Learn how to make the absolute Best Vegan Chocolate Donuts ever! These are so incredible and moist and rich, nobody would believe they are gluten-free and oil-free! Only 8 ingredients!
VEGAN GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE DONUTS
These are the only Vegan Chocolate Donuts you will ever need again! These are not only incredibly rich and chocolatey, as a chocolate donut should be, but they are so moist, fluffy and nobody would have a clue that they are vegan, gluten-free and oil-free!
So many vegan donuts are dry or have an off dense texture that nobody wants in a baked good. I love for my baked goods to deliver in looks, texture and taste. It has to hit all 3 notes! These vegan chocolate baked donuts do exactly that!
After posting these Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Donuts, I’ve received numerous requests for a chocolate version. After several trials, I have the perfected these vegan baked chocolate donuts. I can’t even to put into words how rich, decadent and delicious they are. And the dark chocolate glaze, OH MY GOODNESS.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
- Superfine oat flour: I always use a store-bought oat flour by Bob’s Red Mill because it is super fine and not grainy, therefore, creating a fluffy and smooth baked good. Often, grinding your own oat flour results in a rough texture, which will make dense donuts. Also, the measurements will be off if you use cup measurements of store-bought versus homemade oat flour. So, for the best results, I always recommend using store-bought oat flour and always weighing so you get the exact results I have here.
- Blanched almond flour: Since these donuts are oil-free, the fat in the almond flour replaces oil and makes for moist donuts, as well as soft donuts. Again, superfine is important for soft and fluffy donuts. We don’t want gritty donuts! If you are allergic to almonds, weigh the same gram amount given for almond flour (42g) and use raw, unsalted sunflower kernels. Grind the sunflower kernels up into a fine flour, as fine as you can get it without it turning into a paste. This will be a decent sub here since we aren’t making a cake, where the superfine texture would normally be more crucial, since donuts are smaller and only rise a bit in comparison to a cake. Keep in mind that the ground up sunflower kernels will never be as fine as store-bought almond flour and will make the donuts a bit more gritty and dense, but should still be delicious.
- Tapioca starch: I’ve tested all 3 starches…tapioca, cornstarch and potato starch and ALL 3 performed differently. Tapioca was the clear winner! They helped to keep these donuts the most moist, which was rather important here since they are oil-free. Tapioca lends more moisture than other starches. Cornstarch was nice and fluffy, but they were a tad more dry. Potato starch was DRY and crumbly. Do not use potato starch at all!
- Unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Pure maple syrup
- Unsweetened applesauce: This also helps give moisture since these vegan chocolate donuts are oil-free.
- Vanilla extract
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN CHOCOLATE DONUTS
Step 1: To a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk very well, breaking up any lumps.
Step 2: To a separate bowl, add the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients and whisk gently until completely smooth. The batter will be on the runny side.
Step 3: Carefully spoon the batter divided evenly into a 6 large donut pan. The batter will fill up almost to the very top. Do not worry, this is how you will end up with fluffy donuts.
Step 4: Bake for 13 minutes until fluffy, well risen and a toothpick basically comes out clean. Mine were perfect at 13 minutes, but yours make take another minute, depending on your oven. Just be very careful about overbaking these, as they can turn dry. I mean, look how gorgeous, fluffy and perfect they turn out!
Step 5: Make the vegan chocolate glaze. Simply melt the chocolate chips with the milk. Add the syrup and vanilla. Dip each donut in the glaze and rotate it and lift up. Set on a tray for the glaze to dry and harden, which happens in about 15 minutes or so.
WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A DONUT PAN?
I created this recipe specifically to be donuts only. This is because donuts are smaller and shorter than cakes, muffins, cupcakes, etc. Because of this, these do not transfer as well into muffins. Also, I created the donut in mind with a chocolate glaze on top. If you do not own a donut pan, do not just simply make these as muffins. There is no point in that because I already have several vegan chocolate muffin recipes on the blog that are tested as muffins, so just make any of these instead if you don’t have a donut pan.
- Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Vegan Gluten-free Double Chocolate Muffins
- Whole Wheat Chocolate Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes
MORE VEGAN DONUT RECIPES
MORE VEGAN CHOCOLATE DESSERTS
- Best Vegan Fudgy Brownies
- Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie
- Vegan Gluten-free Double Chocolate Muffins
- Grain-free Chocolate Coconut Cookies
- Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Vegan Zucchini Fudgy Brownies
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If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Chocolate Donuts (Gluten-free and Oil-free)
Ingredients
DONUTS
- 3/4 cup (96g) superfine oat flour
- 6 tablespoons (42g) superfine blanched almond flour (SEE NOTES for nut-free)
- 3 tablespoons (24g) tapioca starch (SEE NOTES below)
- 4 1/2 tablespoons (27g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
- 7 1/2 tablespoons (150g) pure maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons (90g) unsweetened applesauce
- 6 tablespoons (90g) room temperature water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
- 1/2 cup (85g) 69-70% bittersweet dairy-free chocolate chips (This will yield a darker chocolate ganache. I found it to be PERFECT. But use half SEMI-SWEET and half bittersweet for a standard sweet glaze if you like it sweeter. Especially for kids.)
- 1 tablespoon almond milk or another milk of choice that is runny (not too thick)
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
NOTE
- I always recommend to use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed, since we all measure differently. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessons room for error. You never need cups or to compare them to the weights, just use the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient. My recipes are 100% tested specifically using my exact weights and your results will turn out as mine are pictured this way.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and spray a 6 large donut nonstick pan with nonstick spray and gently wipe off any excess oil. Be careful not to wipe off too much or the donuts will stick! You absolutely cannot skip spray for using a donut pan. They stick terribly, otherwise! This is the donut pan I use.
- To a large bowl, add the oat flour, almond flour, tapioca, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and whisk very well. Make sure to break up any lumps so you will have a smooth batter.
- To a separate bowl, combine the syrup, applesauce, water and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients and whisk gently until the batter is completely smooth and mixed.
- Carefully spoon the batter divided evenly into the donut pan. The batter will fill up almost to the very top. Do not worry, this is how you will end up with fluffy donuts.
- Bake for 13 minutes until fluffy, well risen and a toothpick basically comes out clean from the center of one donut. Mine were perfect at 13 minutes, but yours may take another minute, depending on your oven. Just be very careful about overbaking these, as they can turn dry.
- Cool the donuts 15 minutes in the pan and then use the toothpick to help you gently lift the donuts out and place onto a cooling rack. Once the donuts are completely cooled, make the chocolate glaze.
- To make the glaze, add the chocolate chips and milk to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 30-45 seconds until almost melted. Whisk until completely smooth and add the syrup and vanilla and whisk once more.
- Take each donut and carefully press into the bowl of melted chocolate and slightly rotate it and then lift the donut out and set back onto the cooling rack. Repeat for each donut. Allow the glaze to firm up, around 15 minutes or so. Enjoy!
- Add leftovers donuts into a sealed container and store at room temperature. They are still good and moist by the 2nd day but will start to dry out after that.
Notes
- OAT FLOUR: I always use a store-bought oat flour by Bob's Red Mill because it is super fine and not grainy, therefore, creating a fluffy and smooth baked good. Often, grinding your own oat flour results in a rough texture, which will make dense donuts. Also, the measurements will be off if you use cup measurements of store-bought versus homemade oat flour. So, for the best results, I always recommend using store-bought oat flour and always weighing so you get the exact results I have here.
- ALMOND FLOUR SUB: Since these donuts are oil-free, the fat in the almond flour replaces oil and makes for moist donuts, as well as soft donuts. Again, superfine is important for soft and fluffy donuts. We don't want gritty donuts! If you are allergic to almonds, weigh the same gram amount given for almond flour with raw, unsalted sunflower kernels. Then grind the sunflower kernels up into a fine flour, as fine as you can get it without it turning into a paste. This will be a decent sub here since we aren't making a cake, where the superfine texture would normally be more crucial, since donuts are smaller and only rise a bit in comparison to a cake. Keep in mind that the ground up sunflower kernels will never be as fine as store-bought almond flour and will make the donuts a bit more gritty and dense, but should still be very delicious.
- TAPIOCA STARCH: I've tested all 3 starches...tapioca, cornstarch and potato starch and ALL 3 performed differently. Tapioca was the clear winner! They helped to keep these donuts the most moist by far, which was rather important here since they are oil-free. Tapioca lends more moisture than other starches. Cornstarch was nice and fluffy, but they were a tad more dry. Too dry for my liking. Potato starch was VERY DRY and crumbly. Do not use potato starch at all!
- NO DONUT PAN? I have addressed this within the post if you do not have a donut pan, so please read my suggestions there!
So delicious! And so easy – home and work loved them!
Yay, thrilled to hear that! Thank you for making them so quickly and leaving feedback!
I was looking for a fun new recipe to try to “stress bake” during this crazy pandemic and landed on these glorious donuts. My family went crazy over them! You know those primal “oh my gosh this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten” nosies? There were a lot of those. Lol. They are beautifully fluffy, oh so decadent, AND easy to make. Brandi, you’re a genius!
Haha YES, I know those noises very well! LOL! I’m so happy to hear how much you all loved these, yay!!
Couldn’t resist making these today! Happy St Patrick’s Day! No surprise, they are so fluffy, moist and chocolatey! The ganache is perfect! Good thing I made 12 donuts! Thank you, thank you!
Yay! So so happy to hear this Nina, thank you so much for making them and taking the time to leave feedback!!
My kids and I loved these donuts. Thank you so much for the delicious recipe! 😃
Hi Brandi — Oh you’ve done it again 🙂
These are supercalifragilisticexpealidocious (i did not consult spellcheck or wiki, ha!) … They are moist, flavorful, and the ganache frosting is fantastic, especially for those of us who are die-hard dark chocolate fans.
I used a scale as recommended, and while I don’t normally use oil or cooking sprays I did that too (we have the same donut pan).
I gave this recipe the five star rating but if you’d had 10 stars available I would’ve given all 10 to these donuts!
cheers & thank you!
Thank you so much Kate for this amazing feedback! It made me smile and laugh out loud, haha! So thrilled these were such a hit, it means a lot to hear! Thank you!
I see tapioca in the ingredients list- but in the actual preparation- does it go into the dry ingredients?
Oh yes, with the dry ingredients, sorry about that! Will get it fixed!
Finally!! I have been dying to make these all week and oooh, baby were they worth the wait! Brandi, you NAILED the consistency-SO tender, fluffy and moist without a hint of the typical GF gummy texture. And the taste! Not-too-sweet chocolate cake blending beautifully with the uber-decadent twang of the dark chocolate ganache…Sublime. If that weren’t enough, they’re easy to make and can be eaten in less than an hour of making them! Truly one of your best recipes yet, and that’s saying something because you know I ADORE your other recipes!! =D Thank you so much, Brandi, and may you and your family stay safe & well. 💜
These donuts were a huge hit in our home, especially with my kiddos! Thank you Brandi for all you do! We make tons of your recipes and they couldn’t be easier! ❤
I forgot to rate them 5 stars from my previous comment! These are SO good!
Thank you so much Melissa for making them! They were totally perfect on Instagram!
Could I use all purpose flour as I have uneven able to get oats or oat flour?
Or Whole Wheat Pastry Flour?
Hi Caroline, you can certainly try it, I just can’t guarantee how the texture will compare! Use the same gram weight amount as the oat flour and be careful not to overmix it, as since pastry flour contains gluten, I’m hoping they won’t turn out too chewy or dry, let me know! This is of course only in place of the oat flour, the almond flour and starch can’t be subbed.
Thanks! I’ll let you know!
They turned out perfect…light and fluffy and full of chocolate deliciousness. I took your advice and weight my flour and then folded the wet ingredients into the dry so that the flour wouldn’t be overworked. Even my Omni Hubster approves. I posted pictures on IG and #TheVegan8 Thanks.
Yay, really happy to hear that it worked well Caroline!! Thanks for letting me know!
These were delicious! Easy to prepare, light, fluffy and deeply chocolatey…very decent nutritional profile too, for a sweet treat. Thanks so much for this recipe Brandi 🍩🎉💚
That is so wonderful to hear, thank you so much Michele for the awesome feedback!
Delicious! More like real cake than cake donuts though. Everyone loved them.
So glad everybody loved them! Yes, exactly, they are supposed to be cakey donuts! They are baked, not fried, so baked will never resemble fried donuts.
Just made these! Amazing! I would add a photo if I could. I love your recipes! I did post your link on Facebook.
Thank you so kindly Debby for the wonderful review!!
A perfect Easter cake treat, punchy chocolate hit, wonderful texture with perfectly balanced sweetness. Served with coconut yogurt and berries. Thank you so very much Brandi, your donuts are dreamy and made my day!
So very happy to hear that Christine!!
Would this work for donut holes? I have a little pand that makes donut holes?
I don’t know, I’ve only ever made it with a standard donut pan. If your pan allows for a runny batter, than maybe? If the dough needs to be stiff, it won’t work since this is a batter and not a dough.
Thanks, Brandi, for another amazing recipe! I subbed whole wheat pastry flour for the oat flour and also made my own almond flour by blanching raw almonds, letting them dry overnight, and then putting them in my food processor with the “S” blade to create almond flour. Although the almond flour wasn’t as fine as commercial almond flour, the donuts came out perfect! They were light and fluffy and I thought they tasted just like the chocolate cake of a Hostess Suzy Q, which I loved as a kid. And I didn’t even spray my donut pan, because I don’t use cooking spray and so I didn’t have any, and they didn’t stick and came out of the pan without even breaking. I also didn’t glaze them. They were so good and chocolatey that they don’t even need it!
SO happy to hear you loved these Nadine, thank you so much for making them!!
I just went to make them again and realized that you left out where to add the tapioca starch. I’m assuming it’s in step 2 with the dry ingredients. I didn’t even notice that the first time (I did add it in that step). Thought you would want to fix that.
These are so good. They’re so decadent and fluffy too! I love the glaze on top too for a little extra. I don’t know which ones I love more- these or the original cinnamon ones!
Awesome Amy! Yes, that is a hard choice, lol! Depending on the mood for sure…sometimes I want cinnamon and sometimes chocolate, haha.
These were the best I’ve ever made. Have never been disappointed with any recipes I’ve used from this site. My hubby ordered me the cookbook and am excited to Receive it Tried to post a pic, but I guess that’s not an option, understandable.
That’s amazing to hear Vickie, thank you! No, my design theme doesn’t allow photos to be posted in comments.
These (as many of your recipes) are simple amazing!!!! The texture and flavor are just perfect!!
Delicious! So chocolatey and moist too. It’s hard to believe these are vegan, oil, and gluten free. Everyone in my family loved them and I wished I had doubled the recipe so I had more haha
These are perfect. I skip the chocolate glaze and my whole family loves them for a fluffy sweet treat. This last time I accidentally used peppermint extract instead of vanilla and we loved it!
Amazing… first time using my donut pan. I made a couple swaps – agave for maple, homemade oat flour and fine rice flour for the tapioca – still turned out amazing. Filled the cups too high, because I think my donut pan volume is less than yours so they had muffin tops. I used less chocolate chips and mixed them with coconut cream, will probably make again. I want to try to swap some of the dry with protein powder so I can justify a 2 donut breakfast
These are amazing! Mine are so fluffy! I’m new to vegan and gluten free (by a month) and easy yummy recipes are life changing.
Would love to see other kinds of donut recipes (I’ll have to check around for more flavors)
So awesome to hear Crystal! Yes, see my other donut recipe linked on the recipe card and in the post!
5 stars plus!! I’m not really a cake donut fan, but thought I would make these with my granddaughter, who is GF. Finally got my donut pans and we carefully did all of the measuring. I couldn’t believe how delicious they were. Light and moist, not dense like at the donut shops. The chocolate topping was a perfect consistency. I put the remaining ones in sandwich bags and noticed the topping didn’t stick to the bags. All the better. I have a feeling there won’t be any left after today, but these would easily freeze I would think. Thank you for all the work you did to make these perfect. Do not miss the eggs and oil at all.
So thrilled to hear this Angela!! Thanks for the amazing feedback!
Can tapioca flour be used in place of tapioca starch? Are they the same thing?
Same thing!
Oh my gosh, these doughnuts are indeed the best! So fluffy, soft, and absolutely delicious.
Woohoo lovely to hear it!
We went through 3 other vegan donuts, that all used flour, and they turned out not so good.
We came to your site, remembering we had the cookbook and your website had a donut recipe, and these turned out phenomenal!
We actually made 18 of them over 48 hours. They’re amazing!
They easily pass off as 5 dollar each vegan and gluten free donuts from a shop. Overall, we love these and will be making them all the time! Thank you
Wow, that is so amazing Michael! So glad my recipe was the winner, you are so king, thanks for the amazing feedback!
These are so good!!!!! Even my non-vegan, gluten-eating husband loved them. The family devoured these as soon as they were ready to eat. And, they are also super easy to make. Thank you!
These babies are decadent!!
If I make the ganache a day before baking the donut, will I be able to reheat it a little (or add hot water) to thin it out again to glaze the donuts the next day?
No, don’t add water! Adding water to chocolate will cause it to seize up immediately. Reheating chocolate is very finicky, sometimes it works and sometimes it clumps up and is ruined so I personally wouldn’t make it the day before, as it only takes a minute to make anyways.
Made these donuts and they were amazing!!! Rather than using real maple syrup, I used a sugar free one and also sugar free chocolate chips. My donut pan makes 12 and I was able to get 11 out of it. Will be tripling the recipe next time as they went really quickly lol
Haha I love hearing that Jess!
Made these today but subbed chickpea flour for the almond flour. Weighed everything as suggested. They are delicious and so easy!
My four year old grandson thinks these are amazing. I didn’t make the glaze, trying to limit his sugar intake. He has a wheat allergy so it was great knowing I could make a special treat for him. Thanks so much!
Girl!!!!! These are delicious. My four year old grandson cannot have wheat. His mommy can’t have wheat or dairy. He has his first T-ball game tomorrow. I am so happy to give the family these donuts to enjoy as a special treat after his first game. Thanks again for your amazing recipes.
Yay, thank you so much Melva!
I WILL FOREVER FOLLOW YOU AND YOUR RECIPES! Yes I shouted that as I typed it! I am vegan, gluten free and oil free and finding recipes can be difficult. I am pretty good at the science for creating some new recipes but I could not do donuts. I just couldn’t. Finally did a search and found your recipe. They are moist, fluffy, cakey, perfectly sweet and rich. I only had a mini donut pan but cut bake time to 9.5 minutes and they were perfect. My hubby is an omni sweets addict and loved these as well. You are a genius and I am super grateful.
Awww Kim, this made my day!! SO happy you loved these so much! Thank you for the wonderful review!