Guys, I'm going to let you in on a shocking secret. I'm not a huge fan of mince pies. (No, not the ones made with meat, the traditional sweet mince pies served at Christmas here in the UK) .
I know right. SHOCKING! The thing is, the ratio of clunky pastry to filling is usually disappointing. I do quite like the spiced, fruity Christmassy filling, however, so I thought, why not create something I DO like with the filling instead? So behold, I present to you the Vegan Mince Pie Baklava, which is only 6 ingredients and pretty quick to make.
This is my take on the traditional mince pie, but with a lovely, buttery flakey pastry that's doused in orange-scented syrup. These scrummy little mouthfuls are perfect to share around over Christmas. If you love dessert, especially at Christmas, then check out these other 30 Awesome Vegan Christmas Desserts.
🥧Ingredients
These are your super simple ingredients for this amazing vegan mince pie baklava.
Filo Pastry - aka my favourite pastry to use! It's always vegan, easy to work with and comes in handy dandy 12-16 sheet packs that tuck away in the fridge or freezer.
Mince Pie Filling - You could make your own with fruit & brandy, but I buy mine. It's just as good and less of a faff. Available in pretty much all supermarkets in the UK around Christmas. Just make sure it's vegan, like this one.
Mixed Nuts - I've used different combos at different times while testing this recipe. Use what you have around. Some walnuts are nice, but you can use macadamia, cashews, pecans, almonds... whatever you have. Even seeds, especially for people allergic to nuts.
Vegan Butter - my absolute favourite brand is Naturali, but use any vegan spread/butter that melts well and tastes good.
Maple Syrup - You could also use agave syrup, or even brown sugar that has been melted with a little water, but I like the depth of flavour that maple syrup brings to the party.
One Orange - you use the zest in with the nuts. The juice is used to make the syrup that you drizzle over afterwards.
👩🏽🍳How-To
Here's a simple how-to for these lovely vegan mince pie baklava.
- Gentle toast your nuts in a frying pan for a few minutes until fragrant (don't let them burn!).
- Roughly grind the nuts in food processor. Mix in the orange zest and half the maple syrup.
- Slick butter in the bottom of the tin, then add a layer of filo pastry. Slick butter on that, and add another layer. Do this for 4 layers, with the edges of the pastry hanging over the tin.
- Put the nut mixture on top and smooth down.
5. Then smooth over your mince meat on top of the nuts.
6. Fold over the pieces of pastry.
7. Cut the rest of the filo so it fits the vegan mince pie tin. Layer the filo in to the tin, slicking each with butter as you go.
8. Cut up the pie so each piece is easy to take out once it's cooked. For pretty diamond shapes, cut 3 cm strips lengthways. Then carefully cut 3cm stripes on the diagonal. It took me a few goes to get it right, so it's worth thinking about it before committing a knife to pastry. Be sure to cut all the way through to the bottom layer so it's easy to serve the pieces once out of the oven.
Once your Vegan Mince Pie baklava is out of the oven, you need to quickly pour over the orange juice syrup mix down the cut lines. This ensures you have a crispy top, and lovely flakey layers that are oozing with syrup. Delicious!
❓FAQs
Some questions we're often asked about these yummy vegan mince pie baklava.
While it's not traditionally nut free, you could leave out the nut layer. You could also use seeds instead of nuts.
Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.
Yes, they freeze well. You could make a double batch and freeze half of them.
🍽️Other recipes
If you like this simple 6 ingredient, Vegan Mince Pie Baklava Recipe, you might like some of these other festive recipes we have created!
Granny's Famous Rum Balls made Vegan!
Chestnut, Mushroom & Squash Christmas Filo Wreath Pie
Greek-ish Greens Filo Pie (Spanakopita Veganised)
Vegan Christmas Tempeh & Sausage & Stuffing Balls
📖 Recipe
6 Ingredient Mince Pie Baklava
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 250 g filo pastry (1 pack. Most packs contain between 12-18 sheets. You'll need approx 12 sheets)
- 150 g (⅔ cup) vegan butter (or vegan spread)
- 200 g (1 cup) vegan fruit mince (about half a standard jar)
- 200 g (1½ cups) unsalted walnuts (and/or other nuts)
- 1 orange (zested and juiced)
- 160 ml (⅔ cup) maple syrup (Half for the nuts, half for the syrup to pour over later)
Instructions
- Set your oven to 180°C / 350° / Gas Mark 4.
- Roast the nuts in a pan until fragrant.
- Roughly chop the nuts into a rubble with a food processor.
- Mix half of the maple syrup and the zest of the orange into the nuts.
- Melt the vegan butter/spread.
- Slick the bottom of a baking tin with melted vegan butter/spread. A pastry brush works well for this.
- Working quickly, lay out a layer of filo pastry in the tin, and brush butter over it. The edges of the filo pastry will hang over the tin.
- Lay another layer of filo on top, brush with butter. Do this with 4 layers of filo pastry.
- Now smooth out the nut mixture over the filo so it is evenly spread across the whole tin.
- Now layer on the fruit mince, spreading it out thinly.
- Fold in the sides of the pastry that are hanging off the edge of the tin over the nut & mince layer.
- Take the rest of your sheets of filo pastry, and cut them to fit the tin. You can cut them all at once.
- Take your cut pastry and add a sheet to the tin. Then spread melted butter over it.
- Repeat with the rest of the sheets of filo, and slick one last bit of butter over the final piece of filo pastry.
- Cut the pie into lengths and then into diagonals. Make sure you cut all the way through to the bottom of the tray so it's easier to take the pieces out later!
- Put the baklava into the oven & bake for about 25-30 minutes. This might take a little longer depending on your oven. It is ready when the top is golden brown and flakey looking!
For the syrup
- Juice the orange and add the other half of the maple syrup. Mix well.
- As soon as you remove the baklava from the oven, pour the syrup into all the cuts you made in the baklava earlier. This creates a yummy crunchy top and a lush syrupy interior!
Deb says
I HAVE to try this!! I am in Cairo atm and missing home but this marries the 2 places brilliantly. Thankyou 😍
Sending to my vegan daughter too.
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
It's such an easy recipe, and makes the house smell amazing too! Hope you like the recipe when you make it! x
Lindsay says
Made this as a Christmas gift for a friend (though had to make one for me too 😁).
So easy to make and tastes divine ❤
My friend absolutely loved it , as did we👍🌱
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
I'm so happy you liked the recipe! It's so lovely that you made one for your friend too, I really hope they like it xx