These Easy Vegan Baked Chocolate Chip Donuts are oil-free, light, fluffy and easy to make! They are just 8 ingredients, made in 1 bowl, and have a richness thanks to 2 forms of vanilla.
VEGAN BAKED CHOCOLATE CHIP DONUTS OIL-FREE
These Vegan Baked Chocolate Chip Donuts are full of double vanilla flavor, chocolate chips and are the fluffiest texture without any oil and are low-fat. My all-time favorite flavor for baked goods, next to cinnamon, is vanilla. It’s fresh, gourmet, naturally sweet and the smell is intoxicating. Well, these donuts have 2 forms of vanilla in them.
EASY VEGAN BAKED DONUTS
These Vegan Baked Chocolate Chip Donuts are so easy to make. Just 1 bowl for the donuts, 8 ingredients (+ salt) and are also oil-free! Even though these are oil-free, they are light, fluffy, moist and so darn yummy. Be sure to check out these baked Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Donuts while you are in the mood for donuts!
These donuts are to die for. It was hilarious because the first thing my daughter said after the first bite in….after several happy moans, was to say how much better it was than the Disneyworld donut, LOL. She cracks me up!
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN BAKED OIL-FREE DONUTS
To make these vegan baked oil-free donuts you will need just 8 ingredients:
- spelt flour or oat flour for gluten-free
- potato starch
- baking soda
- dairy-free vanilla yogurt
- applesauce
- maple syrup
- vanilla extract
- chocolate chips
I was determined to get two things right with these vegan baked chocolate chip donuts…a soft and light texture AND to be moist without being heavy. 2 ingredients solved that…applesauce and vegan yogurt. The combo of both applesauce and yogurt made these perfectly moist, yet not heavy or dense, which can happen with too much applesauce in baked goods. I didn’t want a brick in my hands while eating the donut. I wanted light and soft specifically for these donuts. The spelt + potato starch combo nailed that perfectly.
The chocolate drizzle is INSANE. I added just chocolate chips and some yogurt and the flavor is SO good and it makes it firm, yet ganache-like. The yogurt also makes the drizzle super thick, not thin and boring.
DONUTS OR MUFFINS
Now, I already know that many of you do not have a donut pan and while I LOVE them as donuts with the chocolate drizzle, I tested a muffin version for you all. They are delicious as muffins as well! Light, fluffy and rise beautifully. They just take about 5 minutes longer to cook as muffins.
Whether you make them as donuts or as muffins, I hope you all really love these vegan baked oil-free donuts. Please come back and leave me feedback, it really makes my day to have you all leave your feedback here on the blog! Enjoy!
Other Vegan Chocolate Chip Desserts:
- Best Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-free Vanilla Chocolate Chip Vanilla Cake
- Grain-free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Muffins
Vegan Baked Chocolate Chip Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (160g) spelt flour (See Note below for gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons (20g) potato starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (125g) dairy-free vanilla yogurt* (make sure it is not a fruit-flavored one, but labeled "vanilla")
- 1/4 cup (60g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup (160g) pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (75g) Enjoy Life semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips
Chocolate Drizzle (This makes enough just to drizzle the donuts. If you want to fully coat the tops of the donuts, then double the chocolate and yogurt.)
- 1/4 heaping cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon (15g) yogurt
- optional: tiny bit of milk if a thinner drizzle is desired
- I use this donut pan.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly spray a regular size 6 donut nonstick pan with nonstick spray. It makes 8 donuts, so you will only be making 6 at first, so don't use all of the batter for the 6. If making as muffins, line a muffin pan with 8 liners. I recommend the Reynolds "Staybrite" foil liners because they never stick.
- To a large bowl, add the spelt flour, potato starch, baking soda and salt and whisk very well to ensure no lumps.
- To the same bowl, add the yogurt, applesauce, syrup, vanilla and chocolate chips. Gently stir and fold the ingredients just until it all comes together and is smooth, making sure to fold from the bottom too. Be careful not to over-mix the batter so the donuts don't turn out tough. Refer to video for how the texture should look. It should be similar to a fairly thick muffin batter.
- With a small spoon, smooth the tops of the batter so they are all flat and even. This will ensure they rise and bake evenly.
- Carefully spoon the batter into the donut pan or 8 muffin liners. If making muffins, top with a few extra chocolate chips. I used a 6 regular size donut pan so I could only bake 6 at first. Bake the donuts for just 12 minutes, 15-18 minutes for muffins (my muffins took exactly 18). These cook really fast since they are low-fat. They should have risen beautifully and have a golden color. Check the toothpick at 12 minutes for it to be clean. Do not over-bake or it will dry them out.
- Remove from the oven and leave them in the pan for just 5 minutes, then flip over to cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Once the donuts/muffins are cooled, prepare the chocolate drizzle. To a small bowl, add the chocolate chips and yogurt. Heat for 30 seconds and stir until it all melts and is completely smooth and runny. Heat for a few more seconds if necessary. This combo gives a nice thick drizzle as seen in the pictures and firms up. If you want a thinner drizzle, add a touch of milk. It will be too thick to drizzle with a spoon, so add the chocolate to a baggy and cut the corner off. Drizzle each donut. Alternatively, you could spread some chocolate on the donuts with the back of a spoon. It only makes enough to drizzle the donuts, so if you prefer a fully coated donut for the tops, double the chocolate sauce.
Do you think I could use regular greek yogurt in place of the dairy free yogurt?
Yes, that should work great! Let me know after you try them!
Hello! So excited to try this recipe! Can it be made with regular all purpose flour and corn starch? My local grocery stores never seem to have spelt flour or a variety of starches.
Hi Cathy! You can try regular all-purpose in place of the spelt. It does make things a bit drier than spelt flour, but if you are using cornstarch as well in place of it, that might make up for that fact, since potato starch adds the fluff that regular all purpose flour would add. I would try that and fingers crossed it still turns out just as yummy!!
Tried with all purpose and a smidge of self rising flour! I also subbed the potato starch with corn starch and they turned out lovely! Fluffy and delicious. Thank you for this!! =)
So happy to hear that Cathy!
Is there a possible sub for the yogurt? Thanks!
Hi Laura, I’m so very sorry to just be seeing this! The yogurt really helps to make them light and fluffy and add flavor. If you absolutely cannot use it, I would sub it with coconut cream (just the cream part, not the watery part) OR you could try just using extra applesauce. Just fyi, I tried originally with all applesauce and they were more dense, not as light and fluffy.
Hi, may I please know if I can sub the oat flour with buckwheat flour and if chocolate chips can be excluded here. Thanks so much. Keen to try another one of your yummy looking recipe
I really don’t know how buckwheat would perform here since I’ve only ever used oat flour. I wouldn’t recommend leaving out the chocolate chips since they add a lot of moisture. If you don’t want a chocolate chip donut, I would make my cinnamon sugar donuts instead.
We can’t try your cinnamon sugar doughnuts as we’ve severe food allergies with my kids here. Amongst them they are anaphylactic to all nuts, egg, dairy, sesame, seafood and we avoid gluten and soy for other health issues they have. Anything else you can recommend which is safe for them (looking for cake, cookies)? It’s sooooo hard with so many limitations!!
Fabulous! I’ve made several times. So light and moist.
So glad to hear that Barb, thank you so much for the review!
A friend came in town and was asking, “Is there any place for gluten free vegan donuts?” I knew there wasn’t such a place and googled you (because you are such a go to for delicious gluten free baking) and I found this. She was happy, my girls were happy, I’m happy…such a delicious recipe! I loved the tang of the yogurt in the icing and the flavor and texture of the donuts were just perfect. Thanks for all your work in creating these!
Oh my gosh! These are absolutely delicious! And I didn’t even put the drizzle on them! I’ll look forward to trying this with variations such as cinnamon. Thank you so much for another amazing recipe!
Yay Lisa! Oh, I’m so very happy to hear that! Thank you so much for making them and I apologize that somehow I missed this comment before!
Hi. Do you need to oil the pans? haven’t had great success doing oil free AND nonstick items like waffle irons.
thanks,
Russell
Hi Russell! Yes, you definitely need to oil them. Step one “lightly spray a regular size 6 donut nonstick pan with nonstick spray.” If you don’t spray them, the batter will stick. These are absolutely delicious and have gotten all rave reviews so I think you will love them if you make the recipe as noted 🙂
My daughter is vegan, the rest of us are not. So when she was going through a bad breakup, I made these donuts as comfort food. They came out so beautiful. And EVERYONE in the house devoured them. Yesterday I tried a cinnamon sugar version for my son, who is not so enamored with chocolate. Again, they disappeared — a double batch did not even last a day!
Aww, this comment really touched me Deborah, thank you so much for sharing! So sorry to hear about your daughter but glad that this recipe could bring her a bit of comfort. Thank you for such wonderful feedback!
Do you think tapioca starch could be used instead of potato starch? Just bc that is what I have already from another recipe.
Hi Cheryl! I haven’t tried it, but if you have cornstarch, that would be an even better option! If not, try the tapioca and let me know! Potato starch makes them fluffier, but it might work.
Tried them as a gluten free option with oat flour and used tapioca starch. They were probably more dense than your original version and I don’t have a comparison but I do know we all loved them!!! They were fantastic thank you so much.
Wonderful Cheryl!! I’m so happy to hear that you loved them! Yes, they are slightly more dense with the oat flour, but so darn moist and yummy! I love them both ways.
Hi! I’ve made these 3 times, and my kids and everyone else love them! Just a question on the yogurt…I was using sweetened vanilla coconut yogurt. Now my brand is sold out, and the only option I have is Silk unsweetened vanilla coconut yogurt.
Was the yogurt you used sweetened or unsweetened? I wonder if the unsweetened vanilla coconut yogurt would work.
Thanks for the great recipe! I love your blog!
Hi Paige! So glad to hear you are loving these! Yes, I actually use sweetened Soy vanilla yogurt now and it works amazing, but honestly, unsweetened should work just as well since the donuts are plenty sweet. So you are good on that!
You were right! It works with unsweetened vanilla. Still really good just less sweet, and I think I prefer it that way! The kids didn’t even notice, except for my 3 yo. He told me the drizzle was ‘sour’. He still ate it ☺
Haha! Too funny! I would think the chocolate chips would make it sweet enough but yes, the sweetened yogurt is definitely sweet! My daughter LOVES the sweetened one 🙂
I used all oat flour (just blended some oats in a Vitamix) and they turned out perfect – light and airy! Thanks for the great recipe.
Awesome Colleen! So good to hear you loved these, thank you so much for the feedback!
So light!
So fluffy!
So very delectable in their vanilla-y goodness!
Many thanks for this wonderful new recipe, Brandi. Ironically I just sold my doughnut pans at our garage sale thinking I would never use them again and along came your recipe, but they came out terrific as mini muffins. I have also been shying away from yogurt since going vegan, but I bought an extra vanilla and have discovered I enjoy it almost as much as the dairy variety.
So I guess that’s a double thanks to you. Keep these awesome recipes coming, Brandi, and thank you again for all the time and effort you put into them!
Yay!! So happy to hear you loved these Colleen, thank you so much for the wonderful review!!
This look and sound amazing! Can coconut flour be substituted for the spelt?
Hi Rachel! Thank you so much! Unfortunately, coconut flour will not work in place of spelt. Coconut flour has about 5 times absorbing power than regular flours, which would make these very dry and crumbly. It needs to be spelt flour or also, oat flour I tested it with. Otherwise, you could try a gluten-free all-purpose blend in place of both the spelt and starch, but since I’ve not tested that, I can’t vouch for the results.
They look easy to make but, even more importantly, they look so cool when they’re done. Must definitely try these, as I’m constantly looking for good, sweet vegan recipes that aren’t going to require 50 ingredients (some vegans make lovely sounding things, but geez, the cost 🙂
Haha, yes, I know what you mean Leo! Thank you so much! I’m all about easy recipes with very few ingredients without skimping on the flavor!
Double vanilla. Enough said ❤ Vanilla is my absolute favorite so these sound amazing! Plus chocolate chips?? Basically the perfect donut! You really nailed this recipe fast!! So glad to hear that Olivia approved (not surprised) and got her donut fix. While I’ll never know the true magic of spelt + potato starch, just by looking at these photos, I can tell that they are delicious! Fluffy and that yogurt + applesauce combo definitely makes them far from dry. And then there’s that ganache drizzle. Oh, man. Heaven!!! These look incredible, my friend! Also, I’m super excited to see more videos from you!! xo
Thank you so much my sweet friend!! I’m so happy with how delicious they turned out and far from dry and nasty like the other ones, lol!
I made these this morning, GF muffin form. I didn’t have any coconut yogurt on hand so I took a risk with vanilla silk yogurt and it was delicious. I’m so glad to have another low fat dessert in rotation! Thank you!
So awesome Izzy! So glad to hear you loved these so much, thank you for the review!
These look SO perfectly soft and fluffy, so I think you definitely nailed that goal! Some vegan doughnuts can get so dense and horribly dry, I’m glad you were able to top the bad ones you got at Disney! I’m a total chocoholic but even I have to admit that double vanilla sounds pretty perfect, especially for doughnuts. And that drizzle of chocolate and the chips provide just enough to satisfy the chocolate craving, anyway! I’ve never used potato starch, so I’m thinking these gems will have to be baked up in my kitchen soon!
Your video is beautiful and easy to follow. I made these in a cake pop pan and the cake pops on a stick came out with the perfect texture. I agree that many commercial vegan bakeries do not get it right. Thank You.
Yay! So glad you loved these Lucy!! Thank you very much for the feedback!
Those look delicious! Any chance I could leave out the applesauce? My son is allergic. Or maybe a substitute for it?
Hi Karen! I would replace the applesauce with another 1/4 cup of the yogurt, it definitely can’t be omitted or the donuts would be too dense and dry. Let me know what you think of them!
And wouldn’t you know I actually just finally caved and bought a full size donut pan. Enough with these mini ones, I want one big fluffy ring of cake! Plus full size donut = more room for more chocolate drizzles 🙂 You don’t even know how much I love this whole double vanilla concept, I honestly don’t think there can ever be enough vanilla in baked goods. And on ingredients, texture, presentation, and flavor combo the Disneyworld ones have nothing on these. I have not baked with yogurt in forever, but it is definitely working some magic combined with the applesauce here because these look moist and fluffy as can be. So often with baked donuts the upward facing side cracks or looks weird after baking but these are cakey and perfect from all angles. And yogurt in the “ganache” drizzle too, I’ve never thought of that. Vanilla with chocolate glaze is my favorite kind of donut and these look completely heavenly! So happy you got back into the video groove too 🙂
Thank you so much Natalie! Yes, I totally know what you mean about the ugly side of donuts, hahaha! These are beautiful either side, which I loved! I totally agree with you, the more vanilla, the better. These have such a strong vanilla aroma and taste and they totally hit the spot! Bonus, that besides the chocolate chips, they are really low-fat!
I hate to ask people about altering their recipes but do you think it would work to substitute oat flour for the spelt? These look amazing but I can’t have the spelt flour.
Hi Danny! I have not tested it yet, but I’m 99% sure that oat flour would work in place of the spelt. Just make sure it’s superfine oat flour. I have baked with oat flour and potato starch before and it was amazing. I plan to test it tonight or tomorrow as well and will update the recipe but let me know if you try it with oat flour. It may make them slightly more dense but should still be delicious!
Thank you! I’m going to make them today with oat flour. I’ll let you know how they turn out.
Hi Danny! I justed tested them with oat flour and they were delicious! I updated the recipe above! They aren’t 100% as fluffy, but still wonderful and yummy!
Just posted my pics on Instagram. They turned out amazing with the gf oat flour. You are definitely my inspiration. Every time I make something new of yours I am blown away.
Forgot to ask you the best way to store these..in container on countertop or in fridge.
Thanks again, Brandi!
You are so sweet Danny, thank you so much for your kind words! I saw your pics on both Facebook and IG and wow, they looked amazing! I’m so happy you loved these so much. Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to come back here and leave feedback 🙂
Would you believe me I’ve never made my own donuts at home? But what I can say these look amazing and delicious as always! Many doughnuts are fried in a pile of fat, so baking is the way to go and so much healthier and better for you. Love that you can make these in a muffin form, too, for more options! Looking at al these mouthwatering pics, I know I’m craving donuts right now! 😊
Thank you so much Florian! You are so right, so many are full of grease…yuck! These definitely are healthier but don’t lack in the deliciousness!