Vegan Formigos
Formigos is a comforting, rustic Portuguese dessert made from stale bread, sweet syrup, warm spices, and crunchy nuts. This fully vegan version uses no eggs, dairy, or animal fat — keeping all the rich, moist, spiced texture and deep traditional flavour of the original, using only simple plant‑based ingredients. It is warming, sweet, and perfect for sharing.
Shared by katty
Time
40 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
easy
đź›’ Ingredients
- #Base;
- 300 g stale rustic bread or crusty loaf (crusts on, torn into small chunks)
- 400–450 ml unsweetened plant milk (oat or soy works best)
- 120 g sugar (white, brown, or coconut sugar).. 3 tbsp olive oil or melted vegan butter
- 1 cinnamon stick + 1 tsp ground cinnamon.. 2–3 strips lemon zest.. Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp port wine or sweet sherry (optional; replace with extra milk or grape juice for non‑alcoholic)
- #Topping;
- 60 g mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, pine nuts), roughly chopped
- Extra ground cinnamon for dusting
👩‍🍳 Instructions
- 1
Soak: Place torn bread in a bowl, pour over the plant milk, and let soak for 10–15 minutes until soft. Squeeze gently to remove excess liquid, then break into a rough pulp.
- 2
Simmer: In a pan, heat oil/butter, sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon zest, salt, and wine (if using). Stir until sugar dissolves, then add the soaked bread pulp.
- 3
Cook: Cook over low heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture thickens, comes together, and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove cinnamon stick and zest.
- 4
Bake: Transfer to a lightly greased baking dish. Scatter the chopped nuts over the top and dust generously with extra cinnamon. Bake at 180 °C (350 °F) for 10–12 minutes until golden and fragrant.
- 5
Serve: Enjoy warm or at room temperature.