Vegan Apple Strudel
This vegan apple strudel is a warm, spiced apple pastry rolled in flaky puff pastry and baked until golden — no eggs, no butter, no dairy. It comes together with two Granny Smith apples, a handful of raisins, and a cozy blend of cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg, so you get that classic German strudel flavor without any animal products. My recipe for vegan strudel is super easy to make and the results are very comforting and delicious.
The word “strudel” comes from German and means “whirlpool” or “eddy,” which makes sense once you see how the spiced apple filling spirals through the pastry after it’s rolled and sliced. The traditional version uses a paper-thin hand-stretched dough, but here I use ready-made puff pastry to keep things quick and reliable. It’s one of those desserts that looks impressive on the table yet takes very little hands-on effort.
What you’ll need for this vegan strudel
The ingredient list is short and most of it is likely already in your pantry. A few notes so you get the best result:
- Puff pastry — one sheet, brought to room temperature so it unfolds without cracking. Check the label to make sure it’s dairy-free; many store-bought puff pastries are made with vegetable fat and happen to be vegan.
- Granny Smith apples — two, peeled. Their firm flesh and tart bite hold up beautifully in the oven and balance the sugar. If you only have sweeter apples, they’ll work too, but expect a softer, sweeter filling.
- Warm spices — cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. The cardamom is what sets this apart from a plain apple pie filling and gives it that aromatic, slightly floral note.
- Brown sugar and flour — the sugar sweetens while the flour absorbs the juices the apples release, so the filling stays thick instead of soaking the pastry.
- Raisins — soaked in warm water first so they plump up and turn juicy rather than staying hard and chewy.
- Icing sugar — a light dusting at the end for that classic bakery finish.
Why soaking the raisins and resting the apples matters
Two small steps do a lot of quiet work here. Soaking the raisins in warm water rehydrates them, so instead of drying out further in the oven they stay soft and burst with sweetness in each bite. And tossing the cubed apples with the flour-and-spice mixture and letting them sit draws out some juice while the flour thickens it into a light coating. That’s the trick to a filling that holds together and a base that stays crisp rather than soggy, which is the most common thing that goes wrong with a homemade strudel.
How to roll and shape the strudel
Roll the puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface, then spoon the apple mixture along the bottom half of the long side, leaving a little border clear around the edges so the seam can seal. Fold in the short sides first, then roll it up snugly and place it on the baking sheet seam side down — this keeps it from unrolling as it bakes. Before it goes in, cut a few diagonal slashes across the top. Those slashes aren’t just decorative; they let steam escape so the pastry puffs evenly instead of splitting open in one spot. Bake at 200 C for about 40 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and the pastry sounds crisp when you tap it.
Tips for the best results
- Cut the apples into small, even cubes so they cook through in the same time it takes the pastry to turn golden.
- Don’t overfill. A thick, uniform log rolls and seals far more easily than a bulging one, and it bakes more evenly.
- Keep the pastry cold until you’re ready to work with it. If your kitchen is warm and it starts to soften too much, pop it back in the fridge for a few minutes — cold puff pastry rises higher and flakier.
- Wait until the strudel has cooled before dusting with icing sugar, or the sugar will just melt into the warm surface and disappear.
Serving and storage
Strudel is at its best slightly warm, when the pastry is still crisp and the apples are soft. A scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream or a spoonful of coconut cream turns it into a proper dessert, and it’s lovely alongside coffee or tea. If you’re building a full German-inspired spread, it rounds out a menu of German cuisine classics nicely.
Leftovers keep well at room temperature, loosely covered, for a day, or in the fridge for up to three days. To bring back the crispness, reheat slices in the oven or an air fryer for a few minutes rather than the microwave, which softens the pastry. If you love this kind of cozy apple bake, you’ll want to try my upside-down apple pie and the apple streusel cake next, or a batch of mini apple and cinnamon rolls for the same warm-spice vibe.
If you make this vegan apple strudel, I’d love to know how your roll turned out — did you keep the classic raisins or swap in something else? Please rate the recipe below and leave a comment with your tweaks so other readers can bake it with confidence too.
Summarise & Save This Recipe
★ Add us as a trusted Google source
Vegan Apple Strudel
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry room temperature
- 2 Granny Smith apples peeled
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cardamom
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 4 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp flour
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 Tbsp icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 C.
- In a bowl, mix together the cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, brown sugar and flour.
- Add the raisins to a small bowl and cover with warm water. Let sit.
- Cut the apples into small cubes and add them to a big bowl.
- Add the flour mixture over the apples and let it sit.
- Meanwhile, roll out the dough on a floured surface.
- Drain the raisins and add them to the apple mixture.
- Put the apple mixture down the bottom half of the long side of the pastry, leaving a little space near the border around the outside.
- Fold in the short sides and then roll up.
- Put the strudel on a baking sheet with the seam side down.
- Cut some slashes diagonally on top of the strudel.
- Bake for about 40 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Let cool, top with icing sugar and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. This strudel uses puff pastry, apples, spices, brown sugar, flour, raisins, and icing sugar, with no eggs, butter, milk, or honey. Just check the puff pastry label, since most store-bought sheets are made with vegetable fat and are already dairy-free, but a few use butter.
Granny Smith apples are ideal because they are firm and tart, so they hold their shape in the oven and balance the sugar. If you use sweeter varieties, the filling will be softer and sweeter, so you may want to cut back slightly on the brown sugar.
Absolutely, and this recipe is built around it. Puff pastry gives you a flaky, golden crust without the effort of hand-stretching a paper-thin dough, which makes the whole recipe quick and reliable. Just bring the sheet to room temperature first so it unrolls without cracking.
Toss the cubed apples with the flour-and-spice mixture and let them sit so the flour thickens the juices before baking. Rolling the strudel seam side down and cutting diagonal slashes on top also lets steam escape, which keeps the pastry crisp instead of steamed and soft.
Soaking the raisins in warm water plumps them up so they stay soft and juicy in the finished strudel. Skip this step and they tend to dry out and turn hard during baking. Just drain them well before adding them to the apple mixture.
Keep it loosely covered at room temperature for a day, or in the fridge for up to three days. To bring back the crisp pastry, reheat slices in the oven or an air fryer for a few minutes rather than the microwave, which makes the crust soft.
What’s 200C baking temp I’m in America they didn’t teach that when I was in school?
https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/temperature/celsius-to-fahrenheit.html
Wonderful