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How to Make Vegan Donuts (Yeast Doughnut Recipe)

These vegan donuts are springy and light, tender and delicious yeast donuts. And like traditional yeast donuts, they are deep-fried. But they are not greasy at all. In this recipe, I’ll share some tips on how to make the best vegan yeast donuts that are deliciously fluffy and never oily.
If you’re not ready to deep-fry though, try this fluffy yeasted baked doughnut recipe.

Video Tutorial for Vegan Donuts

Due to popular demand, I also created a baked version of these donuts for those of you who are adverse to deep-frying stuff or just want donuts in your belly faster. You’re welcome.

Make Vegan Glazed Donuts extra special

While this addition is totally optional, for an extra summery hit, I love to add a sprinkling of strawberry dust which gives these glazed vegan donuts just a hint of strawberry. Strawberry dust is simply dried strawberries that have been blitzed in a blender. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can easily make Strawberry Chips in the oven.

strawberry-sugar-glazed-vegan-donuts-stack

How to Make Vegan Donuts (traditional yeast donuts)

The dough comes together easily; just try not to add too much flour. Otherwise your donuts will be dense instead of light and fluffy. I used a large mason jar ring lid and a shot glass as my donut cutters. Real proper donut cutters would probably work better, but I am a big fan of just using what you have. So use what you have!

cutting-donut-hole-dough

After letting the cut donuts rise, they are ready to fry. I used canola oil in all my test batches so I can’t say what will happen if you use other oils. But whatever you do, be careful!

uncooked-vegan-donuts

Soon after frying, you can dip your donuts in glaze and sprinkle on your strawberry dust. But wait a bit before eating or these vegan donuts will burn your mouth!

glazed-vegan-donut-close-up-top

The true test is when you bite into one. It should be soft but not floppy, with a nice bite but not too dense.

fluffy-vegan-yeast-donut-inside

Let me know if you try this recipe and how it goes! I’d love to hear your topping ideas too! Enjoy!

More vegan doughnut recipes:

Printable recipe for Vegan Donuts


Yield: 7 donuts and donut holes

How to Make Vegan Donuts (Yeast Doughnut Recipe)

stack of vegan glazed donuts

Simply delectable Vegan Glazed Donuts! Easy dough, fried, and glazed for a traditional light and puffy treat. Feel free to multiply this recipe to make larger batches. 

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1/2 cup 110°F warm water (120ml)
  • 1 teaspoon of yeast (half an envelope)
  • 1 tablespoon golden flax meal
  • 3 tablespoons refined (deodorized) coconut oil (45ml)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (220g)
  • 2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten (pure gluten flour)
  • 1/8 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

For glaze

  • 1 1/2 cup icing sugar (180g)
  • 1/4 cup water

Optional topping

  • 1 tablespoon ground dried strawberries

Instructions

  1. In your large mixing bowl, activate yeast by mixing with warm water. Let in sit about 5 minutes. Meanwhile in a separate bowl, combine all-purpose flour with the pure gluten flour. Alternatively, you can substitute bread flour for the all-purpose flour and leave out the extra gluten.
  2. Back to the original large mixing bowl, the yeast mixture should be foamy. Add sugar, flax meal, coconut oil and optional vanilla. Whisk well until fairly smooth.
  3. Add flour a quarter cup at a time. Incorporate the flour completely before adding more. Reduce the amount of flour that you add once the mixture starts to form a dough. Add only enough flour to form a soft dough that is slightly sticky. You might have some flour leftover. Knead until fairly smooth. Then place back into the bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest in a warm, draft-free location for one hour or until doubled in size.
  4. Scoop the dough out gently on to a floured surface. Gently roll the dough out to 3/8th inch thickness. Cut out the donuts using donut/cookie cutters or improvise as I did with a large mason jar ring lid for the outer edge and a small shot glass for the inner edge.
  5. Place cut donuts and donut holes on to a lightly floured parchment on a baking sheet. Cover with a warm, lightly damp towel or a sheet of plastic with the bottom side dusted with flour. Let the uncooked donuts rise for 45 minutes to one hour or until at least doubled in size.
  6. Meanwhile, mix the glaze for whisking the icing sugar with water. Add a drop of vanilla extract or your choice of flavouring if desired.
  7. When the dough has risen, prepare a saucepan or fryer with canola oil. Heat to 375°F. During cooking, you will keep the oil at 350-375°F for best results. Lower temperatures will result in greasy, oil-logged donuts. Prepare a wire rack and any utensils that you'll need for flipping the donuts and dipping them into glaze.
  8. Use a slotted spoon to gently lower a donut into the hot oil. Cook only one layer of donuts at one time. Each donut will take 30 to 45 seconds on the first side to become golden brown. Flip and cook for about 30 seconds or until that side is golden brown. Remove carefully with tongs (or chopsticks) and let drain on the wire rack. Continue with the rest.
  9. Glaze the hot donuts by dipping them in the glaze on one or both sides. Place back onto the rack and sprinkle on any toppings you'd like.
  10. Let the donuts cool for 15 minutes or more before eating. These are best eaten within one or two days. Store in a breathable container at room temperature.

Notes

If you don't mind the coconut scent, feel free to use regular virgin coconut oil instead of refined.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Showing 94 comments
  • jhguchi
    Reply

    I’m drooling. I must try this recipe. Thank you.

    • Mary
      Reply

      You’re welcome as always!

  • Stephanie
    Reply

    Ohhhh…yum. All I need is someone to make them for me!

    • Mary
      Reply

      lol Print out the recipe and leave it in random places…someone is sure to get the hint!

  • Molly
    Reply

    These look so yummy! I’ve tried one recipe for vegan donuts that didn’t really have consistent results so I’m excited to try this one. One quick question, did you use active dry yeast or instant when making the donuts?

    • Mary
      Reply

      I used traditional dry active yeast. However, you can use instant interchangeably. Good luck!

  • Lilly
    Reply

    Making my fourth batch of this right now. They are better than great, to say the least!!!!

    • Mary
      Reply

      That’s amazing 🙂 Thanks for sharing your experience, dear.

  • Anita
    Reply

    Wish they were glutenfree aswell

  • Sophie
    Reply

    What about salt? 🙂 They were gorgeous but while I was preparing the dough I noticed that you didn’t mention it in your recipe, so I added 1 tsp and they turned out great! I don’t know if it was on purpose or by mistake? Keep sharing inspiring recipes! Luuuv from belgiuum 😉

    • Mary
      Reply

      It’s on purpose that I didn’t add salt; it’s not necessary at all. Glad you enjoyed your donuts anyway! Cheers!

  • Minna
    Reply

    Can I leave out he flax? Is it vital?

    • Mary
      Reply

      They are way better with the flax. But you can still make a donut-like thing without the flax.

  • Julia
    Reply

    Is it absolutely necessary to put in the pure gluten flour???????? I’m questioning everything in lifeeeeeeeee

    • Mary
      Reply

      No, but it makes a difference if you leave it out. The pure gluten flour makes these donuts more fluffy than they would be without.

  • Emma
    Reply

    Hi Mary, the recipe looks really cool I will try it but i first have a question : do we have to fry them or can we just bake them on a paper in the oven ? do you think it would be good and tasty ? thank you 🙂

    • Emma
      Reply

      I have just seen the other recipe, sorry for my last question !
      Everything looks amazing!!

    • Mary
      Reply

      Glad you found the other recipe 🙂 Enjoy!

  • Katie
    Reply

    Hi! Love the recipe! You wrote 190 Fahrenheit in the metric recipe and I was wondering why my donuts weren’t cooking!!

    • Mary
      Reply

      Oh my goodness!! Thank you for letting me know. I have fixed the typo now. I’m so glad you figured it out <3 <3 <3

  • audina
    Reply

    waaaw nice recipes, thank you for information:)

    • Mary
      Reply

      <3 You're welcome!

  • Zoe
    Reply

    I’ve not got flax seeds. I tried grinding some chia seeds in a mortar and pestle but it wasn’t really fine enough. I also have a “no egg” egg replacer, and xantham gum, which do you think will work better? As far as I know they are all binding agents of some variety

    • Lisa
      Reply

      I think no egg will work perfectly here! 🙂

    • Sanika
      Reply

      I just used whole chia seeds, and they looked cute! Kind of like poppy seed bagels, or like I scraped a vanilla bean pod in the dough.

  • Pasha Davidson
    Reply

    I’ve said it 100 times, but you are the best vegan cooking channel on the YT. I like and bookmark all your vids even when I don’t make them right away because I know I will sometime in the future.

    Case in Point: Donuts. I actually made a flat bread recipe first to make sure I was ready since I had never so much as activated yeast before. I made the donuts and they were delicious. I have a few questions, based solely on looking at how my process went compared to yours, but I’ll stick to one that to me seems the most important. I never got the yeast quite as foamy as you did. The donuts did rise, and they were fluffy and delicious, but this was the one thing that was bugging me since your yeast looked so foamy. I used a thermometer to bring it to 115F, used filtered water, and used the same pyrex as seen in the video, but the foamiest I ever got it was like this:

    https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/photo/104261141501092095141/6326549795358893810?icm=true

    Just wanted to get your thoughts.

    Thanks Mary,
    Pasha

    • Mary
      Reply

      Thanks for all the kind words, Pasha! That pic looked foamy enough; activating the yeast is just to check that the yeast is alive before continuing. 🙂

  • Carlos Ballon
    Reply

    hey there. great recipe. ill try it out this week. question on the metric recipe 30ml of sugar. is that 30g?
    thanks. Best

    • Mary
      Reply

      30ml is a volume measurement; same as two metric tablespoons. I believe the weight is 25g.

  • Lueni
    Reply

    Hi ! I’ve tried this recipe yesterday and it turned out way better than I was expected ! I did a matcha glaze. I’m just thinking of adding a bit of salt in the dough next time. Thank you so much for sharing !

    • Mary
      Reply

      You’re welcome! Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂

  • Sophie
    Reply

    Hi, do you think any other seeds would work better here like linseed or chia rather than flax?

    • Mary
      Reply

      Linseed and flax seeds are the same thing. Chia seeds will work similarly. 🙂

    • Angie
      Reply

      Is the recipe the same if using instant yeast? Would I still need the warm water? Instant yeast doesn’t need to proof, so I add it in the dry mix?

      • Mary
        Reply

        Hi Angie,
        I recommend follow the same directions even if you’re using instant yeast. First reason, it helps you double check that the yeast is alive. Secondly, it’ll help the dough rise faster.
        Cheers,
        Mary

  • Clarissa
    Reply

    Are there any substitutes for the coconut oil? By the way–so excited to try this recipe (=

    • Mary
      Reply

      Yes, you can use any oil you like. However, I found that refined coconut oil gave the doughnuts the best texture after testing a few different kinds.

  • Linoy
    Reply

    I used canola oil and it came out amazing!! Thank you!
    I wonder if you have a recipe of new york style cheescake?
    Have a great day (you just did mine)

    • Mary
      Reply

      Yay! I’m glad you had amazing results! <3
      Here's my cheesecake recipe, I don't know if you can call it new york style but it's good 🙂
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVx5fVmFbEc

      Sorry, I don't have the printable recipe yet but the full recipe is written in the video description.

  • trinity fernandez
    Reply

    well i’m 10 and I tried out these donuts with my mom THEY ARE SO FLUFFY and yummy thanks mary! : )

    • Mary
      Reply

      You’re welcome, Trinity! Cooking with mom is the best! I’m glad you are enjoying them <3

  • trinity fernandez
    Reply

    SO FLUFFY AND YUMMY!!!!lol

  • Pam
    Reply

    How can I make this recipe gluten free?!

  • Jen
    Reply

    Thank you so much! I’m not a vegan but my boyfriend has a severe dairy allergy. This will be perfect for his first donut ever! <3

    • Mary
      Reply

      You’re welcome! What a sweet gf you are! Lucky boyfriend!

  • Amber
    Reply

    Do you think that these could be cooked in an air fryer? Thanks!

  • Galilea Paez
    Reply

    Hi Mary!
    I love your donuts!! I’ve made it a ton of times. I was wondering if I could use energy egg instead of the flax?

    • Mary
      Reply

      Hi Galilea! I’m so happy you’re loving this recipe. To answer your question, yes! You can use Ener-G Egg Replacer instead of flax if you like. Cheers!

  • Vy Hoang
    Reply

    I want to ask about the yeast. I only have instant yeast available in my kitchen, can I replace your active dry yeast in this recipe with instant yeast? Should I adjust the water or some things like that? Love this recipe, btw.

    • Mary
      Reply

      No need for adjustment 🙂 You can use instant yeast as a straight substitute in this recipe. Have fun!

      • aurora
        Reply

        what would happen if i only use regular flour?

        • Mary
          Reply

          The extra gluten helps the dough rise without collapsing. So you can make really light doughnuts that are still puffy. You could also use bread flour instead and leave out the extra gluten.
          Hope that helps!
          -Mary

  • Laura
    Reply

    Good, but needs a little salt, in my opinion. Thank you!

    • Mary
      Reply

      Thanks for the feedback, Laura!

  • Jasmin
    Reply

    Hi, I loved your recipe. However I am not vegan but I am vegetarian. So we can use milk (but no eggs & Fish). I have seen your other donuts recipes too in that you use coconut oil & soy milk. Instance of those may I use regular whole milk & canola or other oil?
    Will it change the recipe?
    Do you have any cake donut recipe?

    • Mary
      Reply

      Hi Jasmin,
      I don’t recommend replacing with dairy milk. In recipes where I specify coconut oil, that is the best oil to use. You can use canola to substitute but the results aren’t quite as nice. The coconut oil gives the doughnuts a better texture. I have one cake doughnut recipe; a chocolate protein doughnut recipe linked here. Have fun making doughnuts!
      -Mary

  • Ananda Rupini DD Samanta
    Reply

    I tried the recipe and it is good! Thanks Mary
    Hare Krishna

    • Mary
      Reply

      That’s great to hear, Ananda! Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂

  • Terri
    Reply

    What are your thoughts on light olive oil? So excited to try this recipe, I went out and bought a deep fryer. On my searches for a good, healthy oil to cook with it was a toss up between coconut and olive. Now that I’ve really gone thru your recipe I see you call for canola….

    • Mary
      Reply

      Hi Terri,
      Olive oil doesn’t do well at the high temperatures that we require for deep frying doughnuts. I use canola because it does well at high temperatures, it doesn’t have a strong flavour, and it’s economical.
      -Mary

  • D
    Reply

    They taste great but mine turned out oily, any way to prevent this?

    • Mary
      Reply

      Great question! Make sure the oil is the right temperature when you’re frying. Also, don’t do too many doughnuts at one time as that will cause the oil temperature to drop. Also, I drain on paper towels for the best results. I hope that helps. Good luck for next time!

  • Tammye
    Reply

    First, I love your recipes and videos. I made these donuts. The texture was perfect. The only thing is, I felt like they were missing salt. Can this be added? If so, how much and when should it be added?

  • Danielle
    Reply

    Just made these for my kids tonight as she has been craving donuts, and the closest vegan bakery is SOOO far from home. These are ah-maz-ing!! I made more than I should have and am pretty sure my kids will have them gone by morning! ?

  • Katja Valentina
    Reply

    Hi Mary.
    I made these donuts and they were really tasty as fresh baked, but after 4 hours in room temperature they began to be a bit dense in texture. Do you know how to provide the fresh airy texture for as long as possible in room temperature?

    Thanks 🙂

  • Saffron
    Reply

    Thank you so much for this! I just made them and they turned out great for my first ever donut trial. I am hoping to start selling some vegan baked goods at my local market and would love to include donuts so I’m trying a few recipes but love this one. The only thing is they tasted quite yeasty despite the glaze- is there anything I can do during the process to minimise the yeast flavour?

    • Mary
      Reply

      If they smell yeasty, you may have used too much yeast, under-proofed, or under-cooked them.
      Signs of under-proofed dough are the dough did not double in size. Over proofed dough, which was left to rise too long or in a place too warm, smells like alcohol. good luck!

  • Jesse
    Reply

    I was thinking of using soy milk instead of water to enrich it a bit, and would you think there would be any problems using a different veg oil instead of coconut?

    • Jesse
      Reply

      Also it is kinda weird to use ml for sugar, or did you mean 30g?

      • Mary
        Reply

        For sugar, the ml and g measurement is the same.

    • Mary
      Reply

      Using soy milk should be fine. You might use a smidge less flour but go by feel as you add it. Coconut yields better results but it’s ok to use others.

  • Lori
    Reply

    So delicious! Perfect texture. These are the vegan donuts I’ve been searching for.
    Mine came out VERY dark with just seconds to cook on each side. I used a thermometer and controlled the temp. What could have caused this? I fried in sunflower seed oil and used regular flax meal but the dough before cooking wasn’t really darker, just speckled. I also added a pinch of salt to the dough.

    Any ideas about why they were dark? I want the beautiful golden color. LOVE the taste!

    • Mary
      Reply

      I’m not sure, Lori, Perhaps reduce the temperature a bit next time. The only other thing I could think of is maybe you added a little extra sugar by accident? Higher sugar content will make things brown faster. I’m glad they turned out tasty nonetheless!
      -Mary

  • Evan
    Reply

    Tried this recipe and they were good! Only thing I might suggest is maybe a little more yeast? Turned out just a bit flat.

  • Meagan
    Reply

    went vegan 4 years ago and i haven’t had a yeast donut since, decided to make these and oh my gosh so yummy! i ended up adding a little salt to the recipe and making a chocolate glaze. thank you for the amazing recipe and fulfilling my hardcore donut craving haha

  • B
    Reply

    Hai mary, i love your ideas of vegan donuts! how much the calories in it?

    • Mary
      Reply

      lol thanks but I don’t have a clue! You can estimate the calories by entering the ingredients in a calorie counter and dividing by the number of servings.
      Hope that helps!
      -Mary

  • Nicky V
    Reply

    So I just made these and they were very good, but I’d really like a fleshier/gooier consistency. What would you recommend? Less flour? More or less wheat gluten?

    • Mary
      Reply

      Glad you liked them, Nicky. I’m not really sure what you mean by fleshier or gooier… If you mean lighter (say like a krispy kreme) — I can only speculate…I was going to try a version using cake flour actually before it became next to impossible to stock up on flour haha.

      For denser doughnuts, use a bit more flour for a heavier dough. For lighter doughnuts, generally use less flour and your dough will be wetter.

      Hope that helps in some way!

      Cheers,
      Mary

  • Yuvenya (@yuvfit)
    Reply

    They turned out amazing! So soft and delicious. Super easy to make without any complicated ingredients or methods. I went wild with dem topping. You are a genius! Definitely gonna be making em again and again and again hahah.

    • Mary
      Reply

      Hi Yuvenya,
      I saw them on Instagram!!! yay! They looked absolutely heavenly. You really did outdo yourself on the toppings! Thanks so much for sharing <3 you made my morning <3
      Stay well and safe,
      Mary

  • dani
    Reply

    Hi! Is it posible to use another oil like corn, or it has to be coconut?

    • Mary
      Reply

      Hi Dani, I used coconut as it is solid at room temperature and seems to make the doughnuts less oily. Honestly, I would only substitute with vegan butter. Hope that helps.
      Cheers,
      Mary

  • Rei
    Reply

    Tried… too too tasty!!! I used the regular flax seeds which made some seedy spots but nevertheless these were the best donuts I ever had!!!
    Thank you for this great recipe!

    • Mary
      Reply

      Way to go, Rei! So happy you enjoyed these donuts, seedy seeds and all 🙂
      – Mar

  • Candice
    Reply

    Can I make this dough the night before? Fry in the morning?

    • Mary
      Reply

      Probably but I haven’t tested the timing for that.

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