A kid friendly, healthy hot cross buns recipe that has no added sugar and contains apple and carrot. Perfect for Easter or any time. These hot cross buns are vegan.
Do your kids love hot cross buns? Mine absolutely love them – in fact I think they are their favourite thing about Easter – even more so than the promise of the chocolate that is to come! We’ve been having hot cross buns for breakfast and for after-school snacks recently and while there are plenty worse things to eat, shop-bought ones are still made with white flour and have lots of added sugar. So I had to create a recipe for sugar free, healthy hot cross buns – including a portion of hidden vegetables for picky eaters of course!
What are hot cross buns?
Hot cross buns are a spiced yeasted sweet bun that is traditionally served at Easter time. They usually contain dried fruit, such as raisins and candied peel. Hot cross buns are spiced with cinnamon and ginger. They are marked with a cross shape on the top and used to be eaten on Good Friday. Nowadays they’re so popular that you can buy them most of the year.
This vegan hot cross buns recipe is healthier than traditional buns
I have created a healthier version of the hot cross bun. I’ve used a mix of white flour and spelt flour, with added fruit and veg, and no added sugar.
These vegan hot cross buns are sweetened with dates, apple and sultanas – and nothing else. They are a pretty delicious and healthy snack or breakfast for anyone.
It’s great to start the day with a little bit of fruit and veg in your tummy. If you saw my last post you’ll know I’m trying to make the snacks my kids eat healthier and more nutritious at the moment.
This healthy hot cross bun recipe is a great one to make with the kids, especially if you have a day at home while they are off school. My kids were so proud to enjoy their very own homemade hot cross buns.
More healthier Easter recipes
Tropical Easter frozen yoghurt bites
Apple and carrot hot cross buns
Healthier chocolate rice krispie nests
Soda bread easy hot cross buns recipe
This recipe was included in this round up of 44 Easter recipes by Jess Eats and Travels and also in this almond Easter thumbprint cookies post by Tin and Thyme.
Here’s how to make healthy hot cross buns:
Make sure you leave enough time for your hot cross buns to rise properly.
Apple and carrot healthy hot cross buns
A kid friendly, healthy hot cross buns recipe that has no added sugar and contains apple and carrot. Perfect for Easter or any time. Suitable for vegans.
Ingredients
- 50 g dates pitted weight
- 300 g strong white flour
- 200 g spelt flour
- 7 g sachet of dried instant yeast
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 medium apples grated
- 1 medium carrot grated
- 50 g coconut oil melted
- 200 g sultanas or other dried fruit
- 250 ml warm plant-based milk I used oat milk
- 1.5 tbsp plain flour for the cross
- Extra milk for brushing the tops
Instructions
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First make your date purée. You will need a food processor or a good blender to make this, although you could probably bash it up in a pestle and mortar if you don't have one. I used my Optimum G2.3 blender. It's a fairly small quantity so use the smaller jug - or if you don't have one you could always make a larger amount and make these salted caramel brownies. Blend the dates with 1 tsp water until smooth. Set aside.
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Place the flour, yeast and spices into a mixing bowl. Stir through the grated apple and carrot, the melted coconut oil, the date purée and the sultanas. Mix well so that the fruit is well distributed.
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Heat up your milk - it should be warm rather than hot. Gradually stir it in to the flour and fruit mixture, mixing all the time.
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Scrape out onto a lightly oiled surface and knead for ten minutes. It can be fairly sticky to work with so if you have a stand mixer with a dough hook by all means use that!
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Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film or a slightly damp tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place for 1.5 - 2 hours, until doubled in size.
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Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Lightly oil your hands and tip the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knock it back - ie squash all the air out. Divide into 12 balls and place onto the baking trays. Cover again and leave for 45 minutes - 1 hour until doubled in size again.
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Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (fan)/220°C/gas mark 7. Brush the tops of the buns with a little milk. For a stickier glaze you can make a sugar syrup (best added after baking) or use melted apricot jam.
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Mix 1.5 tbsp plain flour with 1.5 tbsp cold water in a small bowl until smooth. Use a piping bag to mark a cross on the top of each bun. You can do this with a spoon if you don't have a piping bag but it's harder to get the lines in the right place - alternatively use a freezer bag and snip one of the corners off.
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Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and sounding hollow when tapped.
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Allow to cool slightly then serve warm as they are or with spreads of your choice.
Pin healthy hot cross buns for later:
I can’t imagine a healthier hot cross buns recipe! The buns look so pretty too! They are fruity, there is even a carrot and I love the coconut oil in this recipe. They must be absolutely delicious:)
Thanks Monika – they are definitely much less sweet than a shop-bought hot cross bun but that hasn’t stopped us scoffing loads of them!
These sound great, and I agree much healthier than shop bought. I often bake with dried fruit and carrots to make a sugar free recipe. I would swap the apple for pear as I can eat apples. over from over from #CookBlogShare
Thanks Elaine – I’d love to hear how they turn out if you do make them with pear.
Oooh yum! These look and sound so good! I love adding sneaky veg into bakes. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Not sure I approve of such healthy-looking buns, Mandy! LOLOL!
They do look rather fab though… I can almost taste them from here. I bet they smell amazing while they’re cooking, don’t they? xx
Thanks so much for linking my post here 🙂 I love the look of these! They remind me of rock buns which I LOVE! Might give them a try soon x
I’d love to hear what you think Jess if you do make them x
Would you be able to sub the strong white bread flour for wholewheat? Thank you
Hi Sophie, I haven’t tested it but I would recommend using strong wholewheat bread flour and it should be ok. Let me know how they turn out!
I’ve made 2 batches of these now and the third batch is about to go in the oven. I used wholemeal spelt with the plain white flour and they’re the perfect blend of sweet and healthy tasting. We eat them fresh then freeze the rest and take them out of the freezer each day as required. The whole family loves them. We won’t be bothering with store bought thanks to these.
Thanks for posting the recipe.
Hi Tony – thanks so much for commenting. I’m delighted that you love this recipe – we all love it too!