Puff pastry twists with pesto and cheese

I’ve always considered pesto, cheese and pastry to be a heavenly combination and these puff pastry twists have only confirmed my view. These are a great snack, appetiser or lunch box filler that kids are sure to devour.

Puff pastry is so versatile. I find it such a useful ingredient to have in the fridge for making a quick tea for the kids, after school snacks and lunch box fillers. It’s a great vehicle for getting veggies into reluctant kids as well – check out my recipes below to see how.

You can use puff pastry to make savoury appetisers and sweet treats – there are so many possibilities. However, I tend to use it for savoury recipes as to be honest, my kids have no problem eating sweet stuff.

Puff pastry cheese straws and pizza swirls with hidden vegetable sauce both appear fairly regularly in my kids lunchboxes and are always popular.

Vegetarian puff pastry recipes

Easy puff pastry pizza

Vegetarian sausage rolls

Really easy pizza pinwheels

Apple and mincemeat swirls

Puff pastry cheese straws with butternut squash

Easy spinach puff pastry palmiers

Red lentil and sweet potato pizza swirls

Can these pesto and cheese twists be made vegan?

Yes, in fact the ones in the photos are totally suitable for vegans. I made my own kale pesto for these, using nutritional yeast instead of cheese. Most brands of ready made puff pastry are suitable for vegans – but always check the label – and I used grated Violife vegan cheese.

How to make pesto and cheese puff pastry twists

These puff pastry twists are very simple to make – all you need to do is spread over the pesto, sprinkle some grated cheese, cut into strips and twist before baking in a hot oven.

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Pesto and cheese puff pastry twists

I’ve always considered pesto, cheese and pastry to be a heavenly combination and these puff pastry twists have only confirmed my view. A great snack, appetiser or lunch box filler.

Course Snack

Cuisine British

Keyword puff pastry twists

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 10

Author Mandy Mazliah

Ingredients

• 1 x 320g sheet of ready rolled puff pastry
• 4 tbsp pesto - I used homemade kale pesto but ready made works well too.
• 50 g grated cheddar cheese or vegan alternative

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper (or use the paper that the pastry is wrapped in).
2. Unroll the pastry. Spread the pesto over the pastry.
3. Sprinkle over the grated cheddar.
4. Cut into 10-12 strips and twist each one several times. If the cheese falls out push it back in.
5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.
7. These are delicious warm or allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Did you know I have a vegan food blog as well, Cook Veggielicious?

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