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3.8 from 27 votes

Vegan Croissant Recipe

This vegan French croissants recipe is made with dairy-free butter, and they're just as buttery, flaky, and fluffy as classic croissants. This recipe and step-by-step guide will help you master making homemade croissants in the comfort of your kitchen.

Prep Time
11 hrs
Cook Time
mins
chilling time:
8 hrs
Total Time
19 hrs 25 mins
Servings: 12 Croissants
Calories: 276 kcal
Course: Breakfast , Bread
Cuisine: French

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 1 ¼ cup vanilla plant-based milk (cannot be unsweetened)
  • ¼ cup caster sugar
  • 3 cups pastry flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup vegan butter (we prefer Miyoko's)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Heat the milk in the microwave for twenty seconds.
  2. Pour one cup of the almond milk into a shallow bowl. Pour the active dry yeast on top of the almond milk and mix for a couple seconds. Now let the almond milk and yeast set for approximately five minutes, or until the yeast begins to foam. The yeast must foam in order for the croissants to turn out. If the yeast does not foam try again.
  3. Put the milk-yeast mixture into a stand mixer. Pour the rest of the almond milk into the mixing bowl along with the caster sugar and mix briefly to combine.
  4. In a separate bowl, sift the flour to remove any lumps. Slowly add the flour to the milk-yeast mixture in quarter cup increments. The dough is ready when it looks soft and sticky. The amount of flour can vary. The amount of flour we usually end up with is somewhere between 2 ¼ cups and 2 ½ cups. After the dough appears soft and sticky, add the salt and mix to combine.
  5. Sprinkle a quarter cup of the flour onto a clean surface and prepare a plate that is dusted with about 1 tablespoon of flour. Dump the dough onto the floured surface and kneed for approximately two minutes. Then work the dough into a ball. If the ball starts to fall slightly, the dough was made correctly.
  6. Place the dough on the plate and cut an X into the top of the dough. Sprinkle another tablespoon of flour on top of the dough and place it in the fridge. Let the dough rest in the fridge for at least one hour.
  7. While the dough is resting, take the butter and put it in your stand mixer. Beat the butter until it is completely smooth. This should only take about a minute or two. Now beat in 2 tablespoon of the flour. Mix until uniform in texture.
  8. Put the butter on the floured surface and shape it into a 4 inch x 4 inch square. Wrap the butter-flour mixture in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to cool. The butter-flour block should be hard to the touch when you take it out of the fridge.
  9. Once the dough has been in the fridge for an hour, remove it and put it back on the floured surface. Now, get ready to roll out this dough is some semi-complicated ways.
  10. You’re going to roll out your dough so that the center has enough room to hold that 4x4 butter square. Roll your dough into a large square, much larger than the butter block.
  11. Place the butter block in the center of the dough like shown below and fold in each of the petals. It should look like a nice little present.
  12. Here’s the fun part, take your rolling pin and lightly smack the butter-dough wrap. We hit it about eight times to make sure the butter is evenly distributed throughout the dough. Now roll the dough into an 18 by 10 rectangle.
  13. Now we’re going to make our next fold. Imagine the dough in three sections. You’re going to make the fold so that the end result looks like a thick square, not a long rectangle. Fold the first third of the dough over, following by the second third. Lightly roll the dough to make sure the layers stick together.
  14. Pop the dough back in the fridge for an hour and a half.
  15. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it back out into another long rectangle. Do another tri-fold and set that dough back into the fridge for a minimum of six hours.
  16. When the six hours are up, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out into a rectangle that is ten inches long and as wide as you can roll it out. Cut the dough into triangles that have a base of approximately four to five inches, depending on how large you want your croissants. Take the triangles and slightly stretch them out, just so they’re a couple inches longer. Starting from the widest side of the triangle, roll the triangles into crescent shapes.
  17. Transfer the croissants to a parchment lined baking sheet and brush each of them with the rest of the almond milk. Let the dough sit out until the croissants double in size, this should take approximately two hours.
  18. Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Bake the croissants for ten minutes at this temperature. Then drop the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and bake for fifteen minutes or until golden brown on top.
  19. See the step by step instruction photos above. 

Notes

  • Ingredient Notes
  • Can you use margarine instead of butter to make croissants?
  • Vegan butter is made from vegetable oil, so it's essentially margarine, which is fine to use as long as it's stable margarine. Do not use spreadable margarine as it melts too easily and won't work for this recipe.
  • Why are my croissants heavy and dense?
  • If the butter is too cold or hard during lamination it can break the dough, conversely, if it's too warm or soft, the dough will absorb it, leading to heavy dense croissants.
  • More than likely they didn't rise, or proof, for enough time. They should double in size before baking so the butter doesn't leak between the layers.
  • No, puff pastry is heavier and similar to pie crust, where croissant dough is more like bread dough.
  • STORAGE 
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
  • Freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months.
  • NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
  • Vegan Butter - We recommend using Miyoko's Cultured Vegan Butter or Earth Balance sticks. Miyoko's has an authentic buttery flavor, but it's more expensive than Earth Balance. Don't use spreadable butter in a tub as it contains more water, which could prevent the croissants from developing flaky layers.
  • Flour - Bread flour is best for making croissants because it has more gluten, and that will help the croissants develop the best texture. You can use all-purpose flour if you must, but bread flour is best.
  • Sugar - We recommend using caster sugar because it's ground into a fine, almost powdery texture. This will help the croissants stay light and airy. You can put granulated sugar in a blender or food processor to make caster sugar.
  • Yeast - Use active dry yeast for best results.

Nutrition Information

Serving 40g Calories 276kcal (14%) Carbohydrates 29g (10%) Protein 6g (12%) Fat 16g (25%) Saturated Fat 3g (15%) Polyunsaturated Fat 4g Monounsaturated Fat 8g Sodium 289mg (12%) Potassium 153mg (4%) Fiber 4g (16%) Sugar 6g (12%) Vitamin A 731IU (15%) Vitamin C 1mg (1%) Calcium 53mg (5%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 12Croissants

Amount Per Serving

Calories 276

% Daily Value*

Serving 40g
Calories 276kcal 14%
Carbohydrates 29g 10%
Protein 6g 12%
Fat 16g 25%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g 24%
Monounsaturated Fat 8g 40%
Sodium 289mg 12%
Potassium 153mg 3%
Fiber 4g 16%
Sugar 6g 12%
Vitamin A 731IU 15%
Vitamin C 1mg 1%
Calcium 53mg 5%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.