Vegan Gingerbread - Soft, Moist, Delicious Holiday Recipe! (2024)

How to make the best soft, moist, and delicious vegan gingerbread recipe for breakfast or dessert. People are always shocked when I tell them it’s dairy free, egg free, and vegan, because it seriously does not taste healthy at all!

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Try this homemade gingerbread recipe the next time you have company.

People go crazy for it every time, and leftovers freeze well too.

The comforting festive flavor and super soft texture will remind you of a pastry you’d get from a fancy bakery.

Yet it’s secretly good for you at the same time!

Also try this holiday Vegan Pumpkin Bread

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Oil Free vegan gingerbread loaf

In addition to having no eggs or butter, the gingerbread can also be gluten free, soy free, oil free, and refined sugar free.

This is actually the oil free version in the photos… you cannot tell at all.

And I say that as someone who doesn’t normally like oil free baked goods.

While desserts without oil can so often be gummy or dry, the molasses in this recipe keeps the loaf deliciously moist and decadent even if you decide to skip the oil.

Trending Now: No Bake Cheesecake

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Vegan gingerbread ingredients

You will need flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, salt, white or apple cider vinegar, sugar, plant based milk of choice, flax seeds, baking soda, and molasses.

If you are a raisin lover like I am, stir half a cup of raisins into the gingerbread batter along with the dry ingredients.

The recipe works with spelt flour, white flour, or gluten free all purpose flour. Oat flour works but yields a denser result.

I have not tried the recipe with whole wheat flour, coconut flour, or any other flour not listed and therefore cannot recommend any of these substitutions.

For a low carb loaf, try this Almond Flour Banana Bread

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What type of molasses?

Blackstrap molasses is my preference for its myriad health benefits, including being high in both calcium and iron.

(I also use this sweetener in my easy recipe for Bran Muffins.)

If you cannot find blackstrap molasses or prefer the sweeter taste of regular light or dark molasses, either of these is fine to use instead.

While substituting pure maple syrup, agave, or another liquid sweetener might yield a delightful spice cake, it will lose some of the classic gingerbread flavor.

So I do not recommend swapping out the molasses in this recipe.

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Frosting options

Serve the gingerbread unfrosted or topped with almond butter, coconut butter, powdered sugar and strawberries, vanilla frosting, or vegan cream cheese.

I frosted the vegan gingerbread loaf in the pictures with the dairy free cream cheese icing recipe from my post on Vegan Cinnamon Rolls.

Just one slice of this secretly healthy gingerbread supplies 10% of the RDA for iron and 9% for calcium, thanks to the addition of the blackstrap molasses, which also gives the recipe its familiar gingerbread taste.

Looking to bake cookies instead of a gingerbread loaf?

Try this recipe for soft and chewy homemade Vegan Gingerbread Cookies.

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How to make vegan gingerbread

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease an eight inch square baking pan or a nine by five inch loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk of choice, oil, vinegar, molasses, and flax meal. Let this mixture sit at least ten minutes (or even overnight in the fridge).

Whisk dry ingredients, either in a separate bowl or directly into the same bowl. Stir everything together until just evenly mixed. Spread into the prepared pan.

Bake on the oven center rack for twenty five minutes in a square pan or one hour in a loaf pan, or until cooked through.

Test to see if it’s done by inserting a toothpick into the center of the loaf. The toothpick should come out mostly clean.

Let cool, then slice and frost if desired.

The taste and texture are even better the next day, if you can wait that long!

The gingerbread recipe is also really great to serve with Vegan Hot Chocolate.

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Vegan Gingerbread

Try this soft and moist holiday vegan gingerbread recipe for breakfast or dessert.

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Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Yield 12 – 15 slices

5 from 57 votes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups spelt, white, or gf ap flour
  • 1 tbsp each cinnamon and ginger
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup sugar, unrefined if desired
  • 1 3/4 cup milk of choice
  • 1/4 cup oil OR additional milk
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
  • 2 tbsp white or cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup regular OR blackstrap molasses
  • optional 1/2 cup raisins

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8×8 pan (or a 9×5 loaf pan). In a large bowl, combine all liquid ingredients and flax, and let sit at least 10 minutes. Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then stir all ingredients together until just evenly mixed. Spread into the pan. Bake 25 minutes (or 1 hour in a loaf pan) or until cooked through. Let cool. Taste and texture are even better the next day, so I highly recommend waiting if you can!

    View Nutrition Facts

Notes

The recipe was adapted from my Healthy Banana Bread and this Sweet Potato Bread.

Have you made this recipe?

Tag @chocolatecoveredkatie on Instagram

More Holiday Favorite Recipes

Sweet Potato Brownies

Applesauce Muffins

Healthy Pumpkin Pie or Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Vegan Pecan Pie

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Apple Bread

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Gingerbread - Soft, Moist, Delicious Holiday Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

What makes gingerbread so strong? ›

A 1:4 ratio of butter to flour makes the gingerbread strong. Corn syrup keeps freshly baked gingerbread pliable and soft, so it's easy to cut while warm. Rolling the dough directly on parchment makes it easy to transfer to the pan.

Should gingerbread be soft when it comes out of the oven? ›

Don't overbake them.

The cookies should still be slightly soft when you take them out of the oven. Most regular-sized gingerbread cookies will take 9-10 minutes, but you might need a little more or less time depending on whether your cookie cutters are small or extra large.

Are gingerbread cookies hard? ›

There are some gingerbread recipes that are hard right after baking and need to sit for a few days to soften. Molasses and honey hardens gingerbread, but as the sugar absorbs moisture, it will get softer.”

Why is gingerbread dark? ›

Dark molasses, a full-flavored molasses, comes from the second boiling of the sugar syrup, and is the most popular molasses used in gingerbread recipes. Blackstrap, the thick, dark, and somewhat bitter molasses, is from the third and final boiling. Blackstrap gives gingerbread recipes a dark color and strong flavor.

Should gingerbread be soft or crunchy? ›

Gingerbread cookies should be soft. They should be supple. They should bend to your teeth before the cookie skin breaks and the crumbs fall all over you. They should retain a bit of elasticity, and maybe you can even leave your fingerprints on the cookie if you hold them too hard because you're just that excited.

What are the three types of gingerbread? ›

The three distinct types of gingerbread are brown gingerbread, wafer-based gingerbread and honey gingerbread.
  • BROWN GINGERBREAD.
  • WAFER GINGERBREAD.
  • HONEY GINGERBREAD.

Can I use golden syrup instead of molasses? ›

With its golden, amber color, it is lighter than molasses, though the two are similar in their thickness. Golden syrup also a liquid sweetener, so 1 cup of golden syrup can replace 1 cup of molasses. Golden syrup has a unique flavor, so it may alter the flavor of your recipe slightly.

How do you harden gingerbread? ›

Comments for How to harden gingerbread when it becomes too soft? Putting it back in the oven does not work you have to find a recipe that is harder as putting it back in the oven only over bakes it. My suggestion is to put it back into the oven for up to 10 minutes. The temp of the oven should be around 325 degrees.

Why is my gingerbread falling apart? ›

From doubling up on molasses to using too much flour, there is a lot that can go wrong. Forgetting the molasses resulted in a crumbly cookie that was light in color. Combining all ingredients at once created lumps in the finished product.

How do you know when soft gingerbread cookies are done? ›

Gingerbread Cookies are done when they are set and begin to brown slightly at the edges. They will harden further as they cool, so avoid overbaking so you don't end up with hard, crunchy gingerbread!

How do you know when gingerbread is done? ›

The toothpick test is one of the best ways to tell if gingerbread is finished baking. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or, preferably, with a few moist crumbs (but not wet batter).

How unhealthy are gingerbread cookies? ›

It is important to note that despite their many health benefits, gingerbread cookies and cakes are often loaded with sugar and unhealthy fats, so too much of a good thing can be bad. Check out some of our favorite recipes that feature ginger for more inspiration!

Is molasses or golden syrup better for gingerbread? ›

Molasses – Essential for that deep, rich, caramel-like gingerbread flavour! It also helps hold the dough's shape. Golden syrup makes a great sub, or treacle. Honey will also work, but the cookies will spread out a touch more and not have the same deep flavour (but still very, very good!).

What kind of molasses is best for gingerbread? ›

Medium Or Dark Molasses

“It adds enough bold flavor and sweet notes with a hint of bitterness to any recipe, which is exactly what you want for making gingerbread cookies.”

What kind of molasses is best for gingerbread cookies? ›

Choose unsulfured molasses when possible, since sulfur dioxide can leave an unpleasant, chemical-like aftertaste, according to Smith. “Unsulfured molasses is derived from processed mature sugar cane,” she said. “It's rich in flavor with a smoky depth. The most natural.

How do you make a gingerbread house stronger? ›

So to make sure our walls could stand strong, we sandwiched melted marshmallow cement between two graham crackers. The marshmallow adds weight, which helps stabilize the structure. It also acts as a sealant, ensuring that the cracker won't crumble.

What holds gingerbread together? ›

Fit Everything Together with Melted Sugar or Royal Icing

The second way is to use burnt sugar as your glue. Just melt C&H® Pure Granulated Cane Sugar in a pan on the stove, dip the gingerbread parts in and hold them together for a few seconds. Then, presto! You've created a solid house.

What is the raising agent in gingerbread? ›

Bicarbonate of soda, or baking soda, is an alkali which is used to raise soda breads and full-flavoured cakes such as gingerbread, fruit cake, chocolate cake and carrot cake.

Do gingerbread men harden when they cool? ›

Bake for 12 minutes for light golden and mostly soft (though slightly crisp on edges), or 14 minutes for deeper golden and crisp. The gingerbread men will be soft out of the oven but will firm up as they cool. Note however even crisp gingerbread men soften the next day.

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