How to make strawberry turnovers! Puff pastry and an easy strawberry filling make this the best homemade strawberry turnovers recipe you could ask for! And for ways to make the most of strawberry season, try my Strawberry Crumble, my French Strawberry Cake, or my No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream!
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Strawberry Turnovers Recipe
Summer is my favorite season, so warmer temperatures always get me excited for barbecues, gardening, road trips, and everything else that summertime brings! And another element of spring and summer that brings me so much joy is strawberry season. I just love those juicy, super-sweet berries during the warmer months. They're perfect for baking but also so good on their own! This strawberry turnovers recipe is one of my new favorites, a chance to highlight the sweetness of those springtime berries that couldn't be easier!
Strawberry Turnovers - Puff Pastry Recipe
To make these easy strawberry turnovers, we'll be making a quick strawberry filling and wrapping it in store-bought puff pastry. It's a method similar to my peach turnovers recipe, with a fun added twist! We'll also be adding a drizzle of simple vanilla icing and some freeze-dried strawberries to add bright strawberry flavor and color to our strawberry turnovers. These are guaranteed to be a hit at your spring and summer gatherings!
How to make strawberry turnovers from scratch
Well, the good news is that we're using a package of store-bought puff pastry, so we won't have to make our pastry from scratch! But everything else is so easy -- we'll just combine our filling ingredients in a saucepan and let it reduce and thicken. Then we'll fold our filling into our prepared puff pastry sheets and bake! These strawberry turnovers are SO easy! So now that you're ready to get going, let's get into the ingredients you'll need to make them!
Ingredients
- diced strawberries - you can use fresh or frozen strawberries. If you use frozen strawberries, let them thaw for 15 minutes or so to make it easier to dice them.
- lemon zest - the tartness of the lemon zest helps to balance out the sweetness in the filling and create the best flavor for our strawberry turnovers.
- granulated sugar - the perfect amount of sweetness to enhance the strawberries.
- cornstarch - works as a thickener to bring the filling together and minimize leaks.
- flour - we'll use a bit of flour to dust the surface for our puff pastry.
- frozen puff pastry - store-bought puff pastry is a magic ingredient! It's so easy to work with, so versatile, and bakes up so buttery and flaky! It's perfect for these strawberry turnovers.
- egg - we'll beat our egg with a little water to create an egg wash, which helps to give us a shinier, flakier finish to our puff pastry. The egg wash also helps to secure the puff pastry to itself to keep our strawberry turnovers sealed.
Then, we'll make an easy vanilla icing to top our strawberry turnovers! Here's what you'll need for it:
- powdered sugar - I'd recommend measuring it out with a kitchen scale, or using the spoon-and-level method.
- milk - You can use the milk of your choice -- the goal is just to thin out our icing to the right consistency.
- pure vanilla extract - be sure to use a high-quality pure vanilla extract. Or better yet, check out my post on how to make vanilla extract at home with just 2 ingredients!
- freeze-dried strawberries - this is optional, but crushed freeze-dried strawberries adds great flavor and little bits of bright color to the vanilla icing. You can find freeze-dried strawberries at Amazon and Target.
Tips and F.A.Q.
The strawberry filling is super easy for these strawberry turnovers! You'll just need to combine all the filling ingredients in a saucepan, and simmer them to evaporate out some of the excess juices, and allow the filling to thicken. Then, once it's thickened and cooled, it's ready to add to your strawberry turnovers!
Puff pastry is made by folding a slab of butter into a dough repeatedly until there are thin layers of dough and fat. This process is called lamination, and it's what creates that flaky goodness.
You can find frozen puff pastry sheets in the frozen aisle of most supermarkets, near the frozen cakes, pies, and fruit. You can also find it on Amazon.
Assemble the turnovers. Do not brush with egg wash yet. Arrange in a single layer on a sheet pan and freeze completely. Transfer to a Ziploc bag, and freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to bake (do not thaw), brush with egg wash and bake frozen at 400 degrees F. They may take an extra 3-5 minutes to bake fully. Then you can let them cool and ice them as usual.
After you cool your turnovers completely, they can be frozen. Do not put icing or other freeze-dried strawberries on them. Wrap them in aluminum foil and then place them in a heavy-duty freezer bag. They will last in the freezer for 1-2 months. Thaw your turnovers, covered, at room temperature and then toast in the oven at 350ºF for about 5-8 minutes to get the pastry nice and flaky. Let them cool a bit, then add icing.
There are approximately 459 calories in an iced turnover -- see the recipe card below for the full nutrition information.
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
More Puff Pastry Recipes You'll Love
- Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls
- Peach Turnovers with Smoked Sugar
- Puff Pastry Pizza
- Pecan Pastry Braid
- Coconut Palmiers
- Brie and Cranberry Tart
📖 Recipe
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
- 2 cups (288 g) diced strawberries - fresh or frozen
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) lemon zest - packed
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch
- all-purpose flour - for dusting
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry - thawed according to package directions
- 1 large egg - beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar - (115g)
- 2 tablespoon (30 ml) milk
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) freeze-dried strawberries - crushed
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring strawberries, lemon zest, sugar, and cornstarch to a boil, stirring.2 cups diced strawberries, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring, for 5-7 minutes or until mixture is thickened and reduced. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- On a lightly floured surface, open one sheet of puff pastry. Roll over pastry with a rolling pin to flatten creases and form a square shape.2 sheets frozen puff pastry, all-purpose flour
- Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the pastry lengthwise, then across, to make 4 squares.
- Spoon 2-3 tablespoon of cooled strawberry filling into the center of each pastry square. Brush outer edge of pastry square with egg wash.1 large egg
- Fold pastry square to make a triangle shape and press pastry together to seal. Use a fork to crimp edges together tightly.
- Repeat with second sheet of puff pastry, and transfer assembled turnovers to prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Let cool about 10 minutes.
Prepare Vanilla Icing
- Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Add 1-2 teaspoon additional milk if needed to thin out icing, or a bit more powdered sugar if needed to thicken it.1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Drizzle icing over slightly cooled strawberry turnovers. Sprinkle with crushed freeze-dried strawberries.1 tablespoon freeze-dried strawberries
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Last Updated on February 13, 2023 by Chenée Lewis
Becca
Can I use lemon juice instead of zest? I don’t have a lemon to zest, can I use lemon juice instead? And how much?
Chenée Lewis
If you don't have lemon zest, I would use the juice of half a lemon. You may need to cook the filling a bit longer for the extra liquid to cook down.
Patricia Seiber
Awesome flavor! I had store brand vanilla so 1 t made frosting tan instead of white so ai would change that to 1/4-1/2 t stirebrad vanilla. I ended up using four sheets of puff pastry for two cups diced strawberries but that could just be me as I have never used puff pastry nor made a turnover before. Actually probably almost never had eaten a turnover.
I am in love with them now! Thank you for sharing!!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked them! 🙂
Britney Brown
These turnovers were nothing short of perfection! I loved the flaky turnover and the strawberry filling was out of this world!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked them!
Jazz
The freeze-dried strawberries were such a nice touch I wouldn't have thought of. These were easy to make and we had no problem eating them all up!
Chenée Lewis
Thanks! I love the extra boost of strawberry flavor from the freeze dried strawberries!
Shanna Jones
I could literally eat these every single day! I hadn't had turnovers in so long (my mom made peach ones all the time), so I was glad to come across your recipe. Amazing, to say the least!
Chenée Lewis
I love peach turnovers too! So glad you enjoyed!
Capri
These photos are absolutely gorgeous! AND the recipe is amazing! I had so much fun making these!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much! They are a lot of fun!!
Jen Sim
These strawberry turnovers were everything they should be! They were sweet and sticky with the perfect flaky crust. I didn’t think I could pull this off but your recipe made it easy.
Chenée Lewis
Awesome! I'm so glad the instructions helped out!
Jessica Lawson
Had some friends over for brunch over the weekend and made these. They were a huge hit! Can't wait to make again this summer when strawberries are everywhere!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you!! So glad they were a hit!
Mireille E Roc
I love how easy these were to put together with the puff pastry. These are perfect for weekend brunch. I made them with fresh strawberries and a great way to make use of seasonal berries.
Chenée Lewis
Thank you -- so glad you liked them! 🙂
Robin Sparks
My grandmother Nana used to make turnovers, but I have always been intimidated about trying them. Your instructions were so easy and straightforward - they came out just terrific!
Chenée Lewis
Wonderful! I'm glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Kate
This turnovers were amazing. I love it that your instructions are very simple to follow . I can’t wait to make this again.
Chenée Lewis
Thank you! I'm so glad you liked them!
Marta
Great way to use our strawberries. The turnovers were delicious.
Chenée Lewis
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed!