These Eggless Easter Hot Cross Buns are soft, fluffy, and deliciously spice flavored! Make some traditional hot cross buns from scratch with this easy step-by-step recipe.
Why I Love This Recipe
These Eggless Easter Hot Cross Buns are soft, fluffy, and deliciously spice flavored!
The dough comes together easiest with a mixer, but you can make the dough by hand if you don’t have one.
This hot cross bun recipe is a go-to at Easter time. Serve these eggless hot cross buns warm straight out of the oven and slathered with butter.
They’re SO good.
Crosses On Hot Cross Buns
There are a couple of ways to make crosses on hot cross buns:
- Flour Cross: the cross is made with a flour and water mixture and is added on top of each bun BEFORE baking. This is the most traditional application of the cross. The problem with the method, in my opinion, is that the cross gets a little hard after baking.
- Icing Cross: the cross is made with icing (confectioners’ sugar and milk or orange juice), and it is added on top of each bun AFTER baking. This is the method I usually choose.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and instructions (scroll down or click the button below).
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
Yeast: You can use either instant yeast or active yeast. If using instant yeast, you don’t need to activate it (step 3). In that case, add to the flour in step 1.
Raisins: Soak them in hot water for extra plump and moist raisins for 5-10 minutes. You can also use dried cranberries too.
Golden Flaxseed Meal: If you are allergic to flaxseed, you can substitute it with 6 tablespoons (90 ml) of evaporated milk.
How to Make Easter Hot Buns without Eggs
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and instructions (scroll down or click the button below).
1 – Make the Dough
2 – First Rise
3 – Form the Buns
4 – Second Rise
5 – Add the Flour Crosses
If you prefer the icing cross:
- Bake the bun and let them cool down until they are just warm.
- Then, mix confectioners’ sugar and orange juice until no lumps. Spoon icing into a piping bag or zipped-top bag. Snip off a small piece at the corner. Pipe a line down the center of each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses.
6 – Bake and Glaze
Extra Tips
Instant Yeast. If using instant yeast, you don’t need to activate it (step 3). In that case, add to the flour in step 1.
Make sure your milk is not too hot. If the milk is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If you don’t have a thermometer to check the temperature, here is a trick: Heat the milk for 45 seconds on high in the microwave. Stick your finger into the milk. The milk must be hot but not too hot to burn your finger.
Soak the Raisins. For extra plump and moist raisins, soak them in hot water for 5-10 minutes. You can also use dried cranberries, too.
Storing & Freezing Instructions
Store: As with all homemade bread, it is best served on the day it’s made. Store leftovers in a plastic bag for up to 3 days. To serve, reheat them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to make them soft and moist again.
Freeze: these rolls are freezer-friendly.
- Unbaked Rolls: After the dough rises for the first time. Shape the rolls and place them in the baking pan. Place the baking pan into the freezer and freeze until the rolls are very firm. Transfer the frozen-shaped rolls into a plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 weeks. When ready to bake, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise until puffy, about 2- 3 hours, then bake.
- Baked Rolls: Let them cool completely, then wrap them tightly in aluminum foil. Place the foil-wrapped rolls in a freezer bag or container and freeze them for up to 3 months.
Make-Ahead: roll the dough into rolls, then cover and refrigerate overnight (uncooked). When you’re ready to bake, let them rest in a warm place for 45- 60 minutes, and then continue with the following steps in the recipe instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions
A hot cross bun is a yeasted sweet bun usually made with spices and dried fruit, and marked with a cross on the top, which can be made with a mixture of flour and water and added before baking or can be made with icing and added after baking. These buns were traditionally eaten on Good Friday, but over time they gained popularity, and they are now available all year round in some places.
There are a couple of ways to make crosses on hot cross buns. Flour Cross: the cross is made with a flour and water mixture and is added on top of each bun BEFORE baking. Icing Cross: the cross is made with icing (confectioners’ sugar and milk or orange juice), and it is added on top of each bun AFTER baking.
Yes! After the dough rises for the first time. Shape the rolls and place them in the baking pan. Place the baking pan into the freezer and freeze until the rolls are very firm. Transfer the frozen-shaped rolls into a plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
Place frozen rolls in a lightly greased baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise until puffy, about 2- 3 hours, then bake.
Yes! Let them cool completely, then wrap them tightly in aluminum foil. Place the foil-wrapped rolls in a freezer bag or container and freeze them for up to a month.
Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired and add icing.
More Eggless Bread Recipes You’ll Love
- Eggless Honey Whole Wheat Rolls
- Easy Eggless Cinnamon Rolls
- Soft No-Knead Eggless Dinner Rolls
- BEST Eggless Cornbread
- BEST Eggless Banana Bread
- Easy Eggless Zucchini Bread
Recipe Card 📖
Eggless Easter Hot Cross Buns
Equipment
Ingredients
Buns:
- 3 ½ cups (490 g) bread or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons golden flaxseed meal
- 6 tablespoons (90 ml) water
- ¾ cup (180 ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (9 g) dry yeast
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar
- 5 tablespoon (75 g) butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 cup raisins
Flour Cross (see notes):
- 1/2 cup (70 g ) all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons (75 ml) water
Glaze:
- 1 tablespoon orange or apricot jam
- 2 teaspoons (30 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon (14 g) butter
Icing Cross:
- 1 cup (120 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) fresh or bottled orange juice
Important
Don’t forget to check out the step-by-step photos above in the post—they’ll guide you through the process and make everything super clear!
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Place flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a large bowl; mix to combine.
- Mix 6 tablespoons of cold water and 2 tablespoons golden flax meal in a small bowl until well combined. Let it rest for 5 – 10 minutes to thicken.
- Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 -7 minutes, or until foamy. NOTE: If your yeast doesn't go frothy, it means that the yeast is not active, so your buns won't rise.
- Add brown sugar, butter, vanilla orange zest, and flaxseed mixture to the yeast mixture. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add flour and raisins. Beat on medium speed until the dough is smooth, elastic, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 8 – 10 minutes. Dough should be a little sticky and soft. If it’s too sticky and not pulling away from the sides of the bowl, mix in additional flour, one tablespoon at a time.
- Spritz the top of the dough with a little bit of oil spray and cover the bowl lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Place the covered bowl in a warm place. Let rise for 90 minutes in a warm place or until the dough is full and puffy. It will double or triple in volume.
Form the Rolls:
- Gently deflate the dough and pat out to a rough rectangle about 8 inches by 12 inches. Cut the dough into 4 equal long strips, then cut each strip into 3 portions for a total of 12 dough balls. NOTE: For smaller rolls cut each strip into 6 portions for a total of 24 dough balls.
- Line with parchment paper a 9×13 inch baking pan or lightly grease with either butter or cooking spray and set aside. NOTE: You can place the rolls into any baking pan: rectangular, round, or a combination of pans.
- Take each piece of dough and roll it into a smooth ball, place the ball seam side down in the prepared baking pan. Cover the baking pan with a kitchen towel so that the formed buns won't dry out. Return pan to warm place and leave for 30 – 45 min, until the dough has risen and almost double in volume.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C) and position one of the oven racks into the center of the oven.
Once the rolls have risen, add the flour cross. If you want to make your crosses with icing, skip this step and go to bake.
- Flour Cross: Whisk the cross ingredients together. You want a thick paste that will pipe easily. Spoon the paste into a piping bag or zipped-top bag. Snip off a small piece at the corner. Pipe a line down the center of each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses.
Bake:
- Bake the buns for about 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove buns from the oven.
Glaze:
- Place jam, water, and butter in a bowl, microwave for 30 seconds. Mix to combine.
- Brush them with jam mixture immediately when they come out of the oven.
If you prefer the icing cross:
- Let the buns to come to a warm temperature.
- Mix confectioners’ sugar and orange juice until no lumps. Spoon icing into a piping bag or zipped-top bag. Snip off a small piece at the corner. Pipe a line down the center of each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses.
- Serve warm.
- Unbaked Rolls: After the dough rises for the first time. Shape the rolls and place them in the baking pan. Place the baking pan into the freezer and freeze until the rolls are very firm. Transfer the frozen shaped rolls into a plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 weeks. When ready to bake, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise until puffy, about 2- 3 hours, then bake.
- Baked Rolls: Let them cool completely, then wrap them tightly in aluminum foil. Place the foil-wrapped rolls in a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Flour Cross: the cross is made with a flour and water mixture and is added on top of each bun BEFORE baking. This is the most traditional application of the cross. The problem with the method, in my opinion, is that the cross gets a little hard after baking.
- Icing Cross: the cross is made with icing (confectioners’ sugar and milk or orange juice) and it is added on top of each bun AFTER baking. This is the method I usually choose.
I appreciate your feedback, and it helps others, too!
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Originally posted in March 2020, post content edited to add more helpful information, no change to the recipe in February 2022.
I love your recipes and I’m excited to try this at Easter this year. I’m curious if you have an eggless King Cake recipe that I could try before the season of Lent starts?
Hello Marilyn! I don’t have an eggless King Cake recipe, but you can adapt my Easter Bread recipe (Easy Easter Sweet Bread (No Eggs) to create something similar! 😊 You can add cinnamon sugar filling and decorate it with traditional Mardi Gras colors to get that classic King Cake feel. Let me know if you’d like any tips for adjustments—happy baking! 💜💛💚✨
Hello Marilyn! I don’t have an eggless King Cake recipe, but you can adapt my Easter Bread recipe (Easy Easter Sweet Bread (No Eggs) to create something similar! 😊 You can add cinnamon sugar filling and decorate it with traditional Mardi Gras colors to get that classic King Cake feel. Let me know if you’d like any tips for adjustments—happy baking! 💜💛💚✨
Do you have any suggestions to replace the flaxseed? In addition to an egg allergy, my son is also allergic to seeds…flax, chia, sesame, etc. We love your recipes and would love to try these for Easter!
Hello Katy! You can substitute for 6 tablespoons (90 ml) of evaporated milk. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
Please can you tell me how many mililitres there are in 3/4 cup of milk in your easter hot cross bun recipe?
I follow you from the UK, and don’t use cup measures.
Thank you
Hello Sharon! 3/4 cup = 180 ml. Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
Excellent..worked perfectly…came out nice and fluffy ..enjoyed by all in the family-especially kids.I did the flour cross and it was my first attempt at hot cross buns.Thanks for this fabulous recipe…I didn’t glaze mine with jam but it still was scrumptious.
Hello Charu! I’m thrilled that the hot cross buns turned out so well, especially for your first attempt! Fluffy buns that everyone enjoys, especially the kids? Total win! 😊
Skipping the jam glaze and still getting that scrumptious flavor? That’s the beauty of making it your own! Keep up the great baking and enjoy those delightful treats! If you need more recipes or tips, feel free to ask! xo