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!
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!
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Are Yorkshire puddings vegan?
Traditional Yorkshire Puddings are not vegan because they contain eggs and milk.
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 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 cake-y, squat and not well risen, and none of them had a proper hollowed out bowl shaped inside for holding gravy and they didn't really 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 really 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!
Ingredient & equipment notes
Perfect Vegan Yorkshire Puddings are not difficult to make at all, 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 cheaper pan like the one above that I use just for Yorkshire Puddings and not much else.
- 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 really do need to use cups, 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 now for around $10 to $15. O they are easy to purchase from online stores like Amazon. They are a great investment and are so worth having!
What you need to make them 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, including oat flour instead, but they didn't work nearly as well.
How to make vegan Yorkshire puddings
Ok, so now you've got what you need, here's is how it's done:
STEP 1 - Preheat the oven (very important!)
STEP 2 - Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
STEP 3 - Mix the wet ingredients together in a jug.
STEP 4 - Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
STEP 5 - Mix together well.
STEP 6 - Pour the batter into the jug and leave to rest.
STEP 7 - Pour oil in each well of a muffin pan, coat the sides, and place in the hot oven until quite literally smoking. The trick to successful Yorkshire Puddings, vegan or not, is smoking hot oil!
STEP 8 - Work super quickly and pour the rested batter into the smoking oil and get the pan back in the oven as fast as humanly possibly. Now is not the time to get distracted.
STEP 9 - Watch through the oven door as they grow before your very eyes!
Please note that 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.
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 potato 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 really 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 persons 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!!
Hungry for more?
For more English style vegan recipes, check out these great options:
- Vegan English Pancakes
- Vegan Scrambled Eggs
- Vegan Digestive Biscuits
- Bubble & Squeak
- Homemade English Muffins
- Baked Strawberry Semolina Pudding
📖 Recipe
Perfect Vegan Yorkshire Puddings
Author:
Ingredients
- 75 g / ½ heaping cup all purpose flour ,(plain flour in the UK). SEE RECIPE NOTES FOR GLUTEN-FREE OPTION
- 75 g / scant ⅔ cup chickpea flour , also sometimes known as garbanzo or gram flour
- 2¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric , OPTIONAL - helps to give the puddings a nice yellow colour.
- scant ½ teaspoon dijon mustard , ¼ teaspoon of Kala Namak can be used instead if you prefer but 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
- oil for pan , mild olive oil, vegetable oil or sunflower oil. Melted refined coconut oil is also ok but do not use virgin or unrefined coconut oil.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218 °C) and have a shelf set about 3/4 way up with an old baking tray on it. It must be preheated with the oven and is there to catch any oil spillovers when you are cooking the puddings.
- 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 a 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 for 10 minutes.
- While the batter is resting, prepare your muffin pans. They must be metal pans and not ceramic and they must be muffin pans and not shallow Yorkshire pudding pans. If you use a pan with shallow wells they will not work. Add enough oil to give a depth of about 3mm, then swirl it around in the pan so it goes up the sides. For my muffin pans that is about 1¼ tablespoons for each well. Don't be tempted to use less as the batter won't get hot enough when you pour it in and that will mean that you won't get nice bowl shaped Yorkshire Puddings. Put the oiled muffin pans in the oven on the old baking tray that preheated in the oven, for 10 minutes. By then they should be absolutely smoking hot. That's what you want. If you don't see smoke rising from them if you open the door to peek, leave them a minute or two longer.
- 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 muffin pan from the oven, making sure to close the door 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 (that's what makes gives you the bowl shape puddings). Stop pouring once the oil is just about level with the rim of the well. 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 right back into the oven and shut the door quickly. You should get 6 to 8 Yorkshire Puddings from the batter. - Cook the puddings for at least 30 minutes, but maybe up to 35 or 40 minutes until really golden and crispy and until the insides have dried out to your liking. I like them a little gooey inside and 30 minutes will get them there. If you prefer them a little dryer, turn the oven down and let them cook a little longer. Do not open the oven door, not even for a quick peek until you are past 25 minutes of cooking.
- Remove the puddings from the oven and serve immediately.
NOTES
IMPORTANT - You must follow this recipe exactly. There can be no substitutions at all, except maybe mustard for kala namak which I suggest above. Everything else must remain the same. Believe me, I have tried every combination of ingredients and methods possible, and to get the best result you cannot change a thing.
ALSO IMPORTANT - As stated in my post, when making these Vegan Yorkshire Puddings, you need to use a metal muffin pan or a popover pan. Both have deep wells. A traditional shallow Yorkshire Pudding pan will not work and any pan that is not metal will not work.
LEFTOVERS - If you have leftover puddings, they can be refrigerated and reheated in a hot oven (425°F/218 °C) for 3 to 4 minutes until hot.
TO FREEZE - They freeze perfectly. Make them, put them on a wire rack to cool 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 and put them in containers or freezer bags. Then pop them on a baking tray straight for the freezer on 425°F/218 °C for about 10 minutes to heat through.
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
Noreen says
I made these today, for Fathers Day Roast. They were outstanding. Crunchy outside, perfect inside. I will never use another recipe for Yorkshire Pudds. Thankyou so much for creating and sharing.
Neil says
can this be used for toad in the hole batter ?
A Virtual Vegan says
Several people have said they have successfully. As long as everything is smoking hot and ideally cooked in a metal dish, it should work just the same. It's on my list to test and hopefully share a recipe at some point.
neil says
Thanks for reply. Will let you know how it turns out am going to give it a try tonight.
Chris J says
Great recipe, turned out lovely, crunchy yet melted in mouth - many thanks - vegans rule :)
Scubalu says
Someone help! Have tried three times to exact ingredients and they’re always raw in the middle and over cooked on the outside
Liana says
Finally! Vegan yorkshire pudding recipe that works! So happy with the taste, but the batter was only enough for 3 yorkshire puddings. I must have a mutanly big muffin pan. But worked and tasted amazing
Alice says
Didn’t work for me unfortunately, though I don’t mind the weird cakey biscuits I ended up with. May have overfilling the wells as it made a lot more than 6-8. I’ve had a lot of success with the Sainsbury’s really simple recipe (tho that doesn’t always go well either).
Anna says
I still need to perfect the cooking of the bottom part but first recipe for vegan yorkshires I have tried - I was sceptical but had to give it a go and my family was impressed. Thank you
Charlotte says
I've made these four times now, one edible, one moderately successful and two perfect. The times which worked out perfectly I made sure to commit to using a *lot* of oil, and to cook for 35+ minutes rather than 30 to reduce the gooeyness of the inside to the level I wanted. Amazing recipe, thank you so much!!
Laura says
I never comment on recipes but I have to say this recipe is absolutely brilliant! Not being a very confident cook, I followed the very detailed instructions to the letter and my Yorkshire puds came out just like the photo. I can’t fault this method. Thank you so much for making a Brit’s Christmas in the US slightly more bearable during the pandemic!!!!
Victoria says
And also I know you said no substitutions, but could I use plain WHOLEMEAL flour rather than plain white flour? Only asking cause I couldn’t tell which one you meant (although obviously it is usually white flour)
A Virtual Vegan says
No, wholemeal flour won't work in Yorkshire puddings. There really can be no substitutions in this recipe if you want it to work well. As per the recipe it needs to be all-purpose flour which is the standard flour we use for everything in Canada or the US or if you are in the UK you should use plain flour. Both of those are white flour.
Victoria Willis says
Love your recipes, thank you. I just wanted to know whether I could use this recipe to make toad in the hole as well? Assuming you have heard of that recipe, but it is usually the same recipe but in a large dish with (vegan) sausages. Would this work?!
A Virtual Vegan says
I actually have Toad in the Hold in my editorial calendar for early next year. I haven't tested it yet but as long as everything is super smoking hot (the pan, sausages and the oil) and you make it in a metal pan/dish it should work fine. Cast iron will probably be ok too. A ceramic dish won't get hot enough to make the pudding rise well. Good luck!
Nicholas Nichols says
Made toad in the hole yesterday following this exact recipe and it worked amazingly. Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad it worked out well. I'm putting it off because my oven is nice and clean and I don't want splatters!
Kat says
Hi,
I have followed this recipe meticulously 3 times now and always end up with very brown Yorkshire with uncooked dense bottoms! They start well and then after 15 minutes they start to brown.
Last time after 25 mins I opened and added foil and cooked for 15 minutes further but still they are uncooked inside and super oily! Has anyone tackled this issue? What could I be doing wrong? I even measured my oil with a ruler!
Thanks for any help, do we think I could open my door earlier for the foil? It seems I just have a monster oven
A Virtual Vegan says
Have you checked your oven temperature with an oven thermometer? It sounds like the temperature could be off. It's not uncommon with a lot of ovens and could be what's causing the issue. And are you getting the oil literally smoking hot before you add the batter and adding the batter really quickly before getting them back in the oven? That immediate heat is essential to cook the bottoms and stop them from being super oily. A bit like deep frying. If the oil isn't hot enough it doesn't work out well and everything gets oil-logged.
As for foil, I wouldn't open the door too early or you'll end up with flat puddings.
Emma says
Can I ask what the chickpea flour does please? I must admit I really don’t like the taste and have thrown many recipes away after being able to taste it!
A Virtual Vegan says
The chickpea flour is essential in this recipe because of the protein in it and it's other qualities which make up for the loss of the eggs. They won't work as well without it. If you follow the recipe as it is and add the flavourings you can't really taste it.
Sara says
Hi
I haven’t tried this recipe yet and, like you, I’ve tried many others with limited success. I was wondering if you have tried making them in advance and freezing for later? Thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
They freeze perfectly. Make them, put them on a wire rack to cool 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 and put them in containers or freezer bags. Then pop them on a baking tray straight for the freezer on 425°F/218 °C for about 10 minutes to heat through.
Lindsay Wolsey says
Hi, I think freezing improves them - it seems to dry out the 'soggy bottoms'!
Sarah says
My kids love the fact that these are very gooey on the inside. They say it’s the best part! I wonder if they can be made ahead and frozen? Such a faff to manage on Christmas Day with all the rest of the dinner....
A Virtual Vegan says
I agree. I always make mine in advance. They freeze perfectly. Make them, put them on a wire rack to cool 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 and put them in containers or freezer bags. Then pop them on a baking tray straight for the freezer on 425°F/218 °C for about 10 minutes to heat through. Merry Christmas!
Emily says
Hello there, please could you give me the internal measurements of each cup of the muffin tray that you use for this recipe?
I'm trying to figure out which muffin tin to buy and they all have different measurements, I want to make sure I get one with the exact same dimensions as yours.
Thank you so much!
Timms says
Although my first attempt at making these Yorkshire puddings wasn't successful I have hope for my next attempt. Mine turned out beautifully on the outside but dense and uncooked in the middle. I think I overfilled the pans trying to use up the batter (I think I could have made 12 from this recipe) I also don't think I kept the oven hot enough during cooking. Having said this the sections that did cook and crisp were delicious. I used the kala namak salt instead of mustard.
Claire says
I made these today and they were very crispy but raw inside kept on a low heat for another hour but still raw so inedible shame as looked good