They say good things come to those who wait.
I’m inclined to agree.
Since going vegan over 5 years ago now, there have been only a handful of “conventional” dishes that I’ve struggled to recreate. Tofu Halloumi for example was not an instant success, and took many a failed flop before I was able to strike the right balance of flavour and texture.
Vegan omelettes were also a tough one to crack (pun completely intended) but that changed when I discovered the wonder that is an eggless frittata.
And today, joining the ranks is a recipe I have spent over 3 years trying to get right – if that isn’t dedication, then I don’t know what is.
The funny thing about Arabic sweets (and desserts in general, if I’m totally honest) is that I only really started to crave them after I went vegan. I’m not sure if this is down to an evolution of tastes, having had a predominantly savoury tooth for most of my life, or perhaps a subconscious desire for that which I could not have, but regardless – almost every Ramadan without fail I find myself hankering for traditional sweets. Luckily, said cravings have resulted in some pretty successful vegan versions of basbousa, muhallabia and Egyptian pumpkin pie.
If I had to pick a favourite Arabic dessert however, Kunafa would hands down be the winner.
- 1 cup soaked cashews (or boiled, for 15 mins)
- ¼ block of firm tofu (approximately 115 grams or 4 oz)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 4 tbsp Tapioca starch (AKA Tapioca flour)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup of water
- ½ a packet of shredded phyllo pastry, defrosted
- 4 tbsp of vegetable ghee or vegan butter melted
- Agave or simple sugar syrup with 1 tsp of orange blossom water
- Pistachios to garnish
- Start by preparing your cheese. Drain and rinse cashews then add all remaining ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth. The mix will be watery at this point.
- Pour the cheese mixture into a small pot on medium heat and cook while stirring regularly. As the mixture heats it will start to form clumps before taking on a gooey and melty consistency. The longer you cook it for the more firm it will become, but you still want it to remain spreadable so don't overdo it. If your cheese firms up too much you can add water and stir on low heat which should soften it up.
- Turn off the heat and set aside.
- Pre-heat your oven to 150 C.
- If your phyllo pastry is in long strings you'll want to shred it by pulsing gently in a food processor until you have verimicelli length shreds first.
- Place the shredded pastry in a large bowl and massage thoroughly with the vegetable ghee.
- Grease a medium sized pan (12-16 in) with any excess butter and press half of the kunafa mixure into the base so that it forms a compact even layer about 1 cm thick.
- Pour the cheese mixture on top and spread evenly. Cover with the remaining kunafa mixure and pat down gently.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry is a light golden brown - you could broil to achieve a deeper colouring on top but be careful it doesn't burn!
- Allow to cool then drizzle with agave or a simple sugar syrup and pistachios to serve.
Crispy phyllo pastry, creamy and slightly salty cheese, all drenched in a orange blossom water infused syrup and topped with crushed pistachios – what’s not to love?
Let the record show that this Kunafa was non-vegan approved and loved. My mother marvelled at how close it tasted to the “real” thing and was genuinely impressed with the taste and texture of the creamy cheese filling.
And now for the all important recipe notes:
- Tapioca starch is absolutely essential if you want to get that stretchy and gooey texture – other thickeners like arrowroot and cornstarch don’t yield the same results but will still give you a denser cream-like mixture.
- Vegetable ghee is admittedly not the healthiest of ingredients (and some brands may contain Palm oil, for those who wish to abstain for ethical reasons), but personally I’ve had the best results making this particular dessert with it. Vegan butter like Earth Balance also works, and I’m fairly certain coconut oil would as well assuming you don’t mind the coconut taste.
- Red food colouring is an ingredient often used in some Kunafa recipes but I personally chose to omit because most red dyes contain carmine (extracted from Cochineal bugs) and as such are not vegan-friendly. Plus, the inclusion of food colouring is purely aesthetic and adds nothing to the taste of the dish.
- If you are soy-free you can substitute the tofu for an additional 1/4 cup of cashews and 1/4 cup of water.
- To make a simple sugar syrup just dissolve 1 part sugar in two parts water and a tbsp of lemon juice then reduce on the stove for 3-5 minutes. I like to add a teaspoon of orange blossom water as well but it’s not essential.
If vegan baking has taught me anything, it’s this:
With a little bit of patience, a lot of sugar and a pinch of faith – anything is possible.
Until next time, friends.
Yasmin Wadhai says
Looks fantastic and exactly what I am craving this Ramadhan!! Will give this a go!
Thanks!!
Marianne says
This an awesome feat to get this recipe down, Nada! Thank you for your persistence as it will be sought after by vegans around the world. I’ve shared on facebook, on a Lebanese vegans group, and hope to one day try to cook and find out for myself how tasty this is!
Nisreen says
You make my heart weep with joy! Its almost my girl friends birthday and she lovessss knafe! I am going to attempt to make this for her 🙂 I cant wait to try this recipe
Gail says
Just made this and it turned out really good. Next time I think I will add some brown sugar to the cheese to help with the sweetness. Thanks for the recipe.
Inas says
Just made it and I love it. ♡
It tastes really good and is pretty close to the original non-vegan versions I know. Thank you so much!!!
Inas says
You inspired me to try and veganize some of my favourite childhood dishes (such as mensaf) but it is really difficult and frustrating to find good substitutes. :/
Which makes what you accomplish all the more admirable.
Yael Tamar says
I have literally all of these ingredients. I can’t tell you how excited I am to try it..!!! Hope it turns out really well!
Amber says
Oh my goodness – thank you so much for sharing this!! I am so excited to give it a try! I love food and strive to create clean and healthy recipes (Check out my yummy Peaches + Kale Summer Smoothie Recipe here –> https://healthyhabits.sendlane.com/view/healthyhabits) I am in love with your blog already and can’t wait to see what else I will find on here haha! Thank you!
xxo -Amber
Sylvie says
How would you make this gluten free?
Rox Geer says
Yes, how can I make this Gluten-free ??? would rice wraps work???
Renee Hoffinger says
Schar makes a GF, vegan puff pastry dough. I wonder if that would work. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out.
lamara mikheidze says
hi Nada,
i just wanted to say thank you! your Kunafe recipe is amazing. i have made it twice and finally after 6 years i can have this yummy dessert again…it is perfection.
thank you so much and love what you are doing. (Arab vegan in Canada! eh!)
Nihal says
Looks beautiful but I’m a bit concerned about being able to taste the tofu. Should I be?
Sarah says
I made this last night, and it was very good, and I especially enjoyed the delicate cheese flavor of the filling. I didn’t know that phyllo dough comes in that shredded vermicelli shape until now. I had phyllo sheets, so I just pulsed that in the food processor. It was good, but next time I’ll try to find the Kataifi phyllo. I was winging the amount because I wasn’t sure what “half a packet” meant. Another change I made: I didn’t have agave so I made a syrup with soaked, blended dates, water, and maple sugar. It definitely had a darker color than agave syrup, but the taste was nice.
Paola Camacho says
Hi Nada,
Can I substitute arrowroot powder for the tapioca starch?
Nada says
You can – but it doesn’t work as well.
Natasha says
Hi!
I had pinned your vegan maamoul recipe but I get an error now. Is there a reason why you removed it. It would be nice to have the recipe for Easter. Thanks
anana says
i am soooo grateful i found u. i am indian not arab but i too have a similar palette and transition to veganism like u. didn’t like meat that much anyway, was vegetarian, then in uni became a vegan.. ANYWAY. when i was a child my syrian neighbor made me kunafa all the time, and i have been craving it for YEARS now… i like ur other recipes so i know this will be amazing to.. thank u dear for continuing to work hard and put out content. u never know who ur influencing . and u really jus hit the spot today. i came on ur page just trying to see what arabic vegan food would look like since ive made some arab friends lately and i wanted to know what i could eat or make… awesome page. thank you. <3
NT says
Hello, I can’t find phyllo for love nor money, let alone phyllo shreds. Those who tried it with vegan puff pastry – would you share how it went? I am intrigued by the “cheese” filling and want to test it i something. Thanks very much!
Sara says
Right so kunafa was my go to in my childhood but then I went vegan so enter your vegan kunafa recipe. Tried this tonight and gosh its one of the best kunafas Ive ever tasted. Even a friend vegan skeptic thought it was yummy and couldn’t tell it was vegan! Based on comments saying it was slightly salty so I reduced salt to 1/8 tsp, baked at 200c (for me nothing happened at 150 so I increased to 200c-just keep an eye on it) then put on the upper oven shawaya to get it nice and gold for a few mins. then added the syrup when the kunafa was hot from the oven. I rarely rave about recipes but this was mega delicious and def hit the spot. So shocked that the cheese tastes like mozarella. Thank you!
Sharon says
Should I press the tofu before adding it to rest of the cream ingredients? Or do I just dump the water out of the package and put the amount of tofu needed straight in the blender?
Nada says
I don’t spend a whole lot of time pressing it as it’s already firm tofu and the extra water will cook off!
Maia Harte says
How many g is your packs of shredded phyllo pastry? is 400g the standard size?
also how long does this recipe keep for?
Kim says
I only made the filling following this recipe and my husband made the rest as he has his own method. Anyway I added some agave and vanilla sugar to it because last time I made a vegan Knafeh filling it did not take on the sweetness as well as the traditional filling does and I used slightly less tofu as the blocks of tofu where I live are smaller and I failed to check the amount in grams beforehand. This might be why I perceived it as too soft compared to the ever so slightly chewy version I am used to or it might be because I did not heat it long enough in the pot.
Tastewise this is alright but quite bland despite the tons of sugar from the syrup. There barely is any cheesy taste which is okay as knafeh normally does not taste very cheesy either but it lacks something else I cannot put into words.
Asch says
Omg! I can’t wait to try this! I thought I would never have kunafa again! Thank you dedicating your time into creating this recipe <3
Anna says
I have never before cooked Kunefe.so am asking basic questions…
Can you tell me what weight of Kadayif to use? My pack is 400g.
Also what size tin do you use?
Thank you in advance.
Jenean says
This is very easy to make and it tastes wonderful. It’s so much better than the original! Thank you so much!!
Nada says
I’m so glad to hear that Jenean! Sahtein 🙂