These vegan gluten free donuts belong in a bakery! They’re moist, fluffy, made in just one bowl and you’d never guess they’re vegan and gluten free. With a cinnamon sugar coating, these donuts are love at first bite.
I’m making a really bold statement here considering there are almost 500 (and counting!) recipes on the blog and I love them all, but these cinnamon sugar vegan donuts might just be my absolute favorite.
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 are yeast free, can easily be made refined sugar free, oil free and are naturally gluten free and dairy free. But even without all of those things, they are still so rich and full of flavor.
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!
And since neither Dunkin Donuts nor Krispy Kreme has vegan donuts, making them from scratch is the way to go. Try my vegan muffins next!
How to make vegan gluten free donuts
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 you don’t want any 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!
How to store
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 happen when you’re using such simple and fresh ingredients like apple sauce!
I do not recommend freezing these as the texture won’t hold up well when they defrost.
Ingredient swaps
SUGAR. You can use any kind of granulated sugar in place of the light brown sugar, including coconut if you want to make these refined sugar free donuts. Just keep in mind the color will be darker than pictured.
OIL. 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.
FLOUR. 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.
Gluten free baking is a complicated science and even the slightest change can throw things off, so please follow the recipe for best results!
You’ll also love..
- Vegan Oatmeal Muffins
- Caramelized Banana Oatmeal
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
- 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
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Dry:
- ¾ cup fine blanched almond flour
- ¾ cup white rice flour
- 6 tablespoons potato starch 6 tablespoons = 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet:
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ cup apple sauce
- 1 tablespoon oil I used avocado
- ½ cup soy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coating:
- ¼ cup melted vegan butter I like Earth Balance and Miyoko's
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 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!
Kelly says
Hi Claire, these look fantastic AND I am wondering about how to make them into an Apple Cider Donut. Do you think replacing the soy milk with apple cider or reduced down apple cider (which gets some of the water out) would be ok? And or any replacement you can suggest for the maple syrup? I am going to replace applesauce with apple butter. But wondering if I can do the same with the maple syrup? Love to hear your thoughts. And appreciate any advice you can give. With Gratitude Kelly
Claire Cary says
I would use about 1 1/2 cups of apple cider and reduce it down to 1/2 cup and use that to replace the soy milk. You can also use apple pie spice in place of cinnamon in both the donuts and the sugar coating. I’d keep the maple syrup as is, but I think apple butter for apple sauce should be safe! Let me know how they turn out!
Kelly says
Thank you so much Claire, much appreciated.
Shawna says
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 says
ahh yay!! Just made my day, these are one of my favorite recipes 🙂 So glad they were a hit!
Lucija says
Can I use something else instead of potato starch?
Claire Cary says
Unfortunately, there is no good substitution for potato starch! But I have another gluten free donut recipe you can try instead!
Katia says
Totally trying this!
Carissa E says
These look scrumptious! I have been looking for a good gluten free donut 🍩 and I can’t wait to try these!!
Claire Cary says
Perfect! Can’t wait to hear what you think!