On Tuesday, I posted about an incredible vegan baklava we made for my class’ brunch presentation, and several of you asked for the recipe. Since good baklava is one of the best things on earth and reliable vegan recipes can be hard to find, I decided to share all the goodness with everyone!

Vegan Baklava

From the Natural Gourmet Institute

Yields: about 64 pieces

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb pistachio nuts
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 lb coconut oil, melted
  • 1 lb vegan phyllo dough (such as Fillo Factory)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup rice syrup
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
Procedure:
  1. Preheat oven to 300*F.
  2. Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until well chopped. Combine the nuts and cinnamon, then set aside.
  3. On a half-sheet pan (13×18 jelly roll pan) lined with parchment paper, use the coconut oil and a pastry brush to individually oil and layer 6 sheets of phyllo. Cover unused phyllo stack with a wet towel while working so it doesn’t dry out.
  4. Spread a generous portion of the nut mixture on top of the phyllo, then add another sheet, oil and repeat the nut sprinkling. Repeat this process until you’ve used all the nuts and all but 6 of the phyllo sheets.
  5. Top the last nut layer with 6 more layers of oil-brushed phyllo.
  6. Use a sharp paring knife to trim the overhanging phyllo dough from the sides of the pan, if necessary.
  7. Cut baklava into eight columns widthwise, then four columns lengthwise. Cut each rectangle on a diagonal.
  8. Bake baklava for about an hour at 300*F. (Do NOT use a convection oven, or the fans will blow the phyllo apart.) Check it frequently- the top should be golden brown when done.
  9. While baklava bakes, bring the water, syrups, cinnamon stick and lemon to a simmer. Cook uncovered on low heat until the syrup has reduced to a thick consistency, but not so much that it hardens when drizzled onto a cool plate.
  10. Once phyllo is done, remove it from the oven and immediately pour the hot syrup over it. Let sit at least 30 minutes before serving.

Baklava is one of those things that seems a lot harder than it is. It may be time intensive, but the finished product is always beautiful and delicious- and this recipe was no exception. I’ve never eaten a pistachio baklava, and it created a little bit of a twist on the classic. Plus, the maple and rice syrups combined work so well that you don’t even miss the honey!

Have you ever experimented with creating a vegan version of a favorite recipe? How did it turn out?