Food & Cooking Recipes Ingredients 17 Recipes That Start With Puff Pastry, From Appetizers to Desserts Keep this versatile ingredient in your freezer so you're ready for all kinds of culinary adventures. By Lynn Andriani Lynn Andriani Lynn is a freelance writer for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines Published on May 3, 2023 Close Photo: Marcus Nilsson Although puff pastry may not rank quite as high as chicken stock and canned beans on your must-have food staples list, if you keep a package of it in your freezer, you’ll never be far away from a delicious dessert—or dinner, for that matter. Turns out, the light and flaky dough, which you'll find in the freezer aisle, is a key building block for so much more than sweets. In this collection, we've pulled together store-bought puff pastry recipes that put this essential to clever use, from breakfast options (like toaster pastries and waffles!) and snacks (pigs in blankets!), to lunches, hors d'oeuvres, dinners, and, yes, desserts (like peach pie, apple tart, and so much more). Want to set yourself up for shortcut success? Your best bet is to thaw the frozen puff pastry in the fridge, overnight, before you start cooking or baking. The dough should be pliable, but not too soft or limp. Once it's thawed, unfold it carefully—if it's still frozen in parts, it will crack or break, so it's worth the extra few minutes to let the dough thaw completely. Be gentle as you roll or cut it—less is more, and you want maximum flakiness. If you can, chill the pastry again before baking, so the butter can firm up; this will help contribute to a beautiful crunch and flake. What Makes Puff Pastry and Phyllo Different? 01 of 17 Tomato and Brie Tart Linda Xiao Here's an easy, refined dinner option that calls on puff pastry: This cheesy tart showcases juicy slices of heirloom tomatoes, buttery brie, and briny capers. It's best accompanied by a salad for a main course—or cut it into smaller slices and serve it as an appetizer. View Recipe 02 of 17 Pigs in Blankets Nicole Franzen These snacks combine easy familiarity with an elegant touch. For this truly irresistible version, we brush the puff pastry with honey mustard before baking. It's a versatile recipe, too: You can use any fully cooked sausage, from frankfurters and andouille to chicken sausages. View Recipe 03 of 17 Date, Olive, and Goat-Cheese Tart Louise Hagger This tart takes everything you love about a cheese plate and puts it in tart form. A creamy, tangy cheese filling is studded with sweet Medjool dates, briny Kalamata olives, and fiery pickled serranos. View Recipe 04 of 17 Puff-Pastry Turkeys Alpha Smoot Tuck this fun "turkey" recipe away for November, and you're sure to delight carnivores and vegetarians alike. It starts with sprinkling store-bought puff pastry with cinnamon sugar; then, you shape "feathers" by folding the dough. Slice and bake until crisp, and decorate with a white-chocolate-chip eye, a candied-sunflower-seed beak, and a freeze-dried strawberry wattle. View Recipe 05 of 17 Blueberry Toaster Pastries Yuki Sugiura To make these homemade sweet treats, pack puff pastry with fresh berries and lemon zest, then bake them in the oven. (Don't even think about using the toaster!) Then, finish them with a sugary glaze or violet icing. View Recipe 06 of 17 Pork Wellington With Prosciutto and Spinach-Mushroom Stuffing Lennart Weibull For this twist on the traditional Wellington, pork tenderloin replaces beef and spinach and prosciutto take the place of pâté. What's familiar: mushrooms and, of course, puff pastry. The resulting dish is just as beautiful and delicious as the classic—and a bit lighter. View Recipe 07 of 17 Puff-Pastry Waffle Hearts (Puffles) Lennart Weibull These cute little tickers hide a tasty secret: They're actually pockets made from puff pastry that you stuff with chocolate-hazelnut spread. The waffle iron turns them crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. View Recipe 08 of 17 Easy Peach Potpie Sidney Bensimon When peaches are in season, this speedy version of peach pie is a must—it's one of our favorite puff pastry recipes. You bake the fruit into a vanilla-bourbon nectar, top it off with a flaky round of pastry, bake, and serve warm. View Recipe 09 of 17 Apple Jalousie Tart Mike Krautter This French tart takes decorative inspiration from shutters, aka "jalousie." The eye-catching folds of puff pastry do indeed look like windows; behind them lies a delicious filling of vanilla-flecked baked apples. View Recipe 10 of 17 Individual Chicken Potpies Linda Pugliese Here's a classic comfort food made even better in individual portions. Frozen puff pastry serves as a crisp, flaky topping for the savory and warm chicken breast filling. View Recipe 11 of 17 Puff-Pastry Cannoli Cake Mike Krautter If you like cannoli, you're going to love this dazzling cake inspired by the beloved Sicilian confection. To make it, you sandwich the creamy ricotta between crisp layers of puff pastry. Chopped pistachios add a gorgeous green accent to the finished dessert. View Recipe 12 of 17 Salmon Coulibiacs John Kernick Akin to a seafood version of beef Wellington, coulibiac is a Russian dish; puff pastry envelops poached salmon, mushrooms, and rice. This recipe makes individual pouches, which are lovely for entertaining. Serve them with a sour cream dill sauce. View Recipe 13 of 17 Cherry-and-Cream-Cheese Hand Pies Kate Mathis A cross between a sour cherry pie and a cheese Danish, these flaky pastries are the perfect way to showcase a quintessential summer fruit. The recipe also includes variations for strawberry, mixed berry, apricot, peach or plum-blueberry. View Recipe 14 of 17 Bacon and Egg Casserole Like quiche, this savory brunch dish has a custard filling; using frozen puff pastry instead of traditional pie dough makes it even simpler to prepare. Gruyère gives the dish a rich, subtly nutty flavor. View Recipe 15 of 17 Puff-Pastry Cheese Straws David Malosh Pure butter puff pastry results in the best flavor and texture for these cheese straws. Our recipe makes several variations: sesame-poppy, tomato-rosemary, and pecorino-black pepper. View Recipe 16 of 17 Easy Churros With Mexican Chocolate Sauce Aaron Dyer To make these tasty, churros-inspired treats, you twist rectangles of puff pastry dough into spirals, bake, and toss with sugar and cinnamon. A Mexican chocolate sauce is essential for dipping, combining the sweet and the spicy. View Recipe 17 of 17 Strawberry Napoleons Marcus Nilsson Tangy creme fraîche and fragrant vanilla bean perk up the whipped cream sandwiched between layers of puff pastry and strawberries in this towering summer dessert, which feels like the ideal combo of a French Napoleon and American strawberry shortcake. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit