Make these easy Vegan Pear and Blue Cheese tarts with flaky puff pastry, crunchy walnuts, fresh thyme and a sweet vegan honey drizzle. Ready in 30 minutes! Get the recipe below!
These Vegan Pear and Blue Cheese Tarts are a delicious combination of sweet, juicy pears, creamy vegan blue cheese, crunchy walnuts and fresh thyme, all wrapped in golden, flaky puff pastry. Finished with a drizzle of vegan honey, they strike the balance between sweet and savoury, making them a wonderful dish to serve when you want something special without spending hours in the kitchen.
Now you may be wondering what vegan honey is considering most vegans won't eat regular honey. I use my own homemade vegan honey but you could use agave nectar or maple syrup as listed in the substitutions section below. For the blue cheese element I love La Fauxmagerie's Brixton blue cheese but you could use any vegan cheese brand that you like.
Whether you're serving these Vegan Pear and Blue Cheese tarts as a light lunch, a starter for a dinner party or as part of a seasonal spread, they're a simple yet elegant way to showcase the delicious combination of fruit, cheese and pastry.
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Ingredients
I've kept things simple with this ingredients list:
- Vegan puff pastry: did you know lots of ready made puff pastrys are actually vegan? If you'd prefer to make your own vegan puff pastry, follow my guide here.
- Pears: choose ripe but firm pears that will hold their shape during baking. Conference pears in particular work well.
- Vegan blue cheese: this provides a distinctive tangy, savoury flavour that contrasts well with the pears.
- Walnuts: these add a crunch and slightly earthy flavour to the dish.
- Fresh thyme: I love the flavour of thyme and find fresh works best for this recipe.
- Vegan honey: this adds a glossy finish and a gentle sweetness.
Step-by-step instructions
- Step 1: Unroll the puff pastry and cut into rectangles.
- Step 2: slice the pears and fan out over the pastry.
- Step 3: add the blue cheese and walnuts.
- Step 4: strip the thyme leaves from the woody stems and sprinkle over the tarts
- Step 5: bake until golden and crisp.
- Step 6: drizzle over the vegan honey and serve.
Hint: slice the pears thinly and avoid using fruit that's excessively ripe or juicy as too much moisture can prevent the pastry from getting nice and crisp!
Substitutions
Need to make one or two swaps? Don't worry, I've got you covered:
- Puff pastry: ready rolled vegan shortcrust pastry could be used for a different texture:
- Vegan blue cheese: if you can't find vegan blue cheese, try a plant-based feta.
- Pears: apples make a good alternative.
- Walnuts: pecans or hazelnuts also work well. For a nut free version try pumpkin seeds.
- Fresh thyme: this can be replaced with dried thyme if you're stuck finding fresh.
- Vegan honey: maple syrup or agave nectar can be drizzled over instead.
Variations
Put a twist on the recipe with one of these variations:
- Caramelised onion and pear tarts: spread a thin layer of caramelised onion over the pastry before adding the pears and vegan blue cheese for a deeper, savoury flavour.
- Pear, blue cheese and rosemary tarts: swap the thyme for fresh rosemary but use sparingly as it's stronger than thyme.
- Fig and pear tarts: add a few slices of fresh fig alongside the pears for an even fruitier topping.
Equipment
You don't need any specialist equipment to make these easy vegan pear and blue cheese tarts. You'll just need:
- Baking tray
- Baking paper
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
Storage
These Vegan Pear and Blue Cheese Tarts are best eaten fresh from the oven. And, for best results, only add the vegan honey just before serving.
Top tip
Don't overload the pasty with toppings. It can be tempting to pile on extra pears and blue cheese but a relatively thin, even layer helps the pastry rise properly and cook through.
Frequently asked questions
I don't recommend it but, if you must, you can prepare the component parts ahead of time.You could also cook them and, before drizzling over the honey, store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Just reheat them in the oven until heated through and crisp again. Do not microwave them or they will get soggy.
Firm, ripe pears are best as they won't release too much liquid. Conference pears are a good choice but other dessert pear varieties will work too.
Choose a plant-based blue cheese with a strong, tangy flavour that you enjoy eating on its own. Some vegan blue cheeses are firmer and slice neatly, while others are soft and crumbly. Both work.
Many supermarket puff pastry products are made with vegetable fats rather than butter and are suitable for vegans but you should always check the packet's ingredients. "All butter" varieties will not be suitable.
Personally I think they taste best warm but they are perfectly edible at room temperature.
The recipe
Vegan Pear and Blue Cheese Tarts
Equipment
- 1 Baking tray
- baking paper
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 chopping board
Ingredients
- 320 g read-rolled puff pastry check it's vegan!
- 4 pears thinly sliced
- 120 g vegan blue cheese
- 50 g walnuts roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoon vegan honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F / gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
- Unroll the puff pastry and cut it into four equal rectangles. Arrange them on the prepared baking tray.
- Core the pears and slice them thinly. Fan the slices across each pastry rectangle, leaving a small border around the edges.
- Cut or crumble the vegan blue cheese into small pieces and scatter over the pears.
- Roughly chop the walnuts and sprinkle them over the tarts, followed by the fresh thyme leaves.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 18–20 minutes, until the pastry has risen and turned golden and the pears are tender.
- Drizzle the vegan honey over the tarts while they're still warm and serve immediately.
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