Is Baklava Vegan? (Here Is Everything You Need To Know)

Since my father traveled a lot, he usually brought many souvenirs. In his visit to Greece, he brought a wooden box filled with Baklava, all individually wrapped. At the time, as you imagine, I wasn’t vegan, so I thoroughly enjoyed it without feeling guilty. 

Baklava has an intriguing sweet and nutty flavor, but because it’s traditionally made with butter and honey, it’s not suitable for vegans. 

With that being said, even though baklava is typically not suitable for vegans, I’ve come across vegan baklava, where the brands use sugar syrup and vegetable ghee to replace its animal equivalents. 

How Is Baklava Typically Made?

Baklava begins like most pastries, where the first step is to make the dough.

Baklava requires a very thin unleavened dough, called phyllo dough, which is typically used in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. 

Homemade phyllo dough takes an awful amount of work as it requires progressive rolling and stretching until you’re left with a very large but thin sheet. However, most dough today is prepared by machine and sold frozen, unless you go to a very traditional baklava shop.  

Phyllo dough is made from wheat flour, water, vinegar, and a little oil, so it’s vegan. 

However, when making baklava, the confectioners brush the sheets of dough with butter and stack them with crushed nuts to obtain a flaky crust. Therefore, even though you may find shops selling vegan baklava, it’s more likely for them to not be vegan. 

Once they are finished stacking the sheets of phyllo dough with the nuts, they place the dough in the oven, where it will gain a uniquely crisp texture before completely soaking it in honey syrup. 

READ NEXT: Is Flour Vegan? (Here Is Everything You Need To Know)

Breaking Down Baklava Brands

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to travel to Turkey, where the original baklava is made, but thanks to the Internet we’re able to find different baklava brands with some other ingredients. 

Most baklava brands will have honey, butter, or eggs, but it’s possible to find brands that use alternatives, for example, the brand below uses sugar syrup in place of honey.

Eridanous Baklava

Technically, the baklava from Eridanous can be considered vegan because it doesn’t have animal ingredients, however, it contains palm oil, which some vegans avoid because it’s linked to deforestation.

Palm oil production is responsible for destroying rainforests and biodiversity, and it’s also responsible for releasing greenhouse gases that get trapped in the atmosphere.  

Therefore, while it may seem harmless to consume baklava because there are no animal ingredients, the impact conventional palm oil production has on entire ecosystems should not be overlooked. 

Some vegans believe that products with such an impact on the environment should not be consumed, even though they’re technically considered vegan.

READ NEXT: Are Donuts Vegan? Everything You Need To Know

Simply Bklva

Simply Bklva is clearly not vegan.

Even though they use agave syrup instead of honey, their baklava still contains several dairy ingredients, namely ghee, a form of clarified butter, and milk powder, which some people also refer to as dried milk. 

Baklava contains pistachios, but some brands/places also use walnuts, and it’s quite unfortunate because if you have a nut allergy, you can’t eat baklava.  

Also, if you’re allergic to gluten, you can’t eat baklava either because they typically contain wheat, though you’re able to find gluten-free baklava recipes. 

READ NEXT: Is Dark Chocolate Vegan? Here’s All You Need To Know

Apollo Baklava