These vegan chocolate sticky buns are a fun spin on traditional sticky buns that make a delicious vegan breakfast, brunch or dessert idea.
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Cinnamon rolls are amazing, especially our vegan chocolate cinnamon rolls; however sticky buns are the upgraded version and that means vegan chocolate sticky buns are the best of the best.
Vegan sticky buns are essentially just inverted cinnamon rolls that have an amazing caramel pecan topping. So in our opinion, they are even better than traditional cinnamon rolls.
Don’t get me wrong, vegan cinnamon rolls are absolutely delicious. In fact we have over 30 vegan cinnamon roll recipes, so we are positive they are truly delicious.
However, these, at least to us, are just even more delicious.
They make for a perfect addition to your breakfast or brunch line-up and could even double as a dessert if you need an idea.
Frequently Asked Questions
DO I HAVE TO USE PECANS?
Whether you just don’t like them or you can’t have them due to an allergy, you will be happy to know that you do not have to use pecans on these vegan sticky buns.
You could swap for walnuts or you can completely omit the nuts and just have a delicious caramel topping.
Do I have to make them chocolate?
We know that sometimes people just aren’t huge fans of chocolate or chocolate is just too much. Good news, you can just make our recipe for traditional vegan sticky buns. You will get the same amazing flavor from the caramelized pecan rolls just without the chocolate.
DO I HAVE TO USE BREAD FLOUR?
These will definitely still turn out to be decent cinnamon rolls with using all-purpose flour versus bread flour; however, bread flour has a high gluten and protein content, thus it yields softer, fluffier cinnamon rolls.
If you truly want bakery style, soft, delicious, vegan cinnamon rolls they definitely use the bread flour. You won’t be disappointed.
CAN THESE BE TOP 8 ALLERGEN FRIENDLY VEGAN STICKY BUNS?
For the butter, make sure you use a soy free vegan butter. We like Earth Balance soy free. It comes in a red tub.
For the milk, we recommend oat.
For the nuts, we recommend just omitting if you have a nut allergy.
The gluten is the trickier part. We’ll be honest that we haven’t tried these with gluten free flour. However, we do have gluten free vegan cinnamon rolls. You can make the pecan caramel topping and use gluten free cinnamon roll recipe there, they just won’t be chocolate since we haven’t made a chocolate version yet.
CAN YOU PREP THESE AHEAD?
Yes! Once made and cooled, these vegan sticky buns can be stored in an air-tight container and will last 3-4 days.
What other vegan brunch ideas could I make?
- Vegan Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls
- Vegan Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread (some places call this Monkey Bread)
- Easy Vegan Soft Pretzel Bites
- Chocolate Vegan Babka (pictured above)
Pin these vegan chocolate sticky buns for later!
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Sticky Buns
Ingredients
For the dough
- 3 ½ cups flour (we prefer bread, can use all-purpose or whole wheat – see post for details)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 package instant yeast (1 package = 2 ¼ tsp)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups chocolate dairy free milk
- ¼ cup maple syrup (can sub for vegan cane sugar)
For the Filling
- ⅓ cup vegan butter, softened
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup vegan cane sugar
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cinnamon
For the Pecan Topping
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup vegan butter
- 2 tablespoon vegan milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 150 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, yeast, and salt.
- Then, add in the dairy free milk and maple syrup.
- Using a spatula, fold until mostly combined. Sprinkle a little more flour if needed to not be sticky and form a ball.
- Once ball is formed, grease the same bowl mixed in and place the dough ball back into the bowl.
- Turn off oven. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and place in warm oven for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Once doubled in size, pull out the dough and lay it out on a lightly floured surface.
- Using a rolling pin, roll dough into an approximately 17×25″ rectangle that is ¼″ thick.
- In a bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, cane sugar and cinnamon for the filling in a bowl until a paste forms. Spread across the dough evenly.
- Carefully roll cinnamon rolls into log from the longest side up. Once completely rolled, place seam side down. Cut into 9 even sized pieces.
- On the stove, add the brown sugar, vegan butter, milk and vanilla. Heat over low, stirring until the brown sugar and vegan butter have melted. Stir in the pecans.
- Pour the pecan mixture into a greased 9×9 baking dish and spread evenly.
- Place the cut cinnamon rolls on top.
- Cover and let rise another 20 minutes or until they begin to touch. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes.
- When done, carefully (They will be very hot) invert the pan onto a plate or cake pedestal.
- Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.
I love these! They’re a decadent treat that I make for special occasions like holidays. Today, I’m making them to take to a Father’s Day brunch.
So happy to hear that!