Quick & Easy Homemade Puff Pastry

This homemade puff pastry is a game changer – super quick, simple, and way better than anything store-bought. Once you try it, you’ll wonder why you ever bought those frozen sheets! Follow along to make buttery, flaky pastry that’ll fit perfectly into all your favorite recipes, whether savory or sweet.

I’d been meaning to make puff pastry for ages after watching my sister-in-law do it. But honestly, I kept putting it off because it seemed like such a big hassle and time-drain. Does that happen to you, too?

Luckily, I stumbled on this recipe from the Food Network that bills itself as the quickest puff pastry ever. What a find! Now I can whip this up without the usual fuss and save so much time and effort. Winning!

The outcome? Flaky, crisp, buttery layers that rival classic puff pastry that takes hours of rolling. Plus, this dough is versatile—you can fill it with anything you like, from cheesy and savory to fruity and sweet.

Ingredients

• Very cold salted butter, cut into cubes (skip margarine – real butter is key!)
• Ice-cold water
• A pinch of salt
• All-purpose flour

How to Make Puff Pastry

I used a food processor to pull this puff pastry dough together—it’s honestly a breeze. Just a few quick pulses and you’re almost done!

Start by adding the flour alongside some of the cold butter cubes into your food processor. Pulse just enough to work the butter into the flour, then add the remaining butter and pulse a few more times. Adding butter in parts helps it mix evenly so you get those perfect flaky layers.

Pour in the cold water and pulse just enough times—four or five pulses should do it—until the dough comes together in a ball. Be careful not to over-process here; you want the dough tender with little butter bits dispersed throughout—that’s exactly what creates those flaky layers.

At this stage, your dough should have nicely visible pieces of butter—don’t fret; that’s the magic!

Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Keep the surface dusted with flour as you gently shape the dough into a tight ball.

Lightly flour your rolling pin then roll the dough out into a rectangle about 12 by 18 inches (30 by 45 cm).

Here’s the trick to getting all those flaky layers: fold the dough like an envelope, first in half, then in half again—think of folding a letter.

Fold it once more in half, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 1 to 2 hours. Once chilled, your dough is ready to roll out and bake into something delicious!

Storage and Freezing Tips

• Your homemade puff pastry will keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days as long as it’s well wrapped in plastic wrap.
• If you want to stock up, you can freeze it too. Just wrap tightly in plastic, pop it in a freezer safe bag or container, and it will last up to a month.
• When ready to use frozen dough, keep it wrapped and folded, then thaw overnight in the fridge. Roll it out without unfolding first for the best results.

How to Use It

The possibilities with puff pastry are endless! To get you started, here are two tasty ways I love to fill and bake it – one savory and one sweet. Let’s dig in!

Savory Filling

For my savory version, I rolled the dough into a neat rectangle and layered it with slices of cooked ham and shredded Gruyere cheese. Feel free to swap the Gruyere for any cheese you have on hand – cream cheese works great, too.

I rolled everything up as tight as I could, wrapped it in plastic, and chilled it for about 20 minutes to make slicing easier.

With a sharp knife, I sliced the roll into 1/4-inch thick pinwheels, placed them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, sprinkled a bit more cheese on top, and baked them for about 20 minutes.

These crunchy, cheesy bites are the perfect appetizer and disappeared super fast at my house!

Sweet Filling

For the sweet batch, I rolled the remaining dough into a big circle and cut it into 8 triangles. At the wide base of each triangle, I added one or two thin slices of ripe pear (not too thick), a sprinkle of chopped walnuts, and some mini chocolate chips for a little extra treat.

Then I rolled up the triangles starting from the wide end, laid them out on a parchment-lined sheet, brushed with egg wash, and baked for 10 to 15 minutes. A quick dusting of powdered sugar after cooling finishes them off beautifully.

If pears aren’t your thing, swap them for apple slices tossed with cinnamon and brown sugar. So cozy! Any leftover dough? You could easily make some double cheese twists that go perfectly with a bowl of soup or stew any night of the week.

I really hope you give this 10-Minute Homemade Puff Pastry a try. I’d love to hear what fillings you come up with! Enjoy every flaky bite.