Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns (vegan)
These vegan chocolate chip hot cross buns are soft, buttery, and filled with melty pockets of chocolate. They’re a warm, comforting twist on traditional hot cross buns and perfect for Easter or a weekend bake!
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
All-purpose flour or bread flour. Both work beautifully, but bread flour results in slightly taller and chewier hot cross buns.
Dairy-free chocolate chips such as dark, milk or white chocolate or a combination of all! Alternatively, you can use a chopped chocolate bar or even leftover Easter eggs.
Instant yeast is the easiest and quickest type of yeast to bake with. Alternatively, you can use active dry yeast but make sure you activate it in some warm milk beforehand.
Spices including ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and allspice. These complement the chocolate beautifully!
Sugar activates the yeast which helps the buns rise. For a refined sugar-free version, coconut sugar or maple syrup will also work.
Prepare the dough
First of all, please ensure your butter has cooled down otherwise it may melt the chocolate chips!
If you’re using a stand mixer, assemble the dough hook attachment and add the dough ingredients (except the chocolate) to the bowl. Knead the mixture for 5-10 minutes until you have a soft and stretchy dough.
If you’re making the dough by hand, add the dough ingredients to a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together. Transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough is stretchy.
The final dough should be soft and slightly tacky. It shouldn’t be so sticky that it sticks to your hands or work surfaces. But it shouldn’t be dry with cracks.
Finally, add the chocolate chips and knead until combined. Don’t worry if the choc chips don’t stick to the dough. We can always place them inside or on top of the buns when we shape them!
First rise of the dough
Place your kneaded dough in a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and place it in a WARM spot in your home. In a warm environment, the dough should double in size over 1-2 hours.
The time it’ll take for the dough to rise will depend on the consistency of your dough, your yeast and the temperature of your home.
Shaping the vegan hot cross buns
Divide your dough into 12 equal portions. An easy way to do this is by shaping the dough into a log and then cutting it into 12 pieces. Alternatively, you can use a kitchen scale and weigh each portion individually (each of my buns weighed around 70g).
To shape the buns, I flattened each piece of dough into a rough circle and folded the edges into the middle. This makes sure the top and sides of the buns are smooth and taut. This Youtube video shows how you can shape bread buns.
Second rise of the buns
We need to rest the buns one last time to let the gluten in the dough relax. Leave the baking dish in a WARM spot and loosely cover it with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
Making the cross for the buns (optional)
To make the cross mixture, simply mix all the ingredients in a small bowl until you get a thick and pipeable mixture. I used a piping bag with a small round nozzle to pipe the crosses. Alternatively, you can place the cross mixture in a plastic bag and cut off the corner.
Baking and glazing the buns
These vegan hot cross buns take about 20 minutes to bake. They are ready when the surface is a deep golden brown. If you’re in doubt, you can also use a toothpick or knife to pick some of the dough in between the center buns – the dough should be fully cooked, and not raw.
When your buns are hot from the oven, brush them with a simple glaze or jam mixture. This gives the buns a beautiful shiny finish and traps in some of their moisture!
Extra Tips
Yes, the best way is to prepare the dough and store it in an airtight container in the fridge overnight. Make sure the container is around twice the size as the dough will expand in the fridge. The next day, when the dough is warm enough to touch, you can shape it into buns, let it rest then bake.
I don’t recommend storing the unbaked shaped buns in the fridge overnight. It is difficult to predict how much the buns will rise, and the buns may rise too quickly and deflate.
Alternatively, you can make and bake the buns, and freeze them for when you need them. Make sure you serve the buns warm!
This can be due to a few reasons:
1. Your yeast is inactive. If you haven’t used your yeast in a few months, check to see if it’s active by blooming it. You can do this with instant yeast as well.
2. Your dough is too dry. Add more milk to your dough and make sure it’s soft and tacky.
3. Your dough isn’t in warm place. The optimal temperature for resting dough is 23°C to 25°C (75°F to 78°F), according to King Arthur Baking.
Some delicious mix-ins include:
– Raisins, sultanas or dried fruit, if you want something closer to classic hot cross buns
– Orange zest
– Freeze-dried raspberries
More vegan Easter recipes
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Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns (vegan)
Ingredients
Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns (note 1)
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour, or bread flour plus more for dusting
- ¾ cup (190g) dairy-free milk, warm
- ⅓ cup (75g) melted vegan butter, cooled thoroughly
- ½ cup (80g) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons instant dry yeast, (note 3)
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice, optional
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, if using unsalted butter
- ~1/2 cup (85g) vegan dark or milk chocolate chips
- ~1/2 cup (85g) vegan white chocolate chips, or more dark/milk chocolate chips
Cross
- 3 tablespoons (45g) water
- 3 tablespoons (25g) all-purpose plain flour
- 3 teaspoons (6g) cocoa powder
Glaze (optional)
- 1 tablespoon (12g) granulated sugar, coconut sugar, any light-coloured liquid sweetener or apricot/orange coloured jam
- Dash of water
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Using a stand mixer: Add all the bun ingredients (except the chocolate chips) to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Knead the mixture for at least 5 minutes, or until it comes away from the side of the bowlKneading by hand: Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until combined. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for at least 10 minutes, until you have a smooth dough.
- The dough should form a smooth ball, be slightly tacky but not sticky. If your dough is a little dry, add a dash of milk and knead again. If your dough is still sticky after, add a little flour and knead again.
- Add the chocolate chips to the dough and knead them in. If you're using a stand mixer, don't worry if the chocolate chips do not 'stick' to the dough. You can stick them back when shaping the buns.
- Leave the dough in a large bowl and cover with a tea towel. Position the dough in a warm spot in your home, and let it rest for at least 1-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. the bowl or stand mixer and cover with a tea towel. If the dough doesn't double in size, reposition it to a warmer spot in your home.
Shaping the hot cross buns:
- Generously grease a baking tray with butter, or line with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal parts (about 75g each). Roll and shape each piece of dough into a ball making sure the top is smooth. Arrange the buns in your baking tray.
- Cover the tray with a tea towel and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least 1 hour. The buns are ready when they've expanded in size by at least 50% or are puffy again.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
Make the cross and baking:
- Mix all the cross ingredients in a small bowl. The mixture should form a thick but smooth paste. If needed, add a little more flour or water to get the right consistency. Spoon the paste into a piping bag with a small round nozzle and pipe crosses on the buns.
- Bake the hot cross buns for 22-25 minutes. The buns are ready when their surface is golden brown. buns are ready when they're slightly golden brown. If you remove one of the bun and tap it lightly on the bottom, the bun should sound hollow.
Make the glaze (while the hot cross buns are baking):
- Add the sugar, sweetener or jam and water to a small saucepan and gently cook until the mixture is well combined (no sugar granules).
- When the buns are still hot from the oven, brush them with the glaze.
- The buns are best eaten the day they are baked. Alternatively, store leftover hot cross buns in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days and serve them warm.
Video
Notes
- For chocolate hot cross buns, replace 2 tablespoons (15g) of flour with 2 tablespoons (13g) of cocoa powder. You may need to add an extra dash of milk as cocoa powder is more absorbent than flour.
- Instant yeast doesn’t need to be activated beforehand. If using a different type of yeast, combine it with a dash of warm milk (from the recipe) and a pinch of sugar beforehand. Wait until the yeast mixture bubbles then use it in the recipe.
This post was originally published in April 2019 and updated in March 2021.
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These look great! If I want to omit the cinnamon and nutmeg (some people in my family don’t like them) do I need to replace their combined amount with flour or another dry ingredient?
Hi! No you don’t need to replace those spices if you omit them. I’ve made the dough many times without spices and it works well. Hope that helps!
I really love this recipe – this year will be the third Easter that I’ve baked these, and they’ve always been very popular with my friends and neighbours.
It doesn’t work in all climates but here in Sydney Australia I like to leave the bowl of dough to rise in my car, which is a reliably warmer place during the day!
Hi Andrew, I’m stoked that this recipe has been a keeper for you, and that those around you have enjoyed them! And I love that you can leave the dough in your car – it’s usually the same for me in Canberra haha :). Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback!
Hi, will this work with regular milk and butter? Thank you! 😊
Hey, yes it should be fine
Can I do the first rest overnight in the fridge?
Hi Mini, yes you can!
This recipe is so simple and easy to make. Mine didn’t quite rise as much as it should have, but I think that’s just because I live in a cold place and didn’t rest it for long enough. Still tasty and yummy!
Glad you enjoyed making and eating these! And I hear you about the rise – that happens to me too in Winter so I always place it in the warmest place in the house (or next to a heater) :).
These were the perfect hot cross buns for those wanting something other than dried fruit. I made the recipe evening before and left them do to their second rise in the fridge overnight for a great post run snack Easter Sunday lunch time. I slightly changed the ingredients in that I used less sugar in the bread, to let the sweeter vegan chocolate I used be the main source of sweetness. For the filling I used about half dark & milk chocolate and half chopped almonds, and I would imagine these buns would open to adaptation for different things you have in your pantry. Overall I would definitely recommend these, there were nice and bready with good spiced and the right amount of sweetness. Both me and my partner (who isn’t the biggest fan of sweet things/cakes) kept going back for more. Would definitely make these again 🙂
Love the sound of your substitutions and so glad they all worked! I need to try the almond combo next time. Thanks so much for your review – I really appreciate it! xo
These are so good! Easy to make in my stand mixer and delicious. I think they will become a yearly tradition at Easter. Thank you Anthea!
Aw I’m soo glad to hear that! Thanks Jane!
Hi! This looks incredible!
But, is this recipe gluten-free as well?
thank you!
Thank you! I haven’t tried gluten free flour for this recipe unfortunately. If you try it, I’d recommend the Bob Red Mills 1:1 baking blend as others don’t do too well with yeasted bread!
Truly delicious. I did half dark choc chips and half dried blueberries. So indulgent!
About to make another batch with dried cranberries, plus the choc chips, naturally!
These have already become a family favourite.
Thank you Anthea ?
Sounds lovely Anthea. Thankyou. I shall give it a try.