How to make Homemade Vegan Croissants (Easy Guide!)

Learn how to make the most perfect vegan croissants ever with step by step photos and video! So flaky, buttery, and light, you’d think these vegan croissants came from a bakery- and there’s even an option for vegan pain au chocolate and vegan almond croissants!

Did you know that vegan croissants actually don’t require all that much work? They’re actually shockingly simple in method and an absolute delight to enjoy!

Perfectly buttery, flaky vegan croissants do exist, and this recipe in particular guides you through step by step how to make croissants that are both egg free and dairy free for a wonderful vegan breakfast recipe (and go perfectly alongside my vegan cinnamon rolls or vegan brioche!).

Short on time? Try my vegan cannoli cruffins or vegan pistachio cruffins instead 😉

Croissant Ingredients & Substitutions:

• Flour: We’re using all purpose flour here to make our vegan croissants’ pastry dough. You can also use bread flour. Typically, croissants are made with pastry flour, but for beginners and vegan croissant bakers, you’ll yield a sturdier croissant with all purpose flour or bread flour. I am currently working on a gluten free version, so stay tuned! 
• Sugar: You can use granulated sugar (I use Florida Crystals Organic for vegan) or coconut sugar.
• Quick Rise Yeast: I recommend using quick rise yeast over dry active yeast, as you skip a step in the dough making process. 
• Salt: To balance the flavor.
• Dairy free milk: You can use your favorite dairy free milk here! I used soy milk personally, but almond milk, oat milk, or coconut milk work great here. 
• Vegan butter: I used Miyoko’s vegan unsalted butter, and it’s the butter I recommend the most. You can use Earth Balance, but Miyoko’s will have the best result, as it is a European-style dairy-free butter, and croissants are typically made with European-style butter in general. 
• Vegan “egg” wash: The vegan egg wash is a simple combination of maple syrup and soy milk!

Can this vegan croissants recipe be made gluten-free?

This recipe currently cannot be made gluten-free. However, I am working very hard on a gluten-free croissant recipe for you, so be sure to check here later (and have a peruse of the gluten free recipes we already have in case anything strikes your fancy in the meantime 😉 ). 

Overview: Step by Step How to Make Vegan Croissants from Start to Finish

Please note that the full recipe instructions are found down below in the recipe card. However, we’re going to further explain the steps with photos as well (and be sure to watch the YouTube video here!). 

The dough + beurrage:

The dough is quite easy and simple to make! I recommend using a stand mixer and dough attachment, but you can make the dough by hand with a wooden spoon and a mixing bowl, then kneading the dough with your hands. 

Once the dough is made, we’ll focus on the buerrage , or butter layer. This portion of the method I learned from Sally’s Baking Addiction. 

The butter should be room temperature here. I usually take the butter out to come to room temperature at the time of making the dough (then while the dough is chilling for a few hours, the butter will come to room temperature). For the butter layer, we’ll form a rectangle with the butter to be 7×10″. Please watch the YouTube video for how I do this to be super exact and simple. ​

When encasing our vegan butter in the dough in preparation for the laminations, we’ll roll the dough out to be 10×14″ (which is double the width of our butter layer). Place the length of the vegan butter block (10″) in alignment to the width of the rolled out dough (10″) and in the middle of the dough. 

Then fold the dough over the butter and seal the edges. I prefer this method so that there’s one less side for the butter to potentially break out of while rolling and laminating. 

First & Second Lamination:

I sometimes will do the first AND the second lamination directly following the butter encasing if my dough is still cold enough and not overworked. Otherwise, I’ll just do the first lamination, followed by the second lamination 30 minutes later (after resting the dough in the refrigerator). 

The most important part of the laminations is that you’re exact in your rolling. Really try hard to get those right angles of the dough.

When laminating: There are a few different methods for laminating dough that many use; there’s the single fold, the letter fold, and the book fold.  

I typically do the letter fold for the first lamination, followed by the book fold, then the letter fold for the third lamination. You can use a combination of the letter and book folds, which will yield the most amount of layers for your croissants. 

Third Lamination & Slicing the croissants

You’ll finish with the third lamination after resting the dough. Then we’ll rest it for either 2 hours or overnight (see the schedules below!). 

The next part of the method I learned from Joshua Weissman. I absolutely loved this method for slicing and shaping the croissants, and so I thought to use it here as well.

We’ll roll out the dough too be about 10×20″. Then on one side of the 20″ side, you’ll make dash marks that are 4.5″ apart. On the opposite 20″ side, you’ll make the 4.5″ marks this time in the middle of the opposing side (see photos and video for better reference). 

Then slice across the croissants, connecting the dots from one to the other to create triangles. 

Rolling the croissants + baking:

Finally, we’ll roll the triangles of croissant dough and place them onto our baking sheet for the final rest, followed by the bake.

I recommend gently stretching the croissant dough to be about an inch longer. Then, at the base of the triangle, begin to roll the croissant tightly to the tip of the croissant. You can shape it Tobe a crescent shape, or simply place it as it is onto the baking sheet or baking tray.

Then we’ll brush the tops of our croissants with vegan egg wash and allow them to rest in an area no warmer than 78F until doubled in size (about 1 hour). The reason being is that we don’t want the butter to warm too much, or it starts to pool out of our layers that we worked so hard for! 

Give the croissants a final brush of vegan egg wash, then place them into the oven to bake until heavily golden on top. 

Can I make croissants in one day?

I do not recommend making the croissants all in one day. It is a lot of resting and waiting time that really does span the better half of the day. The best option is to follow one of the timelines I’ve outlined below to make your vegan croissants. 

Three Timelines for Making Croissants:

Can I substitute coconut oil for vegan butter?

I do not recommend substituting coconut oil in place of vegan butter. The reason being is that coconut oil has a bit different chemistry than vegan butter (even though some vegan butters use coconut oil, it’s often in addition to another element). Coconut oil can soften quickly at room temperature, and harden quickly in the fridge. 

This will make it near impossible to create the beautiful layers during the lamination process (and will ultimately result in broken dough). 

Croissant variations:

You can easily alter the flavor of these vegan croissants during the rolling and shaping process of making the croissants! Here are some options to add in right as you roll the croissants:

• A piece of chocolate for vegan chocolate croissants
• 1 tbsp of vegan cheese spread onto the triangle of dough for vegan cheese croissants
• 1 tbsp of vegan pesto spread onto the triangle of dough for vegan pesto croissants
• A sprinkling of cinnamon sugar for cinnamon croissants

How to make vegan almond croissants using this recipe:

This took me quite a few tries to figure out, and I’m so glad I stuck with it. The results were AMAZING. Like better than any bakery I’ve ever had (even pre-vegan days). These vegan almond croissants are flaky, buttery, deliciously sweet, and FULL of almond flavor.

So let’s get into it.

You’ll need only a few more ingredients along with my base vegan croissant recipe (in the recipe card below). The measurements for the almond croissant filling & almond syrup are as follows:

The Process:

So you’ll make these vegan almond croissants very similarly to how you would make my regular croissants. However, I do recommend longer proofing time for the fully shaped croissants to allow the almond filling to really set.

This will also allow the yeast to further ferment, improving the flavor of your croissants greatly. For this reason, I would recommend following along the timeline (listed above) for either Option 2 or Option 3.

However, I’m going to explain making these croissants strictly from the recipe card below so that you can jump right in as you’re following along with the recipe. I’ve also made a Reel where you can watch the process as well.

1. Following along from the recipe card, after Step 7, where we’ve finished our third lamination, we’ll make the frangipane filling.
2. In a small bowl: Whisk together the melted vegan butter and sugar. Then add in the almond flour, sea salt, all purpose flour, almond milk, and either the vanilla extract or the almond extract. For a less processed but still rich nutty flavor, just use the vanilla. However, some people prefer almond extract, so I gave that option, as I’ve tested both.
3. Cover and chill: Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to chill while the dough is still chilling there as well.
4. Make the almond syrup: If you’re doing the overnight option for these rolls, you can simply store the syrup in an airtight container at room temperature. To make the syrup, simply add all ingredients into a small saucepan, and whisk together on medium heat. Then allow the mixture to come to a bubble, about 2-3 minutes. Stir frequently until the sugar appears to have dissolved. Then remove from heat, and allow the syrup to cool before pouring it into a container to store at room temperature.
5. Then move onto Step 8 (rolling out the dough to shape the croissants) as you normally would: Once you get to Step 9 (actually shaping the croissants), smear about 2 tsp of frangipane at the base of the triangle (the longest part of the croissant). It might be very thick from being chilled, which is actually better. Then begin to roll your croissant tightly as you normally would, placing it down onto the baking sheet with the tip underneath. Repeat for all of your croissants. You WILL have leftover frangipane, which we will use to top our almond croissants with slivered almonds.
6. Proof the croissants: For these almond croissants, I do recommend proofing them in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight. DON’T brush them just yet with the vegan egg wash found in step 10. We’ll brush them instead right before baking.
7. Brush and bake: While the oven is preheating to 390F, brush the almond croissants first with a layer of the almond syrup, followed by the vegan egg wash. Then spread the remaining frangipane over the top of each almond croissant, followed by a sprinkling of slivered almonds on top.
8. Bake: Bake the croissants for 22-24 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. The color should be golden brown. You may need to rotate your croissants to ensure they’re browning evenly based on your own oven. If they look like they’re browning too fast but not done baking just yet, you can reduce the heat to 380F, and cover with parchment paper.
9. Serve and enjoy! Remove from the oven, and let cool for a few moments. Then serve your croissants warm, and enjoy!

Watch how to make vegan croissants:

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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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