This Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Cross Bun Loaf is moist, fragrant, fruity and subtly spiced. It's easy to make as it's made in one bowl, yeast-free and no-knead. It's also refined sugar free, great for breakfast, brunch, dessert or a snack and perfect for Easter! It's a flexible recipe that can be adapted based on your taste preferences: for example, you can replace the raisins with chocolate chips or any other type of dried fruit!
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.
- Transfer the mixture to a one-pound loaf tin.
Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make the loaf easier to remove afterwards.
How to make the cross
- Mix together the flour and the water in a small bowl until you get a smooth, fairly thick paste.
Tip: Add the water a tiny bit at a time so you don't add too much.
- Transfer the mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle.
- Pipe the flour paste in one vertical line down the middle of the length of the loaf and then do two horizontal lines at even intervals.
- Bake in oven for around 45 minutes.
- Once out the oven, transfer to a cooling rack.
- Mix together the apricot jam and hot water.
Tip: The water is just to thin out the jam, so don't use too much!
- Use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to evenly brush the jam mixture all over the top surface of the loaf.
- Leave to cool and dry completely before slicing.
How long does this keep for?
It keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days - best reheated in the toaster!
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal) with ground walnuts.
- For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds.
- You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you're not gluten-free.
- You can either use freshly squeezed orange juice, or orange juice from a carton.
- You can replace the orange zest with candied orange peel or 1 teaspoon orange extract.
Flavour substitutions
- You can replace the cinnamon with mixed spice (or a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves).
- You can replace the raisins/sultanas with any other dried fruit (dried cranberries, chopped dates, chopped prunes, dried mango, dried pineapple, dried papaya etc).
- You can replace the dried fruit with chocolate chips!
More gluten-free vegan bread recipes
- Gluten-Free Vegan Chickpea Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Banana Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Irish Soda Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Almond Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Oat Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Dinner Rolls
- Gluten-Free Vegan Seeded Buckwheat Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Cornbread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Flour Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Walnut Bread
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I'd really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make it
Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Cross Bun Loaf
This Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Cross Bun Loaf is moist, fruity and subtly spiced. It's easy to make and perfect for Easter! Plus it's yeast-free and no-knead!
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Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 207kcal
Ingredients
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 60 ml (¼ cup) orange juice (freshly squeezed or from a carton)
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon orange zest (or sub candied orange peel or 1 teaspoon orange extract)
- 100 g (⅔ cup) raisins or sultanas (or sub any other dried fruit)
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
For the cross (optional):
- 3 tablespoons gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons water (add it a bit at a time so you don't add too much!)
To decorate (optional):
- 1 teaspoon apricot jam
- ½ teaspoon hot water (to thin out the jam)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Place the coconut oil in a separate large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
- Once melted, add the orange juice to the same bowl along with the almond milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, orange zest, raisins and ground almonds.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and mix well.
- Transfer the mixture into a loaf tin lined with greased baking paper (I used a one-pound loaf tin).
For the cross:
- Mix together the flour and the water in a small bowl until you get a smooth, fairly thick paste (add the water a tiny bit at a time so you don't add too much).
- Transfer the mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle.
- Pipe the flour paste in one vertical line down the middle of the length of the loaf and then do two horizontal lines at even intervals.
- Bake in oven for around 45 minutes until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Once out the oven, transfer to a wire rack to cool.
To decorate:
- As soon as you've transferred the loaf to a wire rack, mix together the apricot jam and hot water - the water is just to thin out the jam, so don't use too much!
- Use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to evenly brush the jam mixture all over the top surface of the loaf.
- Leave to cool and dry completely before slicing.
- Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days - best reheated in the toaster!
Video
Notes
*You can alternatively use almond flour.
Leave to cool and dry completely before slicing.
Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days - best reheated in the toaster!
Nutrition Facts
Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Cross Bun Loaf
Amount Per Serving
Calories 207
Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 5g25%
Sodium 43mg2%
Potassium 120mg3%
Carbohydrates 25g8%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 13IU0%
Vitamin C 4mg5%
Calcium 72mg7%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Alison
Made this yesterday and will make again, however it did take longer in the oven until skewer came out clean. I would use more spice next time, it is a bit crumbly so will not be able to put it in a toaster. Used rice flour so don't know if this is part of the reason. Very nice to have something gluten free and vegan that tastes nice. Thank you.
Rhian Williams
Thank you for your feedback! I think it was the rice flour that was the issue. If using rice flour, adding 2 tablespoons tapioca flour to help it bind together is a good idea!
Sara
Does using sunflower seeds make your baked products green? When I use it, my bread or muffins turn green. I haven't tried it in your recipes yet. I'm planning to. I don't do well with almonds or coconut, so I appreciate that you have not free and coconut free options.
Rhian Williams
Yes they do turn slightly green I agree...unfortunately I don't think there's anything you can do to prevent that!
Claire
I made this yesterday but did it as cupcakes instead of the loaf and used mixed spice and it came out amazing! I cooked it for less time but just had to keep checking it after 20-30 mins. Once cooled I sliced it and put DF butter on it and it was so delicious. When they go a bit stale I'm going to try toasting them too. I have some in the freezer for emergency treats too! Thank you for this perfect Easter recipe!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!!
Tracy
hello, I followed the recipe to the exact products and measurements, the loaf took 2 hours on 350F and it was still moist and quite dense. I see a couple of other reviews said the same thing 🙁 the flavors are most certainly there I’m just sad it didn’t bake for Easter Sunday 🙁 do you have any suggestions to reduce the wetness of this bake? Perhaps with a paper towel take some of the moisture out of the apples? Thanks so much
Rhian Williams
So sorry to hear that! What type of gluten-free flour did you use? Did you make any other substitutions? Using a paper towel to remove the moisture from the apples may help, though that shouldn't really make too much of a difference.
Medina
Hello, i want to make this but i live in Norway where almond flour and ground almonds are nowhere to be found 🙁 could i use regular flour instead? and how much would flour would i have to use?
Rhian Williams
Oh no sorry! Unfortunately the almond flour is necessary for texture so you can't use regular flour instead - you can replace it with ground walnuts or ground sunflower seeds though. You can make your own in a food processor. Hope that helps!