An easy recipe for crispy butternut squash & chickpea filo parcels flavoured with harissa. A plant-based lunch box snack to serve with salad.
I'm always looking for new ideas for my son's lunchbox as he isn't a fan of sandwiches and my latest recipe for pastry parcels quickly became a bit of a favourite.
Cigar-shaped, crispy filo parcels filled with a tasty mixture of roasted butternut squash and chickpeas with Moroccan spices and herbs.
Very tasty with just a little kick.
Jump to:
- 🌡️ Hot or cold
- 📋 What you need to make butternut squash and chickpea filo parcels
- 📖 Substitutions & additions to the recipe
- 💭 What is harissa paste?
- 👩🏻🍳 Using filo pastry
- 💭 Filo FAQ
- 💭 Will filo pastry stay crispy in the fridge?
- ⭐ Sneaky wee sausage rolls
- 🥣 Top them with seeds
- 🥣 Dips to serve with butternut squash pastry rolls
- 🍽 More pastry recipes
- ⭐ Sign up for a free recipe sent to your inbox every morning
- 👩🏻🍳 How to make roasted butternut squash and chickpea filo parcels
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
At a glance - butternut squash and chickpea filo parcels
⏲️ Ready in: 70 minutes
👪 Serves: 12
🍽 Calories: 170
🧾 Main ingredients: filo pastry (phyllo), melted butter, sesame seeds, butternut squash, chickpeas, red onion, garlic, harissa paste, chilli powder, paprika, dried oregano, mango chutney (or apricot jam & 1 teaspoon vinegar)
👩🏻🍳 Suitable for: vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, egg-free, vegetarian
Summarise & save this recipe:
🌡️ Hot or cold
These filo pastries are good served hot or cold.
They are good served cold with a salad for lunch or served warm with baby potatoes, asparagus, fine beans and corn for a light dinner.
For lunch boxes, I like to serve them with a dip and some carrot and cucumber sticks.
📋 What you need to make butternut squash and chickpea filo parcels
Here are the simple ingredients you need to make these simple savoury pastries.
- Butternut squash - you only need half a squash
- Chickpeas - tinned or soaked and cooked (for added protein)
- Red onion - you could use white onion or spring onion
- Garlic
- Paprika
- Chilli flakes - or fresh chilli pepper
- Harissa paste
- Mango chutney - for a pop of sweetness
- Salt and black pepper
- Filo pastry sheets
- Vegan butter - margarine or olive oil
See the full printable recipe card for quantities, method and notes at the bottom of this page. Jump to recipe button above.
📖 Substitutions & additions to the recipe
Here are a few tweaks you could make to this recipe.
- Sweet potato - instead of butternut squash
- Baby spinach - add a handful of chopped fresh spinach to the mixture, no need to blanch it
- Apricot jam - or marmalade instead of mango chutney
If you used sweet potatoes instead of butternut squash, there is no need to cut it into chunks, just microwave or bake it in its skin until soft, then cut it in half and scoop out the soft flesh to add to your mixture to your mixing bowl.
Try the basic recipe first then make tweaks to suit. That's always the best idea.
💭 What is harissa paste?
Harissa paste is a thick aromatic spicy paste made with red peppers and spices.
It was originally made in Tunisia in North Africa, but it is very popular in Moroccan cuisine.
It adds a lot of flavour and a bit of a kick to dishes. varying from mild to hot.
👩🏻🍳 Using filo pastry
Filo pastry or phyllo pastry as it is also known is thin sheets of pastry made from unleavened dough.
It's easy to use, but does tear easy and can dry out as you are using it.
Handle it gently and to stop it drying out, dampen a clean tea towel and lay the sheets on half the teatowel, then fold the other half over them.
Just take out what you need, then cover the rest.
That will make it easier to use, without it becoming brittle.
💭 Filo FAQ
Supermarket filo pastry is accidentally vegan and contains no butter so it's suitable for a dairy-free, plant-based or vegan diet.
However, be aware that cafes, bakeries and restaurants often brush filo pastry with butter, so it's better to make filled savoury or sweet pastries with filo pastry at home.
💭 Will filo pastry stay crispy in the fridge?
Unfortunately, filo pastry loses some of its crispness when chilled, but a filo parcel is still a joy to eat when the pastry is softer.
However, you can crisp it back up by popping it in an air fryer or oven for a few minutes.
You can store these savoury butternut squash and chickpea pastries in the fridge for 4-5 days.
⭐ Sneaky wee sausage rolls
Of course, you could use puff pastry instead of filo pastry and make a batch of flaky sausage rolls using the butternut squash and chickpea mixture.
Brush them with a little olive oil or oat milk (whatever milk you regularly buy) before baking for that golden finish.
No one ever says no to a cheeky wee sausage roll!
🥣 Top them with seeds
Sesame seeds or nigella seeds can be sprinkled over the pastries before they are baked.
Brush the parcels with a little olive oil first, this will help the seeds stick and give the finished pastries a wonderful golden colour.
This is optional of course and I didn't bother this time.
🥣 Dips to serve with butternut squash pastry rolls
These crispy parcels are great served with a dip for lunch.
You can buy a shop-bought dip like mango chutney or sweet chilli sauce, but here are a few homemade dips I like to serve these squash pastries with.
- Creamy sriracha dip
- Creamy tahini dressing
- Firecracker Mayo
- Lemon & chive dip
- Ranch dressing
- Thousand Island Dressing
They are also good served with this crunchy thousand island slaw.
🍽 More pastry recipes
Looking for more easy pastry recipes like this? Try these next:
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👩🏻🍳 How to make roasted butternut squash and chickpea filo parcels
These step-by-step photos will show you how to make these tasty parcels of deliciousness.
Full printable recipe card below.
Step 1
- Chop your butternut squash into chunks and place in an ovenproof dish.
- Toss the chunks of veg well in paste.
- Pop them in your air fryer or a pre-heated oven to roast until soft.
- While they are roasted, drain the chickpeas and add them to a large bowl, I used a mixing bowl
Step 2
- Mash the chickpeas with a fork, I like to leave some whole for texture.
- Then add the chopped onion.
- Next add the garlic, herbs and spices (full recipe below).
- Take the butternut squash out of the air fryer or oven when it's soft.
Step 3
- Mash the butternut squash with a potato masher or fork (it's much quicker with the potato masher) and add to the other ingredients.
- Add the chutney, then season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Right, time to prepare the pastry, first melt some vegan butter.
Step 4
- Take the sheets of filo pastry out of the box and lay on a chopping board, then cut the filo sheets lengthways into two piles of long strips, using a sharp knive or scissors.
- Place the long strips in a clean damp tea towel so it won't dry out and take it out as you need it.
- Take one sheet of filo and lay it on a cutting board or your worktop, then brush or drizzle with a little melted butter, then place another sheet on top.
- Brush with a little butter again and place a pile of filling near the bottom edge nearest to you.
Step 5
- Take the bottom of the pastry over the filling and roll to the top of the pastry, tucking the sides in as you go.
- You should be left with a cigar-shaped parcel, don't worry if it isn't perfect.
- Do this with the rest of the pastry and mixture, I managed to make 12 parcels, but it will depend on how many sheets of filo are in your box and how much filling you add.
- Place them on a lined baking sheet (I use non-stick parchment) and bake until crisp and golden.
- You can brush the parcels with a little olive oil for a more golden finish, but I don't bother as there is already butter in the pastry layers and you still get a golden finish, just not as shiny.
- Serve hot or cold and enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Easy Butternut Squash and Chickpea Filo Parcels
Ingredients
- 560 g butternut squash (top half of medium squash, cut into chunks)
- 1 ½ tablespoons harissa paste
- 400 g chickpeas (14 oz tin drained)
- 1 small red onion (finely chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (crushed, grated or finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (more if you like)
- 2 tablespoons mango chutney (you could use apricot jam or marmalade instead)
- salt and black pepper (a good grinding or pinch of each to season)
Filo ingredients
- 12 sheets filo pastry (your box may say 10 sheets, but there is usually more than it says)
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter (melted)
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (or nigella seeds for sprinkling on top of the parcels before baking - optional).
Instructions
- Chop your butternut squash into chunks and place in an ovenproof dish. Toss the chunks of veg well in paste.
- Pop them in your air fryer or a pre-heated oven to roast until soft. Air fry at 180c (350f) for 30 minutes, until soft, tossing part way through or oven at the same temperature, but it might take longer.You will need the oven heated to the same temperature (180c 160c fan / 350f / gas mark 4) for baking the parcels.
- While they are roasted, drain the chickpeas and add them to a large bowl, I used a mixing bowl, then mash them with a potato masher or fork, I like to leave some whole for texture.
- Then add the chopped onion, the garlic, herbs and spices.
- In another bowl, mash the soft butternut squash, then add it to the chickpea mixture with the mango chutney and season well with salt and pepper, then mix until well combined.
- Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave or in a small pan on the cooker, then pour into a small bowl.
- Take the sheets of filo pastry out of the box and lay on a chopping board, then cut the filo sheets lengthways into two piles of long strips, using a sharp knive or scissors.
- Place the long strips in a clean damp tea towel so it won't dry out and take it out as you need it.
- Take one sheet of filo and lay it on a cutting board or your clean worktop, then brush or drizzle with a little melted butter and place another sheet on top. Brush with a little butter again and place a pile of filling near the bottom edge nearest to you.
- Take the bottom of the pastry over the filling and roll to the top of the pastry, tucking the sides in as you go. You should be left with a cigar-shaped parcel, don't worry if it isn't perfect. Do this with the rest of the pastry and mixture, I managed to make 12 parcels, but it will depend on how many sheets of filo are in your box and how much filling you add.
- Place them on a lined baking sheet (I use non-stick parchment) and bake for 20-25 minutes until crisp and golden.You can brush the parcels with a little olive oil for a more golden finish (and if you are sprinkling on seeds before baking so they will stick), but I don't bother as there is already butter in the pastry layers and you still get a golden finish, just not as shiny
- Serve hot or cold and enjoy!
Notes
- I manage to make 12 parcels from the pastry and mixture, but yours may vary depending on how many sheets of filo you have (my box said 10 sheets and had 12) and how much filling you add.
- Store in the fridge once cool for 4-5 days.
- You can re-crisp in the oven or an air fryer for a few minutes if you like.
Cooper Meldrum says
Been lovely for lunches.
10/10
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I am so pleased you are enjoying them x