The vegan croissant recipe that took me 14 attempts and was worth every single failed batch

I still remember the morning I pulled my first successful vegan croissant from the oven.

I stood in my kitchen at 6 a.m., flour dusted across my favorite running shirt, watching steam rise from those perfect golden layers.

Marcus walked in, took one look at my face, and said, "You did it, didn't you?" I had. After 14 attempts spanning eight months, I had finally created a vegan croissant worth eating.

This recipe represents more than laminated dough to me. It's proof that some things worth having require patience, failure, and the willingness to start over.

If you've ever attempted vegan croissants and ended up with dense, greasy disappointments, I see you. Keep reading.

Why vegan croissants are notoriously difficult

Traditional croissants rely on butter's unique properties. It stays solid when cold, becomes pliable at cool room temperature, and creates steam pockets when baked.

Most vegan butter alternatives don't behave the same way. They're often too soft, too oily, or they melt at the wrong temperature.

My first six attempts taught me this the hard way. I'd roll out beautiful dough, fold in the vegan butter, and watch it either absorb into the dough or leak out during baking.

The result? Flat, greasy pastries that tasted like regret. Have you ever thrown an entire batch of something into the trash and immediately started again? That was me, repeatedly.

The butter breakthrough

Attempt seven changed everything. I discovered that mixing vegan butter with a small amount of vegetable shortening creates a fat that actually behaves like dairy butter during lamination.

The shortening raises the melting point slightly and adds stability without compromising flavor.

I also learned to freeze my butter block for exactly 15 minutes before each fold. Not 10, not 20. Fifteen.

This keeps it cold enough to stay separate from the dough but pliable enough not to crack. Temperature control became my obsession. I even bought a kitchen thermometer specifically for this project.

The recipe

For the dough:

• 500g all-purpose flour
• 10g salt
• 80g sugar
• 10g instant yeast
• 300ml oat milk, cold
• 30g vegan butter, softened

For the butter block:

• 250g high-quality vegan butter (I use Miyoko's)
• 50g vegetable shortening
• 30g all-purpose flour

For the wash:

• 3 tbsp oat milk
• 1 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Add cold oat milk and softened vegan butter. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, then knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
2. Beat together vegan butter, shortening, and flour until combined. Shape into a 15cm square between two sheets of parchment paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Roll dough into a rectangle roughly 30cm x 20cm. Place butter block in the center. Fold dough over butter like an envelope, sealing edges completely.
4. Roll out to a long rectangle, about 50cm x 20cm. Fold in thirds like a letter. This is your first turn. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Repeat rolling and folding two more times, refrigerating 30 minutes between each turn. After the third turn, refrigerate overnight.
6. Roll dough to 5mm thickness. Cut into triangles with 10cm bases. Roll each triangle from base to tip, curving ends inward. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets.
7. Cover loosely and proof at room temperature for 2 hours, until visibly puffy and jiggly when the pan is gently shaken.
8. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Brush croissants with oat milk and maple syrup mixture.
9. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until deeply golden. Cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.

Tips from my many failures

Keep everything cold. If your dough feels warm or sticky at any point, stop and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Rushing this process guarantees failure. I learned this on attempts three, four, eight, and eleven.

Don't skip the overnight rest. I tried shortening this step twice. Both times, my croissants lacked flavor and had a dense, bready texture. The long fermentation develops complexity you simply cannot rush.

Proof until they're truly ready, not until you're impatient. Under-proofed croissants won't have those beautiful honeycomb layers inside. They should wobble like jelly when you nudge the pan.

Final thoughts

Those 14 attempts taught me something I keep relearning in different areas of life: mastery requires befriending failure.

Each flat, greasy, disappointing batch showed me something. Too warm. Too rushed. Wrong fat ratio. Every mistake was information.

When you bite into a homemade vegan croissant with shattering layers and buttery flavor, you'll understand why this journey was worth it.

And if your first batch fails? Good. You're exactly where you need to be. Start again.