Not everyone is familiar with samosas, but after trying this easy, budget-friendly version, I’m pretty sure you’ll be hooked! Samosas are a beloved Indian snack with historical roots that trace back to Central Asia and the Middle East. They’re filled with spiced vegetables (or meat, but there are sweet versions, too!) and are either baked or fried. To keep things simple and affordable, I’m using pantry staples, and instead of making a traditional dough from scratch, I’m taking a shortcut with puff pastry. Pair these Easy Puff Pastry Samosas with a chutney, and you’ve got a delicious, flaky snack that’s perfect for sharing (or not!)
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Easy Recipe for Puff Pastry Samosas
These Indian-inspired puff pastry samosas borrow the comforting flavors of classic savory samosas and are filled with a delicious mix of mashed potato, peas, onion, garlic, melty mozzarella, and warm spices. This vegetarian version takes inspiration from traditional recipes, but I’ve simplified things to make them doable on a busy day.
Instead of making a from-scratch samosa dough (which is absolutely delicious, although time-consuming!) I use freezer-friendly puff pastry and bake them as a quick shortcut. You can try frying these, but I recommend baking for easy cleanup. I think they’re a great change from plain old sandwiches in your lunch box, perfect as a holiday appetizer, snack, or that go-to potluck dish everyone ends up asking for!
Easy Puff Pastry Samosas
Servings 6 servings (2 each)Ingredients
- 1 Russet potato (small (12 oz, 340g) $0.74)
- 1 tsp curry powder ($0.17)
- ½ tsp ground cumin ($0.04)
- ½ tsp salt ($0.02)
- ¼ cup frozen peas (90g, $0.14)
- ½ cup yellow onion (small dice, (2.5oz, 70g) $0.39)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced (1 Tbsp) $0.12)
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese (shredded, (60g) $0.49)
- 1 puff pastry sheet (room temperature, $4.49*)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.04**)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Gather all ingredients and cut the onions and garlic.
- Pierce the potato on both sides with a fork. Microwave the potato for 5 minutes on each side. Remove the potato and let it cool slightly.***
- In a medium bowl, mash the potato. Add the curry powder, cumin, salt, peas, onions, garlic, and mozzarella and fold to combine.
- Cut the puff pastry into roughly twelve 4×3-inch boxes, then gently pull on each to create squares. Fill each center of the squares with ¼ cup of potato mix.
- Fold each filled puff pastry square in half to make a triangle. Using a fork, carefully crimp and seal the edges.
- Place the samosas on a lined oven-safe tray and brush the tops with vegetable oil.
- Place the tray in the preheated oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
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Equipment
- Medium Bowl
- 15×12 Sheet Pan
Notes
Nutrition
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Gather and prep all of your ingredients. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Cook the potato: Pierce one small russet potato on both sides with a fork and place it on a microwavable plate. Microwave on both sides for 5 minutes, then set the potato aside to cool slightly.
This is a quick and easy way to soften and bake a potato without turning the oven on. If preferred, you can bake the potato in the oven or the air fryer or boil it in water (dice it first). Just note these methods will take much longer than using the microwave. You can also use a leftover previously cooked small baked potato (it doesn’t need to be hot when mixed with the other filling ingredients).
Make the filling: Mash the potato in a medium-sized bowl (I left the skin on my potato, but you can remove it if preferred). Now add 1 tsp curry powder, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp salt, ¼ cup frozen peas, ½ cup diced onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, and ½ cup shredded mozzarella and fold to combine.
Make the samosas: Roll out your room-temperature puff pastry sheet and cut it into roughly twelve 4×3-inch boxes. I used the Jus-Rol brand of puff pastry, so you might get fewer or more boxes depending on the brand you use.
Now, very gently pull on each box to make them into more of a square shape. Add ¼ cup of the potato mix to each puff pastry square and fold it over in half to make a triangle. Set the triangle-shaped parcels on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Crimp the edges: Use a fork to carefully crimp and seal the edges of your samosas.
Bake: Brush the tops of each triangle with vegetable oil (1 Tbsp total). You can also use melted butter or an egg wash.
Now place the baking tray into the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips & Suggestions
- Want to add some spice? Try adding cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes to the filling! I’d add around ¼ teaspoon to start, but if you like things hotter, you can always bump it up to ½ teaspoon or more. You can also play around with the spices used in the filling and add your favorites.
- Add different frozen or fresh veggies! Chopped spinach, corn, and grated carrots all work great here.
- You can even add ground meat like beef or turkey to your mix. Just make sure to fully cook the meat and drain away the fat before filling the pastry, so it bakes through properly. And remember, the more you add, the more filling you’ll end up with! You may need to reduce the other filling ingredients slightly, use an extra puff pastry sheet, OR plan to save the extra filling for another use (it makes a great next-day hash or wrap filling). Don’t overfill the samosas to ensure they seal properly.
- Samosas can be made into different shapes, but the way I’ve used here was the easiest to do. They’re almost like vegetable turnovers! Whatever shape you make, be sure to fully crimp the edges with a fork to keep them sealed.
Serving Suggestions
I made a simple onion chutney to pair with these homemade samosas, and WOW. It might just be one of my favorite snacks ever. I’ve already made this combo twice this week and don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. 😉 But if onion chutney isn’t your thing, a sweet mango and pineapple chutney would be just as delicious. I also think our tomato relish would be a great match, too.
Storage & Reheating
You can keep these vegetable puff pastry samosas in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container. Reheat them in the oven at 350°F or the microwave if you don’t mind the pastry being softer. You can also freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge or reheat from frozen.
Very good! I made them one day for lunch to round out a Trader Joe’s Indian meal. They were good but did not compete well with the TJ’s chicken samosas or palak paneer, but we loved them the next day. I can’t say whether it was just because they had a chance to meld or if something in the spices among the dishes didn’t play well, but I would definitely make these again.
The grocery store didn’t have puff pastry, so I took a chance on some phyllo sheets, instead, and rolled up the triangles like spanakopita. I have not worked with phyllo before and it is a nightmare! Unfortunately, the end result was 100% worth the hour of panicked swearing in the kitchen, so I’m going to have to do it again sometime.
that looks amazing, will be making soon!
So simple yet so delicious. I love Indian food, the mild to medium spiced at least, as there are so many vegetarian options. I have tried this with vegetarian ground savory sausage and mushroom based protein and it is great and gives these samosas a protein boost.
Much easier than the traditional forms, this recipe is tasty. Cheese is definitely not common and using ordinary curry powder, mostly turmeric, reduces the spice profile. I tasted the filling before stuffing the pastries and decided to add 1/2 tsp garam masala–available in most supermarkets–to increase the presence of sweet spices, and 1/8 tsp cayenne. While I’ve never seen onion or garlic used in pea/potato filling, I liked it.
These are what I had for supper tonight; Excellent! If a little haphazardly assembled, but that’s on me. I let the dough get too warm, next time I’ll assemble before it gets there!
I had them with the onion chutney, also posted today, and also excellent!