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For years, the only way you could get your grubby little hands on this cranberry puff pastry recipe was by enrolling in my annual vegan Thanksgiving program. It's been made and adored by tens of thousands of people, and in surveys, has been named the favorite recipe in that program, year after year!
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It's a quickie to make, and you can have impressive results with it even if you sorta suck at baking. With pre-made puff pastry and just a few easy-to-find ingredients (as long as you are within a month or so of Thanksgiving), you can whip up a tray of these without missing the next round of vegan eggnog or vegan Christmas cookies that's getting passed around the cypher like they are something illicit…
Regardless if you're hosting a vegan Friendsgiving and want to have the most popular thing there, or just need something reasonably edible to shove in your face while watching the Macy's corporate extravaganza thing they do every year (where humans bow down and pray to giant deities of Bart Simpson or whatever), this easy cranberry chestnut puff pastry is going to be your new holiday fave.
I'm here to express my love for this incredible recipe. I've made it every year since I signed up for Adam's Thanksgiving program awhile back, and it is ALWAYS a success, always devoured, and very popular. It's actually my favorite way to use puff pastry, and I always stock up on roast chestnuts at Trader Joe's each fall so that I can make this over and over during the season.I've served them at fancy meetings for work and to my closest family, and we all practically fight over the last one. Adam's note regarding NOT overfilling them is crucial to the finished look, so make sure to be intentional about that part. Splurge on the microgreens--you'll be glad you did!
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🥰Why you'll adore this cranberry chestnut puff pastry recipe
✊ Vegan AF: Like all my vegan Thanksgiving recipes, this ghosts all forms of animal products and leaves the moo crew on unread.
🥮 Easily Made Gluten-Free: Thanks to the availability of half-way decent frozen GF puff pastry sheets, these can join the ranks of your favey gluten-free vegan recipes you rock for the holidays.
🥶 Easy To Make Ahead: Want to knock your holiday prep out a week or two in advance? These can be packed and frozen for up to 3 months ahead of time and easily crisp back up without drying out.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, this one was tweaked to perfection with lots of feedback from hundreds of recipe testers.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🥐 Cranberry puff pastry ingredients
Vegan Cream Cheese
My fave store-bought one is Tofutti, but Kite Hill is pretty good too. Otherwise, you can make your own by following my easy, 4-ingredient vegan cream cheese recipe.
Roasted Chestnuts
Having spent years always roasting my own chestnuts either in the oven or wrapped in foil in the embers of our wood stove, you have no idea how grateful I am for the existence of pre-roasted shelled chestnuts in a bag. Vacuum-packed, or jarred pre-roasted chestnuts make holiday recipes like this one, my vegan stuffing, and roasted carrot lentil soup so much friggin' easier to pull off without hours of extra prep.
The Cranberries
Rough-chop them so they break down into a jammy crown while baking. Fresh or frozen ones can be used interchangeably in this recipe, as they do in my bourbon cranberry sauce and Turkish cranberry relish.
Brown Sugar
Brown sugar teams up with the cranberries to create sticky, caramel-spiced magic. You can use coconut sugar too if that's your jam.
The Spices
This recipe leans on a trio of powerhouse spices: ground cardamom, ground cloves, and ground coriander, and they work together like a perfectly chaotic holiday band.
My personal fave spices come from Burlap and Barrel, because they care so much about the growers of the spices. The owners are long-time Cinnamon Snail fans, and I really appreciate that they travel the world finding the most interesting varieties of every spice they offer.
Puff Pastry Dough
There are plenty of "accidentally vegan" frozen puff pastry dough out there. I recommend the one Pepperidge Farm makes, or you can use 365 (Whole Food's store brand) if you want to help one of the richest guys in the galaxy buy his next spaceship or whatever.
The main thing is you just want to thaw it until just pliable enough not to crack, but still cold, so it doesn't get melty and hard to form nicely. If it gets too soft while working with it, toss it back into the freezer for just a couple of minutes to firm up slightly. ⭐️This is especially important to keep in mind if you ever want to pull off a nicely decorated mushroom Wellington, BTW.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
📖 How to make vegan cranberry puff pastries
I see you scrolling past the photos like a hungry raccoon! No judgment. The printable card is at the bottom, but here's how to nail it:
Step One
Cream Cheese Rules Everything Around Me:
After the cream cheese has come to room temperature, mix it thoroughly with the chopped chestnuts, minced onion, Dijon mustard, and fresh parsley in a small bowl.
Step Two
Cran Theft Auto:
In a separate bowl, mix together the cranberries, brown sugar, ground cardamom, ground cloves, ground coriander, orange zest, olive oil, and salt.
✅ If you have a ton of leftover cranberries after making this recipe (since it doesn't use a whole bag), use 'em up by making this rustic cranberry galette recipe.
Step Three
Dough You Really Want to Hurt Me:
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease a muffin tin with olive oil. Lay a 10-inch sheet of puff pastry dough on a clean, dry work surface. If it's frozen, let it thaw just until it's pliable but still cool to the touch.
Slice the pastry into 12 equal squares by making 3 rows by 4 columns.
Step Four
Optional (but recommended) Pizzaz:
Use a ridged cutter to trim each square into a fluted circle if you want a really professional look with laughably-minimal effort.
Step Five
Muffin Tin Things I Hate About You:
Press each dough square (or circle) into the muffin tin cavities, gently pressing the edges up the sides.
Spoon about 1½ tablespoons of the cream cheese filling into each pastry shell.
Step Six
Chestnutflix and Chill:
Evenly divide the cranberry topping into each pastry, pressing down lightly to flatten.
Step Seven
Bake Me Up Before You Go-Go:
Bake at 375°F for 20-22 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and beginning to pull away from the pan edges. Let the pastries cool for 10 minutes. Use a butter knife or paring knife to loosen the edges, then lift each one out with a fork.
Step Eight
Micro Jackson:
Serve hot. Garnish with a few sprigs of micro-greens if desired.
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💡Serving Ideas
These cranberry puff pastries are right at home with a full-blown vegan holiday spread.
Serving 'em up in a basket during a soup course is a no-brainer. A few good autumnal options to ladle out into your guest's bowls are vegan butternut squash soup, roasted mushroom soup, and Thai pumpkin soup.
Serve them alongside maple balsamic roasted brussels sprouts and carrots, a mound of vegan mashed potatoes, or parsnip puree with tofu turkey, or vegan ham.
For the ultimate comfort food combo, plate them up next to vegan green bean casserole, vegan butternut squash macaroni and cheese, and a few slices of vegan turkey, dripping with onion gravy or mushroom gravy.
👉Top tips
- Don't Overfill: So that these stay neat and pretty, limit the amount of filling and topping to 2-3 tablespoons total per pastry to avoid overflow and longer baking times.
- Keep That Pastry Cold: Puff pastry needs to stay cool until the moment it hits the oven. If it gets too warm, you'll lose those magical layers of lamination. Cold dough = max puff. Just make sure it's not frozen so it doesn't crack as you press it into the muffin tins.
- Let Them Cool 10 Minutes: Don't rush it-those delicate pastries need a brief rest. Cooling helps them firm up and release easily from the muffin tin.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Pepperidge Farm, Aussie Bakery, 365, and some store brands make accidentally vegan puff pastry dough. Even our local supermarket chain ShopRite has a store brand that's vegan. Always check the label for butter.
Nope. If you're using frozen cranberries, just chop and toss them straight into the mix. They'll soften up while baking.
Absolutely. Try a thick cashew cheese or even mashed white beans like the kind I use under my roasted cauliflower steaks.
❄️ Refrigerating:
Store in a sealed container up to 3 days.
🧊 Freezing:
Freeze unbaked pastries on a tray, then transfer to a bag. Keep them for up to 3 months in the freezer. Bake from frozen.
🥵 Oven Reheating:
Warm at 350°F (175°C) for 5-10 minutes just to crisp them and bring them back to life. A couple minutes longer is alright if they are frozen.
🍁 You'll adore these vegan holiday recipes too:
Unlock a discounted bundle of classes that walk you through vegan Thanksgiving menus with detailed video instruction from Chef Adam Sobel.
Cranberry Puff Pastry
Equipment
- Fluted biscuit cutters (optional)
Ingredients
Filling:
- ½ cup vegan cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup roasted chestnuts finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons onion minced
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 Tablespoons parsley minced
Topping:
- ⅓ cup fresh or frozen cranberries rough chopped
- ¼ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
To Bake and Serve:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil to grease the pan
- 1 half-pound sheet of puff pastry dough a 10-inch square
- Micro-greens optional to garnish
Instructions
- After the cream cheese has come to room temperature, mix it together with the chopped chestnuts, minced onion, mustard, and parsley in a small bowl until thoroughly combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the cranberries, brown sugar, cardamom, cloves, coriander, orange zest, olive oil, and salt.
- Preheat oven to 375°F /190°C, and very lightly grease the inside of a muffin tin.
- Flatten a 10-inch sheet of puff pastry dough out on a clean, dry work surface, and allow it to thaw just until it is no longer hard and stiff (if you are working with frozen dough).
- Cut the puff pastry dough into 12 equally sized squares by cutting 3 rows of 4 columns.
- Optionally use a ridged cutter to turn each square into a fluted circle. This isn't mandatory, but make the parties look really professional, with very little skill or effort required.
- Press each portion of dough into each muffin tin cavity, slightly pressing the edges of the dough up the sides of the muffin tin.
- Place about a tablespoon and a half of the filling into each pastry shell.
- Evenly divide the topping into each pastry, pressing it down slightly to flatten the filling.
- Bake at 375°F for 20-22 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and starting to pull away from the edges of the pan.
- Allow the pastries to cool for 10 minutes. Using a butter knife or paring knife, go around the edges of each puff pastry to ensure it isn't stuck to the pan. Carefully lift each pastry out of the pan using a fork.
- Serve hot, and optionally, top each pastry with a few sprigs of micro-greens of your choice.
Notes
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Cathy says
Big hit at parties
Daisy says
I didn’t expect to like this flavor combination but I was pleasantly surprised! For the cream cheese I used strained soy cashew yogurt because it’s what I had. Absolutely delicious and they are very elegant looking!
Tim says
If you are testing or practicing this recipe for Thanksgiving, make a half batch or maybe a third. You will likely eat everything you make.
This is another amazing Adam Sobel recipe that leaves me at a loss for words. Why does it taste the way it does? Sweet, tart, savory, and whatever cardamom is... and something else. What IS that? Anyway it's wonderful and these are DEFINITELY on the menu for Thursday.
Gluten free puff pastry (Sweet Loren's brand) worked fine.
Kelly says
My practice run before Thanksgiving and the little puff pastries turned out absolutely delish! If you love the sweet/savory flavor with a flakey pastry bottom you gotta make these!
Jennifer Washington says
Tarts were easier to make than I anticipated👏. Delivers on taste for sure. Certainly fancy and impressive🎩
Paige Davis says
I'm here to express my love for this incredible recipe. I've made it every year since I signed up for Adam's Thanksgiving program awhile back, and it is ALWAYS a success, always devoured, and very popular. It's actually my favorite way to use puff pastry, and I always stock up on roast chestnuts at Trader Joe's each fall so that I can make this over and over during the season.I've served them at fancy meetings for work and to my closest family, and we all practically fight over the last one. Adam's note regarding NOT overfilling them is crucial to the finished look, so make sure to be intentional about that part. Splurge on the microgreens--you'll be glad you did!