Ginger Donuts

These baked ginger donuts are infused with pears and topped with a vanilla drizzle, making them a sweet treat for your breakfast menu. Spiced with ground ginger, these donuts bring out the tenderness and flavor in each bite.

Several ginger donuts sit on a baking rack. They have icing drizzled over the top.

What Makes This Recipe Shine?

  • Pear and ginger work wonderfully together so adding a pear to these donuts makes them even better
  • Adding ground ginger infuses these donuts with lots of ginger flavor
  • Ground nutmeg is a secret donut ingredient, giving these baked donuts lots of bakery-fresh donut flavor!

Key Ingredients

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:

  • Flour — I use all-purpose flour, but you can substitute whole wheat pastry flour.
  • Coconut sugar — You can find coconut sugar at health food stores and the health food section of most major grocery stores. You can substitute granulated sugar.
  • Ground nutmeg
  • Salt
  • Baking soda + Baking powder — Make sure yours is fresh! Test a bit of baking soda with vinegar or a bit of baking powder with hot water. If it bubbles, then your batch is good.
  • Ground ginger
  • Vegan Butter — I prefer using storebought Earth Balance ButterySticks or Miyokos. Or you can make homemade vegan butter. I do not recommend tub margarine as it is too soft for most baked goods.
  • Flax Egg — I usd a flax egg, but you can substitute a chia seed egg.
  • Plant-based milk — Use any favorite plant-based milk such as soy milk, almond milk, etc.
  • Pear — Use a fresh pear.
A mound of ground ginger sits in front of whole and cut fresh ginger.

What Ginger is Best for Donuts?

Culinary ginger is made from the root of a flowering plant. The root has pale, thin skin that can be easily peeled off with a spoon. Ground ginger is made by drying fresh ginger and grinding it up into a fine powder. You can substitute 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger for a tablespoon of fresh ginger. For this recipe, using ground ginger works best.

How to Make Ginger Donuts

  1. Stir together dry ingredients from the flour to the ground ginger.
  2. Stir ground flax seeds, water, and plant-based milk with melted vegan butter.
  3. Add the chopped pear to the flour mixture and stir until the pear pieces are coated.
  4. Stir together the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  5. Spoon the batter into the donut compartments, filling them generously and equally.
  6. Bake until the donuts are done and slightly golden on the edges.
  7. Prepare the topping by stirring together the powdered sugar and the plant-based milk.
  8. Drizzle baked donuts with icing.

Here are more detailed step-by-step instructions.

Step One: Mix Dry Ingredients

In a bowl, add the flour, coconut sugar, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda, baking powder, and ground ginger. Stir to combine.

Step Two: Mix Wet Ingredients

  1. In a microwaveable bowl, place the vegan butter. Heat for 20 to 30 seconds, until the butter is melted. Add the ground flax seeds, water, and plant-based milk. Stir to combine.
  2. Add the chopped pear to the flour mixture and stir until the pear pieces are coated. Then pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently fold, stirring until combined.

Step Three: Spoon and Bake

Use a spoon or carefully pour the batter into the donut compartments, filling them generously and equally. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until the donuts are done and slightly golden on the edges.

A donut pan has compartments full of batter.

Step Four: Drizzle and Enjoy

  1. Prepare the drizzle by pouring the powdered sugar into a bowl. Add the plant-based milk and stir to combine.
  2. Add more powdered sugar or milk to achieve a desired, spreadable consistency.
  3. Once the donuts are done, remove them from the oven and cool for several minutes.
  4. Once they’re cool enough to handle, remove them from the pan and place on a wire rack.
  5. Drizzle the top of each donut with icing. Serve warm!
A hand holds an icing bag and is drizzling icing over donuts.

Serving Suggestions

Serve these donuts as a fun breakfast treat or snack with any of the following:

Storage Tips

Store donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to 10 days. They can be frozen in freezer-safe containers or bags for up to 2 months.

Do Baked Donuts Taste like Fried Donuts?

Baked donuts taste amazingly like fried donuts but without the added oils from deep-frying. Another option to keep your donuts healthier is to make air fryer donuts.

Reader Reviews

★★★★★
These came together very quickly and easily and were *so* good… My whole family devoured them. I will be making these again and trying more of your recipes. Thanks so much!

Erica

More Vegan Donuts

If you love these ginger donuts, here are even more vegan donut recipes to try and enjoy:

There are several ginger donuts stacked on a baking rack, one with a bite taken out. There's a pear and a blue kitchen towel in the background.
A hand holds an icing bag and is drizzling icing over Vegan Baked Ginger Pear Donuts

Baked Ginger Donuts

These vegan ginger donuts are topped with vanilla drizzle making, them a sweet, ginger-spiced treat for your breakfast menu. Made with chopped pears and spiced with ground ginger, you'll love the tenderness and flavor in each bite. A perfect indulgence!
5 from 5 votes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 248kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup coconut sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3 tablespoons vegan butter
  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • ¾ cup plant-based milk , vanilla
  • ½ pear , cored and chopped

Vanilla Drizzle

Instructions

  • Heat your oven to 350°F/180°C. Spray compartments of a regular-size donut pan with vegetable spray.
  • In a bowl, add the flour, coconut sugar, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda, baking powder, and ground ginger. Stir to combine.
  • In a microwaveable bowl, place the vegan butter. Heat for 20 to 30 seconds, until the butter is melted. Add the ground flax seeds, water, and plant-based milk. Stir to combine.
  • Add the chopped pear to the flour mixture and stir until the pear pieces are coated. Then pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently fold, stirring until combined.
  • Use a spoon or carefully pour the batter into the donut compartments, filling them generously and equally. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until the donuts are done and slightly golden on the edges.
  • In the meantime, prepare the glaze by pouring the powdered sugar into a bowl. Add the plant-based milk and stir to combine. Add more powdered sugar or milk to achieve a desired, spreadable consistency.
  • Once the donuts are done, remove them from the oven and cool for several minutes. Once they're cool enough to handle, remove them from the pan and place on a wire rack. Drizzle the top of each donut with icing. Serve warm.

Recommended Equipment

(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)

Notes

If you don’t have coconut sugar handy, brown sugar works here too. 
Calories: 248kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 374mg | Potassium: 159mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 1.5mg

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.

5 Responses to Ginger Donuts

  1. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyErica Reply

    5 stars
    These came together very quickly and easily and were *so* good. I swapped cinnamon for the ginger because I have toddlers who are sensitive to spice, and I didn’t put as much milk in the glaze (my own personal preference). My whole family devoured them. I will be making these again and trying more of your recipes. Thanks so much!

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      Thanks, Erica. So glad you liked these donuts!

  2. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyLeona Mcmillen Reply

    5 stars
    You are so creative. I love this!

  3. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyStefani Reply

    I am tickled beyond belief to find this in my inbox today! As it is fall in our hemisphere, pears are in season (and honestly, people who hate pears are just weird), so I’m totally down with this wonderful alternative to the ubiquitous apple cider donut – not that those aren’t also terribly tasty.

    I also occasionally eat honey. I support local beekeepers back home. As anyone who can read knows by now, bees continue to be threatened by agricultural poisons. As anyone who can reason knows is that sometimes the only reason that convinces anyone to protect anything has to do with the wallet, so if everyone stopped eating honey to ‘protect’ the bees, there would be no reason for beekeepers, there would be no financial incentive to protect bees (yes, politicians are that dumb), and soon, there would be no more bees. That’s my reason, anyway.

    Have a great weekend, everyone, and happy donut eating.

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      Thanks, Stefani. I agree with you so much about honey. Supporting local and/or organic beekeepers is a way of supporting bees. Besides, my theory, also, is that there is no way to live 100% without impacting animals in some way. I buy vegan products at a health food store or local grocery store and they both also sell meat products. I could go on. At some point we have to draw a line. I choose not to judge others for where that line comes for them. For me, honey is a natural sweetener and supports bees.

      And yes, happy donut eating weekends for ALL! ❤️

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