The best thing about these vegan donuts is how easy they are to make! Everyone will love these cinnamon sugar coated donuts that are baked, not fried.
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Would you like to have fresh, warm donuts in just 20 minutes? That’s all it takes to make these EASY Cinnamon Sugar Coated Vegan Donuts! Perfect to enjoy along with a nice cup of tea or coffee.
The only special tool you will need is a donut pan. I highly recommend getting one (or two) so you can make your very own baked vegan donuts at home! It’s such a fun thing to bake with kids, and pretty hard to mess up. If you don’t have a donut pan and want to make these like NOW, you can make them in a muffin pan instead! But they are so much better in a donut pan.
How do you make baked vegan donuts?
It’s so easy. First, whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then, pour in the soy milk, applesauce, melted vegan butter and vanilla. Mix until combined.
Spoon into a greased donut pan. Bake for about 9-10 minutes, until lightly golden brown on the sides.
Let the donuts cool in the pan for a few minutes, then carefully pop them out and transfer to a wire rack with a large sheet of parchment paper underneath it (to catch the mess).
Dunk them into melted vegan butter, on each side, then into cinnamon sugar. Coat with the cinnamon sugar all over, then place back on the wire rack.
Substitutions & Tips
- Oil Free: For oil free donuts, you could skip the melted vegan butter in both the batter and the coating. The cinnamon sugar still sticks but the donuts will taste much lighter.
- Gluten Free: I haven’t tested it, but a decent gluten free flour blend should work well here. Don’t try subbing all almond flour, that will not work.
- Other flours: Whole wheat pastry flour will work, or white whole wheat, perhaps even oat flour or spelt flour though I haven’t tested those.
- Don’t have applesauce? Simply substitute an extra tablespoon of melted vegan butter instead.
- Non-dairy milk: It is fine to use any non-dairy milk here in place of soy milk, such as almond, coconut or oat milk.
I think you will LOVE these donuts! They are
- Baked, not fried, so much lighter than regular donuts
- Perfectly sweet with a delicious cinnamon sugar coating
- Quick & easy to make
- So fun for kids to help bake!
- Made with easy to find ingredients
Want more vegan donut or muffin recipes?
- Vegan Chocolate Glazed Donuts
- Vegan Chocolate Donuts
- 1 Bowl Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Easy Vegan Banana Muffins
Cinnamon Sugar Vegan Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons soy milk
- 1 tablespoon applesauce
- 1 tablespoon melted vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup melted vegan butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a donut pan with non-stick spray.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Pour the soy milk, applesauce, melted vegan butter (1 tablespoon) and vanilla into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix well with a large wooden spoon to combine. The batter will be similar to cake batter; not too thick but not very runny either.
- Spoon the batter into the donut pan, OR fill a large ziplock bag with the batter, cut a hole in the corner and pipe into the pan, filling about 3/4 of the way full. Be careful not to overfill, as the donuts will rise and you might lose the "hole" of your donut.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown. If your donut pan is larger than mine, they could take a few extra minutes to bake. Let cool for two or three minutes in the pan, then carefully transfer to a wire rack with a large piece of parchment paper beneath it (to help with the mess).
For the Topping
- Stir together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping in a medium bowl, and melt the vegan butter in a separate bowl.
- Dip the donuts into the melted butter, both sides or just one side if you prefer. Then dunk the donut into the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.
- Serve immediately, or within one day for best results. Leftover donuts will keep for two days at most, covered and at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- May substitute whole wheat pastry flour or spelt flour for the all purpose flour. I haven't tested them with gluten-free flour, but it would likely work.
- May use any kind of non-dairy milk in place of the soy milk.
- These donuts should freeze well, though I haven't tested it. Simply freeze, then thaw overnight and perhaps warm in the microwave.
- If you don't have a donut pan, consider making these as little muffins instead! Bake at the same temperature for 18-20 minutes, then coat in the melted vegan butter and cinnamon sugar.
- For oil free donuts, simply omit the melted vegan butter in the batter and the coating. The cinnamon sugar will still stick, but the donuts will taste lighter and less rich.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally published in December of 2018, and has been reposted with new photos and some additional tips and substitutions. The recipe in unchanged.
I recently purchased a cake pop maker to make donut holes. Do you know how this would work in this kind of maker? I’ve seen donut holes made using these, but I’m trying to find a recipe that would work best and I’ve only found cake recipes. Thank you!
That sounds like fun! I think this recipe will work just fine in the cake pop maker for donut holes, let me know how they turn out if you try them!
I tried it in the cake pop maker and they were so good! Thank you for this delicious recipe! My husband likes apple cider donuts after I made a normal batch using your recipe and then I added some small apple chunks and a tablespoon of apple cider for a second batch and it was delicious and not too runny. I may try replacing some of the milk with the cider to see if they taste even more like apples. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome! Sounds like a fun way to make them!
So easy but amazingly delicious!!
Thanks so much!
So good and so easy. No more missing out on cider mill donut season for my dairy allergic kid. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you like it!
These were so great and easy to make! I didn’t have applesauce so I used canola oil instead (also subbed for the butter in the batter but I used vegan butter for the topping) and I was out of regular soy milk so I had to use barista blend soy instead. The recipe still worked great. I don’t usually like baked donuts but these were the best. We will definitely be making them again.
I made these this morning using almond milk and gluten free flour for my husband’s birthday and they turned out great! Bake time was closer to 25 minutes for me though.
They were so good that I’m doubling the recipe and making more this afternoon! (Calories don’t count on birthdays, right?)
Right! Happy birthday to your husband, and I’m glad you like the donuts. 🙂
I accidentally put in too much applesauce, and they were still good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the donuts!
Hi. I don’t own a donut pan. Do you think frying them in oil would work?
It probably would but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure!
My donut tray just arrived so gonna try this recipes…. thank you for making this simple recipe … ??
Have you used this recipe as a starting point for other flavors? My daughter wants a chocolate donut. If I sub in Cocoa powder should I decrease the flour by that amount?
I haven’t played with it yet, but I keep planning to! That may work, and yes I would decrease the flour if you add cocoa powder.
I halved the recipe and made them today. However, I was a bit skeptical and added a 1/4 tsp of ACV (just in case, I thought). I realized that wasn’t required.
Easy, effortless and super quick recipe. They just turned out so light and fluffy. So delicious, I am going to make some more right away ?
Going to follow you now and try some of your other vegan recipes.
On point! These were so delicious! I didnt have vegan butter so I substitute with canola oil and it was delightful. Thanks so much for sharing this receipe.
I don’t comment often if every bit this deserves the effort. Substituted Almond milk for soy and skipped out the apple sauce (didn’t have any at the time) and these still turned out amazing. Wow, just wow.
I don’t think I will ever buy another cinnamon donut again.
This is literally life changing. Will try the recipe with some sauce next time. Thank you for this recipe. Super quick and super easy too.
If there was anything bad to say it would be you need to double the ingredients because this batch will vanish in seconds!
#yumsters
– @swolecyclist
I’m so glad you loved the donuts! There are so many donut possibilities with this recipe. Thank you!
Are these like cake doughnuts because they’re baked? Or does it have a light and fluffy texture? Just want to know before I buy a doughnut pan.
These are light and fluffy, not dense. They are the texture of a really light and fluffy cake I would say, not like a real fried donut. But when you dip them in vegan butter and roll them in sugar, they make a pretty darn good donut! Hope that helps.
Baking powder bitterness?
I did exactly as the recipe says save for the vegan butter and made them into muffins. They were good but very bitter. What am I missing?
Try getting a fresh jar of baking powder. Sometimes, even if it’s not old, you can get a bad jar of baking powder and it will make your baked goods taste bitter or sour. This happened to me awhile back, and I couldn’t figure it out. Finally I got a new container and no more bad taste!
So excited about make a batch of your wonderful ;doughnuts. BUT, I am triying to omit sugar from my diet. Can I use honey or maple syrup, how much? Will it change the texture of the doughnut? I do not want to use coconut sugar because it has a strong after taste in recipes. Thank you!
Hi! If you want to use maple syrup (or honey) I would use maybe 1/4 cup instead of the sugar in the donut batter. Reduce the soy milk as well by 1/4 cup so your dry-wet ratios are not off. That should work. Of course if you omit sugar I’m not sure what you would coat the donuts in. Maybe try making the Cashew Vanilla Frosting from this cake recipe since it doesn’t contain sugar? You could drizzle it on the donuts after they cool. Hope that helps!!
do you think i could do these with coconut oil instead of vegan butter?
Yes, I think it would work just fine with coconut oil!
These are awesome. I just made them. So easy and delicious.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the donuts!
Have you tried freezing the batter for later use? might be a good time saver.
No, I haven’t tried that. I’m not sure it would work? Maybe…
What about baking then freezing?
Yes, freezing after baking would go much better. They should freeze just fine, but I wouldn’t coat them with the cinnamon sugar until you are ready to eat them. Thanks!
Very delicious! I baked them in a mini muffin pan (made approximately 20 with batter). Also substituted soy milk with nut milk. My husband, two girls, and I ate them all up within 10 minutes – mini muffins don’t have calories right? ? I didn’t add the sugar on top since we had (shhh… non-vegan buttercream icing in the fridge) but will put it on the next time. Thank you for this recipe!!! I’m going to make a double batch for an upcoming get-together
I’m so glad you all enjoyed them! 🙂 They go FAST in my house, too.
Hi Nora! I just made these – I do food styling and photography and couldn’t help myself but ate 3 of them before I even started to take pics! I’ll be sure to credit you for the recipe! Can I find you on instagram?
Thanks Heidi! LOL I know what you mean, they are so delicious!! Yes, I am very active on Instagram. 🙂 You can find me here at nora_cooks_vegan_.
These were so good! I had to bake for fifteen minutes.
These turned out great! Made as written (just used almond milk instead of soy). Needed a longer cooking time (more like 15 min) with my oven and silicone donut pan. Will definitely make again! Thanks!
These were so tender and delicious! I love the simple ingredients. We will be making these again soon.
So glad you enjoyed the donuts!
I don’t currently own a doughnut pan (and had no idea these amazing devices existed) so I made these into mini muffins instead! Literally within 3 minutes my family had eaten them all and I made a second batch that same night!
So delicious and fun!! Thank you.
They look delicious! Is there anything the applesauce can be substituted with?
You could probably just use another tablespoon of melted vegan butter instead. Thanks!