Easy Vegan Burger Buns | Brioche Buns (Gluten Free Option!)
Soft and fluffy easy vegan burger buns are the perfect homemade brioche bun recipe for your vegan burgers. Only 5 ingredients and made completely eggless, dairy free, sugar free, and soy free, these homemade burger buns are perfect for a Fourth of July cookout, Memorial Day barbecue, or any summer party!
The BEST soft & fluffy homemade burger buns
If you’ve been searching for a good vegan burger bun recipe, then look no further because these burger buns are it!
I mean, who can resist a freshly baked, homemade burger bun that’s soft, fluffy, light, and melt in your mouth!? Even better than store-bought burger buns, these homemade brioche buns serve as a complement to your burger recipe rather than just a vehicle to serve your vegan burgers.
But why do I need to make homemade burger buns when store bought exist? Well, most store-bought hamburger buns aren’t vegan: they’re full of milk and eggs, along with other animal derived ingredients. These easy burger buns are just the opposite: naturally eggless, dairy free, sugar free, and even nut and soy free as well!
With such an easy bread bun recipe too, how could you not try making them from scratch? Everyone at your grill out or barbecue will be absolutely fawning over these homemade buns and asking you for the recipe 😉
Burger bun ingredients:
For these eggless brioche burger buns, you’ll only need a few simple ingredients:
- Active dry yeast
- Bread flour
- Dairy free milk
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Vegan salted butter
That’s IT! These eggless burger buns are extraordinarily simple in both ingredients and method, yet they taste so fluffy and light. The perfect homemade burger bun recipe.
How to make vegan burger buns from scratch
For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.
Making a classic vegan burger bun is actually very similar to any bread recipe (which we’ve got tons on the blog!). And I’m so happy to say that these vegan brioche buns can also be made gluten free (but more on that later!).
These homemade burger buns can be made in a few simple steps:
- Blooming the yeast
- Making the dough
- Shaping the dough into burger buns
- Baking the burger buns
Step 1: Bloom the yeast
If you’ve never made bread before, this step is easy in method, but you do need to pay attention! It’s important to heat the dairy free milk to exactly 110F, and add the yeast then, along with a teaspoon of bread flour. Cover the mixture and allow the yeast to bloom for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Make the dough
Next, you’ll make the dough! You can either do this with a hand mixer or by hand. Either method works, and I actually recommend learning to make dough by hand first. This will give you a better understanding of the magic that happens when making bread. It’s definitely an art!
You’ll add in the softened vegan butter and applesauce (both ingredients which are used for a brioche bun, or a vegan version of enriched dough. If you’d like to learn more about enriched doughs vs lean dough, please see my brioche bread post, linked at the bottom!).
Then add in the remaining flour in increments until you reach a slightly shaggy looking dough. You’ll need it for a few minutes, then place it in an oiled boil for the first proof.
Step 3: Shape the dough into burger buns
After the dough has risen, we’ll divide the dough into 6 even segments. This is the tricky part to explain in words, but essentially what you’ll do is take the corners of the triangled segments and pinch them underneath the dough (see the photo).
Then gently roll the ball between your palms and place the hamburger bun dough onto the parchment paper, repeating this for the remaining buns.
Step 4: Bake the homemade burger buns
Once you’ve shaped the dough, you’ll allow the burger buns to rest on the baking sheet while the oven preheats. Then right before they go into the oven, you’ll brush them with a vegan “egg” wash and bake!
After the buns have baked, you’ll allow them to cool slightly, then use them for your vegan burger recipe!
Gluten free burger buns Regular vegan burger buns
How to make a vegan “egg wash”
If you’ve noticed, on baked breads, especially brioche breads, there’s a bit of a shine to the tops of the buns. That’s because most bakeries brush an egg wash on the tops of the buns before baking. This is typically a mixture of egg and cream.
However, you can also achieve a similar result with a vegan “egg wash” combination of coconut oil and maple syrup or agave. Simply mix the two together and brush on top of your breads before going into the oven.
Can I make gluten free burger buns with this recipe?
This vegan burger bun recipe is easily made gluten free with gluten free baking flour! I’ve tested this specific recipe with Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour in the red bag and add in xanthan or arrowroot starch. This helps to achieve the same texture of regular bread, and definitely should not be skipped!
Best tips & tricks for making homemade brioche buns
Use a kitchen thermometer to measure the heat: for the dairy free milk, you really want it to be 110F. If it’s any cooler, the yeast might not activate. Any hotter, and the yeast won’t work (you’ll need to start from scratch then).
Kneading: If you’re using a stand mixer, the mixer essentially will do this for you. But if you’re doing this by hand, I recommend watching a few videos of how to knead dough if this is your first time. Even with gluten free burger buns, you need to do a bit of kneading!
Vegan “egg wash:” if you’re coconut free, I’ve heard that soya cream can also do the trick for an egg wash. However, I try to keep my recipes soy free, as it’s a top 8 food allergen.
Top with sesame seeds: for an extra fun twist, use sesame seeds or Everything But The Bagel seasoning on top of your burger buns!
You are just going to love these easy vegan hamburger buns! They’re perfect for any vegan burger recipe and great at cookouts, barbecues, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, or even just an easy healthy dinner bun!
If you’re bringing these hamburger buns to your Fourth of July celebration, I also recommend making these wonderful sides:
Happy burger bun making!
More vegan brioche bread recipes you’ll love:
Easy Vegan Garlic Pull Apart Bread
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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
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Easy Vegan Burger Buns | Brioche Buns (Gluten Free Option!)
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Soft and fluffy easy vegan burger buns are the perfect homemade brioche bun recipe for your vegan burgers. Only 5 ingredients and made completely eggless, dairy free, sugar free, and soy free, these homemade burger buns are perfect for a Fourth of July cookout, Memorial Day barbecue, or any summer party!
Ingredients
- 184 grams dairy free milk, heated to 110F
- 450 grams bread flour
- 0.25 oz activated yeast
- 62.5 grams unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
- 113 grams salted vegan butter, room temperature
- 1 Vegan “egg” wash (see Notes)
Instructions
- Grease a medium bowl with olive or coconut oil, and set aside. Place a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet and set aside.
- Activate the yeast: In a separate large bowl or in a stand mixer with dough attachment, combine the heated dairy free milk, 1 tsp bread flour, and activated yeast. Mix with a wooden spoon, and cover. Place in a warm area to activate for about 10 minutes. The yeast should begin to foam and smell yeast-like (similar to beer).
- Make the dough: Once activated, add in the softened vegan butter and unsweetened applesauce. Use a rubber spatula or stand mixer on medium speed to stir together. Sift in the remaining bread flour in three increments, mixing on medium as you go. Once almost combine, you can begin to knead the dough in the bowl or turn the stand mixer speed on medium-high. This should take about 2-3 minutes.
- First proof: Once it starts to form a ball, lightly flour a clean surface and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it forms a smooth dough ball. Place the dough ball into the medium sized greased bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel and place in a warm area (ideally above 80F) to rest for about 60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Shape the brioche buns: Once doubled in size, lightly punch down the dough ball in the bowl to release the air. Lightly flour a clean surface again and divide the dough into 6 equal balls. Take one dough piece and gently tuck the corners underneath to form a round ball. Gently roll the dough between your palms and place the brioche bun onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining dough.
- Second proof: Cover the baking sheet with a clean dish towel and place on top of or near the oven while the oven preheats to 400F. Rise the buns for 40 minutes. Brush them lightly with the vegan egg wash and top with sesame seeds if desired. Then place the baking sheet into the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the brioche buns to cool for 10 minutes. Then slice and serve!
Notes
Gluten free option: use your favorite gluten free flour blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill in the red bag), and add in 3 tsp arrowroot starch. Whisk together and use as instructed for flour.
Vegan “egg wash:” mix 1 tbsp melted coconut oil with 1 tsp maple syrup.
