Vegan Donuts

Wondering how to make donuts at home? I’ve got the ultimate vegan guide for you! Whether you’re looking to make baked donuts or fried donuts, or are simply looking for some donut frosting ideas, this post will help!

There are two different ways to make donuts at home. You can either bake them or fry them. Let’s start with how to make fried donuts…

How to make homemade vegan fried donuts

Jump to baked donuts

I’m not going to lie, until recently, I had NEVER considered frying donuts myself at home. It just seemed too dangerous and messy.

Hearing that one of my gran’s neighbours set her home on fire by deep-frying put me off doing it completely.

But this week I decided to bite the bullet and actually realised it isn’t that complicated or dangerous (as long as you’re careful).

And I was honestly amazed at the texture frying gives them. They taste just like the ones you buy at the supermarkets.

Pros of making fried donuts at home:

• The taste and texture are more similar to store-bought donuts
• Faster to cook

Cons of making fried donuts at home:

• A lot of oil is required to fry the donuts so these are more unhealthy
• The clean up afterwards is pretty messy

This vegan fried donut recipe contains no yeast, because I like to keep my recipes as simple as possible.

And to be honest, I don’t even know where I would find it if I were to look for it.

I also didn’t have to use any vegan egg substitutes! I had planned to use flax-seeds but I accidentally left them out and the donuts turned out great anyway.

The basic dough requires just 6 ingredients, most of which you’ll probably already have at home.

The wildest ingredient I included is vegan butter, but that can be easily found at almost all supermarkets these days.

Want more vegan desserts? Try these:

• Mini lemon loaf cakes
• Carrot cupcakes
• French macarons
• Oreo cheesecake bites

If you can’t get hold of it, you can substitute it for an equal amount of coconut oil (this may alter the taste slightly) or non-vegan butter if you’re not vegan.

How to make donuts from scratch by frying

Step 1: Make “buttermilk” by mixing plant-based milk with either lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Leave to sit aside for 5 minutes or so.

Step 2: Mix together your flour, baking powder and sugar.

Step 3: Add in your buttermilk. Then add the melted butter.

Step 4: Gently combine the ingredients together using a spoon. Then use your hands to form a soft dough.

Step 5: Roll out your dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut out your donut shapes using a cookie cutter or a small glass. You can also make ring donuts by cutting a smaller circle in the middle.

Keep re-rolling the leftover dough until it’s all used.

How to fry donuts without a deep fryer.

There’s no need for a deep-fat fryer here. All you’ll need is a pan that is at least a few inches deep, and some cooking oil.

The pan just needs about 2-3 inches of oil for your donuts to brown beautifully.

Note: Oil temperature is crucial here!

Why is this, you may ask?

If it’s not hot enough, you’ll end up with soggy, greasy donuts. And if it’s too hot, your donuts will be raw inside.

You can test the oil temperature by placing a small piece of dough into it.

If it’s the oil is not hot enough, the dough will sink and/or produce no bubbles. If it’s too hot, it will be splashing and spluttering.

You want the dough to immediately start bubbling and float to the top. That’s when you know it’s the perfect temperature.

Step 6: Fry the donut shapes in a pan for about 1 minute each side until golden brown. Place on some towel or a rack to cool completely.

Step 7: Once cooled, decorate however you like. See decorating homemade donuts.

Next, let’s look at how to make donuts at home in the oven.

A delicious variety of baked vegan donuts![/caption]

Baked donuts are the first kind of donuts I ever made. I was gifted some donut pans and soon came up with my delicious Biscoff donuts recipe!

For this particular recipe, you will need a donut mould because the batter is quite runny. I use these ones from Amazon.

Pros of making baked donuts:

• Little to no mess
• A lot healthier than frying
• Kid-friendly for little helpers!

Cons of making baked donuts:

• Requires a mould or donut pan
• The texture isn’t quite as accurate as store-bought donuts (still delicious though!)

How to make donuts from scratch by baking

Step 1: Mix your flour, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl.

Step 2: Add your plant-based milk, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix until smooth.

Step 3: Divide your mixture into the donut moulds and bake for around 30 minutes until lightly browned.

Step 4: Leave to cool completely before decorating.

Not sure what to put on homemade donuts? Here are some topping ideas!

*** Please note that each topping recipe will only coat 2-3 donuts (so you can make a variety). Make sure you multiply the quantities as required. ***

Glazed

The classic icing sugar glaze for donuts:

• 60g (½ cup) powdered sugar
• 4 Teaspoons plant-based milk
• ½ Teaspoon vanilla

Biscoff

• 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Lotus Biscoff spread
• 1-2 Tablespoons plant-based milk (depending how runny you want it)

I also used a few crushed Lotus Biscoff cookies and one whole on top. Is Biscoff vegan?

Raspberry glaze

• 60g (½ cup) powdered sugar
• 5 raspberries (mashed with a fork)
• 1 Tablespoon plant-based milk
• 1/2 Teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Teaspoon edible glitter (optional)

Mix all ingredients together then strain the seeds from the raspberries using a sieve.

Vanilla

• 60g (½ cup) powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon plant-based milk
• ½ Teaspoon vanilla

Oreo

Vanilla glaze recipe, topped with crushed Oreos.

Lemon

• 60g  (½ cup) powdered sugar
• 4 Teaspoons plant-based milk
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice

Top with lemon zest.

Coconut cream

• 1 Tablespoon coconut cream (the thick part from canned coconut milk)
• 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

Top with desiccated coconut.

Cinnamon sugar

• 50g (¼ cup) caster sugar + 1 Teaspoon cinnamon

Roll donut in sugar mix until completely coated.

Peanut butter chocolate

• 1 Tablespoon peanut butter
• 1-2 Tablespoons plant-based milk (depending how runny you want it to be)
• 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

Melt 10-20g (1-2 squares) of dark chocolate and drizzle on top.

Peanut butter glaze

• 1 Tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons plant-based milk

Powdered sugar

• 60g/ ½ cup powdered sugar

Lightly brush the donuts with plant-based milk or melted butter then roll the donuts in the powdered sugar.

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I hope to see you making your own homemade donuts soon- be sure to tag me on Instagram @bakedbyclo if you do!

Happy baking.

xo

4.5 from 6 votes

Print

How To Make Homemade Donuts

Two easy homemade donut recipes! **calorie info is for baked donuts without frosting**

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword homemade baked donuts

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 8 donuts

Calories 211 kcal

Ingredients

For baked donuts

• 200 g Plain flour (1 + 1/2 cups)
• 1 Teaspoon Baking powder
• 150 g Caster sugar (3/4 cup)
• 60 g Vegan butter, melted (4 Tablespoons)
• 200 ml Plant-based milk (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon)
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract

For fried donuts

• 140 ml Plant-based milk (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp)
• 1 Teaspoon Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
• 200 g Plain flour (1 + 1/2 cups)
• 1 Teaspoon Baking powder
• 50 g Caster sugar (1/4 cup)
• 45 g Vegan butter, melted (3 Tablespoons)
• Vegetable oil (for frying)

Instructions

For baked donuts

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F and have a donut mold ready. (I used a silicone mold from Amazon)

2. Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl.

3. Add the melted butter, milk and vanilla and fold in gently.

4. Carefully spoon the mixture into the donut pan (will make roughly 8 donuts).

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and leave to cool completely in the pan.

6. Remove donuts from the pan and decorate. See post above for frosting ideas and recipes.

For fried donuts

1. Mix the milk and lemon juice/ vinegar together using a fork then set aside. (this will make vegan buttermilk)

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar.

3. Add in the melted butter and the buttermilk. Combine gently with a metal spoon, then use your hands to form a soft dough.

4. Lightly flour your surface and roll out the dough to about 2 inches thick. Cut out donut shapes using a cookie cutter or bottom of a small glass. Re-roll the dough and repeat until it is all used. (will make 8-10 donuts)

5. Fill up a pot or pan with about 2-3 inches of oil and put on medium-high heat. 

6. You can test if the oil is hot enough by placing a small piece of dough into the pan. If the oil is ready, the dough should immediately start bubbling and float to the top.

7. Place your donuts, a few at a time, into the oil using a spatula. Fry for around 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown. Remove the donuts and place them on some kitchen paper to cool completely.

8. Ice or fill your donuts however you like. See post above for some frosting ideas and recipes.

Recipe Video

Nutrition Facts

How To Make Homemade Donuts

Amount Per Serving (1 baked donut)

Calories 211 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Sodium 114mg5%

Carbohydrates 37g12%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 19g21%

Protein 3g6%

* All values are an estimate only and will vary depending on the food brands used.