A flaky, savory-sweet Cuban pastry filled with plant-based picadillo. Our vegan take on the deliciously addictive Cuban pastelitos we grew up enjoying in Miami.
We grew up eating these flaky Cuban pastries from bakeries, cafes, and little neighborhood spots around the city. They're the kind of food that can be breakfast, a snack, something you grab on the way home, or a little treat to bring to a gathering.
This is our plant-based version of pastelito de carne, also known as cangrejitos. You can find our recipe for guava and cheese filled ones here!
The steps are simple, we fill puff pastry with a quick vegan picadillo, bake it until golden, then brush the tops with a little simple syrup for that sweet glossy finish. And because we're not interested in making things harder than they need to be, we use store bought vegan pastry dough.
They're also a great excuse to make a batch of our Cuban Picadillo, and give the leftovers a second life in this recipe.
Start with Picadillo
These little pastries don't need much filling. A tablespoon or so of picadillo is enough to give you that savory center without making the pastry difficult to seal.
They're especially good for using up leftovers. If you made our Cuban Picadillo yesterday, save a little for these.
We Don't Make the Dough
As some of you might know, we aren't big on making dough from scratch, especially for sweet treats we don't commonly eat. For us, we keep these little indulgences to a minimum, and treat ourselves to the nostalgia of these on very rare occasions. Fortunately, we happen to have found an affordable pastry dough that's vegan at Walmart!
How to Make Vegan Pastelitos de Carne
Don't Throw Away the Scraps!
You know those odd shaped pieces of pastry dough left over after cutting your circles? Don't throw them away.
Coat them in a little oil, bake until golden, and dust them with some powdered sugar. You can dip these in an easy Chocolate Tahini, or coat them in spices such as cinnamon. Use whatever you enjoy! This isn't really a recipe here, just a reminder that scraps can be enjoyed too!
Want More Cuban Comfort Food?
Ingredients
- 1 pack vegan pastry dough
- oil for baking
Simple Syrup
- 2 Tbsp organic white sugar
- 2 Tbsp water
Vegan Picadillo Filling (with less ingredients)
- 1 cup gardein ground be'f or other vegan options
- ½ Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ⅓ cup tomato sauce
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil on medium-high. Toss in the ground be'f, and cook until it de-freezes a bit (if cooking from a frozen package).
- Add in the other spices and ingredients. Cook for a few minutes to allow the vegan meat to absorb the flavors.
- Preheat the oven according to pastry package directions.
- Lay out the dough on a sheet pan and use a cookie cutter or cup to cut out circles (if you want to use that shape).
- Separating half of the dough you cut, use a spoon to scoop up the vegan be'f and fill the center. Make sure to leave about ½ inch border.
- Top the circles with the remaining pieces and gently press the border to seal.
- Brush a bit of olive oil on top and bake.
- Combine equal parts boiling water and sugar to make a simple syrup. You can microwave it for a few seconds at a time, mixing in between until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Once the pastries are out of the oven, top with the simple syrup mixture and enjoy!
Notes
