Puff pastry (also known as pâte feuilletée) is a light and flaky pastry which can be used to make sweet and savoury foods including sausage rolls, pies and strudels.
You can make your own puff pastry or use store-bought ready-rolled puff pastry in your recipes. But is puff pastry vegan or does it contain dairy and eggs?
Read on for everything that vegans need to know about puff pastry then check out these vegan puff pastry recipes.
Is puff pastry vegan?
Traditionally, homemade puff pastry would contain butter. However, almost all ready-rolled puff pastry is suitable for vegans as it doesn’t contain any animal-derived ingredients. When eating out, you’ll need to check with the restaurant whether their puff pastry recipe is suitable for vegans or not.
What is puff pastry made of?
Puff pastry typically contains three ingredients – flour, butter and salt. However, shop-bought puff pastry rarely contains butter, instead, it may have margarine or vegetable oil. Ready-made puff pastry may also contain lemon juice, yeast, alcohol, colours, vitamins and preservatives.
Does puff pastry have egg in it?
Puff pastry generally doesn’t contain egg. However, sometimes puff pastry may be brushed with egg as a glaze before baking. Always read the ingredients or ask restauarnt staff to be sure that the puff-pastry is egg-free.
How to make vegan puff pastry
Vegan puff pastry is fairly easy to make from scratch with flour, water and a vegan butter such as Flora Plant Butter. This video shows you the best technique to use…
Is Jus Rol puff pastry vegan?
There are several different kinds of chilled and frozen Jul Rol puff pastry. These are all suitable for vegans except for the Jus Rol ‘All Butter’ Puff Pastry Sheet which contains real dairy butter.
The following types of Jus Rol puff pastry are suitable for vegans:
- Chilled Puff Pastry Sheet
- Chilled Gluten Free Puff Pastry Sheet
- Frozen Puff Pastry Sheet
- Frozen Puff Pastry Block
- Frozen Puff Pastry Cases
- Frozen Puff Squares
Jus Rol puff pastry contains palm oil. Many vegans choose to avoid palm oil that has been produced in an unsustainable way because of its impact on the environment, workers and communities
The Jus Rol brand is owned by General Mills, a company which sources 100% of its palm oil from responsible sources [source]. Therefore, the use of palm oil is not a reason for vegans to avoid Jus Rol puff pastry.
Where to buy vegan puff pastry in the UK
These brands of puff pastry are all vegan-friendly:
- Asda Ready Rolled Puff Pastry
- Asda Ready Rolled Light Puff Pastry
- Morrisons Puff Pastry Sheet
- Morrisons Light Puff Pastry Sheet
- Sainsbury’s Ready Rolled Puff Pastry
- Sainsbury’s Block Puff Pastry
- Tesco Ready Rolled Puff Pastry
- Tesco Ready Rolled Light Puff Pastry
- Tesco Puff Pastry
Many of these puff pastry sheets and blocks contain palm oil. However, all of the major UK supermarkets ensure that the palm oil used in their own brand products is from sustainable sources so that it doesn’t have the same impact on the environment.
Suggested read: The best supermarkets for vegan food
Where to buy vegan gluten-free puff pastry in the UK
These are the options for vegan gluten-free puff pastry:
- Asda Free From Ready Rolled Puff Pastry
- Jus Rol Gluten Free Puff Pastry Sheet
Vegans should not that Genius gluten free puff pastry is not suitable for vegans as it contains egg.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to make vegan recipes using puff pastry at home, then ready-rolled pastry is a good option as it’s cheap, easy and almost always accidentally vegan.
If you’re eating out and ordering a puff pastry dish, then you shouldn’t assume that the puff pastry will be vegan as it may contain butter or be glazed with egg.