These easy vegan chocolate brioche buns are fluffy, soft, so delicious and will quickly become your new favorite breakfast or snack recipe! They’re perfect for get-togethers, birthdays, celebrations, or just a quick grab and go comfort food dessert.
The first time I made these vegan chocolate brioche buns, I knew they’re going to be one of my favorite desserts/snacks so I just had to share it with you! While this recipe is inspired by my vegan blueberry babka twist bread, these brioche buns are way easier to prepare that even beginners can make them.
They’re intensely rich, chocolatey, moist, and not too sweet! And unlike any other complicated recipes, this is made with just 9 ingredients. So if you’re looking for a foolproof chocolate bun recipe, you’re in for a treat!
What is Brioche?
Brioche is a popular French treat that is made in the same classic way as bread but has a richer texture and flavor of a pastry. It can be used for everything from hamburger buns to french toast to babka to brioche buns. While traditional brioche recipes are made with eggs, butter, and dairy milk, I made my chocolate buns vegan by skipping the eggs and using non-dairy ingredients. Since brioche is a very versatile bread, you can definitely try out different variations with this vegan recipe.
What Ingredients do you need?
We all love a simple and easy dessert, so for this recipe, I used just a few easy to get ingredients to bake these vegan chocolate brioche buns. Ready? Here are some of the ingredients that you need.
- Soy milk – you can also try cashew, coconut, almond, or any dairy-free milk that you like.
- Brown sugar – if you’re not a fan of brown sugar, you can substitute it with cane or coconut sugar. Just note that the texture may be slightly different.
- Dry yeast – or fresh yeast, whichever you prefer both of this will work.
- All-purpose flour – or spelt flour which has a lighter texture than whole grain flour.
- Salt – for flavor.
- Soy yogurt – this too can be substituted with other dairy-free yogurts like almond yogurt, cashew-based yogurt, or any of your favorite (read further information below). Alternatively, simply substitute more milk.
- Vegan butter – can be substituted with plant-based margarine.
- Vegan chocolate chips – you can use any kind of vegan chocolate chips that you like.
How to make easy vegan chocolate brioche buns
If you’re too busy or just starting with baking, you will find this recipe easy to follow especially with this step-by-step guide, let’s get started!
Step 1 – Dissolve the yeast
Heat the soy milk to 104°F (40°C) and pour it into a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar and the yeast, give it a stir to dissolve. After that, set aside for about 3 minutes until the mixture starts to foam. (Foaming is an indicator that the yeast is activated.)
Step 2: Mix the ingredients and knead
Whisk together the flour, salt, and the remaining brown sugar in a large bowl. Form a mold in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture. Add the soy yogurt, vegan butter pieces, and mix it with a wooden spoon until it all comes together. Next, transfer everything onto a work surface and knead it with your hands for about 5-8 minutes until a smooth dough forms (if you have a stand mixer, you can use that with the dough hooks attached).
Step 3: Let the dough rest
Once a smooth dough forms, knead the chocolate chips gently into the dough with your hands. Then form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover it with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm spot for about 45-60 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size. (If you want to make the dough ahead, you can let it rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight.)
Step 4: Form the dough into buns
After the dough has risen, divide it into 9 buns (3.8 oz/110 g each) and arrange them on a baking tray (or casserole/baking dish) lined with baking paper. Leave about 1/3-inch (1 cm) space between each bun as they will expand when you bake them. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise again for 20-30 minutes.
Step 5: Time to brush and bake!
After around 15 minutes of resting time, preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C) (so it’ll be hot once the buns are done rising). Lightly brush your chocolate brioche buns with soy cream (this will give you a shiny golden color) and bake for about 25-30 minutes.
And you’re done, now you just gotta enjoy and pair these vegan chocolate rolls with your favorite drink!
Pair this with these drinks
One of my favorite ways to enjoy this scrumptious dessert is by pairing it with a drink. Here are some of my personal favorite drinks to pair this:
- Vegan Mango Lassi – If you love mangoes, you will love this combination. Vegan mango lassi is a refreshing creamy Indian yogurt drink.
- Blueberry Smoothie – Have an extra minute or so? Then you can definitely do this antioxidant-rich drink. It’s also low in calories so that’s a plus!
- Dalgona Coffee – Craving for a bit of a caffeine kick? Why not pair this chocolatey bun with whipped coffee.
Tips for making the best vegan brioche buns
This is a pretty straightforward recipe and is quite simple but here are things to watch out for and some tips to make the best buns.
- Yeast – Make sure to use fresh/new yeast, using old yeast may cause your dough not to rise. When you’re making your buns, ensure that your yeast has activated, after about 3 minutes, your mixture should start to foam.
- Flour – If you love fluffy buns that are as soft as brioche, I recommend using all-purpose or light wheat or spelt flour. If you’re using a heavier flour, such as whole wheat flour, keep in mind that your buns won’t rise as well and will be harder. So I would recommend using a mix of light and whole grain flour.
- Dough – Kneading the dough develops gluten which makes any bread, buns, and rolls light, airy, soft, and chewy. It’s an important step in making yeast dough, otherwise, the result will probably be flat and tough.
Can you make this recipe ahead?
Yes! Since yeast dough rises slowly in the refrigerator, this recipe is absolutely perfect for making ahead. Just knead the dough as instructed, then place it in the lightly oiled bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, simply take it out and form it into buns. Bake in the preheated oven and enjoy the best freshly baked homemade vegan chocolate brioche buns for breakfast!
How to store and freeze brioche buns
Keep in mind that these vegan chocolate buns taste best when they’re freshly baked from the oven or the same day. If you have made some excess and you’re planning to consume them the same day, you can keep them in a Ziploc bag.
However, if you’re planning to consume them for another time, you can easily freeze them for about 1-3 months. Simply prepare the dough as instructed in the recipe until step 4 (but skip letting the shaped buns rise for another 20-30 minutes). Then place the baking sheet with the unbaked buns on it in the freezer and freeze for 1-2 hours. Once they’re frozen, transfer the buns to a freezer bag for easier storage and individual removal. When ready to eat, remove them from the freezer and leave them in the refrigerator overnight. The next day take them out and leave at room temperature for 20-30 minutes while you preheat your oven. Finally, bake them as instructed.
Which Chocolate can I use?
I highly recommend using baking chocolate, also known as “cooking chocolate” to be sure it won’t melt once combined with the dough. While it is most commonly sold as a type of dark chocolate without any added sugar or flavors, there are also different varieties frequently available. Depending on your taste, you can try vegan dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, white chocolate, and even flavored chocolate. Whether you’re using chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or just chopped chocolate, feel free to use your favorite variety!
Want to make this soy-free?
Soy milk and yogurt work best for vegan baking – It has not only a high protein content but it also acts well as a binder, making it a great natural egg substitute in any vegan baked treat. However, if you have soy intolerance or allergy or if you don’t like soy, you can make this recipe soy-free. Just keep in mind that the texture will be slightly different. Here are some possible substitutes:
- Soy milk – or any dairy-free milk like cashew, almond, oat, or whichever milk you like.
- Yogurt – can be substituted with any yogurt, such as coconut or nut-based yogurts.
- Soy cream – try coconut cream or another dairy/soy-free cream for brushing the buns.
- Not vegan? Use regular dairy products.
These vegan chocolate brioche buns are:
- Dairy-free (lactose-free)
- Egg-free
- Easy
- Chocolatey
- Fluffy
- Soft
- Chewy
- Perfect for breakfast, as a dessert or snack
- Can be modified to be soy-free
- Made with a few simple ingredients
- So delicious!
Looking for delicious bread recipes? Make sure to check out the following:
- Vegan Blueberry Babka
- Chocolate Banana Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Cranberry Orange Bread
- Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Bread
- Homemade Bagels
- Buckwheat Chia Bread
- Easy Vegan Naan Bread
- Vegan Foccacia
If you try this Vegan Chocolate Brioche Buns Recipe, please leave a comment and rating! Your feedback is always helpful to me and other readers. And if you take a photo of your fluffy buns and share it on Instagram, please make sure to tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your remakes! Happy baking!
Easy Vegan Chocolate Brioche Buns
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Chocolate Brioche
- ½ cup (120 ml) soy milk lukewarm at 104°F/40°C (or sub other dairy-free milk*)
- ⅓ cup (70 g) brown sugar or sub other sugar
- 2 tsp dry yeast 7 g (or sub 21 g fresh yeast)
- 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose or spelt flour see notes*
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅔ cup (160 g) soy yogurt at room temperature (or another dairy-free yogurt or sub more milk*)
- ¼ cup (50 g) vegan butter cut into pieces + at room temperature (or sub soft margarine)
- ½ cup (100 g) vegan chocolate chips or other chocolate (see notes*)
For Brushing
- soy cream or other non-dairy cream/milk
Instructions
*Note: For the best results, I recommend measuring the ingredients in grams. Simply click on the word "metric" right above the ingredient list. Also, make sure to watch the recipe video and check out the tips + step-by-step pictures above!
- Warm the soy milk to 104°F (40°C) and pour it into a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar and the yeast and stir to dissolve. Then set aside for about 3 minutes until the mixture starts to foam. (This way you know that the yeast has activated).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and the remaining brown sugar. Form a mold in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture. Add the soy yogurt, vegan butter pieces, and mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together. Then transfer everything onto a work surface and knead it with your hands for about 5-8 minutes until a smooth dough form (or use a stand mixer with dough hooks attached).
- Then form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover it with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm spot for about 45-60 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size. (Alternatively, you can put the dough in the refrigerator overnight. There it rises slowly so that you can continue the next day).
- After the resting time, knead the chocolate chips carefully into the dough with your hands (see recipe video). Then divide the dough into 9 pieces (3.8 oz/110 g each). Form each piece into a bun and arrange them on a baking tray (or casserole/baking dish) lined with parchment paper, leaving about ⅓-inch (1 cm) space between each bun. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise for another 20-30 minutes.
- After approx. 15 minutes of resting time, preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C) (so it’ll be hot once the buns are done proofing).
- Lightly brush your chocolate buns with soy cream (this will create a shiny golden color) and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
- Yeast: Make sure to use fresh/new yeast, using old yeast may cause your dough not to rise.
- Flour: If you love fluffy buns, I recommend using all-purpose or light wheat or spelt flour. If using a heavier flour, such as whole wheat flour, keep in mind that your buns won’t rise as well and will be harder. So I rather recommend using a mix of light and whole grain flour.
- Sugar: Feel free to use any sugar you like.
- Soy milk/yogurt works best for vegan baking. However, if you have soy intolerance, substitute another yogurt/milk (read further information in the blog post above).
- Chocolate: I highly recommend using baking chocolate, also known as "cooking chocolate" to be sure it won't melt once combined with the dough.
- Kneading the dough makes any bread, buns, and rolls light, airy, soft, and chewy. It's an important step, otherwise, the buns will be probably flat and tough.
- Please read my blog post for make-ahead, storage + freezing instructions, and further helpful tips on this recipe.
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I tried this recipe the other day and they came out perfect! I served mine like a scone with jam and it was so soft and lovely. When I make them again, I’m going to try 18 smaller ones. Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
Yay, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for your feedback. I wish you a happy baking time! 🙂
Is it possible to sub the butter with olive oli? Thanks
Hello! You can exchange the butter with olive oil but it will possibly change the taste. You should also not exchange it 1:1 but use 80 % instead.
So delicious and easy to make! I used spelt flour and they worked great!
Thank you so much! I am so happy to hear that. ❤️
Tasted great, even without the chococlate chips! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
I’m happy that you enjoyed it. 😊 Thanks for your feedback, Simone!