Vegan Strudel with Just 99 Calories per Slice
If there's one group of fruits I love, it's berries. All of them. (We'll get back to the vegan strudel in a second.)
Along with their wonderful supply of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, berries contain plenty of water.
Why is that a good thing?
That high water content helps keep their calorie count low.
For example, a cup of berries—raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries—comes in at less than 100 calories, around 60–70 calories per cup.
That's a generous amount of fruit for relatively few calories.
Here in Israel, fresh berries can be hard to find. And when you do find them, they're usually expensive.
Frozen berries are an accessible, affordable, and nutritious alternative.
Freezing significantly slows the breakdown of vitamins and antioxidants, making it much easier to keep berries on hand.
Besides snacking on them straight from the bag or adding them to your morning oatmeal, you can use them in all kinds of wonderful desserts. They're a great way to keep those desserts on the lighter side.
Take this vegan strudel: one slice contains just 99 calories. With apples, as in a classic strudel, that figure would climb to 150 calories.
A Little About This Vegan Strudel
I used 3 sheets of phyllo dough. You'll be happy to hear that the sheets I use contain no fat at all—no trans fat and no margarine—which makes them great for lighter desserts.
A 15 g (about 1/2 oz) sheet of phyllo practically weighs nothing and contains 40 calories.
Phyllo is easy to work with. Buy it frozen and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
As you work, brush the sheets thoroughly with oil so they don't dry out. To use less oil, you can brush them with a mixture of oil and soy milk instead. I've tried it, and it works nicely.
I used frozen blackberries from Sunfrost (an Israeli frozen-food brand). Sunfrost has a wide selection of frozen fruit that would work in the filling, including mixed berries, cherries, blueberries, and even strawberries.
Any of them will work in this recipe.
I used coconut sugar for its deep, slightly nutty flavor, but you can use whichever sweetener you like.
I wouldn't leave out the sugar altogether. It helps the fruit cook into a jammy filling, and without it, the strudel won't taste sweet.
The lemon juice also helps the filling come together, so I wouldn't skip it either. It adds a gentle tang, too.
For that sweet almond flavor, I used almond butter. You can substitute the same amount of tahini, though the flavor will be different.
About the soy cheese:
You can use a firm store-bought vegan cheese you like and skip the cheese-making steps. Just make sure it's firm and free of excess liquid, which can cause the strudel to split as it bakes.
For the homemade version, stick with soy milk rather than almond milk or another plant-based milk. Forming curds requires protein, and almond milk doesn't have enough.
Nutrition Facts
Per 85 g (3 oz) slice of strudel:
99 calories
3 g protein
6 g carbohydrates
3 g fat
Looking for another berry recipe? Try this pink chia pudding.
Berry Almond Strudel with Homemade Soy Cheese
Ingredients
- What you'll need:
3 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
2 cups Sunfrost frozen blackberries
2 cups Tnuva (a major Israeli dairy and soy brand) soy milk
2 tablespoons almond butter
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
3 tablespoons coconut sugar
Juice of 1 whole lemon
Confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
Instructions
-
Here's how to make it:
Make the soy cheese:
Pour the soy milk into a small saucepan and heat until small bubbles appear. Don't let it come to a boil.
Add half the lemon juice and stir. Curds will form in the liquid within a few minutes.
Strain through a clean cotton cloth. Gather up the cloth and hang it over the sink to drain.
Drain off as much liquid as possible—this step matters.
Once the cheese is well drained and dry, mix in the 2 tablespoons almond butter and 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside.
Make the blackberry preserves:
Combine the blackberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, and remaining lemon juice in a small saucepan. Stir well.
Cook over very low heat for about 10–15 minutes, until the excess liquid has evaporated and the berries have cooked down into thick preserves.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Assemble the strudel:
Brush the phyllo sheets with coconut oil.
Spread the soy cheese in a long, narrow strip along one edge of the phyllo. Top with a layer of blackberry preserves, then sprinkle with the sliced almonds.
Roll the phyllo over the filling once.
Fold in the right and left sides, then continue rolling all the way up.
Brush the outside with a little coconut oil.
Bake for about 15–20 minutes, until the strudel is baked through and golden.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into slices.
