Perfect Vegan Yorkshire Puddings - Tall, crispy, golden sides, soft and slightly gooey bottoms, and a deep hollow just waiting to be filled with tasty gravy! And there's a gluten-free option. Perfect for enjoying with roast vegan beef and all the trimmings!
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Wanna know something? This Vegan Yorkshire Pudding recipe officially breaks all recipe testing records. I have been working on this recipe, on and off for well over a year in a desperate attempt to make my Vegan Roast dinners great again and I finally cracked it!
Are Yorkshire Puddings Vegan?
Traditional Yorkshire Puddings are not vegan because they contain eggs and milk.
In a vegan Yorkshire pudding the milk part is easily replaceable with any plant-based milk (or water as is the case with my recipe) but just like with vegan quiche, the eggs are much harder to substitute. They have a unique job when it comes to Yorkshire Puddings, and unlike in other kinds of vegan baking, a couple of flax or chia eggs in their place will not act in anything like the same way.
Even the magical aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas) struggled a bit with this job. But I finally did it and these Yorkshire Puddings are, I am pleased to say, vegan!
I grew up eating Yorkshire Puddings every Sunday while growing up in England and was a Yorkie master before I turned vegan, so I know what I'm talking about. But, if I am completely honest, this recipe I am sharing with you today is delicious and very similar to a traditional Yorkshire Pudding, but it is not exactly the same. This is something I really struggled with and I nearly didn't share it for that reason. As with most of my recipes though, I share my recipe testing on my Instagram stories. People were quite literally going crazy there wanting the recipe, but I still didn't feel confident about it.
The whole premise of my blog, A Virtual Vegan, is that I want the recipes I share here to be amazing with no compromises. With this recipe, there is a compromise because it is not the same as the non-vegan equivalent. That's why I wasn't completely sure that I should share it.
So, how did I decide I would?
I Googled "Vegan Yorkshire Pudding" recipes, and I printed out every single one there is on the internet and I made them all. All of them. Every. Single. One. Multiple times. My house was seriously like smoke central for 3 days.
And you know what I found? None of them were any good. They were all cakey, squat, and not well risen, and none of them had a proper hollowed-out bowl-shaped inside for holding gravy and they didn't have crispy outsides. Or not consistently anyway. Even the recipe from Sainsbury's that everyone seems to rave about. You can find it here if you want to check it out. And most importantly of all, none of them tasted that great.
That's when I realized that my Vegan Yorkshire Pudding recipe was actually pretty good. Much better than any of the others and it deserved to be let loose out in the wild. So here it is!
Ingredients
Perfect Vegan Yorkshire Puddings are not difficult to make, but you must follow the recipe exactly. There can be no substitutions at all. Believe me, I have tried every combination of ingredients and methods possible, and to get the best result you cannot change a thing.
Here is what you need:
- You will also need a muffin pan. You cannot use a shallow Yorkshire pudding pan for these. It must be a muffin pan and it must be metal and not any other material or they will not work. Don't use your very best muffin pan because the smoking hot oil tends to not be too kind to them and it's pretty impossible to clean them up perfectly after. I have an old pan that I use just for Yorkshire Puddings.
- A medium-sized mixing bowl
- A jug for pouring the batter into the pan quickly and easily
- And a balloon whisk
I also highly recommend that you weigh the flour when making this recipe. Cup measurements are not accurate enough to get the best results. If you do need to use cups then be sure. to use them correctly and spoon the flour into the cup then level off the top with a knife without compacting it or shaking it down. By doing it like this you will get roughly the correct amount.
If you scoop the flour up into the cup, you will end up with much more than is needed and it will affect the outcome of the recipe. Digital scales are available at most grocery stores or online stores like Amazon and you can pick them up cheaply. They are a great investment and so worth having!
How To Make This Yorkshire Pudding Recipe Gluten-Free
Yes! Finally a decent gluten-free Vegan Yorkshire Pudding! You can safely replace the all-purpose flour in this recipe with more chickpea flour. It works like a dream. In fact, they turn out even lighter. But they do have more of a chickpea flour flavour which isn't unpleasant but worth mentioning. I did try some other gluten-free flours but they didn't work nearly as well.
How To Make Vegan Yorkshire Puddings
Ok, so now you've got what you need, here is how it's done (if you're more of a visual learner watch my recipe video):
STEP 1 - Preheat the oven. Very high consistent heat is key to good results.
STEP 2 - Make the batter. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl, then combine to make a thin batter. Let it rest.
STEP 3 - Oil the muffin pan and preheat it until it is quite literally smoking. The trick to successful Yorkshire Puddings, vegan or not, is smoking hot oil!
STEP 4 - Work super quickly and pour the rested batter into the smoking oil and get the pan back in the oven as fast as humanly possible. Now is not the time to get distracted. You will see the batter start to fizzle and cook as soon as it hits the oil.
STEP 5 - Watch through the oven door as they grow before your very eyes!
Expert Tip - When making these Vegan Yorkshire Puddings, you need to use a muffin pan or a popover pan. Both have deep wells. A traditional shallow Yorkshire Pudding pan will not work well.
Making Ahead
Vegan Yorkshire Puddings freeze perfectly. Make as directed, cool on a wire rack then lay them out on a parchment paper or silicone mat-lined baking tray. Pop the whole thing in the freezer uncovered. As soon as they are hard remove them and put them in containers or freezer bags. Treat them gently so they don't crack or get squashed.
When you want them put them on a baking tray straight for the freezer at 425°F/218 °C for about 10 to 15 minutes to heat through.
Serving Suggestions
Yorkshire Puddings are traditionally served with roast beef and of course, I had to make a vegan beef recipe so this was possible. You can also serve them up with my Vegan Turkey Roast and you'll be onto a winner!
They are also great with my Vegan Meatloaf and Gravy, Crispy Roasted Potatoes and steamed veggies, or with my Vegan Instant Pot Portobello Pot Roast, but any meal that has copious amounts of gravy involved will do. They work incredibly well with vegan sausages, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
My grandparents always used to cook extra, so that leftover puddings could be eaten for dessert. They were reheated and served up with Lyle's Golden Syrup and clotted cream. Again, not very vegan, but if you were to omit the mustard or Kala Namak in my recipe, you could do something similar. Lyle's Golden Syrup is something that's popular in England and it's a really unique product. I've never seen anything like it here in Canada, except in the English aisles in some supermarkets where it is imported from England. It is vegan and it is a sweet-toothed person's dream.
So for a vegan Yorkshire Pudding dessert, serve up the hot puddings with either Golden Syrup (if you can get it) or maple syrup then top with whipped coconut cream in place of the clotted cream. Totally indulgent, not very good for you, but so amazingly delicious!!
More English Recipes
Recipe
Perfect Vegan Yorkshire Puddings
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 75 g (½ heaping cup) all purpose flour ,(plain flour in the UK). SEE RECIPE NOTES FOR GLUTEN-FREE
- 75 g (scant ⅔ cup) chickpea flour
- 2¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric , OPTIONAL - helps to give the puddings a slightly yellow colour.
- scant ½ teaspoon dijon mustard , or ¼ teaspoon of Kala Namak (I think mustard gives the best flavour)
- ¾ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons (90 mls) aquafaba , (the liquid from a can of chickpeas)
- 360 mls (1½ cups) water
- lots of oil for pan , mild olive, canola, vegetable, or sunflower oil.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218 °C) and have a shelf set about ¾ way up with an old baking tray on it. The tray must be preheated with the oven.
- In a medium bowl, add the all purpose flour, chickpea flour, baking powder, and salt, and whisk them together. As I mention in my post, I highly recommend weighing the ingredients for optimum results.
- In another bowl or jug, combine the mustard, apple cider vinegar, aquafaba, and water and whisk them together.
- Pour the combined liquids into the dry ingredients and whisk together until smooth and bubbly. Pour into a jug to make pouring quick and easy, then leave to rest while you proceed with the next step.
- While the batter is resting, prepare your muffin pans. They must be metal muffin pans and not silicone or ceramic, and they must be muffin pans and not shallow Yorkshire pudding pans. If you use a pan with shallow wells this recipe will not work.
- Add enough oil to give a depth of about 3 to 4mm, then swirl it around in the pan so it goes up the sides. Don't be tempted to use less oil as the recipe won't work as well. Put the oiled muffin pan in the oven on the old baking tray that preheated in the oven until it's literally smoking hot. This should take about 10 minutes.
- You need to work very quickly now. Make sure your jug of batter is right next to you as you open the oven. Very quickly, but very carefully, remove the baking tray & muffin pan from the oven, making sure to close the door immediately to keep the heat in. In a long, thin stream, pour the batter into the hot oil in each well of the pan. You need to fill them nearly to the top. The oil will rise above the batter. Stop pouring once the oil is just about level with the rim. You need to do this really quickly because you need to keep the heat in the pan for the puddings to work well. As soon as the wells are all full, put the pan (on the baking tray) right back into the oven and shut the door quickly. Do not open the oven door, not even for a quick peek until you are at least past 25 minutes of cooking or they will collapse.
- Cook the puddings for at least 30 minutes, or up to 40 minutes for more dried-out, crispy puddings. I like them a little gooey inside and 30 minutes is about right. If you prefer them dryer again, turn the oven right down and let them cook a bit longer. Do not open the oven door, not even for a quick peek until you are at least past 25 minutes of cooking.
- Remove the puddings from the oven and serve immediately.
NOTES
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Jo Warren says
Can't have apple cider vinegar.
What replacement can I use?
Melanie McDonald says
White wine vinegar would work instead.
Allie says
Have nothing to compare them to, but I love them–what a vehicle for gravy!
Catarina says
They did not work for me, sadly. But I will continue to try
Shane says
Absolutely perfect puddings! A great addition to our Christmas dinner. Thanks Mel!
Dualcyclone says
Wish I'd read the comments first. They started rising quite nicely initially in the first 10 minutes. After 15 minutes, the centres started rising too, not to worry, I thought to myself.
After 20 minutes, completely flat, resembling burned cheese, with a thick, congealed mass in the centre.
Absolute waste of time. Avoid
Claire Newman says
I’ve made two batches now and both have ended up far too soggy inside and too crispy and browned on the outside. Can I turn the oven down once they have begun to rise. The longer cooking time is not helping at such a high heat,
Elizabeth says
Do they not absorb oil as they cook? It says 163kcal each, but the 1 1/4 tablespoons of oil is already 148 kcal. Thank you!
Melanie McDonald says
Oil for greasing pans etc isn't included in nutritional information.
Alice Ringer says
Thank you for testing so many vegan recipes and coming up with one that succeeds! It's been several years since you posted this, but I hope you can answer my question - you said no substitutions, but how important is it to use chickpea flour, can I just use more All Purpose flour instead of chickpea flour if I don't have it?
Melanie McDonald says
Definitely not. The protein and fat in the chickpea flour is what makes this recipe work.
Mandy says
Hi,I have made a very similar recipe to this one , the puds were ok but not much if a rise - would t be better if I whisked the Aquafaba to the consistency of fluffy egg whites ?
Mandy
Melanie McDonald says
This recipe has been tested extensively and rises just fine as it is. Just like you don't whip egg whites for regular Yorkshire puddings, you don't need to for these. The recipe turns out nowhere near as good when the aquafaba is whipped.
Phil says
Ugh why do vegans always substitute egg with nuts?! The whole point of me searching for eggless is due to allergies to eggs and nuts. If you are going to substitute eggs then DON'T use another well know allergen.
Melanie McDonald says
What?? I'm confused because there aren't any nuts in this recipe. And also I have never used nuts as a substitute for eggs in any of my recipes. Regardless though, in case you're not clear, this is a vegan website not an allergen-free one.
Natasha says
Lol was just coming here to say this. I read the comment and said wait did I miss something. 🤔 lol and substituting egg with nuts is a new one for me. I use flax seed. 😊
Cindy says
Firstly there are zero nuts in this recipe and I have never seen eggs replaced with nuts as this just wouldn't make any semse! Secondly, eggs are removed from vegan recipes because they are an animal product not because they are an allergen so you would be better using a website specific to anti allergen cooking by the sounds of it.
SmarterThanPhil says
How is it that you're unable to read the recipe, but still perfectly capable of typing out this stupid comment? You should delete this.
Rachel says
Well, let me tell you how absolutely thrilled I am to have discovered this recipe!
I am a Yorkshire vegan and have felt my ancestors turning in their graves when every Sunday I forgo the Yorkshire puddings as they are passed across the table, until now.
I followed the recipe but somehow didn’t realise the temperature was for a conventional oven 😬 They still came out looking magnificent if not a little well done!
I cooked them in advance to cut down on the oven traffic on Sunday but we taste tested them and they are unbelievably good, crunchy with a gooey middle. I can see the non-vegans clamouring for these as the ancestors nod sagely to one another and I get to walk away from the table with my Yorkshire credentials fully restored. It’s a win/win situation!
Melanie McDonald says
I love this Rachel! I'm very glad to make a Yorkshire vegan and their ancestors very happy! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review. It's much appreciated!
Krishna says
These taste so delicious (we make the gluten free version!) - my only problem was there seemed to be a lot of oil left at the end (I did measure correctly) and some of the bottoms got stuck, so I’m assuming the oil wasn’t hot enough to start? Thank you 😊
Melanie McDonald says
Glad you're enjoying them! It could well be that the oil wasn't quite hot enough. It should literally be so hot it is pretty much smoking. It could also be the pan (or a combo of both). I have one pan which they always get stuck in so it's worth trying another if you have one, or picking up a new cheapish one. I never recommend using a really good expensive pan for these as the heat an oil ruins it. Hope that helps!
Jill masters-Holmes says
Jill from Norfolk
I Tried out yorkshires and very impressed indeed! The best vegan yorkshires I’ve ever had. I followed the recipe exactly as it was written (which is unusual for me!) and I cooked them in the aga and they were perfect in about 30 minutes. They freeze very well and equally as delicious when warmed from frozen. They looked just like the ones on the picture.
Allison says
Delicious! Everyone loved them. Thank you
Mark says
Had four gos at these now and once all the kit is lined up, they are unbelievable.
My hack is to pre-heat the tin on a pizza stone in the oven and remove both for the filling stage. It may or may not have been The Sainted Delia who said to get your oil 'as hot as you dare' and for me this accomplished that relatively safely. A work of alchemy, perfect vegan Yorkshire puddings should not exist, yet here they are.
Holly says
I made these and was super happy with the result! Could this recipe potentially be used to make a Dutch baby if used in one larger pan? Thanks!