Vegan Puff Pastry Recipe (with Video)
Making vegan puff pastry from scratch is easy using this fool-proof cheat method. Enjoy some crispy, flaky goodness in half the time it takes to make traditional puff pastry!
Homemade vegan puff pastry is much cheaper than storebought, and it only requires four ingredients.
Traditional pastry dough is made by encasing a slab of butter in a basic dough (or détrempe) made from flour, water, butter, and salt.
This method for this recipe was adapted from Paul Hollywood’s rough puff pastry recipe. Using frozen instead of chilled vegan butter allows more time to roll and fold the dough without chilling too many times.
Ingredient Notes
- Vegan butter or margarine – Use the stick form and not the spreadable ones in a tub. Freeze the vegan butter ahead of time to make it easier to shred.
- All-purpose flour – Bleached or unbleached.
- Salt
- Extra vegan butter – For the basic dough, soften to room temperature.
- Water
Step-By-Step Instructions
Prepare the vegan butter:
- Using the largest side of a box grater, shred the frozen vegan butter. Alternatively, use the shredder attachment of a food processor to grate the frozen vegan butter.
- Place the shreds back in the freezer while making the dough.
Make the basic dough (détrempe):
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
- Add the softened vegan butter and mix with a fork or fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Gradually stir in the water, and continue mixing until a dough begins to form.
- Use your hands to help the dough form. It will look dry at first but press the dough together until the sides of the bowl look clean.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and knead the dough with clean hands for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until it is soft and smooth. Shape into a ball, and cover with plastic wrap. Rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Layer in the margarine shreds:
- Roll out the dough into a rectangle about ¼ inch/6mm thick.
- Take the vegan butter shreds from the freezer. Lightly dust clean hands with flour and add half the shreds to the left two-thirds of the dough. Return the remaining butter shreds to the freezer.
- Fold over one-third of the dough (the right side with no butter shreds).
- Next, fold the left side, forming a wallet fold. Always brush away excess flour while folding.
- Make a ¼ turn with the dough.
- Roll out the dough lengthwise into the shape of a rectangle about ¼ inch/6mm thick.
- Add the remaining vegan butter shreds to two-thirds of the dough, and repeat the wallet fold step.
- Press the openings to keep the butter shreds from falling out of the dough, then cover with plastic wrap. Rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Laminate the Dough:
- Once the dough has rested, repeat the rolling and folding step twice to create more layers in the dough, called lamination.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and rest it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
At this point, the dough is ready for use, but it is possible to create more flaky layers by repeating the rolling and wallet fold step two more times.
Refrigerate and rest the dough for at least 1 hour after rolling and folding to relax the gluten, or the puff pastry will be tough when baked.
Tips for Success
- If the margarine or dough gets warm at any point during the process, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Keeping the vegan butter extremely cold keeps the layers intact.
- When ready to use, thaw the pastry dough in the fridge overnight if it was previously frozen or at room temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes until it is pliable enough to roll out.
- This recipe makes approximately 1 lb/500g of dough. This is roughly enough to make two 9-inch pie crust tops.
- It is not recommended to use puff pastry for the bottom layer of baked pies, as the heavier fillings could weigh down the crust and not allow the pastry to puff.
Storage
Wrap the puff pastry dough tightly in plastic wrap, or place it in a zip-top bag and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. The dough can also be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
FAQs
Can I use coconut oil instead of vegan butter?
Coconut oil melts or softens much easier than vegan butter. The fat remaining as cold as possible before cooking is essential to creating perfect layers in puff pastry. Coconut oil will not produce the desired results.
Stick-style vegan butter or margarine will make the best and most consistent results, as it has less water content than the spreadable type and will result in the flakiest layers.
What temperature is the best to bake puff pastry?
The temperature at which to bake puff pastry will vary by recipe, but it is generally best to bake puff pastry at a high temperature (400°F/200°C) for at least 10 minutes for the best results.
The higher temperature will allow the butter to melt quickly and release steam, creating the signature layers in puff pastry.
The pastry can fall flat at lower temperatures, resulting in a tough texture. Always preheat the oven, and avoid opening the door while the pastry is cooking.
Vegan Recipes with Puff Pastry
Sweet:
Savory:
Vegan Puff Pastry Recipe (with Video)
Equipment
- Grater
- Mixing bowls
- Rolling Pin
Baking Recipes: For more accuracy, use Metric measurements and measuring spoons.
Ingredients
- 5 oz (150 g) vegan butter or margarine (not unsalted), stick form NOT spreadable (frozen)
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3½ tbsp (50 g) vegan butter, softened
- ½ cup (130 ml) water, plus more if needed, lukewarm
Instructions
Prepare the vegan butter:
- Grab a box grater and using the largest side, shred the frozen vegan butter onto a plate. You can also use a food processor with a shredder attachment.5 oz (150 g) vegan butter or margarine (not unsalted)
- Place margarine shreds in the freezer while you make the dough.
Make the basic dough (détrempe):
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the softened vegan butter, mixing with a fork until it resembles breadcrumbs.2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour ,½ teaspoon salt ,3½ tbsp (50 g) vegan butter
- Gradually stir in the water and continue mixing until all the flour comes together.½ cup (130 ml) water
- Use your hands at this point to help form the dough. It will look dry at first but keep pressing the dough together until the bowl looks fairly clean. Only add more water if necessary.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and knead the dough with your hands, for about 2 to 3 minutes or until it is soft and smooth. Shape into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Layer in the margarine shreds:
- Roll out the dough into a rectangle about ¼ inch/6mm thick. Remove the vegan butter shreds from the freezer.
- Lightly dust your fingertips with flour and add half the shreds to the left two-thirds of the dough. Add the remaining butter shreds back into the freezer.
- Fold over one-third of the dough (the right side without any butter shreds). Next fold the left side, forming a wallet fold. Always brush away any excess flour while folding.
- Make a quarter turn with the dough and roll lengthwise into the shape of a rectangle about a ¼ inch/6mm thick. Add the remaining vegan butter shreds to two-thirds of the dough and repeat the wallet folding step.
- Seal the openings to keep the butter shreds from falling out of the dough then cover with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. It can also be left overnight.
Fold or Laminate the Dough:
- Once rested, repeat the rolling and folding step twice to create more layers in the dough. Then wrap the dough with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- At this point, the dough the ready for use. But if you’d like to create even more flaky layers, you can repeat the rolling and folding step two more times. The dough must be refrigerated (not frozen) for at least 1 hour after rolling and folding to relax the gluten or it will be tough when baked.
Full Recipe Video
Notes
- The times in the written recipe will vary from the times in the video since this is a more updated post but the technique remains the same.
- If the margarine or dough gets warm at any point during the process, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Wrap the puff pastry dough airtight in plastic wrap or place in a zip lock bag and store in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- When ready to use, thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes until it is pliable enough to roll out.
- Check the post for Step-by-Step Photos and FAQs. Feel free to ask any other questions!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on April 29, 2020, and updated in May 13, 2022.
This recipe is fantastic & easy to follow and the video is delightful. For reference I used Violife butter and had excellent results, i.e., awesome lamination.
Great job Stephanie! Those are some perfect layers!
Thank you for this recipe, it was very easy to follow! I used butter slabs (2) instead of shreds but it still worked. I made croissants with it and although not aesthetically pleasing, there are a lot of layers of puffs!
Wow that is a lot of layers! Well done Carrie!
These croissants were well worth the time and effort!! I followed the recipe exactly and they are mouth watering delicious. No one would know they are dairy free. They are definitely better right out of the oven but if you split and toast them the next day they still taste amazing!! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
They look perfect Helaine! Well done!
if you mind what brand vegan butter do you recommend
I tried violife not too good and Flora is discontinued or sold out
Earth Balance Sticks particularly salted
There are many types of butter what do you recommend
“SoyFree Buttery Stick or Vegan Buttery Sticks”
Hi Angella,
Most solid form of vegan butter would work well in the recipe. Vegan or dairy-free Earth balance sticks are a great choice. You can use either the soy-free or vegan buttery sticks.
love how this puff pastry turned out
Wow Bonnie! They look perfect! Great job!
Used this to make vegan vol au vents. Clear instructions yielded a perfect outcome. Thanks very much!
Great job Kat! Thanks so much!
The de trompe is easily made with oil instead of vegan butter. same amount by weight. i have even seen one puff pastry recipe that uses no fat in the detrompe — all the fat (plenty) is supplied in the rest of the recipe
Thanks for the tip!
I made this with brown rice flour and homemade vegan butter, making it all GF and vegan. Needed to double the water. Made a good vegan no-beef wellington with it and very pleased with the result. Pastry wasn’t that flaky because of my “swappings” but it’s good enough to pass for a light shortcrust.
That sounds like smthg I should try how do you do your butter yourself? And just rice flour may i have the amount of your ingridients pla ty
I never leave reviews but this puff pastry is so, so, so good. Don’t be scared. First time I’ve ever tried this kind of dough and it was so awesome. The video and recipe layout are perfect for novices. Laminated. Crispy. Crunchy. Browned perfectly. Insane. Used cut-offs to make chocolate croissants. Just wow.
Thank you so much for the feedback Ryan! I appreciate it!
Hi, I am sure this recipe works, for me it did not and am trying to figure out why and what to do differently next time. I followed your instructions, love how you also have a video and I followed it exactly. My butter seemed to be not as frozen as yours, maybe that was the reason it did not work for me, but my Wellington (that is what I used it for) did not turn out puffy at all. It sat, not sure if that translates but that is how we say it in German. It came out and was just a regular dough, nothing puffy about it. Just a very buttery dough. Not bad, but not puff pastry at all. Any feedback and help appreciated. Thanks
Hi Karoline,
Sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you. I’d like to help figure out what went wrong. Can you please share with me the exact brand of vegan butter or margarine you used?
Hi,
this is my first brush with puff pastry so my question may sound silly.
I wanted to know if I want to make puff pastry stuffed with pears then will I have to first prepare this plain puff pastry and then use it to stuff my fruit filling or do I have to stuff my filling while making the puff pastry itself?
Thanks
Hi Richa,
Definitely make the plain pastry first then stuff it with the fruit filling right before baking. If the dough starts to get warm at any point while filling, pause and place it in the freezer for 5 minutes or the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. The aim is to keep the butter in the pastry as cold as possible. Especially before baking. I hope this helps!
I’ve wanted to try to make rough puff forever, thanks to the great British bake off. But being vegan, I wasnt quite sure if the vegan butters would hold up. Let me tell you, this was amazing. Very light and fluffy. And buttery! My husband said it was super delicious and “way better than the store bought stuff you normally use.” Thank you for this recipe, it’s absolutely astounding
Thank you so much Lisa! So happy you and your husband enjoyed it.
First time making any kind of puff pastry and this was a dream! Worked out just perfectly for a King’s Cake. Flaky, buttery, delicious – and not too hard to make at all with the clear instructions and video. Thank you! Highly recommend this recipe.
Great to hear Katie! Thanks for giving it a try!
Wonderful! Perfect instructions and it worked out!!!
You made our Christmas dinner for two a little more magical. Much love to you!
Aww Thanks Katie! So glad it worked out. Happy Holidays!
Hi Jhanelle, just wondering if I could use this recipe to make Salmon Wellington or any Wellingtons. If so how big or how think I should cut it?
Hi Agnes, I haven’t made Wellington but others have with this pastry recipe and it worked out great. Sorry I’m unsure of how much to use for Wellington. This recipe makes about the same amount as a package of store-bought puff pastry sheets.
A package of puff pastry has 2 sheets that are 10” X 15” (25 cm X 38 cm) each and weighs a total of 1 lb (450g).
You can make 2 pastry sheets out of this dough recipe. I’d recommend double-checking to see how many sheets you may need for your Wellington recipe and adjust the dough recipe according. Please let me know how it turns out.
Best,
Jhanelle
The best video for a recipe I have ever seen. Without drawing things out you took the time to show the details. To give the viewer time to really see the steps and outcomes. Wonderful. Thank you!!
Thanks so much! I appreciate it.
Thank you!
I read all the instructions and it seems doable. Thank you! Also, happy that it’s a few ingredients. I plan to make it for some empanadas stuffed with my homemade cream cheese and store bought guava paste.
Thanks Rosie! Please let me know how it turns out. Guava is my favourite jam flavour!
This looks amazing! Would it be a good dough for chocolate croissants?
Thanks Angela! Croissants are made a bit differently. The dough has yeast added (to help it rise), which is layered with butter for the flakiness. If you use puff pastry to make croissants then the result would be more like a flaky cookie rather than a flaky bread. There are a few other tips to keep in mind so I’ll share this video for reference. I hope it helps.
Thanks for this recipe! I plan on making vegan Mille-feuille with the puff pastry.
Oh I’d love to see that when you’re done! Mille-feuille is one of my bucket list items to make! I’ve only tried it once and this was before I was vegan.
worked a treat for my apple tarte tartin. thank you 🙂
Nice! I’ve always wanted to make a tarte tatin. Such a lovely looking dessert! So happy it worked out for you Jonathan. Share photos too if you’d like. Thank you!
Just found this recipe, cannot wait to try it!
Thank Marissa! I hope you like it! Let me know if you have any questions.
Hi, I made this using a vegan cashew butter, but it was very salty, is there anything specific I should be looking out for when buying vegan butter? fat content etc. Thank you
Hi Victoria, nut butters aren’t recommended for use in puff pastry. Look for vegan buttery sticks (such as Earth Balance or similar) or margarine made from pure plant oils. Do not use margarine spreads (the ones in tubs) as the water content is too high which would make the dough much harder to work with. The spread would easily be squeezed out during rolling and folding. This can also happen if coconut oil is used. You’ll need a plant-based butter/margarine that would keep its shape if left out at room temperature.
This was a lovely recipe to follow. Unfortunately I only had tub margarine, and precisely as you’ve said, the butter squished out everywhere (my goodness was it a mess). Do you think there’s a way to salvage the dough? I did my best and it’s now resting overnight in the fridge.
Hi Heidi, so sorry that happened to you! I don’t think you’ll be able to save it at this point as the margarine needs to remain mostly solid in the dough to create the layers. Adding any more margarine could make the pastry greasy as well.
I made pastelitos (guava pastries) using this recipe, and they came out sooooo yummy! My only issue at points was that the butter would occasionally tear through as I rolled it out, but I floured and persevered.
Brushed with aquafaba and put a slice of guava paste between sheets of dough and baked for about 15 mins on 400. Thanks a lot 🙂
Thanks for trying it Serena! Guava is one of my favourite flavours too. The dough can be a little tricky to work with sometimes if it’s too cold. But if it butter rips through I’d just give the dough another fold, rest and then roll out again. But glad you made it work for you!
Can I use gluten free flour?
Hi Cherie, I haven’t tried this recipe using gluten-free flour as yet but I’m looking forward to it! Ensure that your gluten-free flour blend has xanthan gum in it to help hold the dough together. The gluten-free dough can be delicate so you may have to roll it out on something flexible like plastic wrap or parchment paper so it’s easier to lift and fold.
As I said I haven’t tried it yet but those would be my initial modifications based on working with gluten-free flour in the past. Please report back if you try it!
I forgot to rest the dough in the fridge after folding the first layer, and went straight into making the second layer. How will that affect the texture of my pastry?
Hi Jay,
Just give it a longer rest time before you’re ready to shape and bake it so that the gluten in the dough will have time to relax. If not the end result will be tough. I’ve done up to six folding steps before just to see how many layers I could get but the more the dough is worked, the more rest time it will need in between. Try to rest it after no more than 2 folding steps.
Hi Jhanelle,
I just found this recipe and wanted to try it for a vegan mushroom Wellington for Christmas dinner. Have you tried this with gluten-free flour yet? If so, please let me know how it turned out and if there was a certain brand you used.
Thank you!
Hi Tracy,
I didn’t have much success when I tried to make the recipe gluten-free. The result had a more crumbly, shortbread-like texture rather than flaky and most of the vegan butter leaked out of the pastry, possibly due to the lack of structure in gluten-free flour. I used a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend. I don’t remember the brand since it was a while ago, but if I had to guess, I would say Bob’s Red Mill (light blue package).