Vegan Keto Burger Buns

Finally! Vegan Keto Burger Buns that are egg-free, dairy-free, and ready for your juiciest burgers! They are soft and tender with a wonderful flavor that is just ever-so-slightly sweet with a savoriness reminiscent of a light sourdough. But compared to typical burger bun, these are higher in protein, higher in fiber, and have next to no net carbs!

Video Tutorial for Vegan Keto Sourdough Bread

 

💡My Vegan Keto Burger Bun Inspiration & Development💡

This recipe is really thanks to everyone who requested a burger bun version of my original vegan keto sandwich rolls. 

The original inspiration for my basic vegan keto bread dough were the keto buns from my local Save-On-Foods bakery. However, I first had the thought of making keto bread from my experiences making seitan; particularly kaofu (a leavened gluten food from Chinese Buddhist cuisine) which looks a lot like bread. It doesn’t taste like it though and I struggled to find a way to make it less springy.

However, it was on the ingredient list of the Save-On-Foods keto breads that I discovered that oat fiber was a thing. And they included flax seeds as well. There were a lot of other ingredients that were not accessible to me as a regular consumer (like modified wheat starch) so I skipped them. Then it was months of adjusting ratios, figuring out the qualities that oat fiber and flax lent to the breads, plus trying different baking methods until I came out with a recipe that was even more delicious than the original!

Now several different varieties of vegan keto bread later, this iteration includes two flavor ingredients that really kick up these burger buns to the next level. Plus the baking method ensures that the buns come out soft throughout with the perfect texture for holding juicy burgers and toppings!

❓Why Vegan & Keto?❓

Personally, I have stay in ketosis regularly and keep to a very low carb diet most of the time for my personal health reasons. I don’t think most people do. But if you also need to be vegan or keto or both, I hope this recipe helps! But you don’t need to be vegan OR keto to enjoy this protein-packed spin on classic burger buns.

✏️Nutrition Info✏️

From one batch, I have made 8 large burger buns. For a more traditional size (think fast food deluxe burgers), 10 is probably the best number. Or for small burger buns (think fast food junior burger-size), 16 would be more appropriate. So please feel free to choose.

If you opt for the LARGE burger bun size (1/8th of the total recipe), each one will have

• 170 calories,
• 7.4 g fat (0.6 g saturated)
• zero cholesterol,
• 20.7 g protein, and
• 13.9 g dietary fiber

The carbohydrate breakdown is:

• 4.5 g net carbs, as
• 13.95 g is dietary fiber,
• 1.5 g is from sugar alcohol (the optional sweetener),
• and there is 1.05 g of sugar (from the sugar added for the yeast) 

Also, please note that I include all the sugar content before fermentation because there isn’t any way of me knowing exactly how much as been converted. This means the net carb calculation OVER-estimates the amount of carbs. In reality, the net carb amount is lower.

 

⚠️Ingredients for Vegan Keto Burger Buns⚠️

Use Anthony’s brand of Vital Wheat Gluten. I find it has less of the gluten-y aroma compared to Bob’s Red Mill. Also, Anthony’s Oat Fiber has zero net carbs but other brands may have more. Please keep this in mind when sourcing ingredients. Also please measure by weight for best results!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you use the link to purchase an item, I will get credit for referring you to the sale and will earn a commission. Please be assured there is never any extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work!

 

Oat Fiber

With zero net carbs, this Oat Fiber replaces the starch that would be in traditional flour. It adds volume to the dough as well as a wonderful toasty aroma during baking. However, be careful not to confuse it with Oat Flour which is made with whole oats and is very high in carbs. Oat Fiber is made from the indigestible husks of oats. Another thing to watch out for is the nutrition label. While the Anthony’s brand of Organic Oat Fiber I use is completely made of fiber, some that I’ve seen online are not so please check the label before purchasing.

When measuring the oat fiber, be careful because this ingredient is extremely light. It’s easy to kick up a cloud of dusty oat fiber so please be gentle. Also, for accurate measuring, a scale is best. However, if you are just out of options and you absolutely must measure by volume, use PACKED tablespoons instead of the usual sift, scoop, and level method. It’s the most consistent method that I’ve found (though still not perfect).

Golden Flax Seeds

Flax seeds help this dough retain moisture and adds bulk to the dough without weighing it down and preventing rising (something too much oat fiber can do). I choose Golden Flax Seeds over regular brown flax seeds because they seem to have a milder flavour and give a lighter, nicer appearance to the rolls.

You may find ground golden flax for sale. I haven’t tried that type myself but it should still work for this recipe. Make sure to smell the opened bag before using it in the recipe.  The oil in flax is delicate so you should smell it before using it in a recipe. Rancid flax oil smells fishy so throw it out if you detect that.

I avoid this possibility by buying whole flax seeds. They are less delicate when kept intact and can be stored in the pantry. Before using, I always give them a sniff to double-check they haven’t gone off. Then grind them as needed. Always be careful not to let them overheat, and store leftovers in the fridge. This way, the oil inside stays fresh. 

Also, these days I sift the ground flax seeds in a wire mesh sieve before adding them to the recipe. I find the crumb comes out nicer that way.

Vital Wheat Gluten

The gluten in wheat flour is what creates structure in bread and allows it to rise and keep its shape. But instead of using the whole wheat that includes so much starch, we can use only the protein part: Vital Wheat Gluten.  However, too much of it will make your dough too tough and chewy plus have an unpleasant doughy flavour. So it’s important to mix in the flax and oat fiber. Also, I like to use Anthony’s brand of Vital Wheat Gluten especially because it has less of that distinct “gluten-y” flavour.

 

Warm Water

It’s really important that the water is not too hot to start. I usually start with some cold tap water and then slowly add just-boiled hot water while keeping track of the temperature with a thermometer; stirring as I go.  It should be 110°F which is about 43­°C. Don’t make it too hot or it will kill the yeast. If it is on the cooler side, the yeast will just take longer to do its job.

Yeast

You can use any kind of baker’s yeast in this recipe: instant yeast, bread machine yeast, or traditional dry active yeast. They’ll all work.  But I typically use instant yeast as I can get it in a large package and keep it in my fridge so it will stay fresh for a long time. 

Sugar

Yes, this KETO recipe contains sugar. But the trick is, you will not be eating the sugar at the end. The yeast will get to it first. Yeast is actually a type of fungi which will consume the sugar and then produce carbon dioxide and ethanol. The carbon dioxide is what causes the bread to rise; filling up tiny pockets within the dough and expanding as it warms during the proofing stage and even more so during baking. The ethanol is a by-product that will evaporate in your hot oven.

In this recipe, you’ll notice I used brown sugar. But you can use any kind of real sugar, such as white sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, and molasses. Don’t use low or no calorie sweeteners because they would not be good food for the yeast. In the same vein, some people claim that inulin can be used to activate yeast. However, I have tried it and it doesn’t work the same in my experience.

Salt

Without very much fermentation, just enough to make it rise once, this bread is fairly bland. Salt is really important for bringing out what little flavor is available. But feel free to skip it if you need to avoid salt for your own reasons. On the other hand, feel free to add spices, herbs and other seasonings to make this sandwich loaf your very own! Just add it last, on top of the dry ingredients so that it doesn’t burn the yeast directly. 

Nutritional Yeast

In this recipe, I’m using nutritional yeast powder but you can use the flakes as well (just double the amount). It will add a savory flavor which, combined with the Lactic Acid, mimics the fermented flavor of real sourdough bread without the need for extended fermentation.

Lactic Acid Liquid

This adds a sour flavor without any other taste or aromas. This makes it ideal for adding tang without making the bread seem vinegar-y or fruity. Together with the umami Nutritional Yeast, this is what gives this “sourdough” it’s signature flavor.

Optional: 1:1 Keto Sweetener

In the video, I add 1 tablespoon of Lakanto Golden. This monkfruit and erithritol-based sweetener add just a touch of sweetness that is almost undetectable. Commercial burger buns often have a little bit of sweetnesss added so this adds to the nostalgic taste. However, please feel free to leave this out.

❓Looking for Gluten-Free?❓

This sourdough recipe cannot be simply converted to be gluten-free. However, you can try my gluten-free vegan keto sandwich rolls! To make them into burger buns, simply roll them into balls and flatten before baking.

Special Ingredients & Equipment for Vegan Keto Baguettes

Ingredients

• vital wheat gluten
• oat fiber
• whole golden flax seeds (store in fridge and grind fresh before using)
• nutritional yeast powder
• lactic acid liquid (88%)

Equipment

• stand mixer with dough attachment 
• flat baking sheet
• parchment paper
• optional ring mold (or these mini spring form pans) to make the burgers perfectly shaped and if you want to make taller buns for clubs (AKA double decker burgers.

Why A Stand Mixer? Can I do this manually?

Please note that I exclusively use a high quality stand mixer for this dough because of two reasons. First, it is quite a stiff dough so it’s tough to do manually. And second, there is so little food for the yeast that the timing for this recipe is quite important. Manually kneading is possible if you rest the dough every so often. But if you take too long, you risk the dough not rising when it’s time to proof.

Why ring molds? Can’t I just bake them on a baking sheet?

I baked my buns both in mini spring form pans and directly on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Both work alright. But if you want perfectly round buns, mini spring forms are useful. You can also use them to make taller buns to make buns for double decker burgers (like a Big Mac).

How to Store

You can store these like any other burger buns. However, if you’re not going to eat them on the same day or the next, I recommend slicing them and freezing them. That way, you can have vegan keto burger buns ready for anytime!

 

Printable Recipe for Vegan Keto Burger Buns