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’ve made these donuts a couple of times and they are amazing!! I’m going to a friend’s house this week for breakfast and he requested these because he loved them so much when he tried them before. I’m going early, so there won’t be time to bake the morning of…do you think it would be better to bake the donuts the day before and dip in the butter and cinnamon sugar the next day (the day I’m bringing them) or to make the recipe as written the day before? Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you love the donuts, Lyla! You can definitely bake the donuts the night before and dip them in the cinnamon sugar the next morning. This is much better than dipping them the night before (as they will become soggy overnight). Happy cooking!
These are incredible. Its so hard to find essy and delicious vegan desserts.
I used muffin trays and moulded some foil into spikes for donut trays. I also made a second batch for my Aunty who can’t have vegan butter, and I can say that both batches turned out great!
These will definitely be a staple for us from now on hehe.
Thanks Nora.
Greetings from Australia.
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, Mia! I’m so glad the DIY muffin tin worked out for you.
Just okay. The taste was pretty good (can’t go wrong with cinnamon and sugar). but the texture was very off. It was very chewy, gooey, and dense.
The weird texture may have been because I made a bunch of substitutes. Instead of wheat flour, I used a GF blend called namaste. Also, I used maple sugar instead of cane sugar. And Lastly, I used cashew milk instead of soymilk.
jus overall very disappointing.
thanks, Noracooks for all your other good recipes!
Hi there, yes the texture was so different because you basically made a different recipe. 🙂
Any thoughts on why mine did not rise? I’m sure I didn’t miss any ingredients (baking powder namely). My only thought is that my toddler started mixing the butter into the dry ingredients before we added the rest and it started to get a bit clumpy, maybe it captured a bit of the powder? I’m sure I did something wrong, I’ve made your pancakes without a hitch several times!
Hi Jay. There could be a few reasons why the donuts didn’t rise (old baking powder, warm or cold ingredients, over mixing, etc.) but in this case, it’s probably because the ingredients weren’t incorporated in the correct order.
Hmmm, the baking powder is pretty new and there weren’t any notable temp differences, so it seems like the butter going in first and the little guy going rogue must have done it. Thank you, I’ll try again!
Super easy to make and delicious every time! My dairy/egg allergic kids absolutely love these and so does everyone else. I’ve been making these for a couple years now and they never disappoint. I splurged for a couple donuts pans, just for this recipe and they’ve been put to a lot of use!
I’m so glad that your family is loving the donuts! I love easy and delicious! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and review!
Just made these for the first time. My adult children loved them, as did I! They taste like the mini doughnuts sold at fairs, except not soaked in oil. Will definitely be making these again. Thanks for the recipe ❤️??
You are welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the donuts! Thank you for sharing your feedback!
So good! Our staple donut recipe, the kids love them – and the adults too!! Thanks for the great and easy recipe 🙂
You are welcome, Valeria! I’m glad the donuts are a favorite at your home! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Is there any sub for the applesauce
Yes, an extra tablespoon of melted vegan butter will work instead.
This is my first time making donuts so I wasn’t expecting the first time and the first recipe to be a success but it was perfection! Entire family (even the non vegans) loved them!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! I’m so glad you loved the donuts!
We flipped our muffin pan upside down to make the donut shape because we have no donut pan. It worked but they were large. And we made donut holes as well, which were even more of a bit sized treat that can be filled with vegan jam.
These were amazingly easy and delicious my son made them. Thank you for the recipe.
So glad you were able to make these without a donut pan! Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and comments!
This and you chocolate donuts where my first two recipes I try to be yours, I was so surprised with how easy the recipes were and how soft and delicious the donuts were. The cinnamon donuts in my opinion didn’t even need the cinnamon sugar topping but I do admit that next time I make them I will definitely double the recipe! I am so happy that there are resources out there for vegans like us thank you for helping me find my way though this Journey much appreciated!
Hi Heather. I am so glad that you are enjoying my recipes! Thank you for sharing your feedback about my donuts! Wishing you happy cooking!
No wonder why this recipe has five stars! My husband and son love it so now I make it about 2 times a week. They do like it with 2 tablespoons chocolate chips which makes it even tastier. I was wondering if you tried making it with other toppings like maybe fruits or nuts or anything else that can possibly be added. I used almond milk instead of soy and still comes out yummy. Thank you!
I’m so glad your family loves the donuts! I haven’t tried adding any other toppings but finely chopped pecans, pumpkin spice, or raisins could be tasty in the batter.
Hi Nora! Have you made mini doughnuts with this recipe? I’ve got a very cute little mini doughnut pan and I’m just itching to try it out, but if that won’t work I’ll just use a big one! Thanks so much!
Yes, this will work in a mini doughnut pan! Enjoy!
If you make this in a mini donut pan, how would the cook time change?
Mini donuts only need to bake for about 7 to 10 minutes.
These are FANTASTIC! I followed the recipe exactly and they are fluffy and delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! I’m so glad you love the donuts!
YUMMMMMM. Need to double this recipe next time! My husband and I demolished them all in minutes. Took them out after 10 minutes, and seemed it could have used another minute or 2, but that could just be my oven.
Vegan donuts are so hard to find in my area – so grateful for this recipe! Came together super quick too.
Hi Emily! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed the donuts. Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and feedback!
These are excellent! Tender, delicious rings of cinnamon sweetness! Non-vegan hubby can’t get enough, I made them twice so far! Looking forward to trying the other donut recipes on your site. Thanks for all you do Nora, keep up the great work!
Diane
Thank you, Diane! I appreciate your encouraging wards! I’m glad you guys are loving the donuts. We love them at our place, for sure! Thank you for sharing your great review and feedback!
fifth time making those and thought i should leave a review
LOVE LOVE LOVE them
the decoration and flavor options are unlimited
everyone loves the texture and taste
thank you so much for the recipe
Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and feedback! I’m glad you love the donuts! Happy cooking!
Well I won’t be cutting back on the sweets after finding this recipe I made two batches in one for a family of five we barley have leftovers ?
Hi Brittany! I’m glad the donuts are a hit! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and review!
AmaZing! The whole family loved! Easy to make too!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! Glad you and your family love the donuts!
I’m so excited to try this!
I don’t have a donut pan- is it possible to use this recipe for donut holes? Thank you xo!
It would probably work well as donut holes, yes! You could make them in a mini muffin pan perhaps.
Amazing… Easy to make and even better to eat. I baked mine with a mini donut pan… So good. It was hard to stop eating.
Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and comments! I’m so glad you love the donuts!
i love them!!!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you love them!
There were fantastic! I suffer from autoimmune issues and recently has food sensitivity testing done for me and my daughter. We both came back with 6 of the top 8 allergens as food sensitivities so it been hard to find any store bought subs that don’t include egg or soy. We double batched the recipe and subbed gluten free flour for regular flour and coconut oil for the butter in the donuts. I ate mine with out the cinnamon sugar coating to avoid the extra sugar for autoimmune issues but coated the rest for family. My daughter’s day was totally made and felt like she had something “normal” that everyone else could have. Rave reviews all around in this house! It’s a keep for sure.
Hi Kristen. Sounds like a challenging time for you and your daughter. I’m thrilled that you guys were able to eat the donuts, and that you loved them! Thank you for sharing your great review and comments!
So easy to make and turned out absolutely delicious. I couldn’t find applesauce in the store so I quickly boiled and mashed an apple and was perfect!
Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and comments! I’m so glad you loved the donuts!
These are a WIN! I made them for the fam and then brought a batch to my donut loving co-workers. Everyone loved them and came looking for more…good thing they are so easy to make. Thank you!
Hi Rachel! I’m so glad the donuts were a hit with your co-workers! Thank you for taking time to share your fun comments! Happy cooking!