This Vegan Puff Pastry recipe is the delicious skeleton key you need to open all the sweet and savory doors your little heart can handle.
Fill it with sweet jams and curds, or stuff it with savory homemade vegan Boursin, basil pesto, pesto rosso, and legumes.
From elegant tarts and pies to delectable turnovers and savory appetizers, the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.
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📖 Recipe Overview
- Simple: With just four ingredients, this recipe for vegan puff pastry is the dictionary definition of "basic." While it does take a bit of time to prepare, my step-by-step recipe makes it accessible to bakers of all skill levels, allowing anyone to create a professional-grade puff pastry right in their own kitchen.
- Decadently Flaky & Buttery: Experience a pastry that breaks all the tired tropes about vegan baking. With an incredibly flaky texture and a rich, buttery taste, this recipe rivals traditional puff pastries. It's hard to believe that something so indulgent could be dairy-free!
- Canvas for Cooking Creativity: Whether you're whipping up a batch of pain au chocolat for breakfast, assembling a savory vegetable tart for lunch, or crafting delicate pastries for a dinner party, this puff pastry is your key to unlocking a world of delicious, plant-based possibilities.
If you’re interested in learning more vegan baking basics, check out my foolproof plant-based recipes for flaky pie dough, dairy-free condensed milk, and whipped cream next!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
One thing I love about fundamental recipes like this vegan puffed pastry is how simple and straightforward they are. Here’s everything you’ll need to make it:
Ingredient Notes
- Vegan Butter - Make sure you’re reaching for unsalted block-style butter and that you freeze it for a minimum of an hour before starting. The soft, spreadable, tub-style margarine will not work in this recipe.
- All-Purpose Flour - Also known as plain flour. Make sure to use the spoon and sweep method for measuring if you don’t have a kitchen scale.
- Sea Salt - Fine sea salt, pink Himalayan salt, or kosher salt will all do the trick. If possible, avoid iodized table salt, which can leave behind a bitter aftertaste.
- Ice Cold Water - You want your water to be as frosty as possible, so make sure to chill it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes or so! Also, make sure to use filtered water for the best, cleanest taste.
🥣 How To Make Vegan Puff Pastry
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1: Rub the butter shreds into the flour using your fingertips until it resembles a crumbly consistency.
Step 2: Pour ice-cold water into the bowl and bring the dough together with your hands. The dough should be firm and tacky, not wet. Rest the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Step 3: 1st fold - Roll the dough into a large rectangle (around 12-14 inches long x 8-10 inches wide). Sprinkle half of the grated butter onto ⅔ of the surface area of the rectangle and fold both ends in like an envelope.
Step 4: 2nd fold - Turn the dough 90°, and roll it out into another rectangle. Sprinkle the other half of the grated butter onto ⅔ of the surface area of the rectangle. Repeat the folds and wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
Step 5: 3rd fold - Again, turn the dough 90°, and roll it out into another rectangle and repeat the folds. Chill for 30 minutes. Then repeat this step another 2 times.
Step 6: Final rest - Let the dough rest covered in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or preferably overnight) before using it in recipes.
🥐 Ways To Use It
This recipe for vegan puff pastry has endless sweet and savory uses, here are some ideas to get you started:
- Breakfast - Pain au Chocolat, puff pastry Danishes.
- Appetizers - Vegan sausage rolls, vegan cheese twists, hand pies.
- Dinner - Vegan Wellington, tomato galette, vegan pot pie.
- Desserts - Tarte tatin, apple galette, berry galette, vanilla slice, palmeritas.
- Pastries - Layer sheets of puff pastry with pastry cream to make vegan mille-feuille.
📝 Recipe Tips
The key to achieving that perfect, flaky texture is to start with cold ingredients. Make sure your vegan butter is chilled, not room temperature. This helps to create those distinct, crisp layers as the cold fat layers expand in the heat of the oven.
Allowing your dough to rest in the fridge between folds is crucial. This resting period helps the gluten in the dough relax and prevents shrinkage during baking. It also keeps the vegan butter from melting, which is essential for creating separate, flaky layers.
Overworking the dough can lead to tough pastry. Handle the dough as little as possible and with light hands. The less you work it, the more tender and flaky your pastry will be.
Bake your pastry at the right temperature and for the correct amount of time. Too hot, and the fat will melt too quickly; too low, and the pastry won’t puff up adequately. Keep an eye on the pastry as it bakes to ensure it reaches the perfect golden-brown color without overbaking.
💬 FAQs
Typically, traditional puff pastry isn't vegan, as it's loaded with butter. Not to worry though — making your own vegan puff pastry at home is not only possible but also quite simple, as evidenced by the recipe here!
Many store-bought puff pastries use vegetable fats instead of butter, making them accidentally vegan. It's always a good idea to check the ingredient list to be sure. And, of course, now you know the secret to making your own vegan puff pastry at home, so even if you can't find it in stores, it's never far from reach!
I haven’t tried it, but if you do decide to give it a go I would recommend an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend that is a “cup-for-cup” swap for regular flour. Make sure to choose a brand with xanthan gum and allow the final pastry a minimum of 30 minutes of rest before using it.
If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out in the comments below!
🥧 More Vegan Pastry
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📖 Recipe
Description
Ingredients
- 200 g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) vegan butter (block-style), frozen for at least 1 hour, *see note 1
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 120 ml (½ cup) ice cold water, give or take 10ml *see note 2
Instructions
- I highly recommend weighing the ingredients in grams using a digital scale. Be sure to also read over the recipe and post above for tips and step-by-step images before getting started.
- Shred the butter: Freeze the block of vegan butter for at least an hour or overnight if preferred. This will make it easier to work with. Grate the butter into shreds, and place half of them back into a container in the freezer.
- Make the dough: To a large mixing bowl, add the other half of the butter shreds, flour, and salt. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until it resembles a crumbly consistency.
- Pour around 100ml of the ice-cold water into the bowl and bring the dough together - if needed add the other 20ml of water to bring the mixture together. The dough should be firm and tacky, not wet.
- 1st rest: Knead the dough into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Place it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
- 1st fold: Onto a clean floured surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle (around 12-14 inches long x 8-10 inches wide). Note: You can lightly dust the surface and dough with flour through any of these steps, just always make sure you knock off any excess flour before moving on to the next step.
- Take the remaining grated butter out of the freezer and sprinkle half onto ⅔ of the surface area of the rectangle. Then like an envelope, fold one-third into the center of the rectangle, and fold the other third on top of the first fold.
- 2nd fold: Then turn the dough 90°, and roll it out into another rectangle (around 12-14 inches long x 6-8 inches wide).
- Sprinkle the remaining grated butter onto ⅔ of the surface area of the rectangle. Then like an envelope, fold one-third into the center of the rectangle, and fold the other third on top of the first fold.
- 2nd rest: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
- 3rd fold: Again, turn the dough 90°, and roll it out into another rectangle (around 12-14 inches long x 6-8 inches wide). Fold one-third into the center of the rectangle, and fold the other third on top of the first fold.
- 3rd rest: Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
- 4th & 5th fold: Repeat the folding and resting steps another two times.
- Final rest: Let the dough rest covered in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or preferably overnight) before using it in recipes.
Notes
- Vegan Butter: This recipe calls for block-style sticks, such as Violife Block or Naturli, spreadable margarine from a but will not work. The butter block should be frozen at least an hour prior to preparation.
- Ice Cold Water: I like to pop the jug of water in the freezer for around 15 minutes before use to get it nice and cold.
Nutrition
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