Vegan Gluten-Free Donuts
These soft and tender vegan gluten-free donuts are baked, delicious, and gluten-free! Serve them with pink icing and sprinkles on top!
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For something a little different, try adding some vegan ganache on top.
I love a good donut on the weekend. These kinds of indulgences as part of a healthy diet keep things fun and interesting. These gluten-free donuts are baked, not fried, and are still just as delicious.
To be honest, I prefer baked donuts over fried, unless you’re talking about air fryer donuts. That’s why these gluten-free baked donuts are the way to go. Are they healthy donuts?
Well, they are healthier than fried donuts, but I still look at them as an indulgent treat.
Ingredients & Substitutions
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.
- Non-dairy milk — I prefer using soy milk because it has higher protein, but any plant-based milk will work.
- Vinegar — I use apple cider vinegar, but you can substitute lemon juice or another vinegar.
- Gluten-free flour — Be sure to use a high-quality, 1:1 baking flour.
- Sugar— You can use granulated sugar, which is what I used to keep these donuts light in color. Or substitute brown sugar or coconut sugar.
- Nutmeg — Ground nutmeg is a favorite secret ingredient when making donuts. If using freshly ground nutmeg, you can reduce the quantity a little bit. Although I highly recommend nutmeg, you can substitute pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon.
- Vegan butter — You’ll need a couple of tablespoons of melted vegan butter. Make sure your vegan butter says it’s suitable for baking.
- Vanilla extract — We’ll add more flavor to these donuts by adding vanilla extract to the batter.
How to Make Vegan Gluten-Free Donuts
- Make vegan buttermilk by stirring together plant-based milk with vinegar.
- Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl.
- Stir together vegan buttermilk, melted butter, water, and vanilla.
- Make the batter by stirring together the milk mixture and the flour mixture.
- Spoon the batter into prepared donut pan compartments.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the donuts are golden brown.
- Dip donuts in the glaze and top with sprinkles.
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Adding ground nutmeg is a secret ingredient that magically creates that delicious donut flavor
- Using a high-quality gluten-free flour creates
- Adding vinegar creates a chemical reaction, adding leavening, and making the donuts light and fluffy.
Frequently-Asked Questions
What egg replacer is best for vegan gluten-free donuts?
Actually, as long as you’re using a high quality, 1:1 gluten-free flour, no additional egg replacer is necessary. Most gluten-free flours contain starches that can also serve as a binder for donut batter.
Why do you add nutmeg to donuts?
You may not realize this, but nutmeg is the secret ingredient added by most bakeries to create that distinctive donut flavor. Try making donuts without it and you’ll see how bland the finished donut it is!
Serving Suggestions
Serve your baked donuts with your favorite beverage, hot or cold. Some of my favorites are:
Storage Tips
Store donuts in an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for up to 4 or 5 days, or in the fridge for up to 10 days. Store in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 2 months.
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Vegan Donuts
If you love vegan donut recipes, here are some favorites to make your weekend so special:
Vegan Gluten-Free Donuts
Ingredients
Vegan Donuts
- ½ cup plant-based milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (see notes)
- 1 ½ cup gluten-free flour (high-quality baking flour)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pink Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons plant-based creamer * See notes for chocolate glaze
- 1 drop organic pink food coloring
- Optional: sprinkles
Instructions
For the Vegan Donuts:
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Coat donut pan compartments with vegetable spray.
- Make vegan buttermilk by stirring together milk with vinegar. Set it aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients from the flour to the salt. Stir to combine. Set aside
- In another bowl, combine vegan buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
- Stir together the milk mixture and the flour mixture until large lumps of flour are no longer visible.
- Spoon the batter into prepared donut pans, approximately 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter per donut compartment. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl and get every last bit of batter in the bowl.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the donuts are golden around the edges.
For the Glaze:
- While the donuts are baking, stir together the glaze ingredients. If you prefer chocolate glaze, skip the food coloring and instead add a tablespoon of cocoa powder.
- Once the donuts are done, let them cool enough so you can handle them. Dip each donut into the glaze. Icing the donuts while they're still warms helps coat each donut evenly and will create a crispy crust on the icing.
- While the icing is still wet, add favorite toppings like chopped nuts, colorful sprinkles, coconut flakes, and more.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. They can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Recommended Equipment
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
Notes
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.
About the Author
Hi! I’m Marly McMillen. I’m the founding editor, author, recipe developer, vegan home chef, and food stylist behind Namely Marly. I’m so grateful to you and every member of my audience for your support and dedication. More about Namely Marly ›
32 Responses to Vegan Gluten-Free Donuts
Rate / Comment
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Hi there!
I just pulled these donuts out of the oven & they smell great, but don’t look quite right. They sunk a bit. I had to swap a few things for allergies in my daughter’s class. Which thing was it? I swapped GF flour for almond flour, sugar for coconut sugar & vegan butter for coconut oil. Thanks for your help!
Hi Katelyn. Thanks for your comment! I applaud you for baking with allergies in mind – it can be so challenging! I believe the sugar and butter substitutions were fine, but the almond flour in place of GF flour is where the problem lies. Gluten-free flour has been formulated to rise thanks to additions like xanthan gum and starches. Almond meal or flour doesn’t have that so it doesn’t have anything to act as a binder. I wonder if you could add a tablespoon or two of cornstarch? Or if that won’t work for allergies, you could consider arrowroot powder or potato starch. This alone will make a big difference, but if you can swing it, I would also highly recommend 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum. But honestly, the starch should help a lot. So, here’s my suggestions: 1/3 c plant-based. milk, 1 T apple cider vinegar, 1 C almond flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch (or arrowroot powder or other starch), 1 T ground flaxseeds, 1/2 cup sugar or coconut sugar, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp gr nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 T coconut oil, 1 tsp vanilla. I have not tested this, so when you mix it together if it’s too dry, add a teaspoon or so of plant-based milk. You want the batter to be thick, but not too thick. You should be able to spoon it into the donut pan compartments. If it’s too wet, the donuts will not rise much. That’s why I prefer a thicker dough. I hope this makes sense. Feel free to email me if you’d like to discuss this more. marly at namely marly dot com.
These were so delicious and satisfying, and this is coming from a former donut addict; I’m thriIled to have found this recipe. I used bob redmills all purpose gf flour, and doubled the glaze recipe so I could glaze the entire donut. I rolled each donut in toasted coconut. So yummy!
Hi Heather! I’m so glad you liked these donuts, especially with your expertise in the topic! I love using Bob’s GF flour – it works so well. Great idea to double the glaze and toasted coconut is brilliant!
Hi, I tried the recipe and overall the came out good. But they has a sand texture at the end.
Question why what i can substitute the nutmeg because my son have anaphylaxis to gluten,eggs,dairy, nuts,oatsand barley.
Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Eva! I’m so glad you gave the recipe a try! A sandy texture can sometimes happen with gluten-free flours since they all behave a little differently. If you’d like a softer texture next time, you might try lightly spooning the flour into the measuring cup and leveling it off, rather than scooping directly from the bag, which can sometimes pack in too much. Also, if the batter seems too thick or dry before baking, try adding an extra tablespoon of plant-based milk to help with moisture.
For a nutmeg substitute, you can try ground cinnamon or ground ginger for a similar warm flavor. I’m not sure if these spices work for your son’s allergies or not. If not, you can leave the spices out entirely.
I appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback, and I hope your next batch of donuts turns out even better!
Is it possible to add shredded apple or carrot or zucchini to add some nutrients to them?
Hi Elena. Yes, you can add shredded veggies to these donuts, such as the ones. you mention. I think the carrot has the best chance of not adding too much moisture, whereas the zucchini might be tricky. If you want to add zucchini, be sure to squeeze out any of the extra moisture that you can. I would love to hear from you how this goes!
Sorry, I meant to say donut holes, so I’d be rolling it into a ball.
I’m planning to make this vegan gluten free donuts this weekend. What do I do differently if I’m deep frying it?
I have always baked these donuts, but if I was going to fry them, I would want the batter to be thicker so you can roll it out and cut the donut shapes. I would begin by increasing the Gluten-free flour from 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups. I might even consider adding 1/4 cup of starch (like potato starch, tapioca flour, or even cornstarch) to make that batter stiffer. I hope this is helpful. I would love to hear how it goes!
Sorry, I meant to say donut holes, so I’d be rolling it into a ball.
Don’t have donut pan, can muffin pan be used?
Hi PJ. You can definitely use the batter for these baked donuts to make muffins instead. Here are some tips to do that: 1) Adjust Baking Time: Since muffins are typically larger than donuts, the baking time may need to be adjusted. 2) Keep a close eye on them and start checking for doneness a bit earlier than the recommended donut baking time. 3) Fill Muffin Cups Properly: Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. This should help achieve a nice, rounded muffin top. 4) Temperature Adjustment: Consider lowering the oven temperature slightly (about 25°F or 15°C) compared to the donut recipe to ensure even baking without over-browning. 5) Test Doneness: Use a toothpick or a cake tester to check for doneness. Insert it into the center of a muffin, and if it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs (not wet batter), they’re ready.
I’m assuming you meant to include the salt when mixing together the dry ingredients. I have these donuts in the oven now. They’ve been in there for about 22 min so far and not golden brown yet. I hope I’m not cooking them too long!
Hi Tiffany. Thanks for your note. Yes, I adapted the recipe to be more clear about the dry ingredients. I also changed it to note that the donuts should get golden colored around the edges. A lot of gluten-free flours don’t actually achieve a brown color. I hope you enjoyed these donuts!
Hey Marly,
so excited to find a gluten free dairy free and egg free donut recipe. I have those three allergies or sensitivities so I was sad I had to give up donuts from Dunkin’ cause those are the main ingredients. So asking the question is 6 donuts the amount that it makes and is that the one serving? Or is it one per donut as a serving?
Hi Jeremiah! So sorry to hear about your allergies/sensitivities! But glad you’re finding ways to eat that makes you feel better! This recipe makes 6 donuts and one donut per serving. Of course, you can have more than one at a serving, but the nutrition estimates provides are for one donut. I hope this is helpful!
This was an extremely dense donut.
I followed every step and used the exact ingredients and batter came out like playdoh.
While scooping batter, the donuts seemed very thick. I was able to make 6 regular size and 8 mini sized donuts with this recipe.
The tops were very ugly and not very esthetically pretty.
The taste was close to a scone.
Not sure what went wrong with mine but I followed everything to the T.
I don’t recommend this recipe.
Hi there. I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience with this recipe. Feel free to email me if you’d like to discuss the process I used to make it. I’ll be sharing a video on this recipe on social soon too. It’s one of our favorites here!
Just made these and I like the flavor. The dough came out pretty dense (I could form donut holes from it). I’ll try it again with the flour you recommended (I currently use a different high quality flour blend). Thank you!
What gluten free flour brand do you recommend ?
I was thinking the same thing!! I want to use the high quality stuff that she uses lol recipe looks awesome. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Teena. You’ll see my response above, but wanted to share it with you too. I lean towards Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF flour. It’s easy to work with and I use it in a lot of my recipes.
Hi Alli. My go-to favorite is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF Baking Flour. King Arthur also has a good 1:1 gf flour. Hope you love these donuts!
Your intro says yeast-based but there is no yeast in the recipe. I just want to be sure I’m not missing anything.
Hi Michelle. Thanks for your note. That is a typo and I will fix it. I experimented with different ingredients, but found this version to be simple and easy, my two favorite ingredients!
Thanks, your recipes are incredible
Thanks Regina! ❤️
I can’t wait to bake these….but how much water? It’s missing from ingredients so I will add til it seems right and hope for the best
Hi Deb. The word “water” should not have been in the ingredients list. My apologies! It’s now fixed!
So glad you liked these donuts!