Packed with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, these vegan Baked Apple Cider Donuts are a perfect way to welcome in the fall. Made in just 25 minutes for a delicious treat.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
Have I mentioned how much I love fall?
With the kids finishing the first month of school, temperatures beginning to drop, and the days getting noticeably shorter, I couldn't be more excited.
Fall is both a wonderfully nostalgic time for me, as I reflect on past years and old family traditions, while simultaneously representing new beginnings and fresh starts. There is a world of potential ahead of us!
So, for the next few months, you will find me over here in pure bliss. But before I get too lost in the glory of it all, where were we?
Oh right, Vegan Apple Cider Donuts!
Apple Cider Donuts {Video}
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
Making baked donuts is incredibly easy and satisfying. Who doesn't love a soft and warm sweet pastry filled with herbs and dipped in the glaze? And better yet, they are so simple to master.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour - For a gluten-free option, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
- Baking Powder & Soda
- Spices - Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt
- Maple Syrup
- Apple Cider - This recipe calls for apple cider or apple juice, not apple cider vinegar.
- Applesauce - This is the binder of the recipe. You could replace it with ⅓ cup mashed banana, ⅓ cup of pumpkin puree, or a variety of other egg replacers.
- Oil - This recipe calls for coconut oil because it doesn't add flavor. You can also use avocado, olive, or canola oil. If you want to eliminate the oil altogether, swap it out for the same amount of applesauce.
- Vanilla Extract
- Granulate & Powdered Sugar - Check out my guide to vegan sugars and alternative sugar replacements. For a healthier sugar alternative, I recommend coconut sugar.
Recommended Equipment
Most importantly, you will need a couple of donuts pans. With a donut pan you can make all the baked donuts you want this fall.
It’s also nice to have is a good piping bag. When baking donuts (rather than frying) the batter is soft like cake and will need to be piped in the donut pans. You can get reusable piping bags or one-use plastic bags. Either way, they are super cheap and nice to have on hand.
In addition, you’ll need basic kitchen equipment such as a mixing bowl, utensils, and a wire cooling rack. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to make Apple Cider Donuts
Step one - Make the Batter
First, mix your dry ingredients together. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. You don't want to over mix or your doughnut will become tough rather than tender.
Step Two - Bake the Donuts
The batter will be soft, so a piping bag is the best option here. If you don't have one, you can make a makeshift piping bag by pouring your batter into a ziplock bag, cutting off the tip, and piping from there.
Bake the donuts for just about 8-10 minutes. When done the dough should spring back when gently pressed.
Step Three - Glaze the Donuts
Once the donuts are ready, pull them out of the oven and flip them onto a wire cooling rack.
Let them cool 10 minutes before dipping them into your glaze and sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar.
Pro Tip: This cooling time is necessary otherwise the donuts might crumble and the glaze will definitely melt off.
Serving and Storing
Serve donuts immediately as a morning pastry or afternoon snack. Serve with a homemade Chai Latte.
Store leftover donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They can also be frozen for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, pull them out of the freezer and let them thaw at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
Tips and Tricks
- Generously spray the donut pan before piping in the batter to ensure the donuts do not stick to the pan.
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Take care not to overmix the batter. Overmixed batter becomes tough and gummy.
- For cleanest results, pipe in the batter with a piping bag.
- Let the donuts rest in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping them onto a wire cooling rack. Let donuts cool completely before dipping them in the glaze to prevent the glaze from melting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I omit the oil?
Sure. If you would like to make any of these recipes oil-free, simply swap out the oil for additional applesauce at a 1:1 ratio.
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
For sure! For gluten-free doughnuts, I recommend using a 1:1 baking blend.
I don’t have a doughnut pan. Would these work as muffins?
Yes! When making muffins, I prefer using a mini-muffin pan (<<affiliate link) for these as they do tend to be a bit sweeter than muffins.
More Vegan Donut Recipes
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts
Ingredients
Apple Cider Doughnuts
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp. nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp. allspice
- ½ tsp. salt
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup apple cider
- ¼ cup apple sauce
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Apple Cider Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp. nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a donut pan and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together maple syrup, apple cider, apple sauce, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined.
- Spoon or pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan, filling each mold about ¾ full.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the donuts springs back when gently pressed. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring doughnuts onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar and apple cider in a small shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, combine ingredients for cinnamon sugar topping.
- Once doughnuts have cooled, dip the tops of each doughnut into the glaze. Immediately sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Let the glaze harden and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Generously spray the donut pan before piping in the batter to ensure the donuts do not stick to the pan.
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Let the donuts rest in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping them onto a wire cooling rack. Let donuts cool completely before dipping them in the glaze to prevent the glaze from melting.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Shanna says
Can I use a baby cakes donut maker.
Sarah says
I just googled babycakes donut maker (because I had never heard of it before) first of all, looks awesome. I probably should invest in one! Secondly because I haven't used one before I can't say for sure. I think it's worth trying for sure though. Let me know how it turns out!
Deryn @ Running on Real Food says
Oh my goodness. These look awesome. I think it's about time I picked up a donut tray and give these a try!! LOVE your site, by the way 🙂
Sarah says
Thanks Deryn! I hope you find a donut tray and can enjoy them.
Amber says
I made this recipe today to use up some of my leftover spices! I substituted normal all purpose flour for GF all purpose and they were a huge success! I added in 4 tablespoons of white chia seeds and a teaspoon of vanilla to the sugar glaze. Huge hit. Excellent recipe. I had a mini donut pan so the mix made 10 minis.
Sarah says
Thanks! It's great to know you could sub in gf flour with no problem.
Christy says
YUM, these were so good! The whole fam loved them. Can't wait to try your other donut recipes and check out your site. I got a donut pan for Christmas and was looking for some good vegan recipes!
origami_canoe says
I made these and they were AMAZING! My family absolutely loved them! I didn't have a donut pan, so I made cupcakes, and they were so fluffy and delicious!
angela @ another bite please says
I just made these...my first try at baked donuts...and they were a huge hit. the whole family loved them! so happy this vegan version was amazing!!!! now i need to whip up six more!
DessertForTwo says
I love these! I had all the ingredients for them in my pantry. So good! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Laurie | Hello Foxy says
I just made these following the recipe exactly and they were SO delicious! Everyone loved them. I liked them so much that I made another batch the same day! One tip for people: if you double the donut recipe, you do NOT need to double the cinnamon sugar and frosting recipes. A single recipe of each will get you through at least two batches of donuts, probably more.
Also, I made these with a regular-sized donut pan and it made 6 donuts exactly. When I doubled the recipe, it made 12! (Math!)
Laurie | Hello Foxy says
p.s. I'm not vegan and neither were most of the people that I made them for!
Mallory says
As a red headed, pale skinned, freckled gal, I agree 🙂 Fall is the BEST! Top it off with the beautiful fall colors here in the Maritimes, and why would you ever need the other 3 seasons! I just stumbled across your blog and I cannot wait to start trying these recipes!! I am so thankful for people like you who help break the vegan stigma. Happy Fall 🙂
Sarah says
Happy Fall to you too, Mallory!
Larry says
Made these for my daughter's preschool class, one of the kids has an egg allergy so these were perfect. Used a Wilton mini donut pan and got just under 3 dozen, nice rise, very light and fluffy.
I skipped the glaze and went for a light dust of cinnamon sugar, have you ever seen a room full of 3 year olds on too much sugar? Without the glaze they were a little light on the cider flavor, next time I'll boil down a cup to make it stronger (ie cider syrup) and use apple butter in place of the apple sauce.
Sarah says
I like the idea of reducing the cider - I will certainly try that next time as well!
Alexandra says
What kind of a dough does this make? I'm living in on-campus housing so I've got a pretty minimal kitchen and I'd like to keep it that way, so I don't have a doughnut mould and I don't really want to get one 🙂
I have normal pans/trays; does it have enough substance to drop on a tray and make a sort of filled-doughnut shape? Or should I get something with walls, like a cupcake tray?
Thanks!
Sarah says
A muffin/cupcake pan would work best. It's a soft batter (like cake) so unfortunately would not hold a shape. Good Luck!
Alexandra says
wow, thanks for your prompt reply! I'll try it with a cupcake tray, then, and post back how it worked. Thank you!
Jamie says
Looking forward to trying this recipe. I just made pumpkin donut holes using a mini muffin pan.
Angela says
I made these today as donuts and a couple weeks ago as muffins (just bought a muffin pan). They're great! I threw in a tablespoon of apple butter instead of the canola oil. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Faith says
These taste perfect! 😀 My kids (3 and 1) had so much fun helping me make them! I don't have a donut pan so I used a muffin tin that I oiled and floured. They turned out to be giant donut holes. (No complaints really) I baked them for 15 minutes. The only other thing I changed was using oat flour because that's all I had and I couldn't wait! And 1/3 amount of the maple syrup because again, I couldn't wait. I will be making more soon, for sure! With all ingredients. 🙂 I love the glaze! So simple but, so delicious. I have to remember it for all the treats this time of year. Great recipe! I loved how quick, easy yet delicious it was! Thank you, thank you!
Sharon says
Great recipe, Sarah! I made these for my friend's son, who has multiple life threatening food allergies. All of the ingredients were on his safe list. I omitted the maple syrup because I didn't have any on hand. I just bumped up in the cider and added a splash of soy milk to replace that moisture. They came out perfectly. 🙂
Andrea says
So happy I found your website! I was wondering what kind of apple cider you used?
Sarah says
I'm glad you found me too! I'm not sure of the brand. I buy the apple cider that's in the non-refrigerated juice section. It's usually right next to the apple juice. But any apple cider (or apple juice) would work for the recipe.