own pop tarts from scratch than it would to grab a box of pop tarts from the breakfast aisle at the store. So when should you make them?

These healthy homemade pop tarts for kids will take about 45 minutes of active time in the kitchen beside the bake time, so my preferred time to make these is to batch prep on the weekends so that I have easy breakfasts for school mornings that can be taken on-the-go.

And since it is back-to-school season right now, these are exactly the recipe you need to keep next to your weekend to-do list 😀

Some people call them hand pies because they are like a pie that can easily be eaten by hand – no fork needed. And that is what makes them perfect as busy school morning breakfast options.

But these homemade hand pies can be enjoyed as more than just breakfast. They also make excellent protein snacks for kids. You could make these during the morning or early afternoon and have them ready fresh from the oven to serve as an after school snack.

These are also great for sharing when your child brings home friends to play with after school. My daughter has a couple of friends who cannot eat gelatin. Did you know pop tarts from the store contain gelatin?

But there are no worries with these healthy homemade pop tarts for kids because there is zero gelatin in the recipe.

So whether you are looking for a school breakfast for kids that is easy to grab and go or you need more healthy after school snack options to offer your child after a busy day of learning, these healthy pop tarts will do the trick.

Ingredients

• Fruit: You can use any fruit of your choosing for the jam filling in these pop tarts. I generally like to use frozen because it’s often cheaper and easier, but you can also use fresh.

• Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is the only natural sweetener in these healthy pop tarts. You will need maple syrup for the jam, the dough and the icing for the top if you choose to add it. Make sure to use genuine Grade A maple syrup.

• Flour: I use organic unbleached all-purpose flour from Costco for the crust on these pop tarts. Any all-purpose flour will work.

• Yogurt: Yogurt adds protein to the pop tart crusts. You can use plain unsweetened, unflavored whole milk or Greek yogurt. I usually use organic.

• Butter: Butter helps the crust rise and flake just a bit and is also used to stabilize the icing. I use organic or Irish butter.

• Arrowroot Powder: Arrowroot powder is for making the optional icing. Since there is no powdered sugar in this icing recipe, arrowroot powder acts as the dry ingredient to thicken the sweetener (maple syrup).

• Food Coloring: Food coloring is optional and is to color the icing. You can use a powdered food coloring to prevent watering down your icing and this will also give you some decorative specs of bold color in your icing. If you want to use liquid food coloring, simply add a bit more arrowroot powder if your icing is too runny.

Instructions

Make the Fruit Jam

Step 1

Add fruit to a medium-size pot and heat over medium high heat. Cook until all fruit is fully cooked and most of the juices have evaporated. Stir regularly to prevent burning.

Step 2

Once fruit is cooked and reduced, add maple syrup and stir to combine.

You can mash the fruit with a wooden spoon or optionally blend with an emersion blender if you want it pureed.

Step 3

Set aside or place in the fridge to cool until ready to use.

Make the Dough

Step 1

Combine yogurt, maple syrup and melted butter in a medium-size bowl. Mix until fully combined.

Step 2

Add the flour and mix until a dough forms. You will have to use your hands once it starts to come together.

Assemble Pop Tarts

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2

Divide your dough in half and roll out your first half to a 1/8 inch-thick rectangle. Use a rolling pin with thickness guides for perfectly even thickness (see Equipment section for a link).

Do not flour your work surface. Roll your dough out onto parchment paper to prevent sticking.

Step 3

Using a pizza cutter or dough scraper, cut your rolled-out dough into six rectangles and place them on your lined baking sheet.

Repeat the rolling and cutting process with your other half of dough but leave the rectangles on your work surface for now.

Step 4

Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of your jam onto each dough rectangle on the baking sheet. Spread it around to about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Step 5

Using the dough rectangles on your work surface, place them on top of the jam-covered rectangles so the edges line up as much as possible. Use a fork to press all around the edges to seal them. Use the fork to poke a few holes in the tops of the pop tarts.

* See note in recipe card.

Step 6

Bake for 25 minutes. Be sure to check on them a couple of times in case you need to move them to a different wrack to prevent overbrowning the tops or bottoms.

Make & Add the Icing (Optional)

Step 1

While the pop tarts are baking, combine all icing ingredients in a medium-size bowl and mix with a spoon until no lumps remain. Set aside until pop tarts are done baking.

Step 2

When done, remove pop tarts from the oven and allow to cool on the pan for about a half hour until they are no longer hot to the touch.

If using icing, spread the icing on the tops of the pop tarts as soon as they come out of the oven.

Store cooled pop tarts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Substitutions & Tips

• These pop tarts can easily be customized to whatever fruit flavor you want to make. The icing is suitable for any flavor, but if you want to customize that as well, you can add crushed freeze-dried fruit of your choice to brighten the flavor.

• The easiest way to make these pop tarts from scratch is to start cooking your fruit and then work on mixing up the dough while the fruit is cooking. Alternatively, you could also use store-bought jam without added refined sugar to fill them with (although making your own really is extremely simple).

• When rolling out your dough, it is extremely helpful to use a rolling pin with thickness guides. I am terrible at rolling out my dough evenly, but since I got a rolling pin with thickness rings, it’s so easy to roll out my dough evenly to whatever thickness I need. There is a link to the rolling pin I use in the recipe card.

• If you are struggling to get a perfect rectangle rolled out, don’t worry. Either make your corner pop tarts into pie-like shapes or cut and paste your dough as needed while rolling it out to get it as close to a straight-lined rectangle as possible.

• It’s okay if your dough rectangles don’t exactly match up. If you need to adjust the size a bit, try stretching your smaller/disproportionate rectangle by hand gently just a little bit until it matches up reasonably well.

• To seal the edges of your pop tarts with a fork, it is helpful to slide your parchment paper off of your baking sheet so the edges of the baking sheet aren’t getting in your way.

• Note that the nutrition facts for these pop tarts do not include the icing. I consider the icing to be a bonus treat. The pop tarts really don’t need the icing, but if you want to add it to make them a sweeter treat or more appealing to your child, it does make it a richer flavor.