Baked Chocolate Donuts with chocolate frosting that are vegan (and will blow your mind!) These soft and fluffy donuts are made with simple dairy free ingredients. I’m not vegan, but holy heck – these donuts have changed my life!
Baked Vegan Chocolate Donuts Recipe
One of my proudest baking moments was the day I first made these chocolate donuts! They are so soft and moist, and can you believe it – they’re made with simple dairy free vegan ingredients!! Seriously, they’re going to blow your mind, I’m telling you now.
In NYC, there’s a bakery called Dun-Well that sells the most amazing vegan donuts (add it to your must visit list – it’s in Brooklyn!). My family is not vegan (at all) but hands down they’re our favorite donuts. This got me to thinking… how the heck do they do it? So I made these chocolate donuts!
Yes, this recipe is vegan but it doesn’t require any hard-to-find fancy ingredients. Simply whip the batter up in 1 bowl, bake in a donut pan and finish them off with sweet chocolate frosting. They’re so easy to make!
This recipe makes 6 chocolate donuts. You can easily double the ingredients if you want to make a full dozen.
Want more baked donut recipes? Try my Baked Sugar Donuts, Baked Strawberry Donuts, Glazed Carrot Cake Donuts and Chocolate Chip Donuts.
Ingredients for Vegan Chocolate Donuts
Vegan donut ingredients are pretty similar to making regular donuts. I promise that you don’t need fancy ingredients- you know what I mean, pricey or hard to find. Everything can be found at your local grocery store.
- all-purpose flour
- white sugar
- cocoa powder
- baking soda
- salt
- vegetable oil
- vanilla extract
- unsweetened almond milk (I’ve also made these with oat milk and they turned out well!)
- powdered sugar
- dairy free butter (we use Earth Balance)
How To Bake Chocolate Donuts
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in the wet ingredients until a smooth batter is formed.
Evenly pour the batter into the greased donut pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Make the chocolate frosting in a bowl which is a mixture of powdered sugar, dairy free butter, almond milk, cocoa powder and vanilla.
Let donuts cool completely before removing them from the pan and adding the frosting.
Storing chocolate donuts
Store chocolate donuts at room temperature, covering them with plastic wrap (careful to not stick to the frosting) or lid. My tip is that I place a large bowl (upside down) on top of the plate of donuts, making my own lid!
You can also store in the refrigerator but I do think they dry out a little bit, and since this recipe only makes 6 donuts, you probably will have them finished in a few days!
Can these be made gluten free?
Since making these, this question has come up often in the comments. Yes, you can make these into gluten free donuts! Simply swap out the all purpose flour for a gluten free 1:1 flour blend.
Pin for later:
Mind Blowing Baked Vegan Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Frosting
PrintIngredients
For the donuts
- 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
For the frosting
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons dairy free butter (I use Earth Balance) melted
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
For the donuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a donut pan with nonstick spray. This recipe makes 6 donuts.
- Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add oil, vanilla and milk and continue to stir until smooth.
- Pour batter into donut pan and bake for 12 minutes. Insert toothpick and if it comes out clean, donuts are done. If toothpick is not clean, bake for 2-3 more minutes or until clean.
- Let donuts cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.
For the frosting
- In a bowl using a hand mixer, mix together powdered sugar and butter until creamed well.
- Add milk, cocoa powder and vanilla and continue to mix until creamy and well combined.
- Once donuts are cool, dip them into the frosting to cover the tops. Enjoy!
Abi says
Hi..I tried this recipe..exactly. my donuts were too delicate.. it just broke when I took out the pan…do we have to cool it before removing from the pan ?it’s generally advised to quickly remove the donuts. Pls help.
Pamela says
Hey Abi, per recipe instructions you need to let these cool before removing. I’ve never heard of quickly removing hot donuts from the pan. In general I always find it best to let baked goods cool before removing from their pan. Hope you give it another shot.
Lisa says
Glad I found this comment. Usually with baked goods they say to cool only for a few minutes then remove. Most baked goods will stick if you let them cool completely in pan. MIne are simply coming out as crumbs but I will let the rest of them cool completely and see if they will come out in one piece.
Pamela says
Hey Lisa – did you make sure to spray the donut pan with nonstick spray? I’ve made these donuts dozens of times and mine always come out clean. They’re a favorite of many readers of the blog so I hope you can figure out what went wrong – they’re worth it!
Ambi says
Hi! Pamela,
I tried the donut recipe in individual tiny donut molds. Though the donuts fell apart while demolding yet the taste was awesome almost like chocolate muffins. I baked them initially for 10-12 mins but they looked undone but were fluffy. After that I baked them for another 3 mins and the top became flat and crusty. Finally after cooling them for 20mins when I demolded they crumbled. Could you please tell me where did i go wrong…. Yours look soooooo tempting and perfect. Would like to try once more with your guidance. Hope to see your reply soon. 🙂
Thanks.
Ambi
Chellie says
These look like Heaven in a pastry! Yum–can’t wait to try them. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ambi says
Hi! Pamela,
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I have been desperately looking for an eggless version that could be baked in a donut pan. Am strongly allergic to eggs and so happy to have found this recipe. However, if I wished to change it to plain Vanilla and remove cocoa powder what should be the ratio of all purpose flour and other ingredients… It would be very kind if you could reply asap. thanks in advance. 🙂
Pamela says
Hey Ambi, thanks for stopping by! Since I haven’t made a vanilla version of these donuts I don’t want to give you a wrong guess. Subscribe to the newsletter and I’ll try to keep a vanilla recipe in mind for the future!
Ambi says
Thanks Pamela 🙂 Hope u try out the Vanilla version soooooooonnnnn… Will be waiting eagerly!!! 🙂
danakscully64 says
These were delicious! Very rich. The only issue I had with them was they fell apart really easily. Next time I make them I’ll freeze them before I glaze.
Pamela says
So happy you enjoyed them!
Anita says
This recipe looks so delicious! Hi, I’m Anita visiting from Foodie Fridiy.
Kathryn Doherty says
You don’t have to beg. I will gladly dive face-first into a huge plate of these! My donut pans have been feeling neglected lately and I know just how to fix that. YUM!
Ra says
Hello – LOVE the donuts. Just wondering how long do you think they would last and is it best to store them in the fridge or ?? Im wanting to make a batch for a birthday thats al. Thanks again
Pamela says
Hey Ra, I find they usually last for about 5 days. You can keep them in a airtight container or throw them in the fridge, but I’d heat them up for a seconds to get them warm before diving in! You can also freeze leftover donuts, and then heat up accordingly! Happy early Birthday!
Shawna Farris says
does the icing set up on the donuts?
Leah says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I ended up substituting some cake flavored protein powder for the cocoa powder, and it was AMAZING! Still soft with a delicious white cake taste. and you are definitely right about the chocolate frosting! It is incredible!
Also, I did not have any vegetable oil. I made a chocolate batch and used almond oil – those ended up getting burnt and only 10 minutes, and everything stuck to the tray even with the cooking spray.
When I tried the protein powder batch, I used coconut oil. The donuts ended up so soft and so delicious. Nothing stuck to the tray. I probably could’ve left them in for another 30 seconds to a minute.
Thanks again for sharing your recipe!
Pamela says
Since I always need extra protein, what a great idea using that cake protein powder! So glad you enjoyed these donuts, they’re one of my favorite treats! Thanks for stopping by Leah!
JEnnifer C says
Hey. These donuts look absolutely amazing!!! Would it be possible to convert them GF?
Pamela says
I don’t see why not! Let me know how they come out!
marie says
I made these tonight (w/o fristing) and they were yummy! I’m not really a donut fan (we attempted these for my son), but I loved these. But… I could not get them out of the pan. I baked them for 12 minutes since they did not look done at 10. But should they have gone longer? I wasn’t sure how to tell if they were done. And then the instructions don’t say how to cool them. I let them cool for about 5 minutes then tried to turn them out onto a cooling rack. 4 came out, but they tore. I left the other two in the pan and let them cool another 15 minutes but they would not come out either. Any tips?
Pamela says
Hey Marie, I’m glad you enjoyed these donuts! I let mine cool in the donut pan for about 15-20 minutes. Usually I just stick a butter knife under one side and the donut just pops out. By letting them sit, they shouldn’t be too soft or fall apart. Have fun!
Ulees heart says
So I made them—the donut is seriously soft soft soft. It had some trouble making it out of the donut pan alive. I may have over filled them though–next time I’d put in a smaller amount and make more than the recommended 6 donuts. Estimating based on how the donuts crumbled under pressure of being so large, I’d say you can prob get 9 donuts out of the batter. You could probably even make these into smallish cupcakes too. The flavor is a dark chocolately fluffy goodness. Very very delicious.
The icing is completely killer. Perfect for adding extra toppings like sprinkles and holds its own without any extra sugar. My kids totally loved them. Thanks for a great DF donut!
Pamela says
So glad you enjoyed these donuts and frosting! Love the addition of fun sprinkles! 🙂
Aimee / WallflowerGirl.co.uk says
Love these and LOVE that they’re dairy-free/vegan friendly too! Bookmarking 🙂
Anna says
It’s morning. I’m sitting on my bed with the notebook, listening to soft jazz music, found your recipe and have been starring on the picture for way too long. I’m drooling and hungry!!
Nicole says
Is there any possible way to make these without donut tin? After seeing them i’m craving them so much as i have a dairy allergy!
Pamela says
Hey Nicole, you could use a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to cut out a shape. Only thing is they won’t have the donut shape/hole look to them or might not be as “pretty”. To solve this you could use a big biscuit cutter for the donut and then use a small biscuit cutter for the middle. Enjoy!
Georgette says
Thanks so much for this recipe! My son is allergic to milk, eggs and peanuts, and doesn’t get sweets too often. I just finished making them and gave him one and he asked for another! I think it’s safe to say, they are a hit!
Pauline says
These are outstanding! I just recently went dairy free and I’m a huge chocolate lover! These are even better than regular chocolate doughnuts!
Pamela says
Thanks Pauline, so happy to hear you liked them!
Jeannette says
These are great! I cooked them up in my mini donut cooker. Very easy to make. I think I’ll thin out the frosting next time with a little more almond milk. Thank you for sharing this recipe. 🙂
Pamela says
Glad to hear you enjoyed Jeanette!
Trish says
I just made these for my dairy/egg allergic son. They are delicious, but they really fell apart when I took them out of the pan (cooled for 10 minutes too) The frosting was on the thick side so I just spread them on the donuts. I think I’ll try flouring the pan after the spray next time to see if that helps keep them together and maybe add more milk for a thinner frosting?
Pamela says
Hey Trish, if you want a thinner frosting definitely add more milk and mix to a consistency that you like. My frosting was thin so I dipped the donuts in it which melts on the donuts beautifully. Enjoy!
Dee @ The Kitchen Snob says
I never had a big desire to try making donuts before, until seeing these pictures! Yum! They look incredible. I love chocolate donuts.
Francy says
Just made these for breakfast. Followed the exact recipe and they are so YUMMY! Thank you for sharing. I also shared on Pinterest and Facebook.
Pamela says
Wish you would have invited me over for breakfast Francy! 😉 So happy you enjoyed!
Shiran @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
These look delicious, Pamela!
Mondo | I bake he shoots says
cake doughnuts are my favorite…but chocolate covered chocolate cake doughnuts? good lord! more, please and thank you.
Dorie @ BrooklynSalt says
Want!
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
Wow!! These donuts look delicious! I love the chocolate glaze. I could drink that up all by itself. I wouldn’t, but I could 😀 Haha Beautiful photographs!
Amy @ Elephant Eats says
Yay for finding a delicious dairy-free recipe! These look SO moist and delicious. I’m so excited that I got a donut pan for xmas…I know what I’m makin first 😉
Sophie says
Your cat has great & good taste! 🙂 Ha! Your lovely frosted chocolate doughnuts look freaking delicious & I made your veggie casserole with wite wine sauce & it was superb, Pamela! x
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
Need doughnut pan now! These look so good Pamela! And I never thought about freezing frosting.
Jess says
Wow, these look delicious! 🙂