Vegan Cheese & Onion Bakes (better than Greggs)
A vegan version of Greggs classic cheese & onion bakes (puff pastry pasties/pies filled with a cheesy potato & onion mix). Serve hot or cold.
Servings: 8 bakes
Calories: 437kcal
Ingredients
Potatoes
- 400 g potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks)
- 1 pinch salt & black pepper
Onion mixture
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ large onion (halved, peeled and thinly sliced)
- ½ large leek (washed well and thinly sliced)
- 1 clove garlic (peeled and crushed or finely grated)
- 1 pinch salt & black pepper
Cheese etc
- 150 g vegan cheddar (grated)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (also called nooch, optional, but adds flavour)
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard (alternatively English mustard or yellow American mustard)
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper (more if you like)
Pastry
- 640 g puff pastry (2 x 320g/11⅓ oz ready rolled pastry, if your pastry is a little bigger, that is fine too)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (to brush the pastry before baking)
Instructions
Potatoes
- Peel and chop the potatoes into chunks and boil in salted water until tender (you could steam them instead). Drain and leave to steam dry in the colander, then return to the pot and mash well dry (not fat added) just season with salt and black pepper and set aside.
Onion mixture
- Saute the onion, leek and garlic with olive oil in another pan until soft, season with salt and black pepper.
Make the filling
- If the pot the potatoes are mashed in is big enough to mix the filling for the bakes in, just add the onions to the mashed potatoes in the pot, if not spoon the onions and potatoes into a large mixing bowl and mix well (I like less washing up and use the pot).
- Add the cheese, nooch, mustard and white pepper and mix really well.
Make the bakes/pies & bake
- Preheat the oven to 200 ℃ / 180 ℃ fan / 400 ℉ / gas mark 6, then line two baking trays and take one roll of pastry out of the fridge.
- Unroll the puff pastry and cut it in half lengthways, then into 8 rectangles. Move 4 of the rectangles to a lined baking tray, leaving space between them.
- Add a fat pillow of filling to the rectangles, leaving a border free of filling around the edge.
- Rub a little water around the edge of the filled pastry rectangles, then add another piece of pastry on top as a lid. I give each top piece a gentle stretch to make it a little wider and longer than the bottom piece to allow it to stretch over the filling.
- Press down along the edges to seal the pastry, then use a fork to press down all around the edge to make sure it's a good seal and leave a nice finish.
- Do this for all four pastries, then cut slits in the top of the pastry to let out steam (no soggy bottoms here!). I just add 3 or 4 slits, but Greggs cut slits in v shapes (in a chevron pattern). It's up to you, go as plain or fancy as you like. It's only there to let out steam as they bake.
- Brush the pies with oil for that golden finish. While the first batch of four is in the oven, make the second batch the same way or wait and put them both in at once.
- Bake them side by side or on different shelves, then swap them about part way through the bake. They will take 20-25 minutes.
- Once baked and golden, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- These will bake quicker in an air fryer, so keep an eye on them if that is your baking method.
- Once cool, keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Once made (steam holes cut, but not oil and not baked), flash freeze on a tray, then individually wrap in freezer friendly baking paper and pop in a labelled and dated freezer bag or tub.
- Freeze for 3-4 months.
- Bake from frozen, brush with a little oil first. they will take a few more minutes to bake.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bake | Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Sodium: 221mg | Potassium: 324mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 96IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 3mg
