How nostalgic are honey buns!? Since I’ve been vegan I haven’t been able to eat them which is such a shame since they’re so tasty. This homemade honey buns recipe is made without eggs and dairy. While these honey buns are completely vegan I promise you can’t tell whatsoever!
These vegan honey buns taste just like the real deal. They’re so fluffy, pillowy, and sweet with subtle cinnamon undertones. I’ve also included an air fryer option in the recipe card below to make these healthier than the original!
the main ingredients
To make these glazed honey buns from scratch, you’ll first need to gather the following ingredients!
- Flour
- Active Dry Yeast
- Dairy-free Milk, I’m using Almond Milk
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
- Salted Vegan Butter, I’m using Earth Balance
- Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, the equivalent of 1 egg
- Agave, or my homemade Vegan Honey Recipe
- Powdered Sugar, for the glaze
working with yeast
To make these homemade honey buns, you need to first make the dough. The first step to any yeasted dough is to activate the yeast! Yeast needs a warm liquid and sugar to ‘feed’ it and to help activate it. If you don’t activate your yeast, the dough won’t rise. You’ll want to mix sugar into your warm almond milk (or your favorite dairy-free milk) until dissolved. Then, sprinkle in the yeast and give it a quick stir. Set the yeast mixture aside for 10 minutes to activate.
Once activated, it should puff/bubble up, and if it doesn’t, the yeast hasn’t been activated. If this happens, it’s likely that the yeast is dead. Be sure to check the expiration date of your yeast. If it hasn’t expired, it’s likely your almond milk was too hot. A good rule of thumb is to check the temperature by dabbing a bit of the milk onto your wrist. It should feel warm but not scalding.
making the dough
Once the yeast is ready, you can mix together the flour, cinnamon, and salt until it’s all combined. You’ll want to make a well in the center and add in the almond milk, melted vegan butter, vegan egg replacer, vegan honey, vanilla, and the activated yeast mixture. As you stir the mixture, it should come together into a soft dough. You may need to use your hands to knead the dough into a ball. The dough may also be slightly sticky. If it is, you can sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour on it.
Once the dough has come together, go ahead and transfer it to a lightly floured surface and knead it for 10 minutes. Yes, really– 10 minutes!
This step is super important, so set a timer on your phone and knead the dough to some music! As you knead the dough, try to not add too much extra flour. The goal is to keep the dough soft, and adding extra flour throws off the fat to flour ratio, resulting in a tougher honey bun. The ball should be nice and smooth when finished kneading.
When you’re 10 minutes are up, grease a bowl with some cooking spray, and place the dough ball into it. Cover the dough with a warm, damp towel and place it in a warm place to rise. I like to place mine in my microwave. Let the dough rise until doubled in size. This should take about 1 ½ hours.
shaping the honey buns
Once your dough has doubled in size, you can roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 12” x 12” square. Mix the filling ingredients-the vegan butter and agave/vegan honey– together in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, spread the mixture onto the rolled-out dough, making sure to leave a ½” border along the edges. Think of this like we’re making honey cinnamon rolls where ‘honey’ and vegan butter are the filling. You could also add cinnamon to the filling if you want to make honey bun cinnamon rolls or honey sticky buns.
Next, tightly roll the dough up into a log. The tighter you can make this log the better since it will help the buns have the characteristic ‘swirls’ that honey buns have. Then, cut the log into 8 equal-sized pieces and place the buns, swirl side up, onto a baking sheet.
Using your hand, gently press down to flatten them so they’re about ½” tall. Now they need to rise for a second time, so cover them with a warm, damp towel and let rise for another 30 minutes.
cooking the honey buns
This recipe has instructions to either deep fry the honey buns or to air fry the honey buns! Deep frying the buns, results in a slightly moister bun with a crispier exterior. Both methods are absolutely delicious. If you’d like these to taste as close to the Little Debbies or Hostess versions as possible, I recommend deep-frying them.
frying instructions
For these deep-fried honey buns, you’ll want to fill a medium-sized pot up with a few inches of vegetable oil. There should be enough oil in the pot so the buns won’t touch the bottom of the pan. I like to leave at least 3 inches of room from the oil to the top of the pot to help prevent splattering.
Before dropping the buns in, you’ll want to heat the oil on medium-low heat. This will take about 5-10 minutes. To test if the oil is hot enough, pull a tiny piece of dough off of one of the buns and drop it in the oil. When it rises to the top with tiny bubbles all around it, the oil should be hot enough.
Next, gently place 1-2 buns at a time in the oil and fry each side for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Only fry 1-2 buns at a time, otherwise, the temperature of the oil will decrease resulting in denser honey buns. If your finding that the buns are browning faster than 2 minutes, reduce your heat slightly. Use a spatula or a slotted spoon to remove the buns from the pot and place them on a paper towel-lined cooling rack to cool. Be sure to let them cool completely before glazing.
air frying instructions
While the fried honey buns are delicious, this recipe is also scrumptious air fried! I will say, air frying these buns is also a lot easier.
To air fry, the buns, preheat your air fryer to 375F. Then, place the buns on a parchment-lined air fryer basket and spray both sides of the buns generously with cooking spray. You can also brush them with melted vegan butter if you’d like. Air fry these homemade honey buns for 6-8 minutes until golden brown on top.
glazing the buns
To make these glazed buns, you’ll want to mix the glaze ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. The mixture should be thick yet pourable and should drizzle easily off of your spoon. The easiest way to glaze these buns is to dip the tops of them into the glaze. Hold the buns over the bowl to drizzle some of the excess glaze off, and then place them back onto a cooling rack with a baking tray placed beneath it. Before you dig in, let the glaze set up a little bit! And there you have it- homemade honey buns!
These buns are seriously just like Hostess or Little Debbie Honey Buns, but vegan! Sweet, flavored with vegan honey, and fried to perfection, these buns have a soft, pillowy interior with a slightly crispy, sticky exterior. YUM.
vegan homemade honey buns faq
Traditional honey buns don’t have a sugar cinnamon filling like cinnamon rolls do. These homemade honey buns are filled with a honey butter mixture and topped with a honey glaze. The dough is flavored with cinnamon and vanilla.
Traditional honey buns that you buy at the store contain bee’s honey which isn’t vegan friendly. This recipe includes an easy homemade vegan honey that tastes very similar to bees honey. This honey bun recipe is also made without dairy and eggs making it completely vegan friendly!
Yes! You can cook this recipe in the air fryer. It’s a great way to use less oil and still get a slightly crispy exterior. I also think air frying these buns is much easier than deep frying.
Looking for more nostalgic vegan comfort food? Check out these recipes!
Vegan Moon Pies
Vegan Caramel DeLites (Samoas)
Easy Vegan Monkey Bread
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Danish
Classic Vegan Snickerdoodles
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to know! Leave a rating and comment below?
Homemade Honey Buns (Vegan)
These homemade honey buns are made without eggs, dairy, and bees honey making them completely vegan! They're soft, pillowy, fried (or air fried), and topped with a sweet buttery glaze.
Ingredients
The Yeast Mixture
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ cup almond milk (62g), warm but not hot to the touch
Other Dough Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (305g)
- 1 tsp cinnamon (3g)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (10g)
- ¼ cup almond milk (62g)
- 3 tbsp salted vegan butter (60g), melted
- 1 tbsp Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer , mixed with 3 tbsp water (equivalent of 1 egg)
- ¼ cup agave, or vegan honey
- A pinch of salt
Filling
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 tbsp agave, or vegan honey
Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 tbsp agave ,or vegan honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 tbsp of almond milk
Cooking
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Cooking spray, for air frying
Instructions
To Prep the Yeast:
- Mix the sugar into the warm almond milk until dissolved. Sprinkle in the yeast and give it a quick stir.
- Set the mixture aside for 10 minutes to activate. The mixture should puff/bubble up. If it doesn’t, the yeast hasn’t been activated (see notes).
To Make the Dough:
- Mix together the flour, cinnamon, and salt until combined.
- Make a well in the center and add in the almond milk, melted vegan butter, vegan egg replacer, vanilla, agave (or vegan honey), and the activated yeast mixture. Stir to combine. The mixture should come together into a soft dough. The dough may be slightly sticky. If it is, sprinkle 1 tbsp of flour on it.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it for 10 minutes. Try to not add too much extra flour during the kneading process, the dough should be soft and smooth when finished kneading.
- Grease a bowl with cooking spray, place the dough ball into the bowl and lightly spray the top. Cover the dough with a warm, damp towel and place it in a warm place to rise. (see notes) Let the dough rise until double in size- about 1 ½ hour.
Shaping the Buns:
- After the first rise, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12” x 12” square.
- Mix the filling ingredients (the vegan butter and agave/vegan honey) together in a small bowl, and brush with a pastry brush onto the rolled-out dough. Leave a ½” border along the edges.
- Tightly roll the dough up into a log. The tighter you can make this log the better since it will help the buns have the characteristic ‘swirls’ that honey buns have.
- Cut the log into 8 equal-sized pieces and place the buns, swirl side up, onto a baking sheet.
- Gently press down on the buns with your hand to flatten them so they’re about ½” tall.
- Cover the buns with a warm, damp towel and let rise for another 30 minutes.
Frying the Buns:
- To fry the buns, fill a medium-sized pot up with a few inches of vegetable oil. There should be enough oil in the pot so the buns won’t touch the bottom of the pan. I like to leave at least 3 inches of room from the oil to the top of the pot to prevent splattering.
- Heat the oil on medium-low heat. It will take about 5-10 minutes for the oil to heat up. To test if the oil is hot enough, pull a tiny piece of dough off of one of the buns and drop it in the oil. When it rises to the top with tiny bubbles all around it, the oil should be hot enough.
- Prior to frying, gently press the buns down a second time to flatten them into an oval shape.
- Gently place 1-2 buns at a time in the oil and fry each side for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. If your finding that the buns are browning faster than 2 minutes, reduce your heat slightly. Use a spatula or a slotted spoon to remove the buns from the pot and place them on a paper towel-lined cooling rack to cool. Let cool completely before glazing.
Air Frying the Buns:
- If you prefer to air fry the buns instead of deep-frying, preheat your air fryer to 375F.
- Place the buns on a parchment-lined air fryer basket and spray both sides generously with cooking spray. You can also brush them with melted vegan butter if you’d like.
- Air fry for 6-8 minutes until golden brown on top.
To Glaze the Buns:
- Mix the glaze ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. The mixture should be thick yet pourable and should drizzle easily off of your spoon.
- Dip the tops of the buns into the glaze, then place them back onto a cooling rack with tray placed beneath it. Let the glaze set up prior to eating.
Notes
- If your yeast doesn’t bubble up while activating it, it’s likely that it is dead. Check the expiration date of your yeast. If it hasn’t expired, it’s likely your almond milk was too hot.
- I prefer to let my dough rise in my microwave (turned off).
- These honey buns are best enjoyed the first day.
- To freeze them, place them in a single layer on a plate or tray and put them in the freezer for 5 minutes. Once the glaze has set up, remove them from the freezer and wrap them tightly with plastic wrap.
- For the best taste, I recommend using my easy homemade honey recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 300Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 5mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 0gSugar: 43gProtein: 0g
Nutritional info is an estimate.
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Recipe looks good, however in your ingredients you say there’s honey in the dough itself, but make no mention of where to add it in the method from what I can see, unless I’m missing something.
Yes! I too noticed that but just added it to the dough with everything else.
In the written directions there’s no mention of the agave in the dough.
Hi Katrina!
Thank you for pointing that out- I’ve updated the written instructions 🙂
Has anyone tried this using a flax egg?
Would it work?
Hi Gemma, I’ve made this recipe with a flax egg before and it does work. However, the texture of the ‘honey’ bun is breadier and less tender/doughy than if using Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer.
Hi there! I really want to make these but wonder if yang Trader Joes Oat Milk is okay instead of almond milk? Has anyone tried this?
*if using Trader Joes Oat Milk*
Hi Hannah! Oat Milk should work just fine! In fact, it will probably make the dough even softer/richer!