Lentil Stuffed Puff Pastry Squares!
It’s that time of year again and it’s so hard to believe. The summer totally flew by, doesn’t it always? I miss it already. Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite holiday. It’s all about family and food, with zero stress of gifts or money. Just the best. This vegan Thanksgiving meal is going to straight-up blow your socks off. It’s SO easy, SO yummy, and SO thanksgiving-ish.
Whether this is your first Thanksgiving as a vegan or you’re 10th Thanksgiving as a vegan, this meal NEEDS to be on your table. To tell you the truth this was on a whim, saw a picture in a magazine and wanted to try to replicate on my own with what I had. (Always a toss-up idea, right?)
Puff pastry is our best friend in this case. While this was cooking the first time I was laughing thinking maybe the puff pastry would actually swell so much it would take over my oven! I said maybe I should have used crescent rolls instead?! I got nervous – BUT the end result was solid Thanksgiving day MAGIC.
Funny background – I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed a couple weeks ago, recovery wasn’t fun and by the first week I was so sick of soup and soft mushy foods and craved something full of protein. I knew I had lentils and I saw the picture of this cute little “pocket” stuffed with this lentil mixture in a magazine and I wanted to try to recreate it. I figured puff pastry was soft, and lentils are always a great soft food option.
And while I was digging through my cabinets I found a BOX (I know…I know) of stuffing! Psyched! I said – we’re havin’ Thanksgiving early!!
Recipe 1: Lentil Stuffed Puff Pastry Squares
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups dry brown lentils
- 1 cup diced celery
- 3 cups liquid (water or veggie broth-we used broth)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 tsp FRESH chopped thyme
- 1/3 (heaping) cup of breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 vegan flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
- couple dashes of paprika
- couple dashes of salt
- 1-2 packages of puff pastry depending on how much you want to make!
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375
- Take your puff pastry out of the freezer to let it thaw and become moldable. (I just left mine by the stove – not ON the stove – just near it)
- Cook your lentils! Combine lentils with liquid in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20-25 minutes
- Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add your olive oil, all the diced veggies, thyme, and salt and pepper. Cook until veggies cook through. About 10-13 minutes!
- Add all cooked veggies to a food processor and mince them. I turned mine on for about 50 seconds and all was mixed. If you have to scrape the sides down make sure you shut off the processor first! Safety first homies.
Creating Your Vegan Thanksgiving Pockets!
- Once lentils are done cooking, add those to the food processor as well and pulse a few more times. You want some of the lentils whole here.
- Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add in the flax egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, paprika, salt and pepper and stir until combined.
- Roll out your puff pastry sheet. I scooped heaping spoonfuls of the lentil mixture into the middle of the pastry sheet and spread it around until it was about a 1/2 thick. Fold all four corners towards the middle (its okay to see lentil mixture, you don’t have to cover it fully) and make your puff pastry pockets.
- I baked mine for about 20-25 minutes and they were PERFECT. Allow them to cool for a little bit before serving!
- **Pro Vegan Tip** Serve with vegan gravy (we have used this gravy recipe for the last two years many times within the year and LITERALLY all you need is an onion for the main ingredient! Easiest vegan gravy we’ve ever found), STUFFING DUH, and some roasted brussels sprouts. Vegan Thanksgiving is served!
- I cut each square into smaller squares to serve them (as pictured) because I soon realized I can’t eat an entire puff pastry square by myself!
- Serve with stuffing, gravy, and some roasted veggies. For a total vegan Thanksgiving carb coma, serve with our famous vegan mac and cheese!
