These baked vegan apple cider donuts are fluffy, light and have a crunchy cinnamon sugar coating. You won't be able to stop at just one! They're easy to make and are a quintessential fall dessert.
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🍩 Why We Love This Recipe
- Fall flavors: With apple cider, nutmeg, and cinnamon, these donuts are the perfect recipe to make when the leaves start to turn.
- These are baked instead of fried, so they don't get all greasy and messy.
- They're light, fluffy, but vegan, and can even be made gluten free!
🍎 Ingredients
Here are the key ingredients you'll need to make these baked apple cider donuts:
📋 Ingredient Notes
- Choose super fresh cider, preferably local if you live in an area with apple orchards.
- Unsweetened applesauce replaces eggs as a binder in this recipe. As a general rule of thumb, you can substitute ¼ cup applesauce for one egg.
- Vegan butter and nondairy milk are two simple swaps. We love using oat milk in this recipe. You can also use coconut oil in place of butter.
- Apple cider vinegar isn't a traditional ingredient. However, it reacts with the baking soda to create lift in vegan baked goods, which is why we use it here. Make sure not to let your batter sit for too long before baking, otherwise the reaction will occur before they get to the oven.
🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
PREP: Preheat oven to 350˚F/175˚C.
(1) Reduce cider: add cider to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to ½ cup.
(2) Mix dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.
(3) Mix wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together melted butter, applesauce, milk, both sugars, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and the ½ cup of reduced apple cider.
(4) Combine: Using a spatula, stir wet ingredients into dry, stirring just until the batter comes together. Don't overmix.
(5) Pipe into pan: Grease donut pan and pipe the batter into each cavity. Don't fill to the top – about ¾ of the way will create the perfect donut.
(6) Bake: Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack.
(7) Cinnamon sugar coating: Stir together the cinnamon and sugar in a shallow bowl. To coat the donuts, spray both sides of the donuts with a nonstick baking spray, or brush/dip in melted butter, then coat in cinnamon sugar. The oil/butter is necessary to get the coating to stick. Enjoy hot!
💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
- Apple cider is the key ingredient, so make sure to use the best cider you can find. Local cider from a cider mill would be best!
- Don't skip the apple cider vinegar – it reacts with the baking soda to create a lift in vegan baked goods.
- Don't let your batter sit too long before baking.
- If you don't have a donut pan, you can make these donuts as muffins too. Fill your muffin tins ¾ of the way and bake for 15-17 minutes, using a toothpick to assess doneness.
- Storage: These taste best fresh, but you can store covered at room temperature for two days. Reheat in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
- To make gluten free, substitute all purpose flour with 1 ½ cup gluten free all purpose flour and ½ cup oat flour.
Yes! Just swap the all purpose flour with 1 ½ cups gluten free all purpose flour + ½ cup oat flour. We've found that the oat flour adds a bit more protein to the batter, and also gives it a lighter texture. If you don't have any oat flour, just use 2 cups of gluten free all purpose flour.
🍽 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These baked vegan apple cider donuts are fluffy, light and have a crunchy cinnamon sugar coating. You won't be able to stop at just one! They're easy to make and such a quintessential fall dessert. (Gluten free option included in the notes section).
Ingredients
Donuts:
- 1 ½ cups apple cider
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoon melted vegan butter
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup nondairy milk
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Coating:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Nonstick spray or melted vegan butter.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F/175˚C.
- Reduce cider: add cider to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to ½ cup.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together melted butter, applesauce, milk, both sugars, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and the ½ cup of reduced apple cider.
- Combine: Using a spatula, stir wet ingredients into dry, stirring just until the batter comes together. Don't overmix.
- Pipe into pan: Grease donut pan and pipe the batter into each cavity. Don't fill to the top – about ¾ of the way will create the perfect donut.
- Bake: Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack.
- Cinnamon sugar coating: Stir together the cinnamon and sugar in a shallow bowl. To coat the donuts, spray both sides of the donuts with a nonstick baking spray, or brush/dip in melted butter, then coat in cinnamon sugar. The oil/butter is necessary to get the coating to stick. Enjoy hot!
Notes
*To make gluten free, substitute all purpose flour with 1 ½ cup gluten free all purpose flour and ½ cup oat flour.
Don't skip the apple cider vinegar – it reacts with the baking soda to create a lift in vegan baked goods.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Donut
- Calories: 359
- Sugar: 30.6 g
- Sodium: 271.9 mg
- Fat: 18.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 49.7 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 2.5 g
LeAnn Reid says
These are so good! I made them with gluten free flour and they were perfect. Thanks so much!
Lexi says
Yay I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks so much for your comment!
Natalie says
Made this today, using gluten free flour. We used a mini donut pan and they turned out amazing!! They were enjoyed by the whole family that includes my celiac son, my diabetic hubby and the rest who just love good food. And bonus that they are full of Vit C from the apple cider vinegar during this cold season!
Lexi says
This is the best review - love when the whole family can enjoy! Thank you so much 🙂
Jen says
So so good and pretty easy to make! I accidentally used bread flour and also didn’t have the applesauce, and they still turned out fantastic! A great vegan treat for non-vegans as well.
Amanda says
Perfect texture and delicious! I came across your recipe while searching for vegan apple cider donuts, and this one looked easy, so I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did! I wish you had more donut recipes!
Lexi says
I'm so glad you enjoyed! And great to hear that feedback, we'll have to work on some more donut recipes. Any specific requests?!
@snapshotsbysage says
These were amazing - they were light as you said and texture was perfect. We did put extras in the fridge overnight and then microwave for 15 seconds the next day - again scrumptious! Will be making more again soon!
Lexi says
So glad to hear that!! Thanks so much for your comment!
Nicole says
Hi there! These look fabulous! Any recommendations for a sugar free version? Thanks! 😃
Lexi says
Hi Nicole! Do you want to do totally sugar free or just refined sugar free?
Ashley says
These donuts were SO much better than i expected! They were AMAZING! Will definitely be making them again! Highly recommend making these! Already sent the recipe out to a few friends! Thanks so much for sharing!
Lexi says
Thank you so much, Ashley!! SO glad you loved them!
Lucero says
Hi! I want to try this recipe but I don’t have apple cider. How can I replace it?
Lexi says
Hi Lucero, unfortunately the apple cider is pretty essential to the recipe. However, if you want to make a plain donut, I think you could probably add in an extra 1/2 cup of nondairy milk. I didn't try it, so I'm not 100% sure, but let me know if you give it a try!
Laurie says
We need to be gluten free and oat free. Should I use 2 1/4 cups of GF flour or do you suggest another substitute for the oat flour?
Lexi says
Hi Laurie! I suggest just 2 cups of gluten free all purpose flour. Hope you enjoy!