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.
This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.
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.
What if I don’t have a donut pan?
I guess you could make muffins or mini muffins? Many have reported doing that. 🙂
Made the meatloaf, everyone loved it. ??
I was craving donuts but didn’t wanna drive so decided to try these out! My daughter over-mixed them so they came out kinda doughy but still were very delicious!
Thank you for sharing your review, Kris. I’m glad you loved the donuts!
I just found this recipe and would make them this instant, but I don’t have any applesauce! Is there anything else that might work in its’ place?
If not, I will definitely add applesauce to my next grocery shopping list. ?
Sure, I bet you could use more vegan butter, melted and they would be just fine! Hope that helps and you enjoy them!
MOIST, easy and delicious. These are so good and thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your review, Renee. I’m glad you enjoyed them!
These are without a doubt the best vegan donuts I have ever made! I have a 6-donut pan and these turned out perfect. I didn’t change a thing. Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing your review, Courtney! I’m glad the donuts turned out perfect for you!
Can I substitute the vegan butter with coconut oil?
Yes, that will work fine.
Hello , do you think I can make these in a donut maker instead of the oven? (It’s like a waffle maker but with a donut shape.) Thank you.
Sure, I don’t see why not. Thanks!
I made these for a picnic with my friends. They were amazing!!! I followed the ingredients but halved the recipe to make 4 small doughnuts. We both enjoyed them thoroughly. I am planning on making them again soon and I am wondering if I can use canola oil in the batter. Thanks you. I love your recipes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the donuts Eden. Yes, you can. Thank you so much!
So delicious and easy to make! I tried these tonight as a late-night snack and they were amazing. I made them in a muffin pan as I didn’t have a donut pan in handy since I’ve never made homemade donuts before, but they still turned out great. I do recommend doubling the recipe if you are making them for more than yourself because the recipe only gave me four muffins and I didn’t even fill it all the way. Maybe even tripling it or quadrupling it if you’re wanting people to have more than one.
I’m really glad you enjoyed the donuts Elliot! Thank you for sharing!
Was craving donuts but didnt want to drive out or make a huge mess and wow these are amazing!
Thanks Cindy! I’m glad you love the donuts! Thank you for sharing!
We are on the search for great vegan donuts and these are the BEST we’ve had so far! The applesauce makes a big difference in using as an egg replacement, vs. other options we’ve tried (chia seeds, etc.), as the end result is much more moist. Thank you for this recipe, will definitely make again.
Hi Kimberly. I’m glad you found my donuts, and that you love them! Thank you for sharing! Happy cooking!
I followed recipe and they turned out doughy and dense…. not sure what I did wrong- does a silicone donut tray matter?!
Did you make any substitutions, like using another flour? If they turned out dense, it’s likely that you over mixed the batter, which commonly leads to dense baked goods especially in muffins and baked donuts. A silicone donut tray does not matter, no.
May I substitute regular milk for soy milk?
Hi Marja. I have not tried that, however I think it should work. Hope this helps!
Made these donuts with my boys this morning and they both loved them! Love trying all of your recipes. They never disappoint.
Thanks Jen! I’m glad you guys loved the donuts! Thank you for using my recipes!
These are so delicious! I accidentally commented on the chocolate donut recipe because I was using the glaze from that recipe on these. I have not tried the chocolate ones, but these are seriously amazing! Made them in a mini muffin pan because I do not have a donut pan. Baked them 16 minutes, but they could have gone 1-2 minutes more. Thank you for the recipe!
LOL! Thanks Colleen. Glad you love the donuts!
Hi Nora cooks this is Julia again I tried another one of your great recipes these donuts are the best donuts I’ve tasted my dad asked me to make more everybody in my house Liked them ????
Hi Julia! Thank you! I’m glad the donuts are a hit! I appreciate you taking time to share your review!
When I click on the metric ingredients it’s not changing from US, it says 1/2 cup soy milk. Can you tell me that in grams please? 🙂
123 grams. 🙂
OMG! These were sooo good! Can’t believe they’re vegan! My parents owned a Dunkin Donuts growing up and these are better than anything I;ve had there….Thanks again Nora!
Hi Himani. Thank you for your great vote for my donuts! I’m glad you love them! I appreciate you taking your time to share!
Nora, thank you so much for sharing this recipe! We aren’t vegan but my daughter has food allergies- milk, eggs, peanuts, so I was really excited to give this recipe a go. It came out better than expected! I used Ripple Milk instead of soy and follow everything else and oh man, I couldn’t be happier with the results! (I wish I could share pictures I took fo the donuts)
Hi Aga. I’m glad the donuts turned out great for you! Thank you for sharing!
We had to adapt a bit as I only have a mini buddy pan, but these were amazing!!!!
Such an easy and fast recipe. So tasty!!
*bundt
Thank you, Stephanie!
I make this recipe they came out good but everybody in my family says they didn’t taste like donuts more like cake! It was delicious.probably I will use whole wheat flour next time.
Hi Zulma . Thank you! I’m glad you and your family liked the donuts!
Made these as muffins with gluten free flour… unfortunately they came out a bit gummy and undercooked, though I’d 100% blame the ingredients over the recipe. Oh well, better luck next time!
Hi Norah, thanks for sharing this lovely recipe.
What can I use to substitute the apple sauce?
Thanks Fatima
Hi Fatima! You can substitute more melted vegan butter or oil if you’d like, or vegan yogurt. Coconut milk would probably also work.
Super easy to make and really tasty! Thanks! P.S. if you don’t have donut tins, you can use muffin tins instead, just bake a it longer!
Hi Ryan. Glad you enjoyed them! Thank you!