Vegan Baking Mixes for Holiday Cookies, Brownies and Bread
Which vegan baking mixes can go from the pantry to a holiday cookie tray without a last-minute egg run? That question lands in our inbox every December. The trouble usually hides on the back of the box. A mix can look plant-based on the front and still call for two eggs and a stick of butter in the directions. We at Vegan America read ingredient lists before any product goes live, and this guide sorts our verified picks by what you plan to bake: cut-out cookies, brownies, cakes, dinner rolls. Where a vendor spells out the add-ins, we pass them along. Where it leaves them to the package, we say so.
In this post
- The Short Answer: Which Vegan Baking Mixes to Buy
- Vegan Cookie Mix Picks for Cut-Outs and Gift Tins
- Is There a Vegan Cake Mix? Our Closest Pick
- Holiday Rolls From a Gluten Free Vegan Baking Mix
- A Vegan Brownie Mix for the Holiday Platter
- What Each Egg-Free Baking Mix Asks You to Add
- The Bottom Line
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Short Answer: Which Vegan Baking Mixes to Buy
Get a cookie mix that needs only water and oil, a brownie mix made without dairy or eggs, an all-purpose mix for cakes and quick breads, and a flour mix if dinner rolls are on the menu. Every pick below sits on our verified vegan shelf. Every one is gluten-free too. That means a single shopping list covers the cousin who skips gluten and the friend who skips animal products.
Before checkout we read one line twice, the one that says what you add, because that is where eggs slip back in.
Vegan Cookie Mix Picks for Cut-Outs and Gift Tins
Autumn Sons Baking Co. makes most of the cookie mixes we carry. The pattern is easy to remember. Water. Oil. Fifteen minutes. Its bags carry GFCO certified gluten free, OU Kosher and Non-GMO Project verified labels, and a portion of the brand's profits goes to charities that support the welfare and protection of animals. We vet every vendor, and that line on the Autumn Sons page did not hurt.
Sugar Cookie Mixes
Cut-out or drop, the Sugar Cookie Mixes bake either way. Roll one batch thin for stars and trees. Spoon the next onto a sheet for a classroom plate. You add a small amount of water and oil, and Autumn Sons notes that neutral flavored oils work best, so leave the peppery olive oil for salad. Frosting hides plenty, but not a grassy aftertaste. The product page says the mix is produced in a top 9 allergen facility. That wording is not the same as allergen free. If a guest has a food allergy, we would read the full statement on the page before baking a batch for them.
Sugar Cookie Mixes
Soft Ginger Snap Cookie Mixes
Chewy, not brittle. That is what Autumn Sons promises from its Soft Ginger Snap Cookie Mixes, pitched for fall and winter baking. Water and oil go in the bowl. Sugar for rolling is optional, and it is the one add-in we would shop for with care, since some cane sugar in the US is processed with bone char. Look for a bag labeled vegan. The mix itself comes from a top 9 allergen free facility.
Soft Ginger Snap Cookie Mixes
Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mixes break the water rule. They take pure maple syrup and oil, and Autumn Sons is specific about the syrup: maple syrup should be the only ingredient on the bottle. The Variety Four Pack bundles Chocolate Chunk, Double Chocolate Chunk, Oatmeal Cinnamon and Sugar Cookie mixes, each free from dairy, gluten, eggs, soy and nuts. Grain-free cookie fans have another route in Cassavaberry's Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, packed with dairy-free chocolate chips. Our pick for a host gift is the four pack, because nobody has to choose a flavor.
Is There a Vegan Cake Mix? Our Closest Pick
Cassavaberry's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix is the nearest thing to a vegan cake mix on our shelf. It is a base, not a flavored box. Gluten-free, grain-free and plant-based, it covers cakes, muffins, banana bread, pancakes and waffles from one bag, and you follow the vendor's recipes for each bake.
Why not convert a supermarket box instead? Those formulas were built around eggs. Swap in a flax egg and plant milk and the center can go gummy, or the layer can sink while guests are already ringing the doorbell. We would rather start from a mix that never had eggs in it. One bag of Cassavaberry can handle holiday morning pancakes and a banana loaf for the neighbors. Muffins for the cookie swap host, too.
Holiday Rolls From a Gluten Free Vegan Baking Mix
Most mix roundups stop at dessert. For bread, we turn to Happy Campers Gluten Free and its Easy Peasy Flour Mix. One 25.75 oz (730 g) bag yields 24 dinner rolls. Or two 9 by 5 inch loaves, 18 slices apiece. Or four pizza crusts at 10 to 12 inches. The ingredient list leans on organic ancient whole grains, and the vendor's recipe page stretches as far as baguettes and cinnamon rolls.
Water and oil come first, then a few extra ingredients that change from recipe to recipe. Those extras are your call, not ours. We checked the flour mix before it went live; we cannot check your fridge. Pick plant-based versions of whatever the Happy Campers recipe page lists, and the rolls stay vegan from bag to basket.
A Vegan Brownie Mix for the Holiday Platter
Egg-free brownies get more side-eye than any other bake. Eggs bind a brownie and set its crumb, so plenty of home bakers expect cake or cardboard without them. Cassavaberry's Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownie Mix was formulated without dairy or eggs, which leaves nothing to swap. The vendor describes a fudgy, moist pan, never chalky, with gooey chocolate chips throughout. We would cut it into two-bite squares. Next to a stack of ginger snaps, a full-size brownie is too much.
Our advice: read Cassavaberry's directions on the product page before the grocery run, not after.
What Each Egg-Free Baking Mix Asks You to Add
Tape our list to the fridge door.
- Sugar Cookie Mixes (Autumn Sons Baking Co.): water and a neutral flavored oil.
- Soft Ginger Snap Cookie Mixes (Autumn Sons Baking Co.): water and oil, plus optional sugar for rolling.
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mixes (Autumn Sons Baking Co.): pure maple syrup and oil.
- Variety Four Pack (Autumn Sons Baking Co.): water and oil for each of the four mixes.
- Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix (Cassavaberry): varies by recipe, so follow the vendor's directions for each bake.
- Easy Peasy Flour Mix (Happy Campers Gluten Free): water and oil plus a few recipe-specific ingredients.
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownie Mix (Cassavaberry): listed in the package directions on the product page.
Baking several in one day? Bread goes first, since rolls take longest. Brownies next. Cookies last, so they reach the tins fresh. Allergy households should compare facility wording line by line, and we mean line by line: the ginger snap and pumpkin mixes cite a top 9 allergen free facility, while the Variety Four Pack is described as top 11 allergen-free. Different counts, different claims. We would not treat them as interchangeable when a child with a nut allergy is coming over.
Vendors reformulate, so when a product page disagrees with this list, the product page wins.
The Bottom Line
Vegan baking mixes settle the egg question before the bag is open, and in December that saves a trip to the store. Autumn Sons covers the cookie tins. Cassavaberry takes the brownie pan and the holiday morning pancakes. Happy Campers fills the bread basket with 24 rolls per bag. Browse our Baking Mixes collection for everything else we stock, or narrow the field with our Gluten-Free collection. Visiting a chocolate lover? Pair a cookie mix with a box from our guide to vegan chocolates for holiday gifts.
Also in this guide: Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownie Mix | Plant-Based, Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix | Plant-Based.
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Join Plant-PreferredFrequently Asked Questions
Are boxed cake mixes vegan?
Some are and many are not, and the back panel often calls for eggs or butter even when the dry mix is plant-based. Formulas also change, so check the label every time or shop mixes we have already verified in our Baking Mixes collection.
What can replace eggs in a boxed cake mix?
Flax eggs, applesauce and aquafaba are common swaps, but conventional mixes were built around eggs, so results vary. A mix designed without eggs, such as Cassavaberry's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix, skips the experiment.
How do you make a cake mix vegan?
Replace every animal ingredient the package asks you to add and confirm the dry mix contains no milk powder or eggs. The simpler route is to start with a mix made vegan from the beginning.
Is sugar vegan?
Sugar comes from plants, but in the US some cane sugar is processed with bone char. If a mix like the Soft Ginger Snap Cookie Mixes calls for extra sugar for rolling, choose one labeled vegan.
Which vegan baking mix works best for holiday cookies?
For cut-out cookies, the Autumn Sons Sugar Cookie Mixes need only water and oil. For gifting, the Variety Four Pack covers four cookie flavors in one bundle.
