A creamy, custard-filled strawberry sando — made completely without dairy or eggs.
This strawberry sando recipe uses a rich soy milk custard as the base, with diced strawberries folded right into the cream. Every single bite is packed with juicy strawberry flavor.
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🍰 What Is a Strawberry Sando?
A strawberry sando (いちごサンド) is a Japanese strawberry sandwich made with soft and thinly sliced white bread, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. It's a staple at Japanese convenience stores and fruit sandwich shops, loved for its pillowy texture and clean, simple presentation.
Like ichigo daifuku (strawberry mochi), strawberry sando is one of the classic Japanese strawberry sweets that signals the arrival of strawberry season.
The classic version uses whipped cream — but this recipe swaps it for a thick, velvety soy milk custard. The result is a richer, more substantial strawberry cream sando that happens to be completely plant-based.
🧺 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Dairy-free & egg-free: Made entirely with plant-based ingredients
- Strawberry in every bite: Diced strawberries folded into the custard for juicy strawberry flavor throughout
- Rich and creamy: Kuzu-thickened soy milk custard with a luscious, velvety texture and a more satisfying bite
- Easy to customize: Swap the strawberries for any seasonal fruit you like
🍓 Ingredients
● Strawberries: The star of this strawberry sando. Use ripe, sweet strawberries at peak season for the best flavor. Japanese strawberries are known for their concentrated sweetness and fragrance. Try to find deeply sweet and fragrant strawberries similar to Japanese varieties.
🌿 When I lived in Canada, I found that non-sprayed berries from farmers’ markets came closest in flavor.
● Soy milk custard: A thick, rich vegan custard made with kuzu starch — the base for the strawberry cream filling. It creates a more rich and creamy filling than whipped cream.
Kuzu custard firms up as it chills, so it's best to use it freshly made, once the residual heat has cooled off.
📖 Recipe → Vegan Soy Milk Custard
● Sandwich bread: Thin-sliced sandwich bread works best for Japanese fruit sandwiches, allowing the strawberries and cream to stand out.
I use soft Japanese-style sandwich bread, sliced to about 1.5 cm thick or thinner with the crusts removed.
🌿 Japanese sandwich bread is usually softer, slightly sweeter, and finer-textured than Western-style sandwich bread, which pairs especially well with fruit and custard fillings.
For exact quantities, see the recipe card below 👇
📖 How to Make a Strawberry Sando
- Prep the strawberries
- Rinse the strawberries briefly and pat completely dry with a paper towel. Any excess moisture can loosen the custard, so dry them well.
- Remove the hulls.
- Set 2 strawberries aside whole, then dice the remaining strawberries into small pieces (about 30g total).
- Mix
- Fold the diced strawberries into the soy milk custard, mixing gently so the pieces stay intact.
- Spread
- Spread about one-third of the custard across both slices of bread, all the way to the edges. This helps keep the sandwich from separating when cut.
- Arrange the strawberries
- Place the 2 whole strawberries diagonally on one slice of bread.
🌿 Place the strawberries where the knife will cut through them later.
- Cover
- Spoon about half of the remaining custard over the strawberries, covering them as if wrapping them in the cream.
🌿 Fill in the gaps between the strawberries with custard to avoid air pockets.
- Cut and serve
- Place the second slice of bread on top and press gently.
- Cut diagonally with a sharp knife.
🌿 If the edges separate, spread a little extra custard inside and gently press the bread back together.
🫙 Storage
Best eaten the same day.
Freshly made strawberry sando has the best balance of soft bread and creamy custard texture.
If storing, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and keep in an airtight container in the fridge. As it chills, the bread gradually dries out and the kuzu custard firms up into a more chewy texture.
📚 FAQ
A strawberry sando is a Japanese fruit sandwich made with soft white bread, whipped cream and fresh strawberries. It's a popular item at Japanese convenience stores and fruit sandwich cafés. The classic version uses whipped cream, but this recipe uses a vegan soy milk custard instead.
Yes. If you're not vegan, regular whipped cream works fine. For a vegan version, coconut whipped cream is another option — though the texture will be lighter and less dense than the custard.
Yes. Any seasonal fruit works well. Peaches, kiwi, and banana are all good options. Fruits with too much moisture can loosen the custard and make the sandwich harder to hold together.
Yes. The soy milk custard contains no dairy or eggs. Just make sure to use a plant-based bread as well.
Thin-sliced sandwich bread works best — ideally around 1.5 cm thick or thinner. The thinner the bread, the more the cream and fruit can stand out. Remove the crusts before assembling.
If you feel like whispering a thought, asking a question, or simply saying hello — the comment section is always open 📮
🍽️ More Strawberry Recipes
Vegan dessert recipes using fresh strawberries:
🥄 More Soy Milk Custard Recipes
Vegan dessert recipes made with soy milk custard:
🍰 More Vegan Dessert Recipes
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✏️ Recipe Card
Vegan Strawberry Sando (いちごサンド)
Ingredients
- 2 slices soft sandwich bread (about 1.5 cm thick or thinner, crusts removed)
- 5-6 strawberries
- 1 batch Vegan Soy Milk Custard
Instructions
- Rinse the strawberries briefly and pat completely dry with a paper towel. Remove the hulls. Set 2 strawberries aside whole, then dice the remaining strawberries into small pieces (about 30g total).5-6 strawberries
- Fold the diced strawberries into the soy milk custard, mixing gently so the pieces stay intact.1 batch Vegan Soy Milk Custard
- Spread about one-third of the custard across both slices of bread, all the way to the edges.2 slices soft sandwich bread
- Arrange the 2 whole strawberries diagonally on one slice of bread.
- Spoon about half of the remaining custard over the strawberries, covering them completely and filling in the gaps.
- Place the second slice of bread on top and press gently.
- Cut diagonally with a sharp knife.
Notes
- Thin, soft sandwich bread works best for Japanese fruit sandwiches.
- Japanese sandwich bread is usually softer and slightly sweeter than Western-style sandwich bread.
- Kuzu custard firms up as it chills, so the custard is easiest to use freshly made after the residual heat has dissipated.
- Best eaten the same day.
If this recipe made its way into your kitchen, and you'd like to share that moment, feel free to tag @veginveganvegun or use #vegin_vegan_vegun.
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