Vegan chocolate donuts are rich, moist, delicious and so quick and easy to make. Topped with with melted chocolate and sprinkles.

Oh my! I think this is my favorite donut recipe ever!
Ever since I made my baked vegan donuts, I wanted to try making some vegan chocolate donuts.
And these are even better than I imagined. They’re kind of like chocolate cake donuts! And they’re topped with melted chocolate and sprinkles so basically they’re the best thing ever.
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Donuts
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- They’re so easy to make!
- Sift all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Add soy milk, applesauce, melted coconut oil, vinegar and vanilla extract and whisk it with a hand whisk briefly until combined. Don’t overmix.
- Spray two donut trays with non-stick spray and divide the batter evenly between them. The easiest way to get the batter into the donut trays neatly is to use a piping bag. You can also use a spoon but it’s a little more messy.
- Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F.
- Transfer the cooked donuts to a wire cooling rack and let them cool before you do the topping.
- Place vegan chocolate chips or chopped up vegan chocolate and coconut oil into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals bringing it out to stir every 30-seconds until melted.
- Dip the donuts into the chocolate and then place them onto a parchment lined baking tray. Use a teaspoon to add sprinkles.
- Place into the fridge so that the chocolate can set and then serve!
Make them Gluten-Free
If you want to make these gluten-free then use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend such as Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour.
Storing and Freezing
They are simply divine when fresh but will also keep covered in the fridge for up to a week. They are also freezer friendly if you want to freeze them.
More Vegan Chocolate Desserts
- Vegan Chocolate Brownies
- Vegan Chocolate Tart
- Homemade Vegan Chocolate
- Vegan White Chocolate
- The Most Amazing Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Chocolate Donuts
Ingredients
For the Donuts:
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour (125g)
- ¼ cup Cocoa Powder (22g) Unsweetened
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¾ cup Soy Milk (180ml) or other non-dairy milk
- 2 Tablespoons Applesauce
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil Melted
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
For the Chocolate Topping:
- 1 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips (175g) or Chopped Vegan Chocolate
- 1 teaspoon Coconut Oil
For Decorating:
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two donut trays with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Add soy milk, applesauce, coconut oil, vinegar and vanilla and whisk with a hand whisk briefly to remove any lumps. Don't overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly amongst the donut partitions on the two donut trays. The easiest way to do this is to put the batter into a piping bag and then divide it evenly that way. Or you can use a spoon but it does get a little messy.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of the donuts comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before adding the chocolate topping.
- Melt the chocolate by placing it in a microwave safe bowl along with the coconut oil 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 them onto a parchment lined baking tray. 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.
Notes
- Weigh your flour for the most accurate results, or use the spoon and level method for measuring flour using cups. Spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour or pack it into the cup.
- You can switch the melted coconut oil for a different oil if you prefer.
- The chocolate can either be vegan chocolate chips or any nice tasting vegan chocolate that you can just melt down for the topping.
- Nutritional information is for 1 donut of 12 with chocolate topping.
- This recipe was originally posted in 2017 and updated in 2019 with new photos and text.
Great flavor and texture, and they’re quick and easy to make!
Thanks Kat!
Delicious donuts!
I live on my own, so, I halve this recipe to make a big 6-inch donut in a make shift cake-pan. I’ve subbed date paste for sugar for a healthier version, worked out great. I also top half of it with chopped walnuts and the other half with coconut flakes. Yum!
Thanks for all your recipes, Alison! I’ve tried several of them and every single one turns out to be the best _/\_
That sounds awesome!
My cousin is allergic to cocoa powder is there anything I can replace that with
Hi Eloise, honestly I’m not sure. It might be better to try our other recipe for baked donuts (no cocoa in that one).
Can you sub sugar for maple syrup?
No, it doesn’t work well as a swap.
Hello there! I really want to try this recipe, but I don’t have any applesauce. Is there anything else I could use in its place. Maybe a banana?
You can use extra coconut oil. 🙂
Awesome!!!! Thank you!
In the batter is there something I could replace the coconut oil with, maybe more applesauce, or can I leave it out completely.
You do need to replace it, and you could use more applesauce that should work just fine. All the best! 🙂
Is there another type of oil that would work, I’m allergic to coconut.
Sure! Use any oil that you prefer. 🙂
Do you have a chocolate pumpkin donut recipe with low oil? Second choice would be a pumpkin donut with low oil. Thanks!
Hi Mindy! I don’t have a recipe like that so far. I think a way to adapt this recipe might be to use 1/4 cup puréed pumpkin instead of the oil and applesauce. That would make it oil free and I think it might work well. Let us know if you do try it! 🙂
Hi just wondering if it is possible to make this mix the night previous and store in the fridge for baking the next day?
Hi Lorraine, it’s best not to do this as it can affect the texture negatively.
Wonder if you could sub pumpkin puree for the applesauce? Thoughts?
Hi Mindy, you probably can, but I don’t think it would be as neutral tasting as applesauce. You could also just use extra coconut oil instead of applesauce. 🙂
Die sehen wieder super lecker und so schmecken sie sicher auch.
Passen auch super zu einem Kindergeburtstag bzw zu jeder Party, yum!
Liebe Grüße,
Jesse-Gabriel
Addendum to my earlier comment: my husband has ALL the allergies so we use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 flour and it’s just as delicious. Also, once I ran out of ACV and coconut oil and tried Rice Wine vinegar and Avocado oil and they were just as good… I think it’s the ratios in the recipe that make it so delicious.
So happy to hear Mercedes! Thanks so much for sharing and the awesome review! 🙂
I have made this over and over and over. My hubby loves them as do I! They don’t last a full day.
Very simple recipe. Great for baking with kids or beginners. I didn’t have apple sauce so I used 1/2 an avocado.
Hi there!
Do you think this will be just as good and soft if I used almond flour and coconut palm sugar?
The sugar would be fine as it’s also granulated sugar so that won’t make a difference, but I have no idea about the flour! Let us know if you try it and how it works out! 🙂
Perfect Father’s Day gift!