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
UNETHICIAL-Thai Kitchen brand coconut products. FYI, you may want to refrain from recommending this brand (see delicious recipe above). Thai Kitchen is notorious of using enslaved monkeys to pick their coconuts. Despite promises that they finally stopped using slave monkeys, recent proof shows they have not!
We really enjoyed this recipe. I used bobs red mill GF flour instead of rice flour and a normal can of coconut milk because that’s what I had on hand. They were really good but too moist. We had to cook them a lot longer to dry them out. Next time I’ll try to make sure we have the lite coconut milk on hand!
Yes, high fat coconut milk will make them extra moist!
Thank you for this excellent recipe! Loved the donuts and would love to make them again but the issue I had was with stickiness, the donuts stuck to the roof of the mouth while eating. Could you please help me troubleshoot this? I made the following changes:
Used sunflower seed meal in place of almond flour because of allergy concerns
Subbed brown rice flour for white rice, it’s what I had
Used arrowroot starch in place of potato starch because that’s what I had
Subbed regular coconut milk in place of lite coconut milk since that’s what I had
Thanks again!
Hi Megh! You completely changed the recipe with all the main ingredients, so that is why they didn’t turn out right. Baking is scientific, so changing anything can alter the results. Since these are gluten-free, it is even more crucial to follow a recipe as written. Sunflower seed is not as fine as almond flour, so that will alone change the result. However, I would have stopped there with the changes. They would still likely turn out ok with only subbing sunflower seed meal. Brown rice flour does not perform the same as white flour, it will be more gritty. And arrowroot is complete opposite of potato starch. Potato starch makes things more fluffy. And full fat coconut milk is adding way too much fat and moisture. For the best results, I’d really advise following recipe using my gram weights listed with only changing the sunflower seed. I test my recipes heavily so there is a reason every ingredient is used that I choose. I would wait to make them until you can get the correct ingredients from the store for better success!
Makes a lot of sense! I will only sub the sunflower seed meal and see what happens. I have bought the other ingredients listed here and will make the donuts tomorrow and report here. Thank you very much for a detailed and thoughtful reply!!
Hi Brandi! Got this recipe through a friend and the donuts are amazing!!
I want to make them for a couple events coming up, and wondering how to store them. (and hopefully the family won’t inhale them beforehand). You write a covered container, but if I’m bringing them 3 days from now, should they be left out in a container or put in the fridge. I know you recommended not freezing them. And should they be covered in parchment paper in the container? Thank You!
Hi Kim! Hmm, that’s tough because they are not going to be as fresh 3 days in advance. I’m afraid they may dry out or just get an unpleasant texture because potato starch starts to dry out baked goods with each day. I’d do a test batch before the event just to make sure! I’d layer each donut in between parchment paper so they don’t stick together from the sugar and moisture and in a glass container would be best.
Another great recipe. I have made these donuts today. My boss said to keep the recipe, they are better than the proper fat one. I was so happy as if it is my recipe 😋☺
OMG sooo good! I have been looking for a GF/Oil-free/vegan/refined sugar-free donut recipe for FOREVER, but never thought of checking your site (duh!) lol. I made them in my mini donut pan, and for anyone who may be wondering, they baked to perfection for 7-10 mins. I coated half in the sugar coating but used date sugar instead of white. The other hallf I left plain. YUM! I also only had about 3 tbsp of white rice flour left, so I used that, with the rest brown rice flour. I will MOST CERTAINLY be making these again!
That is so awesome Magy!
Just tried this recipe for a function and all the skeptics were pleasantly surprised. Soft and very delicious.
Awesome!
So I substituted sifted cassava flour (120 g) for the almond flour, omitted the potato starch, and added extra 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp cardamom (since cassava flour needs extra seasoning). They turned out ok but rather dry. Next time I may add a bit of oil or applesauce to see if that would fix it. It made 15 mini donuts -10 minutes baking time.
Hi Kristi, the reason they turned out dry is because you substituted the two main flours. The almond flour is high fat which is what makes them so moist, the way that oil/butter would. Be removing that, and additionally replacing the potato starch as well, will completely alter the texture, moisture, everything, which you have seen. Recipes that call for almond flour as a main flour simply can’t be subbed or they will be dry. I removed your star rating since it doesn’t reflect a true rating of the recipe since you changed two main ingredients. Baking is so scientific, so I definitely recommend following the listed ingredients for the best results!
Hi Brandi
Can I use an alternative GF flour instead of white rice for the donut recipe?
Thanks
Maria
Hi Maria! White rice gives the best results, so I can’t vouch for the results if you change the recipe. Adding a gf blend with the already existing cornstarch will likely make them very dense.
No surprise here, another hit recipe. Instead of making more donuts with my extra batter I put it into a small ramekin, with some of the cinnamon sugar mixture in between two layers of batter. Oh my gosh, it was like my own personal delicious coffee cake. So moist and fluffy and yummy. Brandi really knows how to manipulate ingredients in the best way! This one is a keeper. P.s. I also made the almond butter chocolate chip muffins from your book at the same time and those are also to die for!!
You made my Day! Thank you so much!
I’ve made these twice and the recipe is spot on! Also, they make great mini- donuts. I made 12 minis and 3 full size donuts with one batch 🙂 thanks for this recipe!
Jumping on the “Brandi is the best” bandwagon. Followed the recipe exactly and turned out exactly as pictured. I had a hard time getting out clumps in the dry ingredients with a whisk, so added a sifting step. Can confirm that this works with mini donuts as well, in case you accidentally order the wrong pan🙄, but with more extra batter.
Oh My Goodness, these are incredible!!!!! I have tried vegan GF donut recipes before and none have tasted great, except these! I will be looking at many many more of your recipes from now on 🙂 Due to allergies it is so nice to be able to make myself the same treats I buy my family and not compromise on flavour or texture.
Yay, I really am happy you loved these so much!!
It’s so delicious!!! Just one moment I want to ask. Can I put less syrup? If I ll put just 1/2 of syrup and another 1/2 I ll add more coconut milk? If we count wet ingredients , so it will be the same amount. Thank you.
You can try that! Just know that the texture will change because syrup has no fat and the milk does, so the donuts texture will change.
These donuts are insane. Any time I find a recipe that’s both vegan and GF, and also easy to make, I’m always very skeptical. When these cooled down and I took a bite, I couldn’t believe how fluffy and perfect they were. If I didn’t know better I wouldn’t believe they are GF. And healthy too?! 5 stars isn’t enough!!
I’m so happy and flattered you really loved them so much!
Love these donuts. They are fluffy, with a great texture and flavour. So happy to have found your website. I’m looking forward to trying other recipes.
Can you freeze these?
No I don’t advise freezing these because of the potato starch, they dry out too much.
WOOOHOOO!!! Some folks make turkey on Thanksgiving, I make donuts!!! Hey, it’s 2020, so anything goes right? 🤷♀️ These CINNAMON SUGAR DONUTS are the BOMB!!! 😋😋😋 Moist, fluffy and stupid easy to make!!! 😁 And you would never know they are gluten free! 😲 Can’t wait to try your other donut recipes!
I’m so thrilled these were such a hit, thank you Cathrine!
Finally bought a donut pan so I could make this recipe! Absolutely delicious! Upset with myself it took me so long to make them.
Awesome Katie! You should try the Apple cider donuts next!