These strawberry shortcake bars are a fun twist on a classic, made with a buttery vanilla sheet pan cake base, cream cheese frosting, and sweet strawberries.

Strawberry shortcake bar on a plate topped with cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries.

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Strawberry Shortcake Bars Recipe

These strawberry shortcake bars are an easy summer dessert for a crowd. They bake in sheet pan, slice clean, and get topped with cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries.

They’re inspired by my angel food cake strawberry shortcake, just without the tube pan. More shortcake favorites include strawberry strawberry shortcake trifle, and strawberry shortcake biscuits, plus strawberry crumb bars if you want another easy bar dessert.

Ingredient Notes

Strawberry shortcake ingredients on the counter including vanilla cake base, cream cheese frosting and strawberries.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

  • Butter: Use softened butter so it creams smoothly with the sugar for a light, even crumb.
  • Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the cake and helps it bake up tender and sliceable.
  • Eggs: Room temperature eggs mix in more evenly, which helps the cake bake up with a consistent texture.
  • Flour: Spoon and level when measuring so the cake base stays light, not dense.
  • Milk: Whole milk gives the richest result, but any milk you normally bake with will work.
  • Vanilla: This is the main flavor in the cake base, so use a good vanilla extract if you can.
  • Strawberries: Choose ripe, sweet berries since they are the star. Dice them small so the bars slice clean.
  • Sugar for strawberries: Tossing the berries with sugar helps them get juicy and glossy. Let them sit while the cake cools.
  • Cream cheese frosting: Use cold heavy whipping cream so it whips up thick and fluffy, cream cheese for light tang and stability, and powdered sugar to sweeten.

How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Bars

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter until light and creamy. Then, add the eggs, baking powder, and salt. Alternate adding the flour and milk to the wet ingredients, beating after each addition until combined. Now, stir in the vanilla.

Whippings up strawberry shortcake bar batter.

Pour the batter into a prepared 9×13 baking dish and bake for 18-20 minutes, being careful not to overbake. It may appear slightly underdone, but it’s ok!

Vanilla shortcake bar cake in a pan.

Once it has cooled completely spread the frosting made of whipped cream, powdered sugar, and cream cheese, evenly across the thin golden cake. Top with chopped strawberries and sugar. Enjoy!

Strawberry shortcake in a baking pan topped with cream cheese frosting and diced strawberries.

Recipe Tips

  • Use different fruits. Try this shortcake recipe with peaches, blueberries, raspberries, or your fruit of choice for flavor variations.
  • Use a nonstick pan or line your pan with parchment paper for easy removal.
  • Pan size. I used a 9×13 baking pan, but you can use a quarter-sized sheet pan as well.
  • A different frosting. Use just a whipped topping like Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream or amp up the strawberry flavor with strawberry buttercream.
  • Serve with a scoop of strawberry ice cream or vanilla ice cream.
A slice of strawberry shortcake bar on a plate with a fork removing a bite to show soft vanilla cake base.

More strawberry recipes to try include frozen strawberry lemonade, strawberry bananas smoothie and strawberry bread!

More Fruity Dessert Recipes

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Strawberry shortcake bar on a white plate.

Strawberry Shortcake Bars

5 from 6 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 15 people
These strawberry shortcake bars are a fun twist on a classic, made with a buttery vanilla sheet pan cake base, cream cheese frosting, and sweet strawberries.
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Ingredients 

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup butter , softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

Topping

  • 1 pint strawberries , diced
  • 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Frosting

  • 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  • Make batter: Beat 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup softened butter together in a large mixing bowl until light and creamy. Add 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  • Beat: Alternating between the two, add 1 1/2 cups flour and 3/4 cup milk, beating after each addition until all combined. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
  • Bake: In the preheated oven, bake 18-20 minutes. The cake may appear slightly underdone, but do not overbake. The cake will be flat and light in color. Let cool completely.
  • Topping: In a small bowl combine 1 pint diced strawberries and 2 Tablespoons sugar. Set aside.
  • Frosting: In a medium mixing bowl, cream together 2 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup whipping cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread evenly on cooled cake. Top with strawberries and serve.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

Variations: Try adding some different fruits, like peaches, blueberries or raspberries to change it up.
Make ahead: Make the cake up to 24 hours in advance. Make the frosting and strawberries and store covered until ready to serve. Frost just before serving. 
Storage: This cake is best served the first day once fruit is added although you can store leftovers in a covered container in the fridge up to 3 days. You can freeze the cake base, thaw and proceed with frosting.

Nutrition

Calories: 259kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 156mg, Potassium: 138mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 529IU, Vitamin C: 19mg, Calcium: 53mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.