Vegan Chocolate Croissants

Vegan chocolate croissants made with coconut oil are the ultimate vegan pastry. So flaky and filled with all the perfect melted chocolate, these are a perfect breakfast or treat!

They are HERE. These vegan chocolate croissants have been months in the making. Between multiple trials of the recipe, testing out a few different methods, and using a lot of coconut oil, this is the vegan croissant recipe you have been waiting for (or at least the one I have).

The second time trying out these vegan chocolate croissants worked like a charm, so to the blog it goes! I aimed for this recipe to be made without vegan butter since it’s not accessible for everyone and I wanted to make a base recipe for vegan chocolate croissants that could be made plain, savory, or sweet.

I can’t promise that these are exactly like a French bakery or flake all over like the real deal with butter does, but I can promise that they come pretty darn close.

Don’t miss the list of tips I put below, because once you’ve made this vegan chocolate croissant recipe five times, you pick up a few do’s and don’ts along the way.

The longer recipe looks intimidating, but it’s totally worth it!

How to make vegan chocolate croissants

1. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, warm water, and pinch of sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes. (Make sure your water isn’t hot, just warm! Too hot water will kill your yeast and your croissants won’t rise)
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, combine the yeast mixture, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, and 1 cup almond milk on medium.
3. Gradually add in the all-purpose flour and beat on medium until a dough starts to form. If the dough is really sticky, add 1/4-1/3 cup more flour. Remove from bowl and place onto a well-floured surface.
4. Don’t overmix your dough! It will become tough and chewy, resulting in a less than a flaky croissant.
5. Roll the dough into a rectangle that is 1/2 inch thick (it will be about 12 inches by 10 inches or so). Transfer to a small cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
6. After the dough has chilled, we are ready to add the coconut oil package. This makes the dough form the layers and get very tender and flaky.
7. Take 1 cup of solid coconut oil and knead in 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour. Form the coconut oil and flour into a small rectangle that is about 6 inches by 4 inches. I had to just use my hands to do this, especially if it’s a warmer day or your kitchen is fairly warm.
8. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into a rectangle that is 13 inches by 9 inches.
9. Place the coconut oil rectangle into the bottom half of the rolled-out dough. Fold the upper half down over the lower half and press the edges together.
10. With the folded side to your left, roll out the dough into a 10 by 24-inch rectangle. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down, as if you were folding a letter.
11. Repeat this rolling (into a 10 by a 24-inch rectangle) and folding 3 more times. If the dough gets too warm or the coconut oil starts to melt, chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes and start to work with the dough again.
12. After you have rolled out and folded 3 more times, form the croissants for baking.
13. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
14. To form the croissants, roll out the pastry dough into a 12 by 16-inch rectangle.
15. Cut into 3 equal lengthwise strips and then cut each strip into 4 squares, for a total of 12 squares.
16. Take each square and slightly stretch it out with your hands (just a bit), place 8-10 chocolate chips in the center of the square, then fold the bottom third up and the top down so it overlaps. Pinch the dough together to seal.
17. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all squares of pastry have been used.
18. Lightly whisk together the 1/4 cup almond milk and 1 teaspoon agave nectar and brush the tops of each croissant with the mixture. This will give it that perfect golden brown color.
19. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
20. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Tips for making vegan chocolate croissants

• First and foremost, don’t rush it! This is the kind of baking project that you will need to spread out over a day and just kind of enjoy, rather than looking for the easiest/fastest shortcut around.
• The rising and rolling seems like a lot, but really just trust me, it’s worth it!
• I only tried this recipe with coconut oil, so I would NOT recommend using any other oil. The beauty of coconut oil is that it stays fairly solid at room temperature and can be made into a ‘package’ for folding into the dough (see recipe below) without melting all over the place.
• Gluten-free? I don’t know, but if you want to try it and tell me how it works, that would be awesome!
• Have lots of all-purpose flour on hand each time you are rolling out dough. I found that if I thought I had enough flour, put away the bin, then had to pull it back out, I ended up with flour and coconut oil everywhere.
• When making the coconut oil package for the vegan chocolate croissant dough, use more flour than you think you need! That oil is going to start melting if you don’t and no one wants slippery countertops and wasted dough.
• Don’t try to overstuff the chocolate inside the croissant! I know that the rule for chocolate is usually that more is always better,  if you overstuff the chocolate inside things will get melty and burned and it’s just all bad news.
• Don’t forget the almond milk/agave vegan ‘egg wash‘. This combo results in a perfectly browned top on your vegan chocolate croissants rather than just a pale-looking pastry.
• Last but not least, follow the recipe! This isn’t the time to improvise, trust me, I tried it.

How to roll a croissant

It’s much easier than it seems! Once you have your squares cut and ready to go, place the chocolate in the middle of the dough and roll up the top half over the chocolate and the bottom half over that section.

Don’t roll the dough too tightly around the chocolate, or the chocolate will burst out while baking.

How to store croissants

You can store croissants like any other pastry! Store them covered, in a container or in a sealed zip-top bag for up to a week. Alternately, you can freeze any leftovers using the directions below.

Can you freeze croissants?

Yes! Allow your croissants to cool completely and then wrap them in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To thaw the croissants, place them in the fridge to thaw for 24-48 hours and then warm in a 200-degree oven for 5 minutes.

More vegan pastry recipes:

• How to Make Vegan Puff Pastry
• Easy Vegan Pound Cake
• Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Bourbon Cheesecake Bars

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