This Dessert Strawberry Salsa is packed with sweet, juicy, fresh strawberries & is served with homemade crunchy Cinnamon Chips that make the perfect scoopers! This is a dessert meets dip meets snack situation that is just perfect for feeding a crowd.
THIS RECIPE IS SPONSORED BY CALIFORNIA STRAWBERRIES
Today at the party we have Dessert Strawberry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips.
We're talking juicy, sweet salsa loaded with fresh California Strawberries, mint, lime and a twist of freshly ground black pepper. Stick with me here. I'm not crazy. Black pepper and strawberries, as unlikely as it sounds, are quite the match. Trust me. It totally works.
And then, coming along to the party we've got crispy, sugary baked cinnamon chips to scoop all of that strawberry goodness up with.
How about a great big ol' yes to that?
4 Reasons to love California Strawberries right now
- California Strawberries are in season and available now at your local grocery or natural product stores, so no excuse, you can get your strawberry salsa on at any time of year!
- 8 strawberries (140 g) = 1 serving
- California Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C with 8 strawberries containing more than an orange
- A serving of 8 strawberries has only 50 calories and is a great source of fibre
Regular old breakfast and dinner are great and all that, but desserts and snacks are LIFE. Especially if they involve California Strawberries.
So, here’s the run down on what's going on here and why:
Strawberries - pretty essential in a strawberry salsa don't you think?
Jam - To bind it together a bit and add some sticky sweetness
Lime juice - A bit of acid to balance out the sweet
Mint - For freshness, flavour and contrasting colour
Vanilla - Flavour. It works so well with strawberries!
Black Pepper - For little bursts of peppery heat - trust me. It works.
Tortillas - To make our chips!
Cinnamon - Warm, sweetly spicy flavour
Sugar - Sweetness and crunch
Oil of choice - To make the tortillas super crunchy! Aquafaba can be used for an oil-free option.
How to make Dessert Strawberry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips!
FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
There are two parts to making this recipe. The first is making those crispy, addictive Cinnamon Chips because you can make the strawberry salsa while they are cooling down.
It goes something like this:
Tortillas sliced up as follows
A light brush of oil or aquafaba on each one then a quick dip in cinnamon sugar.
Then bake .. and don't they look all pretty laid out neatly on their tray?
And here comes the Dessert Strawberry Salsa which takes about 10 minutes. It's a simple chop and mix situation. But WOW. It's so good!
In go the strawberries, lime juice, mint, jam and freshly ground black pepper. Then stir that juicy goodness all up.
Boom! Dessert Strawberry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips. Done.
Success Tips
- As they are the star of the show, make sure your California Strawberries are perfectly red, ripe and sweet.
- Don't use dried mint. It needs to be fresh.
- Use your pepper mill. Freshly ground black pepper makes all the difference!
- The cinnamon chips might feel a bit soft when they come out of the oven but will crisp up as they cool.
How to store
Dessert Strawberry Salsa is best served on the day it's made.
Store leftover Cinnamon Chips in an airtight container. They will keep for a couple of weeks.
Other serving suggestions
Make the strawberry salsa on it's own (or use leftovers) and serve with:
- ice cream
- chocolate cake
- my Vegan New York Cheesecake
- Pancakes
- waffles
And make the Cinnamon Chips on their own and serve them with my Dessert Chocolate Hummus or my Snickerdoodle Dessert Hummus or with a bowl of ice cream.
This salsa is perfect for serving at parties and social gatherings and it also makes a great dinner party dessert or pre-dessert, appetizer type situation. It also makes a great after school or sofa and a movie snack.
And so to recap, this Dessert Strawberry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips is:
- loaded with juicy California Strawberries!
- fresh, sweet, juicy and subtly spiced
- texture perfect
- great for serving up at your holiday parties
Hungry for more?
If you love strawberry desserts then you might also enjoy my Strawberry Sweet Roll Vegan Mug Cake, my Baked Strawberry Semolina Pudding and my Sticky Lemon Strawberry Sweet Rolls. Be sure to check out California Strawberries website too as they have lots of recipes and strawberry related tips too!
Dessert Strawberry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Chips
- 1 cup / 200 g sugar , white or cane sugar is best
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 5 10 inch tortillas
- ¼ cup / 60 ml neutral oil , or aquafaba *
For the Strawberry Salsa
- 2lb / 32 oz / 907 g fresh California Strawberries
- 1 small lime
- 3 tablespoons strawberry jam
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large handful fresh mint
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper **
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175 °C) and line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon together until combined well. Set aside.
- Have your tortillas in a neat pile, and with a sharp knife, cut the pile into quarters, then cut each quarter into 4 chip sized wedges. For nice, evenly cut chips, see my photographs in the post above for how to do this.
- Lay the tortilla pieces out in a single layer on the lined baking trays and brush each one with a light coating of oil.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon sugar over each one then turn them over, brush with a little more oil and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar. Or after brushing pick the tortilla up and dip it into the bowl of cinnamon sugar. Do it whichever way works best for you. Dipping makes the sugar coating more even, but sprinkling is quicker!
- Place in the oven and bake until bubbling, golden and crispy. It should take about 12 minutes but be sure to keep an eye on them in the last few minutes as they can go from ok to burnt very quickly.
- Remove the chips from the oven and leave to cool completely.
- Wash and hull the strawberries then dice each one into small pieces. If you aren't too bothered about how neat they look you can pulse them in a food processor rather than chopping them by hand. Transfer the pieces to a large bowl.
- Wash and chop the mint (leaves only) and add it to the chopped strawberries along with the jam, juice from the lime and vanilla. Stir it all up well then add the freshly ground black pepper. It's better to start with just a little pepper as you can always add more but you can't take it away. I suggest adding it to taste. Give it a good but gentle stir in between additions.
Jamie Cole says
Maybe I e missed it, but where does the lime go? Juiced and then mixed in with the jam, vanilla , mint and black pepper into the chopped strawberries?
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh my goodness. This recipe has been published for nearly 8 months and you're the first one to spot that. Thank you! I just corrected it, but you're right. Add it with the jam, vanilla etc.
Jordan says
Going to make this for Christmas! Dumb question, do I use corn or flour tortillas?
Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's not a dumb question at all. I really should have specified. I used flour tortillas. Corn would probably be ok too though although I haven't personally tried that.
Marissa says
Made this for the kids and their friends for dessert. They loved it! Thank you!
Melanie McDonald says
I'm really pleased they enjoyed it Marissa!
Frances says
Typically I stay away from sugar. I only use small amounts of Maple Syrup in my cooking. Do you need to add sugar to the Chips. I typically use the Ezekiel Wraps which are not sweet at all, but crisp up nicely. Maybe an option would be to brush with Aquafaba and then sprinkle on the cinnamon? what do you think?
Melanie McDonald says
The sugar really helps make them super crunchy and textured but you could make them without if you prefer. I've never tried Ezekiel Wraps, but yes, I would imagine you would be able to brush lightly with the aquafaba to make the cinnamon stick, then bake. Just as long as it takes for them to go golden and crispy. Bear in mind they usually aren't perfectly crisp while hot. They get crisper as they cool. You could also maybe brush the tortillas with a light coating of maple syrup instead of the aquafaba for some sweetness. I hope that helps and that they turn out well!