Classic Dairy-Free Fruitcake Recipe without Butter, Oil, or Alcohol

Some fruitcake recipes are essentially cake with fruit and nuts added. But this is a dairy-free fruitcake that’s densely made with fruit and nuts, like many beloved traditional recipes. It’s naturally butter-free, oil-free, and alcohol-free, but rich with flavor that even “fruitcake haters” enjoy.

Because there is no alcohol in this dairy-free fruitcake, it doesn’t have the long shelf-life of booze-soaked versions. Enjoy or gift it while fresh, or freeze the loaves for longer keeping. Here’s a great guide to storing fruitcake, including how to soak one or more of the loaves in rum or brandy, if you wish!

Special Diet Notes: Christmas Dairy-Free Fruitcake

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian.

Classic Dairy-Free Fruitcake (without alcohol)

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

You can mix up the fruits and nuts as desired. Just make sure to use 4 pounds of fruits and 3 pounds of nuts to maintain the ratio. The original recipe leaves the nuts and fruits whole, which makes for pretty slicing. You can certainly pre-chop the them, but it isn't necessary.

Author: adapted from Allrecipes

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: European

Serves: 3 (8x4-inch) loaves

Ingredients

4 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup + ½ cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 pounds pitted dates
1 pound red candied cherries
1 pound green candied cherries
1 pound Brazil nuts
1 pound walnut halves
1 pound pecan halves

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease three 8x4-inch loaf pans and line them with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, vanilla, and salt until very light and lemon colored.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 cup flour, sugar, and baking powder. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture in your mixing bowl.
Place the dates, cherries, and nuts in a large bowl. Add the remaining ½ cup flour, and toss to coat. Stir the fruit and nuts into the mixture in your mixing bowl. There will be very little batter, so it will become quite thick. Mix with your hands, as needed.
Press the batter into your prepared loaf pans.
Bake the fruitcake for 1 hour.