The chocolate and banana triangles are vegan treats that I made almost at the beginning of my blog, following a recipe from the Weight Watchers website, but then I forgot them in the drafts of my recipes. And I even remade them a few times hoping to take better shots, but nothing… So today I’m presenting them like this, a bit too golden but still very tasty! Of course, I used my beloved phyllo pastry to make them…
Phyllo pastry is typically vegan, made mainly with flour and water, without yeast, and then rolled out into very thin sheets. Used with light ingredients, it is perfect for a diet as it is very versatile, suitable for both sweet and savory preparations, and its caloric intake is very low. In practice, it is used like puff pastry, so you can fold it into bundles, triangles, or however you prefer.
Here I used two simple and genuine ingredients: chocolate and banana! The banana is zero Weight Watchers points and I can’t do without chocolate even on a diet, otherwise, I get too depressed. Just use dark chocolate, with less sugar, and voilà! Let’s see how I made them as I’m starting to ramble…
You can find some other recipes with phyllo pastry here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air Fryer
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3 bananas (small or 2 large)
- 5 sheets phyllo pastry (thawed, about 8×9.45 inches (approximately 110g in total))
- 2 tsp olive oil (2 teaspoons)
- 2 oz g dark chocolate (vegan)
- Points for 1 triangle = 2 WW points
Tools
- Small Bowl
- Knife
- Parchment paper
- Baking Tray
- Air fryer parchment paper
- Air Fryer
- Brush
- Cooling Rack
Steps
First, prepare all the ingredients…
Peel the bananas and cut them into pieces, dividing them into 10 equal portions. Also, chop the chocolate into pieces or grate it, and divide it into 10 equal portions.
Phyllo pastry tends to dry out quickly and should be brushed with butter before cooking. To avoid too many calories, I discovered that just using a little bit of oil and diluting it with hot water works very well. The effect is the same but the calories or WW points are reduced. So, in a small bowl, put 2 teaspoons of oil and add a little water to double its volume. You can also use light melted vegetable margarine, always mixed with a little water. Mix oil and water well: this liquid will be used to moisten the phyllo pastry.
Open the package of phyllo pastry and take the first sheet. While working on one sheet, cover the rest of the phyllo pastry with plastic wrap or a cloth to prevent it from drying out. Brush the entire sheet well with the oil and water or margarine mixture and cut it in half lengthwise with a sharp knife to get 2 rectangles.
For each rectangle, place the prepared portion of bananas and dark chocolate at one end. Then, as shown in the photo, fold into a triangle. Finally, brush again with a little of the oil and water mixture. Repeat this operation to form all the triangles.
Place the triangles on the baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat, as I did. With the remaining oil and water mix, gently brush the edges of all the triangles.
Preheat the oven to 356°F (somewhat lower if the oven is fan-assisted) and bake for about 10 minutes in the center of the oven.
When they are well golden, but not too much like I did
, remove the triangles from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes on a cooling rack.
You can also cook them in an air fryer by placing them on suitable parchment paper, at 320°F for about 7-8 minutes, checking often so they don’t get too golden and turning them halfway through cooking. When they are golden, remove the triangles from the air fryer and let them cool for a few minutes on a cooling rack.
And here, our chocolate and banana triangles are ready to be enjoyed! Will we manage to let them cool?
If you want, you can also sprinkle them with a couple of teaspoons of powdered sugar without changing the WW points. I must say that they were very much enjoyed here even if every time I make them, I always leave them a few minutes too long in the oven. In fact, my son, seeing that I’m writing the recipe, asked: when will you make them again? Well, I should take care of it soon! Let me know if you liked them by leaving a comment below…
Enjoy!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can prepare this dessert in advance as phyllo pastry, unlike puff pastry, tends to stay crispy longer. I know for sure that preparing them the day before, they remain crispy the next day, kept at room temperature (usually, I leave them on a plate in the oven). They didn’t last me any longer!
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Where can I find phyllo pastry?
Phyllo pastry is sold in various sizes. In this recipe, I indicated the size of sheets I usually find frozen here in the Netherlands, but if you find them in a larger size, it’s very simple to cut them into smaller rectangles or if you find them smaller you can join several pieces together by overlapping them a few millimeters: in the end, you need to obtain 10 fairly long rectangles! If you can’t find phyllo pastry, you can also try looking for brick pastry in ethnic shops.
Can I use other fruits?
Honestly, I think that fruit that releases too much water might not be suitable, and that’s why I used bananas. But I think with a pear that is not too ripe, it could definitely work… maybe with well-drained ricotta instead of chocolate and a nice dusting of cinnamon! If you try it, let me know.
