Vegan Chocolate Donuts (With a Gluten-Free Option!)
Soft, fluffy, moist, and delicious vegan chocolate donuts that are so quick and EASY to make! Top them one of two ways: with chocolate glaze OR with a vanilla sugar glaze. Either way, you’re in for a delicious treat when you make this recipe. They’re baked, not fried, and there's also an option to make them gluten-free!
Prepare your flax egg by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a small bowl, mix the milk, melted coconut oil, vanilla, and flax mixture together.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
Using a piping bag or a large Ziploc bag (see note below), pipe the mixture into each cavity of your donut pan. A spoon can be used if you don't have a bag.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and let the pan sit for a few minutes before removing the donuts.
Remove the donuts from the pan and place on a cooling rack.
While the donuts are cooling, make the glaze:
Add the powdered sugar to a small bowl (if making the chocolate glaze, add the cocoa powder, too). Add the vanilla and 2 teaspoons of milk. Mix.
Add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time until a thick glaze has formed. If the glaze is too thick to dip the donuts, add a very small amount of milk and mix until you have a thick glaze.
When the donuts have fully cooled (they don't take long!), dip the tops of each doughnut into the glaze. Repeat with all the donuts.
Place the donuts back onto the cooling rack for the excess glaze to drip off and firm up. (Place a piece of parchment paper under the rack to catch the drips!)
Notes
Note that I'm using all-purpose flour in the video that's included in this post.
Please read all of the information and FAQ info above, as well as the notes below before making this recipe.
If you are making the vegan gluten-free version of this recipe, it's important to know that every gluten-free flour blend uses different ingredients and ratios. Results will always vary when different flours are used. I tested with several different flours and the only one that worked well for me was the Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour (the one in the blue bag, not the red bag) so please know that your results may not be the same as mine if you substitute with a different gluten-free flour. This recipe will NOT work with coconut flour or any other single gluten-free flour.
If you are making the vegan gluten-free version, the batter will be very thick. That's OK! Just pipe it into the pan as-is.
A piping bag is recommended for getting the batter into the pan. If you don't have a piping bag, use a large Ziploc bag and snip off the end to stand in for a piping bag. Read the info above on how to fill the piping bag. If you don't have either, carefully spoon the batter into each doughnut cavity.
Make sure that the donuts have fully cooled before you dip them in the glaze or the glaze will absorb right into the donuts and you will end up with a mess.
It's best to eat the donuts the same day they were made. The glaze does not hold up well. If you have leftovers, refrigerate them for 1-2 days but know that the glaze may melt into the doughnut if kept for too long.
The nutrition info listed is for the vegan gluten-free version using the regular sugar glaze. The calorie count for 1 doughnut using the vegan-only recipe (using all-purpose flour) is approximately 189 calories. Nutrition info is to be used as a rough guide only, learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.