Homemade Vegan Pretzel Buns have a beautiful golden crust, are soft and chewy, salty and buttery, and incredibly delicious! Enjoy them as a snack with some mustard, serve them alongside some soup, dip them into melty vegan cheese, or use them as a burger bun! Fun to make and SO delicious!!!!
Vegan pretzel buns take a bit of time to make, but each step is super easy, and the end result is totally worth it. This is the perfect weekend project, and the pretzel buns freeze wonderfully so you can enjoy them all week long. The technique of making pretzels is a little unique in that they must be boiled in a baking soda bath before they are baked. This is what makes the outside of the buns get that beautiful chewy golden crust.Â
If you want to use these buns for your burgers, just note that the recipe makes 12 smaller buns which are perfect for slider buns. Or if you want full sized burger buns, divide the dough into 8 (instead of 12) to make 8 full-sized burger buns.
How to Make Vegan Pretzel Buns:
To make the dough:
In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and yeast. Then add in the warm water and mix. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel then let rest for 10 minutes. The mixture should be very foamy. If it isn't foamy, your yeast is likely too old so you should purchase new yeast and try again.
Add the melted vegan butter, salt, and flour to the yeast mixture and stir in until a shaggy dough forms.
Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn the dough onto the surface. Knead the dough for 3 - 5 minutes until it comes together into a nice firm ball of dough. If the dough gets sticky when kneading it, dust it with more flour as often as needed.
Lightly grease a large clean bowl with more melted vegan butter. Put the dough into the greased bowl, and turn the dough around in the bowl so that the dough ball gets lightly coated in vegan butter. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel. Let rise somewhere warm for 1 hour until doubled in size. The oven with just the light turned on is a great place to rise dough.
To shape the vegan pretzel buns:
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Once the dough has doubled in size, you can punch it down and remove it from the bowl.
Cut into 12 even pieces if making small vegan pretzel buns, or 8 even pieces if making larger burger buns, and shape each piece into a ball. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets.
To cook the buns:
For the baking soda bath:Â pour the 10 cups of water into a large pot and bring to a simmer. Stir in the baking soda, it will foam a lot and then settle. Drop two buns at a time into the bath and boil for just 20 seconds. Use a slotted spoon or spatula to remove the buns and place them on the baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining buns. The baking soda bath is what gives the buns that dark brown color, without it, they would be white and doughy).
To decorate the buns:Â once all of the buns have been in the bath, use a sharp knife to score an "x" on the top of each bun. Lightly brush each bun with melted vegan butter and sprinkle them with flake salt.
To bake the buns: bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20-25 minutes or until a deep golden. Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy warm or allow to cool completely and store in a sealable bag at room temperature for 2 - 3 days or you can freeze them. Enjoy as a snack with mustard, serve with soup or salad, or use them as a burger bun.
These vegan pretzel buns are:
- Salty, chewy, buttery, delicious
- Great for snacking or making burgers
- A fun baking project
- Freezer friendly
What to serve with pretzel buns:
Dip them into my Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce
Or Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
Serve them alongside Vegan Zuppa ToscanaÂ
Or My Go-To Vegan Soup
Use them as a bun for Seitan Burgers or Vegan Beet Burgers
If you try this recipe let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don't forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Pretzel Buns
Servings: small buns or 8 burger buns
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Ingredients
For the vegan pretzel dough:
- 3 tablespoon white sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 ½ cups warm water, think bath water temperature
- 1 tablespoon melted vegan butter, plus more for greasing the bowl
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
For the baking soda bath:
- ½ cup baking soda
- 10 cups water
For topping:
- 2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
- flake salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
To make the dough:
- In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and yeast. Then add in the warm water and mix. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel then let rest for 10 minutes. The mixture should be very foamy. If it isn't foamy, your yeast is likely too old so you should purchase new yeast and try again.
- Add the melted vegan butter, salt, and flour to the yeast mixture and stir in until a shaggy dough forms. Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn the dough onto the surface. Knead the dough for 3 - 5 minutes until it comes together into a nice firm ball of dough. If the dough gets sticky when kneading it, dust it with more flour as often as needed.
- Lightly grease a large clean bowl with more melted vegan butter. Put the dough into the greased bowl, and turn the dough around in the bowl so that the dough ball gets lightly coated in vegan butter. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel. Let rise somewhere warm for 1 hour until doubled in size. The oven with just the light turned on is a great place to rise dough.
To shape the buns:
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, you can punch it down and remove it from the bowl. Cut into 12 even pieces if making small buns, or 8 even pieces if making larger burger buns, and shape each piece into a ball. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets.
To cook the buns:
- For the baking soda bath: pour the 10 cups of water into a large pot and bring to a simmer. Stir in the baking soda, it will foam a lot and then settle. Drop two buns at a time into the bath and boil for just 20 seconds. Use a slotted spoon or spatula to remove the buns and place them on the baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining buns. (The baking soda bath is what gives the buns that dark brown color, without it they would be white and doughy).
- To decorate the buns: once all of the buns have been in the bath, use a sharp knife to score an "x" on the top of each bun. Lightly brush each bun with melted vegan butter and sprinkle them with flake salt.
- To bake the buns: bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20-25 minutes or until a deep golden. Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy warm or allow to cool completely and store in a sealable bag at room temperature for 2 - 3 days or you can freeze them. Enjoy as a snack with mustard, serve with soup or salad, or use them as a burger bun. To re-warm then buns, pop them in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
Nutrition
More delicious vegan baked goods:
dave lisewski says
awesome buns for burgers or sandwiches!!
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
So happy you love them dave! THank you for your review 🙂
Julie says
I'm thrilled to see this and will make it this week! silly question, but you mentioned freezing -- do you cook them all the way first? thank you!
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Hi Julie, yes cook the pretzel buns fully, allow to cool, then transfer to a sealable freezer bag. Then you can just reheat by popping frozen buns back in the oven at the same temperature for a few minutes. Enjoy!
Rachel says
the first time I made these, I cooked them just a tad too long, they were too crispy but that didn't stop everyone from devouring them. from that moment I have had to make them very often. everyone's favorite was when I made little bite sized ones! this is the yummiest
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
So happy everyone loved them, Rachel! 🙂
Janet Owen says
Would the burger sized dough be the amount to use for sausage buns?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
It should be pretty close to it!
Anna says
These look amazing! Have you tried them with gluten free flour?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
This recipe hasn't been tested with gluten free flour, but it wouldn't likely yield good results as this is a yeasted recipe and the chemistry needs to be properly adjusted for alternative flours.
Sarah says
Thanks for the recipe!! 2 lessons learned here:
DO NOT pour all the baking soda into the water bath at one time (I am not too bright sometimes)
And take it easy when scoring the X across the top. I have some pretty drastically gaping tops here! lol But otherwise they look and smell so good and I am dying to bite into one!