These irresistible phyllo cigars are stuffed with a mixture of Kalamata olives, fresh herbs and cashew cheese. A show-stopping appetizer that nobody would ever guess was vegan!
A word of caution if you decide to make these: they're stupidly addictive. Seriously. The recipe only makes a batch of 12 and they're kind of meant to be party food. That means you could easily put a big dent in your supply of pre-dinner snacks intended for your guests.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Consider making a double batch!
​​​​​​​What Are Phyllo Cigars?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Phyllo cigars are little baked phyllo tubes that are stuffed with...well, just about anything! They come in sweet and savory varieties with all kinds of surprises inside. But one thing that you'll rarely find is a vegan phyllo cigar.
This recipe was the inspiration for my vegan phyllo cigars. I swapped out the feta with cashew cheese and took things up a notch by adding extra herbs. The result was delicious!
What You'll Need​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
- Raw cashews
- Water
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Salt & pepper
- Kalamata olives
- Scallions
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh dill
- Frozen phyllo
- Olive oil
- Unsweetened non-dairy milk
How to Make Phyllo Cigars
Refer to the following section for detailed instructions and tips, or scroll all the way to the bottom of the post if you'd like to skip to the recipe.
Make the Filling
You'll need to soak your cashews before getting started, preferably overnight.
To make your filling, drain and rinse your cashews, and add them to a food processor bowl with some water, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. Blend everything up until smooth and creamy!
Now add your olives, herbs, and some black pepper. Briefly blend the mixture again to chop and mix everything up. Give the mixture a taste-test and make any adjustments you deem necessary.​​​​​​​
Make the Cigars
If you're new to cooking with phyllo, know that it can be a little tricky! The sheets are super thin and easy to break. Have some extras on hand.
You'll also want to get a damp towel ready. Use this to cover your stack of phyllo sheets as you work, to keep them from drying out.
Fire up the oven and get a baking sheet ready!
Spread a phyllo sheet on the counter with a short end facing you. Brush the top half with olive oil. Now fold it in half, gently smoothing out any air bubbles.
Now brush one side of the folded sheet with oil, and fold it again. You'll end up with a four-layer phyllo rectangle.​​​​​​​
Spoon about 1 ½ tablespoons of your filling in a line, about a half inch from one of the shorter sides of your rectangle, then tightly roll everything up.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Arrange your cigars on a baking sheet, seam-sides down, as you make them. Brush them all with some non-dairy milk before popping them in the oven.
Bake the cigars until they're browned and crispy. Let them cool for a few minutes before enjoying.
Phyllo Cigar Tips & FAQ
- Can these cigars be made gluten-free? Yes, if you can find vegan and gluten-free phyllo dough. I'm not aware of any brands, but I did find this recipe that you can use to make your own.
- Leftovers and storage: Leftover cigars will keep for about 3 days in a sealed container in the fridge. The phyllo won't stay super crispy, but they'll still taste delicious. You can get some degree of recrisping by popping them in 400°F degree oven for a few minutes.
- Have some extra phyllo sheets on hand when you make these. I almost always break at least one!
- Can I use roasted cashews to make these? I don't recommend it! Your filling will taste more like cashew butter and less like cheese. Raw cashews have a much more neutral flavor (roasting makes them taste nutty), so they work a lot better for making vegan cheese.
- Did you forget to soak your cashews? Try boiling them for 15 minutes instead. And next time, soak and freeze some cashews (freeze them right in the soaking water), so you've always got what you need on hand.
- Looking for more delicious vegan phyllo recipes? Try my vegan spanakopita or savory hand pies!
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Stuffed Phyllo Cigars
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- â…“ cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ½ cup roughly chopped Kalamata olives
- ¼ cup chopped scallions
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- Black pepper, to taste
- 12 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
- â…“ cup olive oil, or as needed
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Place the cashews, water, lemon juice, garlic, and ½ teaspoon of salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade.
- Blend everything until smooth.
- Add the olives, scallions, parsley, and dill. Briefly blend again just until the ingredients are chopped and incorporated into the mixture.
- Taste-test the filling and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place a phyllo sheet on a work surface, extending lengthwise away from you. Cover your remaining phyllo sheets with a damp towel to keep them from drying out.
- Brush the top half of the sheet with olive oil, then fold the sheet in half, folding the bottom half over the top. Gently smooth out any air bubbles.
- Now brush the right or left side of the sheet with oil, and fold the sheet in half, over the oil-brushed half. Smooth out any bubbles.
- You'll now have a smaller phyllo rectangle oriented lengthwise away from you. Spoon about 1 ½ tablespoons of your filling in a line, about ½ inch from the edge of the rectangle closest to you.
- Roll the tube away from you to enclose the filling.
- Arrange the tube on a baking sheet, seam side down.
- Repeat the rolling process until all of the phyllo sheets and filling are used.
- Brush the tubes with non-dairy milk and place the baking sheet into the oven.
- Bake until the cigars are golden brown and crispy, about 20 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cigars to cool for a few minutes before serving.
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One of my all time favorite recipes, I keep coming back! This time I do have a question: could I somehow prep them the day before snd bake them on the day I want to serve, so that they stay crunchy? Mayve freeze or par bake?
I'm so glad you're enjoying them! I haven't tried par baking them, but that's a really good idea! I would try baking them for 10 minutes on the day you make them, then 10 to 15 minutes on the day of serving. I have made them completely in advance and heated them back up in the oven the following day, and they weren't quite as crispy as on day one. Still tasty though! Another option would be to make just the filling in advance. It should keep in the fridge for about three days, or in the freezer for about three months.
If I wanted to cut them in half so they would be smaller would you cut the phylo before you rolled it?
I would! I think it'll be easier to cut that way and you won't risk squishing the cigars. I find kitchen shears work really well for cutting phyllo.
Substituted sun dried tomatoes for the olives, they were very very tasty! Just came back to write the ingredients for my Christmas food shopping and realized I hadn’t written a review!
make this with home made phyllo. Its not difficult, is much cheaper than buying ready made phyllo sheets, tastes much better and is naturally vegan!
I have not made these yet because we are not olive fans...is the taste strong in this recipe?
Or do you have any suggestions what to substitute for the olives?They look delicious
The olive taste it pretty strong. Some diced artichoke hearts or roasted red peppers might be nice as a substitute. Either way I'd taste text the mix in case you need to adjust any other seasonings - I'm thinking it might need some extra salt since olives are pretty salty. I'd love to hear how they turn out if you try one of these variations!
I really think sundried tomatoes (in Greece we have them preserved in oil as well, so they are pretty tender) would work nicely, in fact that's what I plan on trying tonight!
That sounds delicious! I hope you enjoy them!
Made these as Thanksgiving appetizers yesterday. My Greek-American husband was over the moon.
I can't wait to try these and many others of your recipes. I recently subscribed for your email updates and they are all well made, look and sound delicious. 🙂 You are really a great cook/chef. 🙂