Vegan Burger Buns (Soft and Fluffy)
These Vegan Burger Buns are soft, fluffy and easy to make! I share easy step by step tips to guide you through, and show you how to freeze them so you can enjoy fresh burger buns every time!
As someone who loves veggie burgers, I love creating the perfect complete burger. First of course, there is the actual burger. Juicy, flavourful and hot. Then of course, the toppings. I love a classic lettuce, tomato and vegan cheese with some mustard and some vegan mayo (plus, I always had hot sauce). Then last, but certainly not least, the bun. Everything else could be perfect, but the bun is really what takes it over the top and can make or break your burger experience. Pillowy soft, buttery, and fluffy perfection! Today I’m sharing my favourite burger buns with you!
Making bread, pizza and naan in quarantine really prepared me for making these burger buns. In fact, when writing this recipe I realised that the instructions were nearly identical to my pizza dough recipe up until splitting the buns. Isn’t it incredible that learning a skill such as bread making can be transformed into so many different dishes?
I based this recipe on my no knead bread, and implemented elements to keep them soft and fluffy, while keeping the process to make them relatively simple.
Let’s get into the tips you’ll need to make these divine burger buns.
Expert Tips & FAQ
- Firstly, these burger buns have a rise stage, and proof (a second rise essentially). These separate rises actually help to make these pretty foolproof and help create their beautiful rounded shape. You don’t want to skimp on rising time or skip either, because they result in the ultimate end product.
- Always have some bench flour with you in a small container while kneading the dough – which just means extra flour. If you live in a humid climate like me, you may end up needing up to an extra ¼ cup flour while kneading. If not, perhaps only 2 tablespoons extra. The recipe is designed in a way that it’ll still turn out incredible either way.
- Speaking of kneading, kneading here is key. Kneading helps to work the gluten, which is crucial for the texture and pull of these buns. I always set a timer while kneading, and throw on a show so the time goes by faster. To knead, you want to fold the dough over onto itself, then push into a ball. Fold and push. You want to really work at it because those ten minutes of needing will make all the difference.
- Always test that your yeast is still working and fresh! I have a post on how to ensure your yeast is still good to help with that.
- Lastly, use a scale to weigh out your ingredients. It makes such a difference with accuracy and also comes in handy if you want to create equal sized buns.
- I don’t recommend skimping on the oil in this recipe. I like to think of it as the natural dough conditioner, and it helps to yield these incredibly soft buns. My preferred oil of choice here is olive oil, but you can use any other kind.
Related Recipes
Enjoy friends! If you make these Vegan Burger Buns, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Vegan Burger Buns
Ingredients
- 4 ¾ cups all purpose flour + extra for kneading, (570g)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, (24g) or liquid such as maple syrup or agave
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast, (about 1 packet) (7g)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt, (12g)
- 1 ½ cups warm water (not hot - warm to touch) , (354mL) ranging between 110 to 120°F
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, (60mL) or any oil
Vegan Egg Wash
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened vegan milk, (44mL) preferably one with a high protein content
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave syrup, (6.75g) use only ½ teaspoon if you don't want any hint of sweetness on your buns
- 1 teaspoon regular mustard , (5g) or dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon mix of sesame seeds, for topping
Instructions
Burger Buns
- In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Whisk the ingredients together.
- Create a well in the centre of the flour. Slowly add the warm water and olive oil to the dry ingredients, and then mix together with a spatula until just incorporated. The dough should look shaggy.
- Flour a clean surface, and then pour/add the dough onto the surface. Flour your hands and fold the dough together. Knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes with your hands and knuckles. The dough might be sticky at first, but you can add up to ¼ cup flour while flouring and kneading to make it easier to manage. You want the end dough ball to be smooth, with slight dimples with a bit of tension formed.
- Lightly grease the ball of dough with some additional oil and place back into the bowl in a ball. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it sit for at least 1 hour on the counter in a warm area. If your kitchen is too cold, you can place it in your OFF oven with the pilot light on which will provide enough residual heat for it to rise. The dough should rise and double in size.
- Punch down the dough and fold over.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal balls and roll each into a ball. Using your fingers, pinch and pull the undersides to shape each ball round. Now would be a great time to check out my highlight on Instagram where I video'd this for clarification! But you essentially want to make them round.
- Line up the balls, about 4 inches apart if you don't want them to spread into one another/touch, on one or two baking sheets (depending on the size or your baking sheet - you want them decently spread out since they'll puff up, then spread again while baking).
- Cover with a light kitchen towel and allow the balls to proof/rise for another 45 minutes.
- You can also begin preheating your oven to 400°F/200°C within the last 20 minutes so it's ready when they're done rising.
- Using a silicone brush/pastry brush, brush the vegan egg wash over the buns and the sides. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top and any other seeds you might desire.
- Bake your buns for 15 minutes in the oven. Remove, and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to your cooling rack. Allow to cool fully. The buns also get much softer once they begin to cool.
- Slice, tear, slather in butter, and enjoy!
Vegan Egg Wash
- Mix the vegan milk, maple syrup/agave and the mustard thoroughly together to combine. If you don't want any sweetness, you can lower this to 1/2 teaspoon maply syrup/agave. You don't have to use all of the vegan egg wash, just as much as you desire for a golden brown top.
Notes
HOW TO FREEZE
Line the buns up on a baking sheet once fully cooked. Place in your freezer and flash freeze for about an hour. Once the hour has passed, you can stack the buns in a freezer safe bag so they won't stick. To thaw, bring to room temperature, then lightly toast in your toaster oven, on your stovetop, or in your air fryer.Expert Tips & FAQ
- Firstly, these buns have a rise, and proof (a second rise essentially). These separate rises actually help to make these pretty foolproof and help create their beautiful rounded shape. You don't want to skimp on rising time or skip either, because they result in the ultimate end product.
- Always have some bench flour with you in a small container while kneading the dough - which just means extra flour. If you live in a humid climate like me, you may end up needing up to an extra ¼ cup flour while kneading. If not, perhaps only 2 tablespoons extra. The recipe is designed in a way that it'll still turn out incredible either way.
- Speaking of kneading, kneading here is key. Kneading helps to work the gluten, which is crucial for the texture and pull of these buns. I always set a timer while kneading, and throw on a show so the time goes by faster. To knead, you want to fold the dough over onto itself, then push into a ball. Fold and push. You want to really work at it because those ten minutes of needing will make all the difference.
- Always test that your yeast is still working and fresh! I have a post on how to ensure your yeast is still good to help with that.
- Lastly, use a scale to weigh out your ingredients. It makes such a difference with accuracy and also comes in handy if you want to create equal sized buns.
- I don't recommend skimping on the oil in this recipe. I like to think of it as the natural dough conditioner, and it helps to yield these incredibly soft buns. My preferred oil of choice here is olive oil, but you can use any other kind.
- For step by step photos of the dough, check out my no knead bread post
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I love the recipe but can you give the recipe in grams?
This would be a lot easier to accurately make the recipe bigger or smaller. Would help a lot, thank you in advance.
Any suggestions on how to modify the recipe to make the buns sour dough? How much starter should I add and how does the starter change any of the other ingredients? Thank you! Can’t wait to try the recipe.
Hmm.. thanks for reading David we haven’t experimented with that as of yet. When we do I’ll come back right here and give you an update.
Did these in the breadmaker (warm water, sugar and yeast in the bowl for 5 mins prior, then all the rest of the ingredients in, and dough setting)
Omg, these were amazing, and so soft. Will definitely add them to the favourites
Thanks for sharing
Wow Krysta thanks so much for this review! Glad to know that they work in a bread maker.
Hello, I am a new reader here, and would like to try this recipe 🙂
If I may ask, how much does each burger weigh? before and after being baked.
Thank you!
Thank you for the receipe. The buns turned out amazing!!
You’re so welcome Kristina!!
Hi Jessica,
I have a KITCHEN a Aid and wanting to know if I could use my dough hook for kneeding and is there a difference in kneading by hand or using the dough hook? Will it affect how the buns come out or no? These buns look small are they large enough to put a large vege burger on it and topping without falling all out?
Do you have one for hoogie buns like subway?
Thank You
Hey Alice,
Dough hook will work perfectly fine! I’ll add that to the instructions for sure. I often use mine to make these and definitely helps with the texture! They’re not small, they’re regular size buns so will be big enough (like Beyond Meat burger sized).
If you want to do hoagie buns you could probably just shape these into that style and bake for the same amount of time. Hope that helps!
These are not just any old burger buns, these buns will change your life, lol! I googled “homemade vegan burger buns” and this recipe popped up. I’m SO glad I tried them. They are so soft, and just the right density. I’m the only vegan in my family, and one of my children – who is suspicious of everything I make – told me he loved these buns and that I need to make them more often. Not a problem!
Aww I’m so happy to hear this Coby!! Thank you so much for sharing this with me!!
These buns I just made are the Best! I’m about to show out at the functions. Thank you for the recipe!
I want to try these out and have bread flour, would that work? should I stick with all purpose?
You can certainly use bread flour Stacy!!
Wow! These buns are perfection! Made them for the first time exactly as written other than no mustard in the egg wash since I hate mustard lol but these came out seriously so perfect I am obsessed and will only be making my own buns from now on. Thanks Jessica!!
Oh wow! Thanks so much Carissa! We’re so happy that you like it.
If you want to impress everyone at the bbq, make the buns. People almost can’t believe it’s possible. ha. I made this recipe last night–They turned out fantastic and were easy to cut and eat. Highly recommend.
My stand mixer did all the heavy-lifting and I let the dough hook kneed for 9mins.
Dividing dough into 8 equal pieces isn’t easy and will result in an uneven product–Use a scale and save yourself the guessing work. (Weigh all the mixed dough and then divide by eight to find out how much each one must way.) If you wanted slider rolls you could easily make this recipe into 10 buns instead.
After I shaped the dough into the balls, I put them on a greased foiled-lined sheet pan. Didn’t pat them down into a flatter shape.
This recipe makes 8 perfectly-sized buns. Standard restaurant size. I baked them all on one sheet pan 4″ apart so they touched a little. Getting to pull them apart after baking is half the fun.
I folded some oregano and rosemary from my garden into the dough by hand at the end of the first mixing. Great addition. Cracked salt is all the top needed.
Highly recommend this recipe.
Very easy and tasty