Learn how to make the most delicious Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Donuts gluten-free and oil-free! These donuts are so soft, fluffy and moist, baked and not fried. It is hard to believe they contain no oil or gluten!
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VEGAN CINNAMON SUGAR DONUTS GLUTEN-FREE OIL-FREE
I’m whistling at these donuts, because gluten-free never looked so pretty! They are just as delicious as these Vegan Baked Chocolate Chip Donuts and those are fantastic. I’ve received many requests for a classic cinnamon sugar donut, in particular, a gluten-free one. Cinnamon sugar donuts used to be one of my favorite types of donuts as a kid.
These Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Donuts are not only oil-free and gluten-free, they are incredibly soft, light and fluffy. They are baked, not fried, so they have a cakey texture, that I just love. I’m not into the greasy fried donuts these days, yuck. If you want to learn more about baking oil-free, be sure to check out all of my tips and tricks on How to Cook and Bake Without Oil!
GLUTEN-FREE BAKED DONUTS
Have you ever notice most gluten-free donuts are just lumpy bumpy and ugly? They just are! But not these my friends. I have to be honest, not only do I need my food to taste good, I want it to look pretty. These babies look just like ones made with all-purpose flour, don’t they? These vegan cinnamon sugar donuts aren’t just fluffy, they aren’t dense or mushy! Gluten-free often is.
To make these fluffy and soft, I used my go-to flour blend that is the base of my most popular cake on the blog, my Funfetti Cake! That recipe has hundreds of remakes and I’ve seen so many of your kid’s birthday parties and that cake is a hit with all the non-vegans too.
So, naturally I wanted to test the blend as a gluten-free donut. I simply added cinnamon and scaled down the recipe and added a cinnamon sugar coating. They turned out perfect!
HOW TO MAKE BAKED VEGAN CINNAMON SUGAR DONUTS
To make the best baked vegan cinnamon sugar donuts, you will just need 8 ingredients:
- blanched almond flour
- white rice flour
- potato starch
- baking powder
- cinnamon
- maple syrup
- lite coconut milk
- sugar
You only need 1 big bowl and a donut pan and a tiny bowl for the coating.
First, you will add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl, add the wet and whisk until a smooth batter forms.
Divide the batter into the donut pan. Bake for 14 minutes until light, fluffy and they are a light golden color.
Mix the cinnamon sugar in a small bowl and coat one side of the donuts.
Or do the glaze option listed below if you prefer! Basically, both are delicious.
SUBSTITUTIONS
I will say what I always say. To get the best vegan cinnamon sugar donuts, you need to follow the exact recipe and weigh the ingredients. Anytime you sub a flour or ingredient, you are changing the result and sometimes it is a fail. Baking is a science, always remember that. However, I give suggestions below if absolutely needed.
Almond flour: Crucial as it is what gives these vegan cinnamon sugar donuts their moisture. It simply cannot be replaced. If you are allergic to nuts, it will be best to find a recipe online that doesn’t use nuts. Or, you can try replacing it with ground up sunflower kernels. Note, this will obviously yield a sunflower taste and make them more dense.
White rice flour: It leaves no nasty aftertaste like brown rice flour does. It also gives much better binding. Brown rice flour will make them dry and crumbly. If you cannot have rice, then I think subbing with all-purpose flour would work in place of the rice flour (although I have not tested it), you will sub it with the same weight amount of 120g. They weigh differently per tablespoon, so if you are not measuring by weight, you will need to do 3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons, but weighing will provide best results.
WHY POTATO STARCH?
Potato starch: Do everything you can to find this ingredient if you want the best results. Many grocery stores sell it or simply order it off Amazon. I buy Bob’s Red Mill. Potato starch does not behave the same as other starches. When there is a good amount of it in a recipe, like with these donuts, subbing it will have very different results. This ingredient is the very starch that makes these donuts light and fluffy. Tapioca starch and cornstarch simply will not yield the same results. Tapioca will make them gooey and rubbery. Cornstarch will make them more dense and chewy. This is the result I’ve noticed when combined with almond flour. It would be better than tapioca, so it’s up to you if you want to try the cornstarch. Just please keep in mind that it will make them much more chewy and dense.
Coconut milk: Okay, I know people will ask about this one. Lite coconut milk yields no coconut taste, yet adds wonderful moisture and lightness to the donuts. If you are allergic to coconut, I would suggest another high fat milk for best results. Cashew milk will likely work, although they will perhaps be a tad less light and less moist.
Donuts and coffee, or even better, the Best Vegan Hot Chocolate with whipped cream, never looked so good.
I really hope you all love these Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Donuts! As always, please come back and leave feedback if you love them. I hope these detailed tips are helpful.
OTHER VEGAN BREAKFAST RECIPES TO TRY
- Best Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Best Vegan Fluffy Pancakes
- Vegan Chocolate Crepes
- Vegan Sweet Potato Muffins
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 Cinnamon Sugar Donuts (Gluten-free & Oil-free)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (84g) superfine blanched almond flour
- 3/4 cup (120g) white rice flour
- 6 tablespoons (60g) potato starch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (200g) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (150g) canned "lite" coconut milk, shaken first (The Taste of Thai and the Sprouts brands are great)
CINNAMON SUGAR
- 6 tablespoons (60g) white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
SUGAR GLAZE OPTION
- 2 tablespoons (30g) canned "lite" coconut milk, you can sub other milks, but the glaze will be thinner
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (140g) powdered sugar, sifted if it is lumpy
NOTE
- Regarding SUBS, refer to the notes listed above in the post. Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
- I use this donut pan.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and spray a 6 regular size donut pan well with nonstick spray. If you don't spray them, they WILL STICK. This recipe makes 7 donuts, which I know is a little annoying since the pan is only 6 but hey, you get an extra donut and the batter is totally fine sitting out as the first batch bakes. Also, this may VARY depending on your pan having different donut size holes or depth of each one.
- To a large bowl, add the almond flour, rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and whisk very well to ensure there are no lumps. Pour the syrup and milk over the dry ingredients and whisk until completely smooth. It should be similar to a cake batter, pour-able. Do not worry about over mixing, this is a gluten-free batter and the smoother, the better.
- Divide the batter evenly into the 6 donut pan, reserving enough for the 7th donut. Basically the batter should be filled up to about 1/8- 1/4 inch gap remaining at the top of each cavity.
- Bake 12-15 minutes. Each batch mine were perfect at 14 minutes. They are done when a toothpick basically comes out clean. A few dry crumbs are ok, as they will still finish cooking as they cool. Do not overbake.
- Leave the donuts to cool in the pan JUST 5 minutes. This will allow them to set a bit, but then you will want to gently remove them to coat the bottoms of the donuts while still warm. This will help the sugar to stick better.
- You can choose to either add the cinnamon sugar coating or the glaze. I did both and loved both equally! For the cinnamon sugar, combine them in a bowl and whisk until well combined. After the donuts have cooled in the pan for just 5 minutes, gently remove the donuts. Slide a toothpick around the edges of the donuts if needed to loosen and they should pop right out. Place the bottom side of the donut (that had the spray on it) and coat with cinnamon sugar. The sugar sticks well since there is a bit of nonstick spray on it, the dry side did not stick well. I also found this half amount was perfectly sweet enough! If you used a pan and no nonstick spray, the cinnamon sugar will not stick, so the glaze will be a better option.
- Place all the coated donuts onto a cooling rack to cool completely. They will still finish "cooking" as they cool and get even more fluffy. So, it's best to let them cool before eating.
- For the glaze, combine the sugar and milk and whisk until completely smooth. Place the donut flat into the glaze and rotate it to coat it. Place on a wire rack to let the glaze set. You can also speed up the drying by placing it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Store the cooled donuts in a covered container so they don't dry out. They will stay moist and fresh this way.
Notes
MORE VEGAN DONUT RECIPES
Nutrition
All I can say is WOW!!! These are FANTASTIC!!!! I love the flavor and texture combination from these flours and the delicateness of the maple syrup and cinnamon. Perfectly balanced! This recipe is definitely a keeper. The best part is it tastes like we are eating the real thing. I think they’re actually better tho. Thank you so much!!! Please keep the recipes coming, you’re doing a great job!!
Yay Leila, you are so sweet!! Thanks for the awesome feedback!
Divine! Easy! Loved them!
Yay!
Another five star rating for the Vegan 8! Her recipes DO NOT DISAPPOINT and this one is no exception! Delicious! Family and friends would be so surprised to learn that these beauties are vegan, oil free and gluten free.
I doubled the recipe to feed 4 hungry kiddos AND I wanted to try both toppings. I also just purchased a giant donut mold pan that I wanted to fill. They are moist and full of cinnamon flavor. Skip the donut shop this weekend and give these a try.
That is so amazing to hear Kristina!!
Amazing!!! I dipped some in chocolate but I actually liked the cinnamon sugar ones better. I’m not usually a gluten free type of gal but these were so good!
Omg! These were freakin’ amazing! So light and fluffy…drool! I did half cinnamon sugar and half glazed. Both were delicious! My husband said they were some of the best donuts he’s ever had…will definitely be making this recipe again!
Woohoo, that is the best feedback ever, thank you Teresa!
I am new to a very restrictive diet and thank goodness I stumbled upon your recipe! I followed the basic recipe only substituting the coconut milk with almond milk and didnt add the coating as I cannot have sugar other than honey and maple syrup. I am so grateful and happy to find a little ray of treat sunshine in my world ! lol
thank you so much !
These are delicious and easy! I used macadamia milk instead of coconut milk. They are a huge hit with my family this morning.
Oh and also it made 11 donuts!;
These are credibly delicious. I did not have flour on hand so I used sweets sorghum flour and about 3 tablespoons of Cassava flour In place of the rice flour.
I made these today with Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flour instead of white rice, because it’s what I had on hand, and they were DELICIOUS. Everyone who tried one loved it!
The best donuts I’ve ever had!!!
This looks amazing, but I’m wondering if I can substitute the almond flour with anything else??
Hi Lidia, no I’m sorry, the almond flour is crucial to the texture and flavor here in these donuts. It provides softness and moisture since these have no added oil.
I’m so impressed with lots of five star reviews, can’t wait to try it myself. Where I live maple syrup is imported item, they are very expensive. Honey also expensive. What else can I use to substitute?
Hi! Agave is the best sub for syrup!
I am guilty of not reading everything and used a couple things I had on hand that you said weren’t as good. Oops.
I used brown rice flour and cornstarch.
THANKFULLY they turned out beautifully.
Light and delicious.
I will definitely get some white rice flour and potato starch for the next batch because if those ingredients make these better, I can only imagine how great they’ll be.
Also, my donut pan must be small because I got 12 donuts out of this recipe!
I do have one question….
Can these be frozen?
I’ve never tried freezing these, so I really don’t know but you can always try! And yes, potato starch and the white rice makes these much fluffier and taste better too!
I’m excited to try and make these. I have sweet white rice flour I used in one of your other recipes. Would this work or do you think I should get regular white rice flour? Thanks.
No, you definitely don’t want to use sweet rice flour here, as it is would make these much more tough and chewy. The regular white rice flour is important here for texture.
Best donuts by far the best recipe thank you!
Yay Minal, that is so great to hear!
I made these today exactly as it’s written, they are perfect texture & super tasty 😋, Brandi I font know how you create your recipes but I’m soo thankful for you !!
I’m thrilled to hear that Natasha and you are so sweet, thank you! Lots and lots of testing to get things perfect, hahaha! Your appreciation means the world, so thank you!
I made these donuts today and they are absolutely delicious!! I haven’t had a donut in years because of gf vegan. Some donuts I’ve had were dense and dry. These were moist and fluffy. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I’m so thrilled to hear this Michelle, thank you so much for making them!
Hi there! I’m excited to make these donuts, but wondering if I could sub apple cider for the liquid, because I’m really craving cider donuts that I can have. Please let me know what you think.
Hi Valerie! I really can’t say since I’ve not tested it. I wouldn’t know how much to tell you try subbing. The coconut milk helps to make these light and fluffy, so subbing some of that milk for apple cider will change the texture. You can always try subbing with half the amount of milk with apple cider and see how they work.
I’m just making the donuts
I’m confused as to why it says 3/4 cup for the almond flour and 3/4 cup for the rice flour, but in grams it’s too totally different weights.
Which should I use?
Thank you in advance.
I love your recipes….
Hi Juliet, that is because almond flour is a nut ground into flour and rice flour is a grain. They simply weigh differently. Many flours will have different weights in gram, even if the same volume is used in cups, so you always want to use my weights listed, as those are exactly what are used to create/test the recipe. Hope that helps!
Hi!
Is the almond flour you use just ground up blanched almonds or is it more processed and contains less fat than regular almonds? Here in Austria almond flour is rarely used and the one I found in a health food store has around 12g of fat / 100g so part of the oil is removed. Just want to use the right one because I’m pretty sure the fat content does make a difference.
Thank you!
Hi Anne-Sophie! Oh wow, yeah, that is definitely less fat, that is so odd they would remove the oil! Per 112 grams on my bag, it would be 40g of fat. Basically, it is whole almonds, blanched and the skins removed, dried and then ground up into a fine flour. You definitely need the fat or the donuts would be dry. Maybe try finding it online? Do you have Amazon there?
These were amazing! They tasted like a cinnamon roll but in a fluffy donut. I followed the recipe exactly using a scale and it was perfection. My whole family devoured them. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
I need an alternative to the nonstick spray. Don’t have any and would prefer not to use it. I’m assuming I need to use something even if it’s a nonstick donut pan.
I’ve never had luck with donuts without the nonstick spray, they stick terribly. Especially since these donuts do not have oil in them. Try greasing the pan with an oil and see if that works.
I just made them and they are really good! White rice flour is not available where I live (only brown), so I made it myself by soaking basmati rice for a couple hours, letting it dry (not completely) for 1 hour on a clean t-shirt and then blending it as finely as possible in the food processor. It didn’t get super fine even after sifting the bigger chunks out, but it worked. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you loved these Sophie!
Brandi!! I love how knowledgeable you are with different flours! The combination of these is simple genius! And I LOVE that all your recipes are oil free!! These were delicious!! Thank you!!
That is so kind Kelsey, thank you! I’m thrilled to hear you loved these!!
5 star recipe. So wonderful. Thank you.