Soft & Pillowy Easy Nutella Babka – No eggs, Dairy free!

I don’t think I’ve ever had a babka as soft and as pillowy as this ridiculously easy Nutella babka. It’s plush, beautifully tender, and the true definition of cake meets brioche bread, all swirled in a deliciously rich and nutty chocolate hazelnut filling. Oh- and it’s made entirely without eggs and dairy (so yeah, it’s vegan 😉 )!!

A Vegan Nutella Babka fit for any New York bakery

I’m not joking you, my jaw dropped when I took a bite of the first test of this recipe. It was incredible. This babka is not only soft and plush, like a true brioche style bread, but it truly does have that cake-like feel to it. It’s structured, yet pillowy, and oh so tender.

Wrapped in ripples of dairy free Nutella, it’s truly worth every mouthful.

And with a few key tricks to shaping this Nutella babka (including doing a bulk chilled rise for the first rise!), you’ll have not one, but TWO Nutella babkas ready to be featured in any bakery. So keep one to yourself and gift another to a friend (’tis the season!)!

Or you can use half of the filling of my cinnamon babka and have two different flavor babkas all in one!

And the best part is that this babka recipe is entirely and naturally vegan- no eggs, no butter, and I’m going to show you how!

Key Ingredients & Why:

Bread flour: I chose to use bread flour here in lieu of giving the option of either bread flour or all purpose flour. This is because bread flour contains more protein than all purpose flour, which, with the lack of eggs in the recipe, will offer more structure to this Nutella babka. Actually, I find that this recipe has more structure than a traditional babka, even without eggs! And it still yields that beautifully plush, soft texture!

Active dry yeast: Some recipes call for quick rise yeast, which you can technically use here. But honestly, the flavor will not be as developed. The longer you give the dough to rise each time (within reason), the better the flavor, and that can be achieved with active dry yeast.

Vegan butter: You can use a few different brands here with success. Miyoko’s works great, as well as Violife (for nut-free) and Plant Crock baking sticks. I’m not a fan of the Earth Balance tub of butter for flavor.

Dairy free yogurt: This adds back in the richness we may miss from eggs, while keeping this entire vegan Nutella babka dairy free and egg free!

Vegan Nutella: Ohhhh, is this so good. I use Rigoni d’Asaggio’s dairy free Nocciolata, but I do also have a homemade vegan Nutella recipe that can be used if store bought isn’t available.

Overview: How to make & shape Nutella Babka:

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.

My Tried & Trusted Tips for Making this Recipe:

• Overnight second proof is key: If you want optimal flavor, make this babka over two days. Refrigerating the shaped dough (so the second proof as well) will allow the flavors to more fully develop, and yield a richer flavor. Much like how soup, stews, and pasta sauces are better over time too 😉
• Take your time kneading the dough: There will be a moment where it doesn’t look like the dough will come together, but trust me it does. The whole kneading process takes about 15 minutes, and it’s so worth it. Let the stand mixer do its work (while monitoring it of course- don’t want a runaway stand mixer!), and trust the process!
• Cold bulk proof the first rise: After about 30-45 minutes of the first rise, when I’ve noticed a significant increase in size from the original dough ball, I’ll cover and refrigerate the dough to finish proofing for 3 hours in the fridge. This allows the dough to chill but still rise, which will not only make it easier to handle while shaping, but it will also prevent the vegan Nutella from making a mess everywhere, melting!
• Bake on the middle rack: This prevents the babka bread from browning too quickly in the oven if it’s any higher. Also, definitely use convection verses conventional oven settings, as that will allow the bread to bake more evenly and quickly.

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

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.

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