These vegan donuts belong in a bakery! They’re moist, fluffy, made in just one bowl and you’d never guess they’re vegan! With a cinnamon sugar coating, these donuts are love at first bite.
I’m making a really bold statement here considering there are almost 300 (and counting!) recipes on the blog and I love them all, but these cinnamon sugar vegan donuts might just be my absolute favorite.
My sister said I should sell them, they’re that good, but the logistics of doing that are too complicated for me right now. SO! For now they’re just here for you to enjoy!
They’re soft, fluffy, baked to perfection and the first bite leaves your lips coated in glorious cinnamon sugar, which I honestly love. Plus,they’re baked, not fried, so they’re a bit lighter and fresher than other kinds of donuts, but still SO delicious.
They’re made with fairly good for you ingredients so you can definitely have them as breakfast without feeling too guilty, but I personally love them as dessert! Regardless of when you have them, this recipe will impress anyone and everyone.
How to make this recipe
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lightly grease two 6 cavity donut pans (if you only have one, don’t worry, you’ll just need to do 2 rounds since this recipe makes 8). Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. Be sure to spoon and level the dry ingredients into the measuring cups. They should just naturally fall in, do not pack them in!
Whisk in the wet ingredients until a smooth batter forms.
Add about 1/4 cup worth of batter to each donut cavity, it will depend on your pan, but 1/4 cup is generally what I use. You should have about 1/4-1/8 of an inch at the between the batter and the top of the.
Add to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. My oven is perfect at 14. They should be rounded at the top and a toothpick should come out clean. A few crumbs is ok, but no wet batter.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
Flip over onto a cooling rack, they should fall right out and let cool another 5-10 minutes. Melt the butter in a shallow bowl and whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.
Dip each donut very lightly in the butter, or brush on top, then dip in the cinnamon sugar. I flip it around in the sugar quite a few times to make sure it is well coated, and spin it around on the side to really get it on there!
Transfer back to the cooling rack or a plate and enjoy!
Do they keep?
Once prepared, these vegan donuts will keep for about 3 days at room temperature. They do best in a sealed tupperware container, but ideally one that has a venting lid so they don’t get mushy as they sit. This can heppen when you’re using sub simple and fresh ingredients!
Substitutions
There a few substitutions you can make with this recipe, one is the sugar. The maple syrup should stay the same, but in place of light brown sugar you can use regular white sugar or even coconut sugar, though that will make the color darker. You can make these oil free by subbing the one tablespoon of oil for an extra tablespoon of applesauce, but the donuts will taste much lighter.
Gluten free baking is a complicated science and even the slightest change can throw things off, so please follow the recipe for best results! The combination of almond flour, white rice flour and potato starch is what gives these donuts the perfect texture. There unfortunately are no flour subs.
You’ll also love..
- Vegan Oatmeal Muffins
- Caramelized Banana Oatmeal
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Baked Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal
Lastly, if you want more recipes straight to your inbox, be sure to subscribe to my email list. As always, tag me on instagram if you make this recipe so I can see your creation!
Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Ingredients
Dry:
- 3/4 cup fine blanched almond flour
- 3/4 cup white rice flour
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp potato starch (NOT potato flour)
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet:
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 cup apple sauce
- 1 tbsp oil (I used avocado)
- 1/2 cup milk (I used almond)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Coating:
- 1/4 cup melted vegan butter (I like Earth Balance and Miyoko's)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Lightly grease two 6 cavity donut pans (if you only have one, don't worry, you'll just need to do 2 rounds since this recipe makes 8). Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. Be sure to spoon and level the dry ingredients into the measuring cups. They should just naturally fall in, do not pack them in!
- Whisk in the wet ingredients until a smooth batter forms.
- Add about 1/4 cup worth of batter to each donut cavity, it will depend on your pan, but 1/4 cup is generally what I use. You should have about 1/4-1/8 of an inch between the batter and the top of the pan.
- Add to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. My oven is perfect at 14. They should be rounded at the top and a toothpick should come out clean. A few crumbs is ok, but no wet batter.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
- Flip over onto a cooling rack, they should fall right out and let cool another 5-10 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a shallow bowl and whisk together the sugar and cinnamon in a second bowl.
- Dip each donut very lightly in the butter, or brush on top, then dip in the cinnamon sugar. I flip it around in the sugar quite a few times to make sure it is well coated, and spin it around on the side to really get it on there!
- Transfer back to the cooling rack or a plate and enjoy!
Shawna
SO GOOD!! These are delicious! I just made them and only half of my house is vegan and gluten free and even the other half loved them! I love so so many of your recipes and I’m pretty happy I found your website. Thank you!!!
Claire Cary
ahh yay!! Just made my day, these are one of my favorite recipes 🙂 So glad they were a hit!
Lucija
Can I use something else instead of potato starch?
Claire Cary
Unfortunately, there is no good substitution for potato starch! But I have another gluten free donut recipe you can try instead!
Katia
Totally trying this!
Carissa E
These look scrumptious! I have been looking for a good gluten free donut 🍩 and I can’t wait to try these!!
Claire Cary
Perfect! Can’t wait to hear what you think!