Easy Garlic Herb Focaccia [Vegan Focaccia]

This vegan cheese, garlic, and herb focaccia (+ other flavor options!) is pillowy and fluffy on the inside with a perfectly crisp crust. It’s also simple to prepare with just a handful of ingredients and 5 minutes of kneading!

Pillowy Perfect Vegan Focaccia with Garlic and Herbs

My kitchen philosophy is very much about focusing on minimal effort for maximum flavor, which is why you might be surprised to see homemade bread here. Until you realize how simple it is to make this delicious garlic and herb focaccia bread at home!

While this easy focaccia recipe requires patience to allow for the dough-proofing time, the actual hands-on steps are straightforward. Plus, there are just 5 minutes of kneading (or let your stand mixer do all the work for you!)

Jump to:

• Pillowy Perfect Vegan Focaccia with Garlic and Herbs
• What Is Focaccia
• The Ingredients
• Other Seasonings and Toppings for Focaccia Bread
• How to Make Garlic, Herb, and Cheese Vegan Focaccia?
• FAQs
• Top Recipe Tips and Notes
• How to Eat Focaccia Bread
• Storage Instructions
• Easy Garlic Herb Focaccia [Vegan Focaccia]

What Is Focaccia

Focaccia (pronounced fuh-KA-chuh) is a flatbread from Italy, similar to pizza crust but thicker thanks to proving the dough after kneading it. It requires just a handful of pantry ingredients and has an airy, slightly chewy interior with a crunchy golden topping thanks to the abundance of olive oil. Focaccia is also naturally vegan, super versatile, and a fairly forgiving dough to work with.

For this easy focaccia recipe, I’ve made 7-ingredient 'cheesy' garlic and herb focaccia with a lightly toasted fresh herb and garlic infused olive oil and then sprinkled with vegan parmesan cheese. The combination is almost uncontrollably moreish with a pillowy chewy middle and olive-oil crusted top! But that’s just the beginning for flavoring homemade focaccia.

Focaccia makes for a wonderful blank canvas for you to dress up with your favorite flavorings and toppings. In fact, I’ve included a list of some of my favorite options below. Once baked, you can enjoy this vegan focaccia bread as an appetizer alone or with other nibbles, a soup and stew dipper, a mop for sauces, and even a crispy crust for a sandwich!

The Ingredients

You need just 7 ingredients for this vegan focaccia recipe (plus water), two of which can be substituted to make an endless variety of flavored vegan focaccia.

The Focaccia Dough

• Yeast: I used a packet of rapid-rise yeast (instant yeast).
• Sugar: This helps to feed the yeast.
• Flour: I use all-purpose flour, though you may prefer a 50/50 combination of AP plus strong white bread flour for chewier bread. Alternatively, try this recipe with 30-40% whole wheat flour plus AP flour.
• Salt: To season. Adjust the amount to taste.
• Water: Warm water (around 100-110F/38-44C. If you don’t have a thermometer, then make sure it’s warm but not hot to touch) to activate the yeast and create the vegan focaccia dough. If you live somewhere with hard water, I recommend using bottled water.

The Garlic Herb Oil

• Garlic: Fresh minced garlic makes for an absolutely delicious focaccia topping. Adjust the amount to preference.
• Herbs: Use a combination of mixed fresh herbs, like fresh basil, rosemary, parsley, thyme, etc.
• Olive oil: Use high-quality olive oil for the best flavor. However, I don’t recommend using extra-virgin olive oil, as it can overpower the flavor of the garlic focaccia. Instead, you could use an 80/20 combination of lighter olive oil and just enough EVOO for a richer flavor.

I also used ¼ cup of vegan shredded parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the top of the vegan focaccia. However, this is technically optional.

Other Seasonings and Toppings for Focaccia Bread

While this herby garlic focaccia bread is my current favorite flavor option, there’s an almost endless list of ways to customize this recipe to your liking.

• Flaky salt: Like Maldon sea salt. To lightly sprinkle over the garlic herb focaccia before baking.
• Rosemary: Fresh rosemary and garlic focaccia is a popular combination.
• Other herbs: To infuse the herb focaccia bread with even more flavor, you could mix Italian seasoning (or individual dried herbs like oregano) directly into the focaccia dough.
• Seasonings: To add subtle flavor to the vegan focaccia bread recipe, you could add a small amount of onion powder or garlic powder. Turmeric powder will add a very subtle flavor but colors the homemade focaccia a gorgeous gold.
• Everything bagel seasoning: To sprinkle over the vegan cheese focaccia.
• Spice: You could add some red pepper flakes into the garlic and herb oil mixture or top the bread with thinly sliced jalapeños or another spice.
• Lemon zest: For a zingy, bright flavor.
• Capers: For a briny flavor.
• Tomato paste: To create a focaccia pizza topped with veggies and vegan cheese.
• Pesto: Spread your favorite vegan pesto across the top of the vegan focaccia before or after baking it.
• Vegetables: There are many veggies you could mix into or spread over this vegan focaccia bread.
  • Sun-dried tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
  • Olives
  • Thinly sliced potatoes
  • Thinly sliced zucchini
  • Thinly sliced or roasted bell peppers
  • Corn
  • Caramelized onion
  • Caramelized or lightly sautéed leeks

How to Make Garlic, Herb, and Cheese Vegan Focaccia?

To Prepare the Garlic and Herb Oil

• 1) First, mince the garlic and finely chop the herbs. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet/pan.

• 2) Once hot, stir in the herbs and garlic and cook for about a minute until it’s fragrant and the garlic and herbs are lightly cooked. If the garlic is browning too quickly, reduce the heat.

Prepare the Dough

• 1) In a mixing bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Mix well, and allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast.

How Do You Know Yeast Has Activated? When ready, the yeast will form bubbles and foam up in the liquid mixture.

• 2) Then, in a large mixing bowl, sift in two cups of flour, the yeast mixture, and ⅓ cup of the garlic oil. Mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon, and allow it to sit for 3 minutes.

• 3) Then add the remaining flour and salt and mix it with your hands, kneading for around 5 minutes to create a smooth dough. It will become a fairly shaggy dough before becoming smooth but tacky when ready.

• 4) Then, cover the bowl with a plastic bag or a warm damp towel and leave it in a warm place to rise for about 45-60 minutes.

It can help to oil the bowl first for later removal. I recommend leaving the bowl in a warm, draft-free location like a boiler cupboard or in a switched-off oven with the oven light on. It will be ready when it has doubled in size.

Assemble and Bake the Garlic and Herb Focaccia Bread

• 1) Meanwhile, pour ⅓ of the oil mixture into a 9x13-inch pan and spread it around with a basting brush or paper towel.

• 2) Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 410F/210C, and transfer the dough to the prepared pan, spreading it out to each corner. Use your fingers to poke dimples throughout the dough, going almost to the bottom of the pan.

If the dimples spring back up immediately, the dough needs to rise for longer. If they hold their shape only springing back slightly, you’re good to go.

• 3) Finally, drizzle the remaining garlic and herb oil over the top of the dough along with the shredded vegan parmesan.

If you knocked a lot of air out of the dough when shaping and dimpling it in the pan, it’s a good idea to set it aside again for a further rise (for 30-60 minutes).

• 4) Bake the garlic and herb focaccia for 25 minutes, until it’s lightly browned and crisp with a golden underside.

For a crispier loaf, increase the baking time up to 10 minutes until you reach your desired texture.

FAQs

Top Recipe Tips and Notes

• For best results, use a thermometer: To check the temperature of the warm water (which should be around 100-110F/38-44C). If it’s too hot, it will kill the yeast, and if it’s too cold, it won’t activate the yeast.
• Make sure the yeast is in date: It won’t work if it’s expired, and the dough won’t have the correct bouncy, airy, fluffy focaccia texture.
• For improved flavor and texture: If you have the time, it could be a good idea to do a slow rise instead of 45 minutes. Place the covered bowl of liberally oiled dough in the refrigerator for 18-24 hours (up to 72hrs maximum for extra fermented flavor). Plus, using this method, you can even skip the kneading step! Instead, just mix the dough until tacky, then leave it to rise.
• Thoroughly oil the oven pan: To stop the focaccia from sticking to the pan.
• Experiment with different pans: Different metals vs. cast iron etc., will yield slightly different results in terms of the crispy/crunchiness of the top and bottom. I don't recommend glass pans as they can conduct heat unevenly.

How to Eat Focaccia Bread

There are several ways to enjoy this vegan focaccia bread, whether it’s alone as a snack or alongside a meal.

• For dipping: My favorite option is dipping the homemade focaccia in a balsamic vinegar olive oil combo. It would also work with vegan cheese fondue and dips like hummus.
• Soups and stews: This vegan focaccia is perfect for dipping into any soup or saucy dish, like this Instant Pot Vegetable Barley Soup or Mixed Bean and Vegetable Stew.
• Pasta: Like lasagna or any pasta dish with sauce for dipping.
• Enjoy as a pizza: Choose from the toppings above to make a delicious vegan focaccia pizza.
• Use it as a sandwich: Slice the garlic focaccia in half and use it as the crust for a sandwich.

I also like serving focaccia as part of a spread (picnic, charcuterie board, dinner parties) alongside other nibbles and appetizers/antipasto.

Storage Instructions

There’s nothing quite like fresh bread warm from the oven. However, if you do end up with any leftovers:

Room temperature: Lightly wrap the homemade focaccia for 2-3 days.

Freeze: I prefer to freeze the bread in individual portions. You can either individually wrap the pieces OR freeze them, not touching, on a tray until solid and transfer them to a Ziplock/Stasher bag. Either way, it will store for up to 3 months and can then be thawed in the refrigerator or on the kitchen counter.

Reheat: To reheat the bread, I prefer to use the oven at around 300F/150C until it’s warmed. This will usually take just 8-10 minutes.

If you try this easy garlic and herb focaccia recipe (vegan focaccia), I’d love to know what you think in the comments below. I’d also really appreciate a recipe card rating!

Photos by Alfonso Revilla