Vegan Hawaiian Rolls

Before we went vegetarian, never mind vegan, I could put down some Hawaiian rolls.

Every single Thanksgiving my family would buy a Honey Baked Ham and I would look most forward to the leftover ham sandwiches with mayo on a Hawaiian roll. It was my favorite sandwich that I only got to eat once a year.

For years and years my husband and I have talked about missing that sandwich. So I decided enough was enough and it was high time I make a convincing vegan ham.

Well, I did. But I still needed a vegan Hawaiian roll, so set my 14 year old to task with coming up a with a vegan version of the best roll on the planet (just my opinion but seriously, it is the best)

I have talked more than once about how amazing our 14 year old is (all of our kids are really rad, actually) but P can bake ANYTHING and make it vegan.

It took her just one attempt at veganizing a Hawaiian roll recipe to develop the most perfect Hawaiian roll I maybe ever have had.

Sweet, soft, and just waiting for a big pile of vegan ham and some mayo.

And just like that. all the stars aligned and there was finally nostalgic food joy in our house year around. Glory glory!!

These vegan Hawaiian rolls are gonna take you some time. They are after all a yeast roll and those just take time to rise. It is what it is. So make sure if want these for dinner to start them in them several hours before you are wanting to eat.

And let me just mention before you ask or comment, these rolls are suppose to be sweet. Sweet and a little savoy. In case you have never had one. The pineapple juice is key ingredient so no, you can not swap it out. If you do, it will not be a Hawaiian roll. It will be some other kind of roll and thats ok, but it won’t be a traditional Hawaiian roll.

They are best warm, right out of the oven, but they keep well for a few days and are still delicious at room temp.

And if you are also a fan of ham on Hawaiian, try our vegan ham recipe. It is so easy to make, and really affordable. I am talking $4 for about a pound and a half of vegan deli meat. Y’all, you will never have to pay too much for vegan lunch meat ever again!! And if you don’t like ham, I have turkey, brisket, and pastrami recipes as well!!

If you are not in it for the sandwiches, then these rolls make a perfect bread side for just about any meal. They are great for BBQs, pot lucks, or just Sunday night dinner.

Thanks again to our brilliant P for all of her veganizing genius and these rolls.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 2 starch eggs ( 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch+ 6 tablespoons water, mixed)

• 1/4 cup melted vegan butter

• 1/2 cup warm oat milk (100-110 degrees, if it’s too hot it will kill the yeast, it should be about the temp of hot water from the tap as a gauge if you don’t have a kitchen thermometer)

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice, room temp

GLAZE:

• 3 tablespoons oat milk

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or large bowl if mixing by hand, add the pineapple juice, warm milk, melted butter, starch eggs, sugar, salt, and yeast.

2. Add 2 cups of flour and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to incorporate the wet ingredients with the dry. The dough will be shaggy, loose, and sticky.

3. If using a stand mixer, attach the dough hook. On medium/low speed begin adding remaining flour until the dough comes together. If the dough seems a little too dry, add a tablespoon of water. If it seems too wet, you can add a few extra tablespoons of four. Let the dough knead in the mixer for 5 minutes unit a smooth, soft dough forms.

4. If mixing by hand, add a little flour at a time mixing by hand unit the dough forms. Turn dough out onto a clean floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes. (it will be a good workout, to work off all those carbs you are about to cram in your face)

5. Lightly coat a large mixing bowl with some oil. Place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen bowl. Place the bowl in a warm place and allow it to rise until doubled in size. This should take about an hour but will depend on how warm it is in your house. It could take a bit longer. I let my dough rise in my oven with it turned off.

6. Lightly coat or spray a 9x13 pan with oil.

7. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and divide it into 15 equal pieces. You can eyeball it, or if you are the kind of person that needs them to be EXACTLY the same size, use a kitchen scale. Roll each piece of dough into a ball place them in the 9x13 pan.

8. In a small bowl mix 3 tablespoons oat milk and 3 tablespoons maple syrup. Brush the tops of the rolls and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen bowl. Let rise again for 30 minutes. You can use any plant milk you have but oat milk browns better than the rest.

9. While the rolls are rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

10. Uncover and bake rolls on the middle oven rack for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

11. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temp.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Deviled Eggs

Vegan Deli Glazed Ham

Easy Vegan Macaroni Salad

Vegan Naan

I think I have mentioned I live for carbs. A side of bread is my favorite part of dinner, always.

Naan might be on my top 5 favorite breads list, actually.

This recipe is basically yeast dough cooked in a pan with butter, and brushed with more butter. It’s crispy and soft and just perfect as far as I am concerned. Normally, naan is cooked in a tandoori oven, but since I am lacking said oven, a cast iron did the trick.

Also, I won’t even consider eating Indian food without a giant pile of vegan naan to go along with it!

Sadly, a lot of times naan is not vegan as it is made with milk , egg or yogurt. At least what I find pre-packaged in the store. So when you are vegan its best just to learn how to make it so you never miss out! Its actually not hard to make. In fact our 14 year old veganized this recipe and made what is in these pictures.

You do have to make a yeast dough but it is an easy yeast dough. You can use a stand mixer or mix and knead by hand. You do have to wait for the dough to proof, which is just how yeast bread works, but you don’t have to wait for it to bake since you fry it up in a pan!

You don’t have to being making Indian cuisine to make vegan naan! Since it is a flat yeast bread, it also makes a really good pizza base. You can fry up a batch of this naan, then use the pieces throughout the week to make quick and easy vegan pizzas! If you have kids you know these are the kind of recipes that are golden.

You can also use this vegan naan for sandwiches, eat at it with breakfast, or just eat it on its own because any dedicated carb lover knows, bread can stand alone. It is perfect and needs no help from other food!!

You can make this vegan naan plain or you can brush it with garlic butter or any spices you make like. It’s really versatile and oh my gosh, it’s so good!

So go, make vegan naan, then make it again, and again, and again, because it is so delicious, pretty easy, and the perfect food!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup warm water. Around 110 degrees

• 4 cups all purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 2 1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast

• 3/4 cups room temperature vegan milk. I suggest almond or oat

• 3/4 cups vegan plain unsweetened yogurt

• 3 teaspoons salt

• 1/4- 1/2 cup melted vegan butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a medium sized bowl add warm water, yeast and sugar. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes or until the top is nice and foamy and frothy. If it does not get very bubbly or frothy, your water could have been too hot and killed the yeast. If that happens, start over.

2. Whisk the flour and salt together in bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl if mixing by hand.

3. Add the milk and yogurt to the yeast mixture and whisk until combined. Add the mixture to the flour. If using a stand mixer, let mix with the bread hook on medium speed for just a few minutes until the dough has formed and is smooth. If mixing in a bowl, mix all ingredients until combined. Turn the dough onto an clean floured surface and knead by hand for 4 or 5 minus until the dough is smooth.

4. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic warp. Place the bowl inside a tuned off oven for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

5. Once dough has doubled, remove from the bowl and place on a clean floured surface. Press the dough out and cut 12 equal sized pieces and roll them into a ball.. You can just eyeball this or use a kitchen scale. I eyeball it.

6. Roll each ball out into an oval-ish shape that is about 1/4 of inch thick and about 6 inches wide.

7. Heat a large skillet (I like to use a cast iron) over medium heat. Brush the dough with melted butter and cook on piece of naan at a time until bubbles form in the dough. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown. It should only have to cook a few minutes on each side. Repeat with remaining dough.

8. If you would like garlic naan you can add a few teaspoons of minced garlic to 1/4 cup melted butter. Brush finished naan with garlic butter to serve, or serve as is.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Easy Vegan Sandwich Bread

Easy Homemade Vegan Bagels

Vegan Pretzel Buns

Vegan Banana Walnut Bread

People are often amazed when I serve them vegan baked goods and after the fact, mention they are vegan.

Vegan baked goods can be every bit as good as non vegan if you know what you are doing, and most of the time nobody will ever even know the difference.

This vegan banana bread doesn’t even use an egg replacer and comes out just as delicious as any “regular” banana bread I have ever had.

You can mix in walnuts or replace them with chocolate chips, or any other nut or dried fruit you prefer. It’s moist, fluffy, just the right amount of sweet, and it is 100% vegan.

This bread also will freeze well, so maybe whip up a double batch if you have a bunch of bananas that are on their way out. One loaf for now, one for later. Or one for you, and one to convince, and hopefully impress a non vegan friend or neighbor.

Who knows, maybe all it would take is one convincing loaf of vegan banana bread to help them start to make some changes!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup all purpose white flour

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• 3/4 cups brown sugar

• 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 4 very ripe bananas

• 3/4 cups chopped walnuts

• 1/2 cup plant milk

• 1 teaspoon vinegar

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INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Mash bananas in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla extract.

2. In a large bowl, mix both flours, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

3. Mix the vinegar with the milk and let it sit for a few minutes.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Mix in the chopped nuts.

5. Prepare a loaf pan by spraying with some oil or wiping oil inside the pan. Pour the batter into the pan and bake on the top rack for 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

6. Allow bread to cool a bit before turning over onto a wire rack or plate to slice and serve.

If you like this recipe, try these:

Vegan Blueberry Crumble Muffins

Vegan Carrot Cake Biscuits with Maple Cashew Butter

Classic Vegan Cranberry Scones

easy vegan banana walnut bread. No egg replacer required