You won’t believe these fluffy, delicious Gingerbread Donuts are vegan & gluten-free! They’re the perfect dessert to make for the holidays.
Vegan Gingerbread Donuts
Ah my friends, it is DEFINITELY that time of year. You know what I’m talking about. We’re at the point where it feels like we blink and all of a sudden we’re in a new year.
The last part of the year always goes by in a blur for me. I think a lot of us tend to be super busy, plus we’re spending time with loved ones and planning gatherings right and left. When I feel myself getting caught up in the sprint towards the year, I try my best to take a minute to slow down and enjoy the moment. And you know what makes for a great thing to do when you need to slow down? Baking something delicious! Like these gingerbread donuts 🙂
These vegan donuts are sweet, subtly spicy and filled with all the warm, cozy goodness you crave at the end of the year. Plus they’re gluten-free! They’re delicious as a snack, or would make for a fun treat to bring to holiday parties if you want to make something festive other than cookies!
Ingredients for Vegan Gingerbread Donuts
I was so surprised when these donuts came out of the oven so fluffy and perfectly spiced. I swear you would never guess these gingerbread donuts are gluten free and vegan. They’re made with simple ingredients I already had in my pantry, like oats, almond butter, blackstrap molasses (full of iron!), and classic gingerbread spices. Plus, we’re gonna top them off with creamy AF coconut cream that’s just the icing on the cake gingerbread donuts.
Here’s everything you’ll need to make them!
- Nondairy milk. Any variety will work, but I recommend unsweetened!
- Apple cider vinegar. We’re making vegan buttermilk by adding a bit of vinegar to the nondairy milk.
- Oat flour. You don’t have to buy a fancy flour! You can make your own oat flour by grinding oats in a blender or food processor.
- Coconut sugar. I love the subtle toasted flavor of coconut sugar, but you can use any granulated sugar you’d like!
- Baking powder. This will help create a fluffy vegan donut.
- Baking soda. We’re using this in addition to the baking powder to make sure we get a good rise in our gingerbread donuts.
- Spices. We’ll be using cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, nutmeg and a pinch of salt.
- Applesauce. I suggest going for a plain, unsweetened applesauce.
- Almond butter. You could also use any other nut butter, or sunflower butter if you’re allergic to nuts.
- Blackstrap molasses. This gives us that classic gingerbread flavor in these donuts.
- Vanilla extract. Just a touch brings a ton of warmth to these gingerbread donuts.
- Coconut milk. We’re using this to make a whipped coconut frosting! You’ll want a full-fat coconut milk (the kind that comes in a can), and it should be refrigerated overnight.
- Pecans. Optional, but they’re delicious on top of these vegan donuts!
How to Make Gingerbread Donuts
I finally caved and bought a donut pan – now I’m wondering why the heck I hadn’t bought one sooner! Just think of all the possibilities – chocolate, blueberry, coconut, carrot cake…but now, we’re focusing on gingerbread donuts. This is a baked donut recipe, so you will need a donut pan!
To start, you’ll make your vegan buttermilk by combining your nondairy milk and apple cider vinegar in a bowl and letting it sit for about 10 minutes. While that sits, you can mix your oat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and spices together in a separate bowl.
Once your vegan buttermilk is ready, you’ll add your applesauce, almond butter, molasses and vanilla to that same bowl and whisk it all together. Next, pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until everything is fully incorporated. Now all that’s left to do is add the batter to your donut pan and bake in a 350F for about 15 minutes!
How to Make Whipped Coconut Frosting
Okay we HAVE to make a frosting to go on top of these donuts. Something about a whipped coconut cream paired with the warm, spicy gingerbread donuts sounded so good to me, so that’s what we’re making! Plus it’s soooo simple.
You’ll want to make sure you put your can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight before making the whipped coconut cream. Pull the can out of the fridge, pour the can into a bowl and use an electric mixer to beat the coconut milk until it’s thick and super smooth. It’s like whipped cream, but full of velvety, coconut-y goodness!
Make sure you let your donuts cool COMPLETELY for about 10 minutes before topping them with your whipped coconut cream. Then you can finish off your gingerbread donuts with a sprinkle of chopped pecans! The best, crunchiest kind of sprinkle in my opinion!
More Vegan Holiday Desserts
I have no doubt that you all will love these gingerbread donuts! If you love gingerbread men, you will completely devour these vegan donuts.
If you’re looking for more fun treats to make this holiday season, try out some of these vegan holiday desserts!
- Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes
- Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
- Chocolate Mint Brownies
- Whole Wheat Vegan Cranberry Orange Bread
- Vegan Snowball Cookies by Nora Cooks
- Vegan Candy Cane Skillet Cookie by Abbey’s Kitchen
- 5 Ingredient White Chocolate Truffles by Minimalist Baker
Vegan Gingerbread Donuts
You won’t believe these fluffy, delicious Gingerbread Donuts are vegan & gluten-free! They’re the perfect dessert to make for the holidays.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup nondairy milk
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons oat flour*
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (or granulated sugar of choice)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
- 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a donut pan.
- In a medium bowl, add flaxmilk and vinegar. Stir to combine; set aside for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, add oat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Stir to combine.
- To the bowl of flaxmilk, add applesauce, almond butter, molasses, and vanilla. Whisk until fully combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are fully combined.
- Add batter to each donut cup until full.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, add coconut milk. Use an electric beater or whisk to beat the coconut milk until smooth. Frost the donuts with the coconut cream, then sprinkle with pecans.
Notes
*To make your own oat flour, simply add rolled oats to a food processor or blender; process until a fine flour forms.
