Vegan Chocolate Donuts

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These easy vegan chocolate donuts are soft and rich and dipped in a sweet pink glaze made with fresh strawberries. They’re gluten free and oil free and take less than 30 minutes to make!

I’m not lying when I tell you we ate SIX batches of these donuts in one week!

Please don’t do the math on how many donuts that was per person….especially since my husband didn’t have any. 

Needless to say, we love them! And I know you will love them, too!

Go make up a batch of these amazingly delicious Vegan Chocolate Donuts with Fresh Strawberry Glaze and see how many you eat in one sitting! 

Ingredients you need

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Flour ~ I love oat flour for these vegan chocolate donuts. It’s light and soft and has a mild nutty flavor that complements the rich chocolate.

Oats are gluten free by nature, but are often processed in a facility that also processes wheat. For this reason, be sure to choose certified gluten free oat flour if you have a gluten allergy or intolerance.

I tested them with a gluten free flour blend as well, and while they worked, they weren’t as good as the oat flour version, so I don’t suggest subbing.

Sugar ~ Coconut sugar is my favorite. It’s minimally processed and has a slightly caramel-like taste. Brown sugar may be used instead.

I also use a bit of pure maple syrup. Be sure to use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. Agave may be used as a substitute if you prefer.

Cocoa powder ~ Use unsweetened cocoa powder.

Vinegar ~ Vinegar helps vegan baked goods rise. I typically use apple cider vinegar, but distilled white vinegar works just a well.

Cornstarch slurry ~ A cornstarch slurry is just a mix of cornstarch and water. It helps to keep these donuts soft and fluffy and also provides some binding properties.

Chocolate chips ~ Because extra chocolate is never a bad idea. I suggest using mini chips. Bigger chips will take up too much space in the batter and may cause the donuts to fall apart.

Chocolate chips are optional.

How to make the recipe

For the donuts

Add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl (1) and whisk to combine (2). Add the wet ingredients to another mixing bowl (3) and whisk until smooth (4).

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk (5) until smooth. Add the chocolate chips, if using, (6) and stir to distribute evenly throughout (7).

I like to use a pastry bag to fill the donut pan (a plastic zip-lock bag works just as well).

Place the bag into a tall glass or cup and fold over the top to the outside of the glass (8). This helps keeps the batter on the inside of the bag even if you get sloppy!

Slowly pour the batter into the bag. Gently press or squeeze the batter into one corner of the bag. Twist the top of the bag above the batter…this is where you’ll hold it (9).

Using scissors, cut the tip of the bottom corner off. You want to cut it just big enough to let the chocolate chips through, but not any bigger or it will pour out too fast. 

Gently squeeze out the batter to fill each donut cavity to the top. 

You can also just spoon the batter into the donut pan if you prefer.

Bake until the vegan chocolate donuts are set and start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let them cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes or so to firm up before turning them out onto the cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

For the icing

This easy donut icing is made using fresh strawberries and powdered sugar (1).

Purée the strawberries in a high speed blender until smooth (2). Add a tablespoon of water, if necessary, to get them moving. If you are using frozen strawberries, making sure they are completely thawed before puréeing.

If you notice some strawberry seeds in the purée, pour it through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl (3) and use the smooth purée after the seeds are strained out (4).

If your purée is super smooth right out of the blender, you don’t have to strain it.

Drop a few tablespoons of this bright red purée into the powdered sugar (5) and whisk (6) until smooth (7). Add more purée as needed until you reach the desired consistency. The vegan chocolate donuts are very delicate, so you want the icing to be thin enough so the donuts don’t fall apart when dunking them, but thick enough to coat the tops.

Dunk the smooth side of the donuts into the icing (8) and place back on the cooling rack, icing side up, to set. Pro tip: Place the cooling rack on a baking sheet to catch any drips that fall through.

You can also drizzle the strawberry glaze over the top of the donuts.

Love Strawberries? Be sure to check out these other tasty dairy free strawberry recipes!

• Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
• Strawberry Rhubarb Coconut Milk Popsicles
• Strawberry Beet Smoothie
• Strawberry Lemonade Ice Cream Cake
• Vegan Strawberry Dessert Tamales

Storage/Freezing

To store, I recommended placing the completely cooled glazed donuts in an airtight container on the counter for 2 days. 

If you still have some left after that, you can store them in the fridge for a few more days, not longer than a week after baking.

However, I find the consistency much better at room temperature, so you should just try to finish them all before having to resort to the fridge for storage. I don’t think you’ll have a problem doing that…I believe in you! 🙂

You can also freeze these vegan chocolate donuts….glazed or not. Place them on a large plate or baking sheet in an even layer and lay it flat in the freezer for 3 to 4 hours until frozen. Once the donuts are frozen, transfer them to a freezer safe container or plastic bag. They will keep for up to 3 months.

Pro tips for success

~ Be sure to use certified gluten free oat flour to ensure the donuts are gluten free.

~ While I don’t suggest substituting any ingredients, if you don’t need these donuts to be gluten free, all-purpose flour would probably work, though I personally haven’t tried it. I did try an all-purpose gluten free flour blend and I didn’t like the texture as much as the oat flour, but they will work in a pinch…just know the texture won’t be the same.

~ If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can use a plastic zip-lock bag. Don’t use the stand and fill type of zip top bags…the bottoms corners are made differently on those and they don’t work well. You can also just spoon the batter into the donut pan.

~ Strain the strawberry purée through a fine mesh strainer if there are many strawberry seeds in it.

~ You’ll probably have more strawberry purée than you need, but it’s very hard to blend with less strawberries. Use leftover purée in oatmeal, smoothies, pancake batter, drizzle it over ice cream, etc.

~ Make sure the donuts are completely cool before icing them.

~ These vegan chocolate donuts are delicate. You want to make the icing thin enough so that the donuts don’t fall apart when dunking, but thick enough to coat the tops. If your icing is too thick, add more strawberry purée. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar.

~ If you’re having a hard time dunking the donuts into the icing without them breaking, drizzle the icing over the tops with a spoon instead.

~ Place the cooling rack on a baking sheet to catch any drips from the iced donuts.

~ To achieve a more vibrant pink color, let the first glaze of icing set on the donuts and then dunk them again.

FAQs

More vegan donut recipes

• Baked Apple Cider Donuts
• Peaches and Cream Donuts
• Vegan Pumpkin Donuts

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you tried it, please use the rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment below with your feedback.

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For even more easy family recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook, The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook!