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Whip & Wander

Pumpkin Pasties – Sweet and Savory Versions

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a wooden board with a pan full of pumpkin pasties

He had never had any money for sweets with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry — but the woman didn’t have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. Ron stared as Harry brought it all back into the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.
“Hungry, are you?”
“Starving,” said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, “She always forgets I don’t like corned beef.”
“Swap you for one of these,” said Harry, holding up a pasty. “Go on –“
“You don’t want this, it’s all dry,” said Ron. “She hasn’t got much time,” he added quickly, “you know, with five of us.”
“Go on, have a pasty,” said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry’s pasties, cakes, and sweets (the sandwiches lay forgotten).

 – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

a pan full of pastries with sage leaves

Making friends with food is the first lesson you learn in school

I’ve always felt that sharing food is one of the best ways to make friends. Think about how many friends you made in grade school when you swapped items from your lunch box. That’s friend-making 101 and that’s exactly why your mom packed those extra Teddy Grahams in your lunch box. She didn’t leave those bad boys all for you, those were Grade-A friend-making currency.

Harry’s first introduction to making a friend was sharing his Pumpkin Pasties and other sweets with Ron Weasley on his first train journey to Hogwarts. It’s the moment that you know Harry finally has the opportunity to forge the love and friendship he has been lacking in his first 11 years with the Dursleys, and one of my favorite moments from this series. Just like the confection found on the Hogwarts express, these Pumpkin Pasties are a magical treat to be shared with new and old friends alike.

gluten free pumpkin pasties with savor and sweet fillings

Two fillings for your Harry Potter-inspired pumpkin pasties: One sweet & one savory

I always assumed that the Pumpkin Pasties in Harry Potter were a sweet confection as they were purchased from the Honeydukes Express Trolley in the Hogwart Express. However, I really wanted to experiment with a savory filling too because I thought these would make a spectacular main dish for dinner. In the end, I chose to make two fillings for these Pumpkin Pasties; one sweet and one savory.

The sweet pumpkin filling includes traditional pumpkin pie spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and vanilla, but is elevated further with a creamy mascarpone cheese which makes these extra rich and delectable. These sweet pasties are just begging to be eaten for brunch or consumed for dessert with a crisp glass of eggnog around the holidays.

The savory pumpkin filling includes a rich and hearty mix of Italian sausage, herbs, gruyere, and cheddar. These are perfect eaten on their own as a main course or served alongside a bowl of soup in the fall and winter months.

a loaf pan of gluten free pumpkin pasties with sage leaves

Puff pastry options for those who are gluten-free

These Pumpkin Pasties are easily adapted for gluten-free diets by using gluten-free puff pastry or pie crust. My two favorite options are the following:

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Pie Crust

Bob’s Red Mill makes a great gluten-free pie crust mix that they’ve helpfully adapted into a puff pastry on their website. The process to make any type of puff pastry takes a bit more than 20 hours but is incredibly simple to make. Don’t let the process time scare you off! The majority of this is chill time in the fridge between each fold, not the actual time you’ll spend in the kitchen. Start this dough a day or two ahead of when you need it and you’ll be in business for some of the best buttery, flaky gluten-free layers anyone has ever had on Pumpkin Pasties before.

geefree Gluten-Free Puff Pastry Sheets

If you’re not interested in making your own puff pastry, geefree makes gluten-free puff pastry sheets that you can purchase pre-made in the freezer section. The photos of Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pasties currently in this post are those made with geefree gluten-free puff pastry sheets. As you can see, the lamination is limited compared to traditional puff pastry. This is a good option for those who are completely gluten-free who do not want to put the time into making homemade puff pastry. However, I prefer the Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free recipe because it produces a laminated (layered) dough closer to traditional puff pastry.

*If you are not gluten-free, there are endless options for pre-made frozen puff pastry sheets that can be used in this recipe, or you can use your favorite pie crust.

a parchment lined pan full of savory and sweet pumpkin pasties

Pro tip for a better pasty

No matter what type of dough you use, it’s important that you allow the filling to cool before adding it to the chilled dough. If you add hot filling to the dough you will almost certainly end up with melted, unstable dough that is difficult to work with and full of holes for the filling to ooze out of. For the savory Pumpkin Pasties, I pre-cook the sausage rather than using raw so I don’t have to worry about the pastry dough over-baking in order for the meat to reach adequate internal temperature.

Room temperature filling is fine, cold is better, so feel free to make your filling ahead of time and chill in the fridge before rolling and filling your dough. If your pastry begins to soften to the point where it’s hard to work with, pop it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up.

A note for special diets

The filling of these Pumpkin Pasties fit gluten-free diets and the filling contain no refined sugars.

The Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free puff pastry contains a negligible amount of refined sugar cane in the pastry mix (2g per serving of mix). The geefree gluten-free puff pastry sheets also contain a negligible amount of sugar in their pre-made sheets (1g per 1.5oz serving).

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7 pumpkin pasties on a wooden tray with a teal towel

Pumpkin Pasties – Sweet and Savory Versions

★★★★★ 5 from 31 reviews
  • Author: Whip & Wander
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 20 pasties 1x
  • Category: Brunch, Main Course
  • Method: Stovetop / Oven
  • Cuisine: British
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

For sweet pasties:

  • 1 batch Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free puff pastry, prepared – or puff pastry sheets of your choice
  • 1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
  • 3 tbsp mascarpone cheese
  • 2 1/2 tbsp raw honey
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp cloves
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 egg, lightly whipped

For savory pasties:

  • 1 batch Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free puff pastry, prepared – or puff pastry sheets of your choice
  • 1/2 cup fully-cooked ground Italian sausage, chilled
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
  • 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 tsp dried sage
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 1 egg, lightly whipped

Instructions

For sweet pasties:

  1. In a medium bowl, mix pumpkin puree, mascarpone cheese, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
  2. Roll out puff pastry and cut with pastry round. I used the 3.875″ circle from this set.
  3. Fill each pastry round with 2-3 tsp pumpkin mix. Be careful not to overfill as this mix easily finds it’s way out of unsealed edges. Pinch edges as you fill each pastie and then use a fork to crimp them, if desired.
  4. Add two small slices in the tops of each pastie.
  5. Wash each pastie with the lightly whipped egg.
  6. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking liner or parchment paper. Place the pasties on top and place in freezer for atleast 10 minutes to firm up.
  7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 C).
  8. Bake frozen pasties for a minimum of 20 minutes. If you pasties spent more than 10 minutes in the freezer, they may up to an additional 10 minutes in the oven. Remove from oven when pasties are golden brown.

For savory pasties:

  1. In a medium bowl, mix Italian sausage, pumpkin puree, gruyere cheese, cheddar cheese, sage, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
  2. Roll out puff pastry and cut with pastry round. I used the 3.875″ circle from this set.
  3. Fill each pastry round with 1 tbsp pumpkin mix. Be careful not to overfill. Pinch edges as you fill each pastie and then use a fork to crimp them, if desired.
  4. Add two small slices in the tops of each pastie.
  5. Wash each pastie with the lightly whipped egg.
  6. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking liner or parchment paper. Place the pasties on top and place in freezer for atleast 10 minutes to firm up.
  7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 C).
  8. Bake frozen pasties for a minimum of 20 minutes. If you pasties spent more than 10 minutes in the freezer, they may up to an additional 10 minutes in the oven. Remove from oven when pasties are golden brown.

Notes

No matter what type of dough you use, it’s important that you allow the filling to cool before adding it to the chilled dough. If you add hot filling to the dough you will almost certainly end up with melted, unstable dough that is difficult to work with and full of holes for the filling to ooze out of. For the savory Pumpkin Pasties, I pre-cook the sausage rather than using raw so I don’t have to worry about the pastry dough over-baking in order for the meat to reach adequate internal temperature. Room temperature filling is fine, cold is better, so feel free to make your filling ahead of time and chill in the fridge before rolling and filling your dough. If your pastry begins to soften to the point where it’s hard to work with, pop it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up.

Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.

Keywords: Pumpkin Pasties

Reader Interactions

Comments

  12. Luci

    Those looks so delicious. I’m going to have to try out the savory version of the recipe, I’ve never had savory pumpkin recipe before.

    Reply

  13. Nicolas Hortense

    I have made gluten-free cakes and other dishes, but never taken on the challenge of making a pastry dish! Really admire your determination, I know how annoying it can be when you have to keep re-trying a recipe. The pastries clearly ended up looking fantastic! Nice Potter post 😉

    Reply

  19. Jenna

    I love how you tied these into Harry Potter… but really I just love that pumpkin season is almost here! These look so yummy- pumpkin pie is a favorite of mine too.

    Reply

  22. Paula @ I'm Busy Being Awesome

    These look absolutely UNBELIEVABLE! I’m re-reading the Harry Potter series this summer, so I’m extra excited about this post 🙂 🙂 And thanks for the pro tip about allowing everything to cool first! I’d want to rush it, so now I know not to ?

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  25. Rebecca

    OH my! I have been missing pastries since being gluten free. I have not found any that are good. I love Bob’s Red Mill but have not seen this mix before…i ordered it online! Time to add the sweet and the savory pasties to our lunch boxes for work and school! So great!!! Thank you!

    Reply

  26. Mary

    We are real big Harry Potter fans in this house, and your post (s) about him are all so good! My daughter and I want to host a Magical party now!!!!

    Reply

  32. Anne Murphy

    I like the choice of sweet or savory! And thank you so much for pointing me towards a recipe for gf puff pastry! Other things I’ve done have shown me that most gf flour doesn’t quite work right with fat, and I don’t want them greasy… I’ve had the geefree at an expo. I think they would work very well for pasties or hand pies – but it’s not really puff pastry. A bit more substantial (not always a bad thing in a pasty, but…)

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  33. Michelle

    My daughter loves Harry Potter so I’m going to have to make these for her! Thanks for including a sweet and savoury option too, I think we’ll have to make both they sound so tasty!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  34. Michele

    Yum!! These Pumpkin Pasties sound right up my alley! Love any pastry, so I’m pretty sure I would like the sweet and the savory. So great that you have both options. Cannot wait to try these!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  37. Donna

    Wow you are committed to the cause making endless batches of gluten-free crusts on a hot day!! And I am glad you did (because rather you than me 🙂 ), and also….they work perfectly!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  38. Natalie

    I’m all into pumpkins lately so I can’t wait to give this recipe a try. My family loves puff pastry treats and I love that you provided two versions – sweet and savory. I know I’m gonna love both.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  43. Marisa Franca

    I haven’t tried gluten-free puff pastry yet but I’d love to try. My daughter has trouble with gluten and these would be so great to make for her family. And the bonus is they are all huge Harry Potter fans.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  45. Tessa Simpson

    I used my own paleo pie crust recipe for the savory ones the other night…and they were AMAZING! Such a great combo of flavors, I couldn’t get enough!! Can’t wait to make them again! I used all gruyere

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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