Vegan Baklava

Baklava is a tempting Middle Eastern dessert. Delicate layers of golden filo pastry sandwich a nutty filling and it’s all drenched in a delicious sugar syrup. this vegan baklava There is all that charm and then some!

Who doesn’t love baklava? This delicious pastry has it all: it’s crispy, juicy, sweet and has delicious nuts. It is so beloved that it has countries, notably Greece and Turkey, fighting to claim its origin.

To me, one of the best things about baklava, besides that subtle deliciousness, is the ease of making it vegetarian — and making it.

Yes, you read that right. This is a really easy recipe, especially if you have some experience handling filo pastry dough. And it takes barely minutes to assemble. In fact, the first vegan dessert I shared on the blog was in 2007, and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to update it.

The only reason this recipe can be daunting for a beginner cook is the difficulty in handling the filo pastry sheets, which are paper-thin and tear easily. But filo can also be very forgiving because you’re stacking many sheets on top of each other, and a tear or two won’t break your recipe.

Another caveat is that you have to work quickly with filo sheets, which tend to dry out after taking them out of the packet. Keep these two tips in mind and you’re on your way to making an amazing baklava – amazing for those lucky enough to eat it!

Why you will love this recipe

delicious. Cardamom and rose water make this delicious dessert even more enticing. No gastronomic experience comes close to biting into the crisp yet juicy puff pastry layers and nutty filling.
simple. The prep for this vegan baklava recipe is simple–whirl the nuts in a food processor and roll out sheets of store-bought phyllo dough. After that it’s really just about layering the pastry sheets on a baking pan and brushing them with vegan butter or olive oil.
Everyone will love it. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love baklava and I can’t imagine anyone who doesn’t. This is an especially kid-friendly dessert.

Three slices of vegan baklava stacked on a white plate.

material

nuts. You can use any nut of your choice here. I used walnuts and chopped almonds this time, but I’ve also used pistachios and pecans in the past and they’re all great in this vegan baklava.
sugar. Use any granulated sugar of your choice. You’ll need a little more for the almond filling and more for the sugar syrup. Honey is often used in baklava in the Middle East, and you could use maple syrup or agave nectar, but I think that would be a bit of a waste in this recipe where you want the cardamom and rose water to shine.
spices: Cinnamon is more common in baklava recipes but I love, love, love it cardamom In my baklava–it adds an amazing aroma and flavor to this already delicious recipe. I also add something nutmeg And ground cloves. You can keep it simple and just use cardamom. or use Ground cinnamon.
phyllo pastry sheet (Also called filo pastry or filo dough). You can make your own filo pastry but it’s a long and difficult process and why bother when you can easily buy vegan filo pastry from most supermarket shelves?
Vegan butter or extra virgin olive oil. Although most baklava recipes out there use butter, there are types of baklava made in Middle Eastern countries that use only olive oil and are naturally dairy-free. I make baklava with vegan butter or olive oil and this time I used melted vegan butter.
lemon juice. It cuts through the intense sweetness a bit so don’t skip it. You can also add lemon zest to the syrup.
rose water (optional). Adding a dash of rose water to the sugar syrup adds some extra oomph and aroma to this dessert. You can skip it.

Variations for special diets

Nut-free. Use pumpkin seeds and/or watermelon seeds for the filling and chop them in a food processor, as you would nuts. You can also add dried fruits like dates and apricots to the filling.
gluten free. You can buy gluten-free filo pastry sheets made with rice starch and rice flour in many US supermarkets.
sugar free. Make sugar syrup with stevia. If using a cup-by-cup replacer like stevia in the raw, you can replace the sugar with the same amount of stevia. If using other types of stevia follow package instructions for proper substitution amounts.

Helpful Tips

Cover the filo pastry sheets with a damp kitchen towel once they are out of the package. Cover as you layer the remaining sheets. This will prevent the filo from drying out and tearing.
Carefully lift the sheets by their edges to prevent tears. But if the phyllo tears while lifting, don’t panic. Layer it as well as possible, brush with oil or butter and layer on the next sheet.
Make sure you pour the sugar syrup evenly over the baked baklava, taking care to cover all corners and the center. Allow to cool thoroughly before eating.

Storage instructions

Keep in fridge: Store baklava in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
freeze: Store baklava in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four months. Thaw before eating.

More delicious vegan dessert recipes

Vegan Baklava in a Baking Pan with Almonds and Rose Petals.

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Baklava is a tempting Middle Eastern dessert. Delicate layers of golden filo pastry sandwich a nutty filling and it’s all drenched in a delicious sugar syrup. This vegan baklava has all that goodness and then some!

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Recipe review

Course: dessert

Recipe: middle east

Diet: Vegan, vegetarian

Total time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Serving: 42 square (approx.)

Calories: 127kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Cook modePrevent your screen from going dark

instructions

Place almonds and pulses in a food processor until finely chopped but not pulverized. Add sugar and spices and pulse a few more times to mix.
Brush the bottom and sides of a 12 x 9 inch baking pan with vegetable butter or olive oil. Carefully layer a filo pastry sheet in the bottom of the baking pan and brush with butter. Continue layering and brushing with vegan butter or oil until you’ve used a third of the sheet. (A package of phyllo pastry usually yields 21 9′ X 24′ sheets, so you’ll have about 14 half-sheets per layer.)
Layer half of the almonds on top of the last layer of filo. Continue layering 14 more sheets, brushing each layer with butter. Sprinkle the rest of the almonds evenly over the top.
Layer on last third of filo sheet, brush each with vegan butter or oil. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut diamond shapes into the layered baklava, cutting all the way down. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 50 minutes.
About 25 minutes before the baklava is ready, place the sugar syrup ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Bring the syrup to a boil over low heat and let it cook for 20 minutes.
As the baklava comes out of the oven, pour the hot sugar syrup evenly over it. If you hand-pound the spices, like I did, you can use a strainer to strain them out – they’ve already added all their flavor to the syrup.
After pouring the syrup over the baklava, you can optionally top it with more almonds and rose petals for a prettier look. Allow the baklava to cool to room temperature, then run the knife one more time along the cuts you made earlier and carefully remove each piece.
Immediately after pouring the syrup over the baklava, you can optionally top with more almonds and rose petals for a prettier look.

Recipe notes

Helpful Tips

Cover the filo pastry sheets with a damp kitchen towel once they are out of the package. Cover as you layer the remaining sheets. This will prevent the filo from drying out and tearing.
Carefully lift the sheets by their edges to prevent tears. But if the phyllo tears while lifting, don’t panic. Layer it as well as possible, brush with oil or butter and layer on the next sheet.
Make sure you pour the sugar syrup evenly over the baked baklava, taking care to cover all corners and the center. Allow to cool thoroughly before eating.

Variations for special diets

Nut-free. Use pumpkin seeds and/or watermelon seeds for the filling and chop them in a food processor, as you would nuts. You can also add dried fruits like dates and apricots to the filling.
gluten free. You can buy gluten-free filo pastry sheets made with rice starch and rice flour in many US supermarkets.
sugar free. Make sugar syrup with stevia. If using a cup-by-cup replacer like stevia in the raw, you can replace the sugar with the same amount of stevia. If using other types of stevia follow package instructions for proper substitution amounts.

Storage instructions

Keep in fridge: Store baklava in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
freeze: Store baklava in an airtight container and freeze for up to four months. Thaw before eating.

nutrition

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