Pumpkin Cream Cheese Danish {Vegan}

This Pumpkin Cream Cheese Danish recipe has a creamy sweet cheese filling swirled with a cozy pumpkin pie topping. These danishes make the perfect dairy free and vegan fall treat or breakfast.

Originally Published: October 7, 2020 | Updated: November 11, 2023

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Ingredients

This recipe is super simple with just a handful of ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets: I used Pepperidge Farm’s Puff Pastry as it’s accidentally vegan.

• Vegan Cream Cheese: I used Trader’s Joe’s Vegan Cream Cheese in this recipe, however they’ve recently changed their product and I no longer believe it will taste as good in this danish. I recommend using Violife Vegan Cream Cheese.

• Powdered Sugar: This helps sweeten the cream cheese filling.

• Cornstarch: This acts as the binder to help the filling set when baked.

• Pumpkin Puree: For the pumpkin pie filling. I used Libby’s Pumpkin Puree.

• Pumpkin Pie Spice: To help add cozy fall flavor.

• Vanilla Extract: For more flavor.

• Brown Sugar: This helps sweeten the pumpkin pie filling.

• Oat Milk & Apricot Preserves: These act as the vegan egg wash and help create a beautiful golden glaze on the baked puff pastry.

Substitutions

• Pumpkin Pie Spice: This is a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove. You can sub in the individual spices if you’d like.

• Vegan Cream Cheese: If you’re not dairy free this can be subbed with a 1:1 ratio for regular cream cheese.

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Helpful Equipment

• Large Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper
• Pastry Brush

Step by Step Instructions

Exact ingredient quantities are in the recipe card below!

STEP 1: Let your puff pastry defrost from the freezer at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This will help the dough be more workable and will prevent it from cracking when you try to shape the danish.

STEP 2: Make your cream cheese filling. I use vegan cream cheese (I prefer the Trader Joe’s brand if you live in the US), powdered sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch. 

📌 TIP: Some vegan cream cheeses are runnier than others. The mixture should be relatively thick, like in the image below, otherwise, it will run too much when baked. If you find that your mixture is on the runnier side, you can add another tablespoon or two of cornstarch to thicken it up.

STEP 3: Make your vegan pumpkin pie mixture. To make this you’ll combine pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, cornstarch, brown sugar, and vanilla. 

STEP 4: Mix until smooth. If making ahead of time, place the filling mixtures in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble.

Assembly Time

Then all that’s left is assembling the danishes! Store-bought puff pastry usually comes with 2 large sheets of dough.

STEP 5: You’ll want to unfold these sheets and cut each one into 4 squares. You should have 8 total squares of dough.

STEP 6: You’ll then brush some oat milk (or other dairy free milk) on the tops of all the squares. This will really help the dough stick to itself as you fold over the corners to shape the danish. 

STEP 7: After folding the corners into the center of the square (to form an octagon), you can dollop some cream cheese mixture into the center.

📌 TIP: Be careful not to spoon too much cream cheese into the center because it spreads a little bit as it bakes in the oven. I’ve found that 2-3 tablespoons is the ideal amount.

STEP 8: Next, you can add the pumpkin pie mixture on top of the cream cheese. You can swirl it on top with a piping bag, or you can dollop it into the center of the cream cheese. Lastly, you just need to pop them in the oven and watch them puff up! 

Serving the Danishes

These Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Danishes are:

• Creamy, 
• Sweet, 
• Spiced, 
• Fast,
• And so flaky! 

This pastry tastes pretty much exactly as the name describes. They feel fancy, but at the same time, they’re super fast and easy to whip up. These danishes make for a perfect fall weekend treat alongside a cup of coffee or tea.

Once they cool, you can drizzle them with a little bit of simple icing or sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar. They would also make a delicious dessert for your Thanksgiving menu!

Storage

They store great in the fridge for up to 5 days, so you can eat them all week long! Keep them in an airtight container or wrapped well in plastic wrap. Reheat them in a toaster oven for the best texture.

MORE vegan Autumn RECIPES:

• Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pancakes
• Pumpkin Biscuits with Whipped Maple Butter
• Cozy Spiced Maple Coffee Cake
• Vegan Just Egg French Toast
• Baked French Toast Casserole
• Halloween Ghost Cupcakes
• Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

⭐️ Want to save this recipe for later? pin this image to pinterest! ⭐️

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