These Sweet and Savory Puff Pastry Recipes Look Super Expensive But Are Actually Budget-Friendly

Parade,Melissa Sperka

October 6, 2022 at 1:03 PM·10 min read

Frozen puff pastry is a spectacular ingredient to use in puff pastry recipes ranging from appetizers to desserts—and everything in between. It's an ingredient commonly used by chefs who buy prepared puff pastry for use in restaurants and catering. And for the home cook, it's a no-brainer to utilize this buttery flaky pastry in your own kitchen.

With puff pastry, you can make anything from an impressive Puff Pastry Antipasto Stromboli and savory salmon, to crunchy cheese snacks, savory sausage rolls, Pastelitos de Guayaba and more. Read on for what you need to know about this frozen shortcut, and then browse this collection of sweet and savory puff pastry recipes. They’ll inspire you to serve five-star dishes at your own kitchen table.

Where to buy puff pastry

Puff pastry is in the frozen food aisles of the grocery store. You can usually find it near frozen desserts, or sometimes by frozen bread.

Is phyllo dough the same as puff pastry?

Though you find both in the freezer aisle, phyllo dough and puff pastry are pretty different—enough that you don’t want to use phyllo dough for your puff pastry recipes.

Phyllo

This dough is composed of paper-thin sheets that crisp up when you bake them. There’s hardly any fat in the dough, so you’ll likely have to brush it with butter before you use it.

Puff

Puff pastry is about as thick as pie dough and has quite a bit of fat in it. The dough is laminated, meaning it’s a lot of alternating layers of dough and butter. When you bake it, the dough puffs up, creating a multi-layered flaky pastry.

Is puff pastry vegan?

Traditional puff pastry is made with butter—and a lot of it. So generally, it’s not vegan. But vegan substitutes are available, and you can check the ingredients list of the puff pastry in the freezer aisle. Some companies may swap out ingredients to make the dough more shelf-stable.

If you want to make vegan puff pastry at home, try using a vegan butter substitute or firmed-up coconut oil.

How to thaw puff pastry

Thaw puff pastry either in your refrigerator or at room temperature. It works best when it stays cold, so only let it sit out on the counter for about 30 minutes—just until it’s newly thawed. If you have a warm kitchen, leave it in the fridge until it thaws.

Is puff pastry gluten-free?

Puff pastry is not gluten-free. Flour is a major ingredient, which contains gluten because it is generally made from wheat. It’s possible to make gluten-free puff pastry recipes, though—you just need to either find a gluten-free brand (don’t worry, plenty exist) or make your own with an all-purpose flour alternative, like rice flour.

Can you refreeze puff pastry?

Depending on your puff pastry recipe, you’re not always going to use the entire package of dough. You can store it in the fridge for a few days, but if you aren’t going to get back to it, just pop the dough back in the freezer. It should work just fine when you decide to thaw it and bake it again.