Make your own vegetable samosa with this easy recipe. Using filo pastry makes samosa making a breeze. Suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
What are samosas?
Samosa is a triangular shaped pastry, containing spicy vegetables or meat. It is usually fried but can be baked as well.
Samosa are common in many countries. They probably originate from India and are very popular there. However, you will also find them in many other parts of the world such as Africa and the Mediterranean too.
When I travelled in Uganda they were easy to find and were usually called sambusa. I have a Greek Cypriot bakery near my house that makes delicious samosa - but calls them sambusa too.
There are definitely similarities between the samosa and the empanada. And it's really not that surprising when you think about it. Create a delicious filling, wrap it in pastry, bake or fry and voila! A delicious snack or meal.
Is this vegetable samosa recipe vegan?
Yes, this samosa recipe is 100% vegan. I have used filo pastry to make my samosa. Most shop bought filo pastry is vegan but do always check the ingredients as brands can vary.
Inside my vegan samosas is a spicy mixture of potato, carrot and peas. You could add some cooked chickpeas if you want to add a little extra protein.
I've used vegetable oil to cook the vegetables and to brush the filo pastry before baking.
Why have I baked my vegetable samosa?
I chose to make baked samosa because it's a little bit healthier. My children love samosa and always eat loads of them, especially when they're fresh and crispy from the oven.
This recipe still uses a bit of oil as the filo pastry needs to be brushed with oil between each layer. However, baking them reduces the oil use and makes them a healthier option.
Can you freeze filo samosa?
I tested freezing both a cooked filo samosa and an uncooked one. If you have frozen your samosas uncooked brush with oil before placing in the oven.
The result was very similar. Both reheated and were delicious within about 30 minutes in a hot oven (180°C fan). I put them straight in from frozen.
However, the pastry did go a little flaky once they'd be frozen. By all means do freeze them but bear this in mind.
How to fold filo pastry for samosa
The trickiest thing about making samosas is folding them. Samosa can be triangular, half moon or cone shaped.
Here's how to fold the filo pastry to get the triangular samosa shape:
1. Start with a square of filo pastry. This was half of one sheet of Jus-Rol filo pastry. Use a pastry brush to brush lightly with oil.
2. Brush lightly with oil. Fold one corner towards the diagonally opposite corner so you have a triangular shape. It doesn't matter if you don't have a perfect triangle - it's all going to be folded together.
3. Brush lightly with oil then fold again so that you have a smaller triangle. Once again brush with oil.
4. Next fold one side of the pastry across to the opposite side. Brush again with oil.
5. Now fold the other side across.
6. Pick your samosa pastry up and add a couple of tablespoons of the filling.
7. Fold over the top of the pastry. Brush again with oil and place on a baking tray ready to bake. Repeat with the rest of the pastry.
Pin this easy vegan vegetable samosa recipe for later
If you like these you might like these potato curry puffs or my vegetable summer rolls. Or if you have leftover filo pastry why not try these filo parcels with feta (can be vegan), broad beans and dill?
How to make baked vegetable samosa
Easy vegetable samosa
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 small piece ginger finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground chilli powder optional
- 2 small potatoes diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 2 tablespoon water
- handful frozen peas
- Salt and pepper to taste optional
- 4 large sheets of filo pastry
- Sunflower oil for brushing
Instructions
To make the mixture
- Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry until soft and golden brown. Stir often.
- Add the garlic and ginger, stir and cook for a minute.
- Add the spices, stir and cook for a minute before adding the diced potatoes, carrot and 2 tablespoon water. Reduce the heat to low and cover.
- Cook until soft (10-15 minutes). Add a little more water if needed. Stir often.
- Add the frozen peas and cook for a minute or two. Taste the mixture and season with salt and pepper if needed.
To make the samosa
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6.
- Line a baking tray with non stick baking paper.
- Unroll the filo pastry. Remove one sheet* and cover the rest with a tea towel so that they don’t dry out.
- Divide the sheet in half so you have a square shape. Brush one piece with oil and place the other half on top of it. Brush with oil. Repeat with another sheet.
- Fold the pastry in half so you have a triangle shape. Fold one side into the middle of the triangle and brush with oil so it sticks down. Fold the other side across so that you have a little pouch that you can open - a cone shape. Fill with the potato mixture and fold down the top. Brush the top with oil to stick it down then lightly brush the whole samosa with oil.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
- Sheets of filo pastry come in different sizes. The ones I use are quite large but you may need to amend the recipe to get the size you want.
- Nutritional information is approximate and is intended as a guide.
Nutrition
These samosas are great for picnics.
Did you know that I also have a vegan food blog, Cook Veggielicious?
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Margella
Absolutely brilliant recipe, thank you. My family can’t get enough of these. I used Feuille de Brique as I’m in France and can’t get filo, but it worked very well. The only thing is I tried freezing and cooking from frozen but the pastry went soggy on the underside as opposed to staying crispy and golden when cooked from fresh. Do you have any tips for freezing?
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Margella, I'm so glad you enjoyed the samosas. Did you brush the samosas with oil before you baked them from frozen? I've found that helps to stop them from going soggy.
Mrsbandrodney
Try using wraps….they don’t flake and aren’t very crispy but much easier to handle and we all love them……. 2 samosas from one wrap. Always have wraps in the cupboard so handy to just knock some samosas up. I also use extra spices cos we like them spicy, great snack, making them at least once a week.
Mandy Mazliah
Wraps is a great idea!
Fiona
Easy recipe, although filo pastry can be tricky. Nice way to eat some veg
Mandy Mazliah
Glad you enjoyed it Fiona
Phil Drew
Love these make them most Sundays for pinics. A family favourite.
Personally i get better results steaming the carrots and potatoe whilst cooking the onion then putting them in at the end. I also marginally up the spices but we like lots of flavour.
Got to be birds eye peas!!
I also sprinkle nigella seeds on pastry before folding this really finishes them off beautifully. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Mandy Mazliah
So glad to hear that you enjoy the samosas Phil
Jane
Tasted beautiful pastry was flaky when I removed them from the oven . Not sure what I did wrong but will definitely be making them again thank you
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Jane - glad you enjoyed the flavour. Filo pastry can be trick to work with - I hope you get better results next time
Ruby
What an absolute win! We all loved them! Made grown ups some spicy ones! The step by step was fantastic!! I used all the odd bits of left over veg in them. Will definitely be making these at least monthly!!
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks so much Ruby - I'm so glad you loved the samosas!
Tania
Which brand filo pastry sheets did you use in the samosa recipe please? I couldn’t find it in the article. Thank you.
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Tania, I usually use JusRol or Sainsbury's own brand. I'm in the UK so you may have different options.
Jennifer
I haven’t tried these yet, so I let no review. I would like to know if you can freeze them?
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Jennifer - I need to test this for you, which I do just as soon as I can buy some filo pastry!
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Jennifer – just to let you know that I tested freezing the samosas. I tested an uncooked one and a cooked one. They both turned out fine – I placed them both in a hot oven for 30 minutes – but the pastry did go a little flaky. Still tasty but not quite as good as the unfrozen ones.
Rachel
Made these for my kids tonight - they were a huge hit and so delicious! Can't believe how well they turned out -I am no chef, but they looked like yours, Mandy! Definitely making them again!
Mandy Mazliah
I'm so happy that you all loved them Rachel - thanks for commenting!
REBECCA
The whole family loved these- not just the kids! I've never made samose before but I followed the steps in the photos and was so happy with the results. Great to do something different with vegetables that the children enjoy. (Plus the ingredients don't cost much!)
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks so much for your comment - I'm really happy that you loved them!