Vegan Soda Bread
This vegan soda bread is a simple quick bread that doesn’t require any yeast. It has a hearty texture, perfect for enjoying with stew or smeared with a pat of vegan butter!
What is soda bread?
Classic Irish soda bread, like this one from Cook’s Illustrated, is typically made with just a few simple ingredients, including baking soda, flour, and buttermilk. But since it relies on buttermilk, it’s not vegan. I wanted to share an easy, vegan recipe that doesn’t contain any dairy or eggs. Luckily, it wasn’t hard to do! Keep in mind that soda bread isn’t super soft, fluffy bread. It’s almost more like a biscuit, meant to be enjoyed with butter or other toppings.
If you’re looking for other baked good recipes, try my vegan beer bread, easy Dutch oven bread, this sourdough rye bread or these butter scones!
How to Make Vegan Buttermilk
Typically, the texture of soda bread comes from the combination of baking soda and buttermilk. But since we’re not using buttermilk, we’re substituting almond milk, apple cider vinegar, and orange juice. The acid from the vinegar and orange juice will help “curdle” the almond milk to give us a buttermilk substitute. Obviously, it’s much lighter and lower in fat, so we’ll add some melted coconut oil to the recipe to replace some of the fat that would typically be found in buttermilk and butter.
Additions and Mix Ins
For this recipe, I wanted a bread that could be enjoyed with just a simple pat of butter. To add interest and flavor I used a combination of walnuts, dried cranberries, and chocolate chips. You can use one or all of those mix-ins. Or you can substitute with other nuts, seeds, or dried fruit. I recommend using a total of 1 1/2 cups of mix-ins. If you were planning to serve this bread with soup or stew, I’d recommend either leaving it plain or just adding walnuts and cranberries.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I divide the recipe in half? Yes! I’ve split the recipe in half to make one loaf, and it turned out fine.
- Can I make this gluten-free? I wouldn’t recommend this recipe with gluten-free flour.
- Can I replace the coconut oil? Yes, if you don’t have coconut oil you can use melted vegan butter.
- Is this traditional Irish soda bread? No, this recipe isn’t meant to be a traditional recipe since we’re making it vegan. But it still has a classic soda bread taste!
Perfectly tender and tasty! You would never guess that it is vegan. ๐
Itโs been so cold here that I havenโt been able to get out of soup mode. This bread tasted absolutely incredible with our stew last night. Loved it thanks you so much the flavor and texture was incredible!ย
Enjoyed making this vegan soda bread. I had to split the recipe in half but it still turned out to be so delicious and satisfying. Highly recommended!
This soda bread was so easy to make and delicious! I loved a slice toasted for breakfast.
This is amazing! I avoid yeast at all costs. I ate this bread with some soup and it hit the spot. Thanks for an easy to follow recipe.