Meet Alex Caspero
Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
Glazed Vegan Donuts! This recipe is so fun and customizable. Make vanilla or chocolate baked donuts then top with a simple sugar glaze or chocolate glaze.
My kids love donuts. I can’t remember when they were first introduced to them, but ever since it’s become one of their most requested sweet treats when out shopping or at the market. Well, that and croissants but that’s a story for another day.
Therefore, I knew that I wanted to have a killer homemade donut recipe — and here it is. Vegan donuts that can be made as either vanilla or chocolate cake donuts, then covered in a homemade glaze. Whether you call them donuts or doughnuts, you are going to love these baked cake vegan donuts!
You just need a handful of ingredients to make these baked donuts. They are also incredibly customizable, to be either vanilla or chocolate flavored.
Cardamom is citrusy, floral and warm- it’s like cinnamon but better. I love it with the vanilla in this donut recipe, but if you don’t have ground cardamom then I recommend ground cinnamon instead.
If you want to make chocolate vegan donuts, then add in 1/4 cup cocoa powder and 1/4 cup more non-dairy milk.
This recipe makes 8 regular donuts, but you can make this recipe into mini donuts using a mini donut pan and halving the cooking time.
Instructions for how to make baked donuts
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom or cinnamon
Stir together milk, applesauce, melted butter and vanilla extract together in a small bowl, then pour into the dry ingredients. The batter will be thick like a pancake batter.
Place into a piping bag or ziploc bag, then cut off the corner if using a ziploc bag. Pipe into a lightly greased donut pan, filling about 3/4 of the way full. Alternatively, you can spoon into the prepared donut pan.
Place the donuts in a 350 degree oven and bake for 9-10 minutes, until the donuts spring back lightly to the touch.
Now it’s time to glaze the donuts. You can do this using either a vanilla glaze or a chocolate glaze depending on your preference of flavors. If you go with the vanilla glaze, then you can add a few drops of food coloring to tint thee glaze to any color you’d like. This is the plant-based food coloring that I use, along with natural color sprinkles.
Because I’ve opted not to deep-fry these donuts, I find that they need to have some type of glaze on top to complete sweetness that’s associated with donuts and for optimal texture. Don’t skip it!
Whisk together the powdered sugar, non-dairy milk of choice, vanilla and dairy-free melted butter together until smooth and creamy.
For a chocolate glaze: Make the frosting, along with 1/2 cup of melted chocolate chips and a tablespoon of more non-dairy milk to help thin.
To make a lemon glaze: Swap in fresh lemon juice for the non-dairy milk in the glaze recipe
For a coconut glaze: Swap in coconut milk for the non-dairy milk, then sprinkle on toasted coconut on top of the donuts after frosted
Once the donuts are cool, dip into the glaze then place on a cooling rack and sprinkle with toppings while the frosting is still wet. I typically dip, let sit for a minute, then dip again.
This vegan donut recipe is such a fun dessert to make, especially if you have kids! Have them help you pipe the donut batter into the pan and dipping the finished donuts into the frosting.
If you try these vegan glazed donuts, let me know! Make sure to come back to leave a rating and a comment. Seeing you make my recipes makes my day and your feedback helps other readers.
PrintGlazed Vegan Donuts! This recipe is so fun and customizable. Make vanilla or chocolate baked donuts then top with a simple sugar glaze or chocolate glaze.
For the donuts:
Glazed Frosting:
*For a chocolate donut, add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and an additional 1/4 cup non-dairy milk.
** For a chocolate frosting, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips then add to the frosting along with 1-2 tablespoons non-dairy milk to thin. To make colors, add in a drop of food coloring of choice.
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(3 comments) leave a comment
Thank you so much for the easy donut recipe!! I made a batch of vanilla and chocolate mini donuts for my birthday. Wow they are yummy and soft. My daughters and grandkids loved them too. I will definitely be making them again. I am gluten-free and vegan and haven’t found a bakery that can make a donut like this…
So glad to hear!
These are so easy and so yummy! I have made them twice for larger groups that needed treats. Thanks for the stress free, plant based recipe! (both chocolate and vanilla donuts made)
★★★★★