Vegan Donuts

These vegan donuts are soft, cakey, and baked in the oven instead of fried, with warm cinnamon and nutmeg in the crumb and a simple vanilla glaze on top. The batter mixes in one bowl and pipes straight into donut pans, so a batch is ready in about 30 minutes.

If you already love our classic easy homemade donuts, this is the plant based version to keep beside it. These vegan donuts use oat milk, applesauce, and coconut oil in place of eggs, milk, and butter, and nobody will guess the swap.

Quick Recipe Overview

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 10 to 12 minutes
Cooling Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: About 30 minutes
Servings: 12 donuts
Oven Temperature: 350°F (175°C)
Pans: Two 6 cavity donut pans

Quick Ingredients: all purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, oat milk, apple cider vinegar, melted coconut oil, unsweetened applesauce, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, rainbow sprinkles (optional).

Quick Steps: Stir the vinegar into the oat milk and rest it for 5 minutes. Whisk the dry ingredients, whisk the wet ingredients, and combine into a thick batter. Pipe into greased donut pans, bake until the tops spring back, cool briefly, then dip in vanilla glaze.

Ingredients for Vegan Donuts

For the Donuts

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 3/4 cup oat milk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Vanilla Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 to 4 tablespoons oat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Rainbow sprinkles, optional

How to Make Vegan Donuts

Step 1: Prepare the Pans and Oven

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 6 cavity donut pans thoroughly, including the center post of each cavity. Baked donuts stick fast to any dry spot, so this step decides whether they release cleanly.

Step 2: Mix the Oat Milk and Vinegar

Stir the apple cider vinegar into the oat milk and set it aside for 5 minutes. It will look slightly curdled, and that is what you want. The acid reacts with the baking powder in the oven and helps the donuts rise without eggs.

Step 3: Whisk the Dry Ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until evenly combined. Breaking up any spice clumps now keeps the flavor even in every donut.

Step 4: Whisk the Wet Ingredients

In a second bowl, whisk the curdled oat milk, melted coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla until smooth. The coconut oil should be melted but not hot, or it can seize into beads in the cooler milk.

Step 5: Combine the Batter

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until just combined. The batter will be thick, closer to cake batter than pancake batter. A few small streaks of flour are fine. Stop stirring as soon as the batter looks even, because overmixing makes the crumb tough.

Step 6: Pipe the Batter into the Pans

Spoon the batter into a piping bag or a zip top bag and cut off one corner. Pipe a ring of batter into each cavity, filling it two thirds full. More batter than that rises over the center post and bakes the hole shut.

Step 7: Bake and Cool

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Let the donuts cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack. They need to be warm but not hot when they meet the glaze.

The Vanilla Glaze

Whisk the powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of oat milk, and the vanilla in a wide bowl until smooth. The glaze should fall off the whisk in a thick ribbon. If it runs like water, whisk in more powdered sugar a spoonful at a time. If it sits in stiff peaks, add oat milk a teaspoon at a time.

Dip the top of each donut into the glaze, lift it out, and set it back on the rack. The glaze gives these vegan donuts their bakery case shine, so dip while the donuts are still slightly warm, when it sets smooth instead of streaky. Add sprinkles right away, because the surface starts to set within a minute. Let the glazed donuts rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Why These Vegan Donuts Work

Three things carry this recipe. Baking powder does the lifting in these vegan donuts, helped by the vinegar and oat milk mixture reacting as the batter heats up. Applesauce binds the crumb and keeps it moist without eggs. Baking instead of frying keeps the crumb tender and cakelike, with no oil soaked heaviness.

The spice level is gentle. Cinnamon leads, nutmeg sits behind it, and the vanilla glaze still tastes like vanilla. If you want a stronger spice donut, raise the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon.

Ingredient Notes

Oat milk. Any plant milk works in this batter. Soy milk adds protein and structure, and almond milk keeps the flavor light. Oat milk sits in the middle and tastes the most neutral under the glaze.

Applesauce. In vegan donuts, applesauce does the binding work an egg usually does, and it keeps the crumb moist for a second day. Use unsweetened applesauce, because the glaze already brings plenty of sweetness.

Coconut oil. Refined coconut oil gives a neutral flavor, while unrefined coconut oil adds a faint coconut taste that still works with vanilla. A neutral liquid oil can replace it with the same measure.

Baking powder. This is the main leavener, so it has to be fresh. If yours has sat open for more than six months, replace it. Old baking powder is the most common reason baked donuts stay flat.

Sprinkles. Some sprinkle brands use shellac or carmine for shine and color. Check the label before buying if that matters to you.

Tips for Soft Vegan Donuts

• Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off. Scooped flour packs in extra and dries the crumb out.
• Grease every cavity well, including the center posts. If you own one pan, grease it again before the second batch.
• Fill each cavity two thirds full. The batter needs room to rise around the post, not over it.
• Check the donuts at 10 minutes. They go from soft to dry quickly at the end of baking.
• Rotate the pans once halfway through baking if your oven browns unevenly from back to front.

Planning a vegan brunch spread? Set these out next to our vegan cinnamon rolls and let everyone pick their favorite.

Storage and Freezing

Store vegan donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Keep a sheet of parchment between layers so the glaze does not stick. After two days the crumb starts to dry, though a few seconds in the microwave softens it again.

Unglazed donuts freeze well for up to 2 months. Wrap them tightly, thaw at room temperature, and glaze them after thawing so the finish looks fresh. For safe storage times on all leftovers, follow the USDA leftovers and food safety guidelines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I fry these vegan donuts instead of baking them?

No. This batter is soft like cake batter and it falls apart in hot oil. Frying needs a firmer yeast dough that can hold its shape. This recipe is built for donut pans and the oven.

Can I make vegan donuts without donut pans?

Yes. Use a standard muffin tin and fill the cups two thirds full. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes and glaze the tops once they cool slightly. The shape is different, but the crumb and flavor stay the same.

Why did my donuts turn out dense?

The usual causes are overmixing the batter, baking powder that has lost its strength, or cavities filled past two thirds. Stir only until the flour disappears and measure the baking powder carefully.

Can I mix the batter the night before?

No. Baking powder starts releasing its lift as soon as it meets liquid, so the batter needs to go into the oven right away. Bake the donuts fresh and store the extras instead, because they keep well for two days.