The best vegan donuts! Light and fluffy and SO easy to make. Serve them covered in chocolate and sprinkles or topped with cinnamon sugar!
I always thought donuts would be difficult to make but they’re crazy easy! They’re so easy you’re going to be wanting a permanent supply of these on hand.
They bake in 15 minutes and taste just as good as a bakery.
When they’re baked, you can decide how you want to top them. We have instructions for cinnamon sugar donuts and chocolate topped donuts.
And if you love donuts, check out our vegan chocolate donuts too.
How To Make Vegan Donuts
This is just a summary of the process, full instructions and measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together.
- Add soy milk, vanilla extract, applesauce and vegan butter (or coconut oil) and mix into a batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the donut partitions on your donut trays (sprayed with non-stick spray).
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.
- Let them cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before adding your toppings.
- Top with melted vegan chocolate and sprinkles OR brush with melted vegan butter and then dip in cinnamon sugar.
Baker’s Tips
- Use a piping bag. The only tricky thing making these donuts is getting the batter into the donut partitions neatly. Using a spoon can be a little messy. The best way is actually to put the batter into a piping bag and pipe it. That way you can be quite neat. But a spoon also works!
- You definitely want a donut tray for this one. You can get donut trays on Amazon and it’s ideal if you get two of them because it’s perfect to make 12 in one go. Since the donuts are quite small, doing only 6 at a time is a very small batch.
Baked vs Fried
While fried donuts are great of course, what’s nice about these baked donuts is that they’re much lighter.
They’re also super easy and I suspect (I haven’t tried a homemade fried donuts version yet) that they’re much easier to make than the fried variety.
Vegan Donuts FAQ
They should be lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the donuts should come out clean.
If you want to make these donuts gluten-free then switch the all purpose flour for a gluten free all purpose flour blend and that should work great.
Storing and Freezing
These donuts are best when served fresh. But they can also be stored covered at room temperature for a couple of days or in the fridge for up to a week.
If you make them with chocolate on top and the weather is warm then the fridge will be the best place to store them so the chocolate doesn’t melt.
They are also freezer friendly for a couple of months. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge and warm for a few seconds in the microwave before enjoying.
More Vegan Breakfast/Desserts
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Baked Vegan Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour (188g)
- ¾ cup White Granulated Sugar (150g)
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¾ cup Soy Milk (180ml) or other non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Tablespoons Applesauce
- 5 Tablespoons Vegan Butter Melted
For Chocolate Topping:
- 1 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips (175g)
- Sprinkles
For Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
- 2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter Melted
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (50g)
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare two donut trays by spraying with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together.
- Add the soy milk, vanilla, applesauce and melted vegan butter and whisk in, removing any large lumps.
- Place the donut batter into a piping bag and pipe it into the donut partitions evenly or use a spoon (but it can get messy).
- Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned on top.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before transferring the donuts to a wire cooling rack.
- Allow to cool completely before doing the topping.
- For the chocolate topping, melt the chocolate by placing it in a microwave safe bowl and heating in 30 second intervals, bringing it out to stir every 30 seconds until completely melted. Dip the donuts into the melted chocolate and then place onto a parchment lined baking tray and use a teaspoon to add the sprinkles. When all the donuts are done, move the tray into the fridge briefly for the chocolate topping to set.
- For the cinnamon sugar topping, add the sugar and cinnamon to a bowl and mix together. Melt the vegan butter and use a brush to brush the butter onto the top of a donut and then immediately dip it into the bowl of cinnamon sugar. Place the donut onto a parchment lined tray and use a teaspoon to add more cinnamon sugar to the top of the donut. Repeat for all the donuts.
Video
Notes
- Weigh your flour for the most accurate results or use the spoon and level method: spoon the flour into your measuring jug and then level off the top with a knife.
- The melted vegan butter for the donut batter can be replaced with melted coconut oil.
- Each topping (Chocolate or Cinnamon Sugar) is enough for a full batch of 12 donuts. If you want to do half/half then reduce the quantities for the toppings.
- Nutritional information is for a full batch of 12 with chocolate topping.
- This recipe was first published in 2016 and updated in 2019 with new photos and clearer instructions.
Louise Morgan says
These turned out great! I doubled the recipe because my tin makes 20 donuts. I had a little bit of batter left but the donuts were nice size and had a good consistency – firm enough for dipping in coffee but not too heavy. I made a glaze with raspberry juice and confectionery suger. I also did a few of them with just cinnamon and sugar. Will definitely be making these again. Check out my post on my Instagram @vintageteacher!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! I saw your post on instagram, they looked amazing! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
amanda says
ok, first these were delicious! BUT, they were definitely more like a cupcake than a donut, which i definitely realize is the case with these vegan baked donuts. seriously though…very yummy!! but pretty soft and not holding up like a donut. i did add a touch extra milk at the end as i thought the batter might have been too dry (i did weigh the flour and sugar), so i think i should have left that off. do you find yours hold up like a donut or are they soft like a muffin. will use the recipe for muffins in the future for sure!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Amanda, they’re not super soft, but they are more like cake than a fried donut would be. It could be that the extra milk added did soften them up more than they were supposed to be, but generally yes, they are more cake-y in texture. 🙂
Jeremy says
I have made this recipe 3 times already this week as I have a son who cannot eat dairy. It is absolutely amazing!. I added some ground flax seed and substituted a portion of whole wheat flour.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Jeremy, and great to hear it’s good with some wholewheat flour too! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Nancy says
Hi! What could be used instead of the applesauce?
Menaka says
I tried with a mashed banana and it worked out well!
Lynda says
I am going to try it with canned pumpkin, thats all i have right now
Nathalie says
Just made these this morning, and I knew they would be delicious after tasting the batter. The cinnamon and nutmeg add the perfect flavor! I’m not going to frost mine to save on calories; the donuts are tasty enough without the topping. Thank you!!!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Nathalie, so happy they came out so delicious! Thanks so much for sharing and your great review! 🙂
tamie says
Hi Alison,
How much vanilla did you use in this recipe? (the amount isn’t written in the recipe).
Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Whoops! Sorry about that! It’s 1 tsp. I have updated the recipe. Thanks for pointing out the mistake! 🙂
Tammy says
My sweet little 3-year-old daughter, who has a plethora of food allergies, got to try donuts for the first time thanks to this recipe! She ate four!
I left some unfrosted, and I think I actually liked those best. Delicious 🙂
Thanks for helping me make treats my babies and I can eat!
Alison Andrews says
That is so fantastic! Love it! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Catherine says
Is there anything you CANT do??? These are gorgeous!! Used coconut oil to grease my tin and they came out crispy but so soft and so fluffy. I halved the ingredients as a practice run and could’ve make 6 there was that much mixture. My workmates will LOVE these tomorrow❤️ Your recipes have made me fall in love with Pinterest
Alison Andrews says
So awesome to hear they came out so perfectly Catherine! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂 I am thrilled you are loving the recipes! 🙂
chandler says
Would these work in muffin tins? I do not have a donut one.
Alison Andrews says
I don’t really know – it would probably be fine! I’m just not sure if it would affect baking times.
Kylee says
Hi! Could I replace the Soy milk with coconut milk? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Yes, any non-dairy milk is fine. 🙂
Sarah says
I made these yesterday and they came out pretty crunchy. They are delicious, but taste more like a cookie. Any recommendations? I’m at high altitude.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sarah! I have not been familiar with high altitude baking, but from what I could find out, it does change the outcome quite a bit. So the recommendations I could find out were to reduce the amount of baking powder and slightly increase the moisture content. So with that in mind for this recipe I would try using 1 tsp baking powder instead of 2 and increasing the non-dairy milk. I found this link quite informative: https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/icooks/article-3-03.html
Ashley S says
These are divine! Thank you so much for the recipe! I used 1 bar 3.5 oz of Pasha dark chocolate, and another 3.5 oz or so of enjoy life chocolate chips for the topping. These came out perfectly!
Alison Andrews says
Good stuff! Glad to hear Ashley!
Karen says
When I ate these I couldn’t believe how light and delicious they were. When I was a child I loved donuts, but it’s been a very long time since I last ate one that I enjoyed. Thank you for bringing donuts back into my life.
Cheri says
I made these today and wow are they good! They are fluffy and tender, yet have a slight almost fried taste/texture to the outside of them. They’re very sweet, which I like because it’s a donut and donuts are meant to be sweet. Everyone loved them including my non vegan grandma and my picky three year old. I will make these again! Thanks for the recipe.
Alison Andrews says
Yay! So glad they came out well and you enjoyed them! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Jules says
I made this recipe and it was EXQUISITE!!! Thank you! I also made a maple icing for the top.
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic Jules! Thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
Anna Andrews says
Been waiting for this! Really Yummy!