5 Egg-Free Twists on the Classic Italian Panettone

Originally from Milan, panettone is a traditional holiday sweet bread enjoyed across Italy and all over the world.  It’s light, fluffy, dome-shaped, and usually flavored with seasonal ingredients like citrus zest, as well as vanilla and (occasionally) rum or liqueur. While it’s usually made from an egg- and dairy-based dough, it is possible to make this tasty Italian classic with only plant-based ingredients. For example, the dairy milk can be easily swapped for a plant alternative (such as almond milk or oat milk), while the eggs can be replaced with yeast, flaxseeds, or aquafaba. For more on how to make a delicious vegan panettone, find a selection of our favorite recipes below.

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How are you supposed to eat panettone?

Panettone is incredibly versatile. It can be eaten for breakfast, for example, and it beautifully complements a strong cup of espresso or a creamy cappuccino. Its sweetness means that it also lends itself well to dessert. In Italy, it’s often served during the holidays after the main festive meal, when it’s sometimes paired with a dessert wine, like Moscato.

Ty Berry Much

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But there are no real rules when it comes to panettone. It doesn’t have to be eaten for breakfast or dessert, and it can be eaten at any time of year you fancy. It’s tasty as a mid-afternoon snack, for example, toasted with a dollop of butter or jam. 

5 ways to make delicious vegan panettone

All of these tasty vegan panettone recipes make the perfect addition to any holiday feast, but they’re also delicious in the middle of cold, gloomy January, too. 

Ty Berry Much

1 Vegan Panettone

To create this show-stopping recipe, Ty Berry Much adapted a previous recipe for brioche buns, and it works perfectly. The ingredients include Just Egg, dairy-free butter, and oat milk, but if you don’t have a liquid egg alternative to hand, you can also use dairy-free yogurt, too. On top of these key ingredients, orange and lemon zest bring that signature festive flavor, alongside dried fruit, vanilla, and almonds. One top tip from the recipe developer: “The key to this recipe is to be conservative with how much flour you add when kneading. The more flour added, the less soft the dough will be.”
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Nourishing Amy 

2 Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Panettone

Chocolate and nuts are the perfect panettone ingredients, as this recipe from Nourishing Amy demonstrates. It’s made with a mix of dairy-free chocolate spread, plant-based milk, vegan butter, and aquafaba, and the results are truly delectable. “Like most fresh bakes, this vegan chocolate hazelnut panettone is best the same day or the day after,” advises recipe developer Amy Lanza. “The days after that it will start to dry out slightly but make sure to wrap it up tightly and it will last for 5 days (if you can resist).”
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The Floral Vegan 

3 Sourdough Vegan Panettone

This sourdough vegan panettone is delicious and well worth the process of making it. You do have to pay extra attention to the dough, which should be made with a stiff sourdough starter, known in Italy as lievito madre. “It’s the make-or-break element of this recipe,” says Angie of The Floral Vegan. She encourages: “Just try it! You may fail for the first couple of times, or you may not. But when you succeed, you will be super proud of yourself. As you just made yourself the best sourdough vegan panettone!”
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Flourished By Nature

4 Easy Vegan Panettone Style Muffins

If you want to keep it simple, these vegan panettone-style muffins are the perfect recipe for beginners. Instead of a sourdough starter, the dough is made with simple yeast, alongside plant-based ingredients like cashew butter, apple sauce, orange peel, lemon peel, and brown sugar. “Now I have to admit, the texture will not be as ‘fluffy’ as the real thing. But honestly, that’s just a bit of cherry-picking—they really make a decent replica,” says recipe developer Julia of Flourished by Nature.
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Freely Vegan

5 Mini Vegan and Gluten-Free Panettone

These sweet mini panettones, made with aquafaba, plant milk, orange extract, and candied fruit, are ideal for sharing at festive parties and gatherings. They’re easy to make, too, as again, they’re made with yeast over sourdough. “I promise you can make beautiful Panettone even if you’ve never made any kind of bread before,” says recipe developer Deborah Mesdag of Freely Vegan.
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