Whole Wheat Burger Buns (Healthy & Vegan)

by Alena
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These healthy whole wheat burger buns are crusty, tender, vegan and so easy to make! It’s a budget-friendly one-bowl recipe that requires only 10 minutes of prep time.

Skip the store-bought hamburger buns and make these healthy whole wheat burger buns with creamy soy yogurt and crunchy seeds.

This recipe is just too simple not to try: affordable staple ingredients, one bowl and ten minutes of hands-on time.

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These whole wheat buns are oil-free and dairy-free, making them vegan-friendly and packed with fiber!

While they don’t replicate fluffy white buns, we’ve grown to enjoy them even more. Use them to make vegan bean burgers and try our buckwheat bread and cornbread for more baked goods!

freshly baked whole wheat vegan burger buns on a white table next to a knife and a towelpin it

Recipe overview

These whole wheat buns can be served sweet or savory and once you’ve fallen in love with the flavor and texture of whole grains, you don’t care for refined flour products anymore!

white table with a bowl of whole wheat flour next to smaller bowls with vegan yogurt, plant-based milk, applesauce and saltpin it

Ingredients needed

  • Whole wheat flour — if you don’t want to go “all whole grain” on your rolls, start with a 50/50 mixture of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour.
  • Baking soda + powder — basic raising agents.
  • Soy milk + lemon juice — creating some easy and delicious vegan buttermilk for better texture!
  • Soy yogurt + applesauce — adding extra moisture to the buns!
  • Toppings — sprinkle with seeds or rolled oats for some texture.

With these basic kitchen staples, you can create a whole array of tasty food — including these whole wheat burger buns.

All you need in terms of equipment are a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, large bowl, brush and measuring equipment.

mixing whole wheat flour with the rest of the ingredients to create healthy vegan hamburger buns in a white bowlpin it
woman in white shirt mixing plant-based milk into whole wheat batterpin it

How to make whole wheat burger buns

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 °F (200 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Sift flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder into a large bowl.
  3. Add wet ingredients: water, almond milk, soy yogurt and lemon juice.
  4. Combine with a spoon, then knead with your hands until a smooth but still sticky dough forms.
  5. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and shape them into buns.
  6. Line them on your prepared baking sheet at about an inch distance.
  7. Brush the buns with vegan milk, and top with rolled oats, black sesame and pumpkin seeds.
  8. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden on the outside, then remove them from the oven.
  9. Let the buns cool slightly before serving!
mixing and kneading dough to make whole wheat vegan hamburger bunspin it

Storage & serving

Enjoy your whole wheat hamburger buns straight from the oven or over the next 2-3 days. They are best stored at room temperature in a food container or bread bag.

They will keep well in the fridge for about a week. You can also thaw them for up to 3 months!

You can create vegan burgers with them or use the buns to make sandwiches from BLT to PBJ! We like to spread them with hummus, mayo, smashed avocado, ricotta or other vegan spreads and top with veggies.

Serve these whole wheat buns as a side dish with some salad, soup or chili!

halved colorful plant-based burger with whole wheat buns on a white platepin it

Tips & adjustments

Make them sweeter

Use sweetened yogurt, applesauce or milk to make these whole wheat buns sweeter. You can also add a few tablespoons of maple syrup or molasses!

Quantity & size

You can bake larger or smaller buns with the dough but make sure to adjust the baking time to neither burn nor undercook them. 

If you want to make a larger batch of these delicious whole wheat buns, simply double or triple the recipe and freeze the baked rolls for up to 2-3 months, thawing and reheating them at your convenience.

woman in white linen shirt and apron holding a bowl of freshly baked whole wheat burger bunspin it

Create the best texture

Sifting your whole wheat flour is key to making lofty whole grain baked goods and also eliminates the need for adding any dough enhancers — so it’s highly recommended but can be skipped for convenience and time purposes.

Try to properly combine the ingredients to form a homogeneous mixture but don’t over stir! Handle your dough with some love.

You’re looking for a dough that’s a little tacky as it will absorb more moisture.

Ingredient swaps

  • Use aquafaba for the eggwash instead of vegan milk
  • Add olive oil or vegan butter to the batter instead of applesauce
  • Use any unflavored dairy-free (soy, oat, almond, pea) for this recipe.
  • Swap the whole wheat flour for white wheat, rye, spelt or einkorn!
freshly baked whole wheat rolls topped with oats and seedspin it

More healthy baked goods

In the mood for some more baking? Try these treats next!

Have you tried our burger buns and liked them? Feel free to comment below and rate our recipe! You can also Pin it here!

freshly baked whole wheat vegan burger buns on a white table next to a knife and a towel

Whole Wheat Burger Buns (Healthy & Vegan)

Yield: 6 buns
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

These healthy whole wheat burger buns are crusty, tender, vegan and so easy to make! It's a budget-friendly one-bowl recipe that requires only 10 minutes of prep time.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour (240 g)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ⅓ cup almond milk (80 ml)
  • 3 tbsp soy yogurt
  • ⅓ cup water (80 ml)
  • 3 tbsp applesauce
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp salt

Optional Toppings

  • Rolled oats
  • Black or white sesame
  • Pumpkin seeds

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 °F (200 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Start by sifting your flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder into a large bowl.
  3. Add water, almond milk, soy yogurt and lemon juice to the flour mix. Combine everything with a spoon, then knead with your hands until a smooth but still sticky dough forms.
  4. Divide the whole wheat dough into 6 pieces, shape them into buns and line them on your prepared baking sheet at about an inch distance.
  5. Brush the buns with almond milk, and top with rolled oats, black sesame and pumpkin seeds.
  6. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Then, remove from the oven and let the buns cool slightly before serving.

Notes

  • You can make these buns with either sweetened or unsweetened milk, yogurt and applesauce.
  • This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make more buns in one go!
  • You can swap some of the whole wheat flour for spelt flour or regular all-purpose flour — we haven’t tried making gluten-free vegan buns.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 bun
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 142Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 592mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 6g

Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated automatically, their accuracy is not guaranteed. Just focus on whole plant-based foods and eat until satiety!

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Alena sitting in a cafe with a bowl of fresh plant-based food and a glass of coffee in front of her

About Alena Handwritten FontAlena Schowalter is a Certified Vegan Nutritionist who has been a vegetarian since childhood and vegan since 2012. Together with her husband, she founded nutriciously in 2015 and has been guiding thousands of people through different transition stages towards a healthy plant-based diet. She’s received training in the fields of nutrition, music therapy and social work. Alena enjoys discussions around vegan ethics, walks through nature and creating new recipes.

17 thoughts on “Whole Wheat Burger Buns (Healthy & Vegan)”

  1. Hi. Could you please explain the function of the yogurt and if it’s necessary or if there is an alternative? (Silken tofu, perhaps, with vegan lactic acid powder?) I ask because I want to make these soon and don’t have any soy yogurt.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hey Beth,
      thanks for the comment! So, the yogurt is used to add texture and keep the moisture without using any oil. While I haven’t tried your replacement idea, I can imagine that it would work — even without the lactic acid powder perhaps.
      Please do let me know if you end up making the buns that way and how they turn out!
      Best wishes,
      Alena

      Reply
  2. Hi again. So, I made the buns today (using the soft tofu instead of yogurt – that was the only change) and unfortunately, they turned out very hard on the outside and dense on the inside. Not dry, just dense. Any idea what I might have done wrong? (The applesauce goes on the outside, not the inside, right?)

    Reply
  3. Hey Beth,
    thanks for checking back in! Awww sorry that they turned out so dense — it kind of makes sense because silken tofu is denser than soy yogurt and I haven’t tried this swap before.
    Yup, the applesauce is used as a glaze on the outside. If you don’t have any vegan yogurt on hand, it might be best to just use some more plant-based milk or even sparkling water — also make sure that your baking powder is still good and pretty fresh.
    Best wishes,
    Alena

    Reply
  4. Hey there! I have just baked these bread-buns. The dough was very stiff, thus buns quite dry, dense and with strong soda flavour. I can’t say I didn’t like the taste, it is quite interesting. But definitely not a traditional burger-bun and something you have to get used to. ????

    Reply
  5. I made these and they looked great and texture was good too but the taste and smell, not so much. They turned out extremely bitter, and smelling also very strongly of baking soda. I had to throw them out as they were inedible . Any idea on why that happened? I followed the recipe exactly as instructed.

    Reply
    • applesauce is used for the glaze in this recipe — thanks for the question, I’ll be sure to write it out more clearly :)

      Reply
      • Thanks .. it was clearly written, I was just double checking because other recipes add apple to the mixed ingredients instead of oil. ????????

        Reply
  6. I am interested in making this recipe but would like to know if it was corrected for the bitter and/or heavy soda flavor mentioned in the comments?

    Reply
  7. To be frank, this is a bad recipe. I did everything to the T, except sift the dry ingredients because I don’t have a sieve, and the buns came out soooo hard. I’m honestly really upset about how much time I wasted on these.

    Reply
    • sorry that the recipe didn’t work for you! this can have several explanations and I’ll be sure to make the buns again soon to see whether there’s anything I can improve about them.

      Reply
  8. I thought these were great. After reading reviews, I was hesitant about these, but they turned out great. They seemed like they were a cross between a biscuit and a bun. I did put a linen towel over them after they came out of the oven to keep the moisture in and this did soften the crust and kept the inside soft and fluffy. I will also add that I couldn’t find anywhere in the recipe that the apple sauce was for the topping (the recipe says to use almond milk, but comments indicate that the apple sauce is for toppings). I added it to the rolls so that could be a factor in the texture. However it is to be used, I would continue to use it in the ingredients! Finally, I used whole grain, sprouted Spelt flour. The taste was nutty and earthy! I will definitely make these again!

    Reply

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