This vegan Apple Strudel is a classic traditional Austrian dessert. You'll only need 3 ingredients to make it. The combination of puff pastry and juicy apple filling is so good and the perfect weekend treat!
Now if you think this dessert tastes bland because it uses only three ingredients- you're wrong! It's perfectly sweet from the apples and a bit savory from the pastry dough. It's probably my favorite dessert ever!
It's exactly how my mother made it for me when I was little (and she still does when I come to visit). Its deliciousness comes from its simplicity.
Some people may add raisins, additional sugar, or almond slices... but I think this just distracts from the delicious taste of the apples.
Vegan Puff Pastry
Depending on where you live, vegan puff pastry might not be the easiest ingredient to get. Here in Austria, we are lucky that most of the puff pastries are accidentally vegan - some brands even embrace it and include the vegan label on the packaging, which makes it even easier to spot the vegan ones.
In the US, Pepperidge Farm's puff pastry dough should be vegan. I'd always recommend checking the ingredients though - just to be sure.
Sweetness
I didn't add any additional sweeteners to the filling - just the apples and cinnamon. So definitely use red, sweet apples, like Pink Lady, Red Delicious or Royal Gala. If you want it sweeter, you can add a little bit of sugar to the apples slices.
How To Make Vegan Apple Strudel
As always you will find the whole recipe with measurements in the box below but I want to give you an overview of the key ingredients, variations, and the process with step-by-step photos first.
The Ingredients
You will need:
- Puff Pastry - Make sure it's vegan. Oftentimes the cheapest puff pastries are accidentally vegan. I'm using refrigerated puff pastry with the following dimensions: 16x9 inches or 42x24 cm. In the US: Pepperidge Farm's puff pastry dough should be vegan (but check the ingredients to make sure!).
- Apples: The sweeter the apple, the sweeter the apple strudel. I actually used two different kinds of apples and it turned out perfect. So just use the apples that you like, as long as they are sweet. Sour or tart apples wouldn't really be a good fit for this recipe.
- Cinnamon powder
You can add powdered sugar on top, but that is completely optional. For the first time in my life, I made powdered sugar out of granulated sugar by blending it, and it was so quick and worked perfectly well. So that I will never buy powdered sugar again. My mind is blown.
The Basic Steps
The Apple Strudel is really easy to make.
More Vegan Apple Recipes
- Vegan Apple Fritter Rings
- Apple Roses (Vegan, 5 ingredients only)
- Vegan Applesauce Pancakes
- Stewed Apples
- Vegan Apple Pie Pancakes
Love it? Rate it!
I hope you enjoy this easy vegan Apple Strudel as much as I do! Let me know if you give it a try!
If you don’t want to miss out on any new recipes, subscribe to my newsletter, follow me on Instagram and Facebook!
Cheers, Bianca
Vegan Apple Strudel
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 package vegan puff pastry dough*
- 2 red, sweet apples e.g. Pink Lady, Red Delicious or Royal Gala
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- powdered sugar for dusting the top (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. And take the vegan pastry dough out of the fridge to thaw.
- Remove the apple core, e.g. with an apple corer.
- Slice the apples with a mandoline slicer or a knife. Add the cinnamon.
- Give the apples and cinnamon a good mix. Don't worry about the apple slices breaking.
- Place the apple filling onto the upper part of the puff pastry but leave out the edges.
- Fold the lower part of the puff pastry over the apple filling and close the edges.
- Bake the apple strudel in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Until golden on top.
- Let it cool off or eat it warm. Either way, it's delicious. You can dust it with powdered sugar.
Jette says
I love that you post traditional recipes from Austria, this way you help other vegans try different country cuisines :)
bianca says
Thank you, Jette, for your lovely comment! I really like sharing veganized versions of typical austrian dishes because that's how I grew up and what I am still eating besides all the other delicious highlights from other cuisines.
Jette says
Tried the recipe, unfortunately 2 tablespoons of cinnamon was WAY too much :(
bianca says
oh no! I'm so sorry it didn't work out. I'm pretty much a cinnamon tiger so maybe that's it or it was too concentrated on some parts of the strudel?
Jette says
Are you sure its not 2 teaspoons instead of 2 tablespoons? My apple slices looked a lot darker :D
bianca says
That must be it! Thank you so much Jette for telling me. I've fixed it in the recipe. So sorry about the mistake ._.
Jette says
Yay! :)
Kacey says
What brand of vegan pastry do you use? We have been looking for one because of our 2.5 year olds life threatening food allergies.
bianca says
Oh! I'm so sorry to hear that Kacey. What is he or she allergic to exactly? I'm using pretty cheap pastry doughs from austria (clever, backetteria). They have the vegan label but it says that they could contain traces of milk. There are also some recipes on the internet to make your own vegan pastry dough, this is probably the best choice to make sure there aren't any allergenic ingredients in the product.
Nancy Nurse says
Hi Jette,
I made these today and they were fabulous! But, are you sure about the temperature and the length of time for baking? Because it took 30 minutes for mine.
Thanks, Jette
Nancy
bianca says
Hi Nancy,
thank you so much for your feedback! I really appreciate it. I'll pay extra attention to the baking time & temperature next time (I've been meaning to make it again soon anyways) and will update the recipe then. Thank you again <3
bianca says
Hi Nancy! Me again!
I just made the Apple Strudel again and it look me only 14 minutes in the oven. However my oven was perfectly pre-heated because I was making another dessert before! So maybe that was it. Also I used the "Air Circulation"-Setting on my oven - maybe this makes baking a bit faster :)
Nancy Nurse says
Thank you, Bianca.... I'm sure it's my old oven... I made it again last night and it took 28 minutes. You're very sweet to take the time to do that again and to answer me.
bianca says
Glad to hear that you made it again! It's one of my favorite desserts - because it's so easy and quick to make. I think it's the dessert I make the most often :) (I'm actually just munching on a slice)
Thank you for your follow-up comment! Good to know that baking times can vary that much - depending on the oven. I'll keep that in mind.
Linda says
Hi Bianca do you use the whole of puff pastry on this recipe? Thanks a bunch?
Bianca says
Hi Linda! Yes I used one whole store-bought puff pastry for this apple strudel. The measurements were approx. 15"x 9.5" (40 x 24 cm). I hope this helps!
Heidi says
What kind of apples do you use?
Bianca says
I've used Pink Lady apples. But Red Delicious or Royal Gala would be a good choice too. :)
William Smith says
Wow! Great Recipe. I will definitely try it and give you a feedback. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Bianca says
Yeay! :)
Nina says
I am Austrian too and can't wait to make this! I haven't lived in Austria in a minute (it's been yeeeears) and always love eating sweets! I'll be making this asap! I am currently in Bulgaria and have seen the type of though everywhere! I just hope I'll be able to figure out which one is vegan. I believe I read that you use the one from clever. There's a bills right around where I am at so ill just ask someone at the shop about it. I'll definitely post it on Instagram whenever I make it!!
Bianca says
So glad you enjoyed the strudel, Nina! I saw it on IG :) I've tried making puff pastry from scratch once. NEVER AGAIN. Hahaha. This is something I will buy forever. But there are so many accidentally vegan-friendly puff pastry products, it's not problem :)
Theresa says
This looks great for a treat to have with my brother-in-law that is vegan. One question, can you use other apples .. such as golden delicious? Thank you