Lemon Puffs with Almond Ricotta

This is an easy vegan recipe for lemon puffs with homemade almond ricotta, garlic and store bought pastry. They’re refreshing, light and savory, and work well as an appetizer or snack. And while they look a bit fancy, that’s just the power of microgreens (they make everything look fancy). These babies are super simple to make!

This recipe makes 12 vegan lemon ricotta puffs. They are best served right away (after the filling has a minute or two to cool, of course! 😉).

A few things…

• ・ In the U.S., it is relatively easy to find vegan puff pastry. Pepperridge Farms makes an excellent frozen puff pastry. Jus-Rol makes a ready-to-use puff pastry in the refrigerated section. If you use frozen, make sure to thaw it before using in this lemon puffs recipe.

• ・As you mix together the lemon almond ricotta filling, keep the puff pastry cold in the fridge. It will hold it’s shape better.

• ・Never zested a lemon? This should help!

• ・While I have not tried it, I don’t see why you couldn’t substitute equal parts of store bought almond ricotta for the homemade almond ricotta. Kite Hill Almond Milk Ricotta Alternative seems like it would work well. If you don’t have a high speed blender, it might be a good option. If you try it, l’d love to know how it went.

• ・Maybe instead of meticulously measuring your puff pastry and cutting it into perfect squares, you eyeballed it, and some of the squares seem a bit small for their spot in the muffin pan? Well, grab a rolling pin. Roll those “smaller” squares until they’re a bit larger, and you’re good to go!

• ・For best results, use a non-stick muffin pan to bake the vegan lemon puffs. If you use a greased standard muffin pan, you may need to run a spatula or butter knife around the edges of each puff, and then, pop them out. It’ll still work, but it might need a little more effort to make it work.

Enjoy these vegan lemon puffs topped with microgreens or chopped fresh herbs (maybe thyme, dill or parsley?). And discover more UVK recipes, like Vegan Tofu Pot Pie, Savory Turnovers with Swiss Chard, Potatoes and Chickpeas, Mushroom Lentil Pot Pie, or Vegan Tofu Ricotta Cheese.

Lemon Puffs with Almond Ricotta

1 batch vegan almond ricotta (see notes above)

1½ tsp fresh lemon zest

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 sheet thawed store bought vegan puff pastry (see notes above)

Microgreens or chopped fresh herbs, to top – optional

1. Preheat the oven to 400º F. Lightly grease a 12-cup non-stick muffin pan. Set aside.

2. Next, you’ll make the lemon almond ricotta filling for the vegan puffs. Make the almond ricotta by following this recipe.

3. Spoon the almond ricotta into a mixing bowl. Add the fresh lemon zest and garlic. Stir together.

4. Now, it’s time to put together the vegan lemon ricotta puffs! Cut the sheet of puff pastry into 12 squares. Then, place a square in each cup of the muffin pan (see photo to the left above).

5. Fill each cup with some of lemon almond ricotta filling (see center photo above).

6. Fold the puff pastry over the lemon almond ricotta filling and pinch together in the center (see photo to the right above)

7. Bake at 400º F for 20-22 minutes or until golden and crispy. Remove from the pan. Top with microgreens or fresh herbs. Serve.