These vegan sticky buns need just 10 ingredients when you use our vegan everything dough recipe and are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert!

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We all know cinnamon rolls are amazing, but not as many people talk about their delicious cousin friend aka vegan sticky buns.
We are really sure why either.
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.
Don’t get me wrong, vegan cinnamon rolls are absolutely delicious.
However, these, at least to us, are just 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.

What ingredients do I need for vegan sticky buns?
You only need ten ingredients for this super easy vegan dough recipe.
The ingredients that you need are:
- Flour
- Instant yeast
- Salt
- Dairy Free Milk (we like Oat)
- Maple Syrup
- Vegan Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla Extract
- Pecans
That’s it! Can you believe that’s all you need?
Full ingredient amounts listed in the recipe card below.

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.

How do you make vegan sticky buns?
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 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 you need to not be sticky and form a ball.
Once your ball is formed, you will want to grease the same bowl you mixed in and place the dough ball back into the bowl.
Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 60-90 minutes in a warm, draft free place.
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.
Brush melted butter on top and then sprinkle evenly the brown sugar and cinnamon.
Carefully roll cinnamon rolls into log from the longest side up. One 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 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and spread evenly.
Place the cut cinnamon rolls on top.
Cover and let rise another 20 minutes. 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.

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.
Unfortunately, at this time we cannot recommend that these be gluten free. We are working on a gluten free dough that will rise and will update the post when we have perfected that.

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.


CAN THIS DOUGH BE USED TO MAKE OTHER RECIPES?
We are using our vegan everything dough recipe for this recipe. The possibilities are really endless for this dough. Some recipes that we have created are:
- Vegan Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls (pictured above)
- Vegan Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread (some places call this Monkey Bread)
- Easy Vegan Soft Pretzel Bites
- Chocolate Vegan Babka
- Vegan Garlic Knots
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Vegan Sticky Buns
Ingredients
For the dough
- 3 ½ – 4 cups flour (we prefer bread, can use all-purpose or whole wheat – see post for details)
- 1 package instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups dairy free milk (we like oat – can use any non-strongly flavored dairy free milk)
- ¼ cup maple syrup (see post about other sugar source options)
For the Filling
- ½ cup vegan butter, melted
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoon 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
- In a large bowl, whisk together 3 ½ cups flour, 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. *If you are oil free, then just make sure sides of bowl are floured, or use a silicone bowl to easily get it out
- Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 60-90 minutes in a warm, draft free place until doubled.
- 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.
- Brush melted butter on top and then sprinkle evenly the brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Carefully roll cinnamon rolls into log from the longest side up. One 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 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and spread evenly.
- Place the cut cinnamon rolls on top.
- Cover and let rise another 20 minutes. 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.
Notes
Video
Nutrition

We have made these twice. Came out great both times. Substituted my sour dough starter for the yeast. Followed all of the other directions and purposely kept the dough on the wetter sticker side like you suggested to keep the roll as tender as possible. Perfection and people really can’t believe they are vegan! Yum!!!
Thank you so much! We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and we loved that you used your own sour dough starter!
In your experimentation with gluten free dough, I highly recommend trying an Italian brand of flour called: Dallagiovanna. We discovered it when travelling in Paris last summer at the most incredible GF pizzeria. The host was gracious to share the secret flour they use for the pizza dough. We are a celiac family so upon returning home to Canada we were on a mission to source the flour. Luckily we have found an importer who brings it in from Italy for us. I highly recommend giving it a try if you can get your hands on it!
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ohhh thanks so much!
Great recipe, thank you! I substituted coconut oil for the butter. Love your recipes!
Glad to her you enjoyed it!
how do you change the quantity from 9 cinnamon rolls to 12 cinnamon rolls?😭😭
just cut into 12 pieces instead of 9 🙂
What temperature should the plant milk be?
It can be cold going into the batter and into the pot depending on which part you are talking about
if you’re using active dry yeast I recommend heating your milk on the stove until it hits 100°F, take off the heat then add your yeast and sugar and let it bloom for about 10 mins!