Is it even autumn if you haven’t baked something overflowing with cinnamon and apple? I swear, the smell of reduced apple cider just pulls me right into the kitchen! I’ve spent years trying to get that perfect, comforting fall flavor into something quick and easy, and folks, I finally nailed it. Forget the deep fryer; these Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts are the answer to your cozy cravings.
What I love most about this recipe is the texture—they are wonderfully cakey, light, and they don’t feel heavy at all. When I first tried baking them, they came out a little dense, honestly. But after tweaking the oil and adjusting the cider amount just right, they became perfectly tender. They are completely vegan too, which means everyone at the fall get-together can enjoy one (or three!). Trust me, these are the easiest donuts you’ll ever make.
Why Our Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts Recipe Works So Well
Honestly, there are a few reasons why this recipe has earned a permanent spot on my weeknight baking rotation. It’s all about convenience and that unbeatable flavor profile. You don’t need fancy equipment, and you certainly don’t need to wrestle with hot oil!
- They bake up beautifully light and cakey. They have that satisfying density that only a good cake donut provides, but without any of the heaviness.
- Zero Frying! This is huge for me. Less mess, faster cleanup, and they’re ready in under 30 minutes total.
- The apple cider flavor shines through! We aren’t masking it with eggs or dairy; it’s pure, concentrated autumn goodness, especially once that simple glaze hits.
- It’s totally approachable for new bakers. If you can whisk two bowls together, you can make these donuts!
Essential Ingredients for Perfect Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
Okay, this is where we lock in that incredible flavor. Since these are vegan, every ingredient really has to pull its weight, especially when it comes to moisture and that signature tang we want from the cider!
I’ve listed everything out below exactly as I use it. Don’t swap out the brown sugar for white sugar if you can help it; that molasses note is crucial for depth when we talk about pairing it with that beautiful apple flavor. You can find my favorite way to use concentrated apple flavor in this apple cider cake post, but for these donuts, we need the liquid cider!
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (make sure it’s fresh!)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple cider (the real stuff, not juice!)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (this is our vegan tenderizer!)
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (like canola or vegetable—nothing too strong tasting)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the glaze: 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- For the glaze: 1 tablespoon apple cider
Expert Tips for Preparing Your Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts Batter
Listen, the secret to a tender baked donut isn’t just the ingredients; it’s how gently you treat that batter once you start mixing. If you’re coming from a yeast donut background, you might be tempted to beat this batter mercilessly, but please, resist that urge! We want fluffy, cake-like donuts, not chewy, tough hockey pucks.
First tip: grease your pan like your life depends on it. Even though applesauce adds moisture, these can stick if you are even a little hesitant with the oil or spray. A little extra care makes popping them out so much more satisfying. I’ve written about my love for homemade donut pan release paste before on my tips page for cake donuts with oil, but a good simple spray will work here too!
Mixing Dry and Wet Ingredients for These Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
When you combine the two bowls, stir just until you don’t see any more dry flour streaks. Seriously, that’s it. Overmixing warms up the batter and starts developing gluten, which is what makes bread stretchy, not cake tender. We are aiming for just barely combined batter here before we move it straight to the pan.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Baking Your Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
Alright, now that we have our perfect, lump-free batter, it’s time for the fun part! Remember to have your oven set nice and hot at 350°F (175°C) before you even start mixing, and make sure that donut pan is greased well. This recipe moves fast, so we want everything ready when the batter is done.
First, get those dry ingredients whisked together in one bowl, and the wet ingredients whisked in another. Then, we gently combine them—remember what I said about not overmixing? Keep it gentle!
Next up is filling those cups. I usually use a small spoon for this, but you can pipe it in if you’re feeling fancy! Fill each little donut mold about two-thirds full. Don’t pack it in there; they need room to puff up! You should get about 12 lovely donuts out of this batch. Head over to my post on simple dump cake assembly if you need a reminder on how quickly things come together when you mix ingredients in stages like this.
Baking Time and Checking Doneness for Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
Into the oven they go for just 10 to 12 minutes. Because they are small and baked at a good temperature, they cook up super fast! You’ll know they are done when the tops look set and springy. Don’t just yank them out, though! Stick a toothpick right into the middle of one.
If that toothpick comes out clean, or maybe with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it, success! If you see wet batter, give them just one or two more minutes. Let them chill in that hot pan for about five minutes once they come out. This resting time is essential because these vegan donuts are softer than traditional ones, and this lets them firm up just enough so they don’t tear when you try to pull them out!
Glazing Your Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts for Maximum Flavor
You might think the apple cider flavor peaks when they come out of the oven, but you wait for the glaze—that’s when the real magic happens! This glaze recipe is so quick, but you absolutely cannot rush the cooling process. If you try dipping these warm babies into the glaze, you’ll just end up with a gooey, sticky mess that melts right off. We want a beautiful, slightly crisp shell of sweetness on top!
Let those donuts cool down completely on the wire rack. I mean it—room temperature! While they are cooling, it takes about two minutes to mix up the glaze. You just need your powdered sugar and that last tablespoon of apple cider.
Whisk them together until they look smooth. If it looks like dry clumps, don’t panic! Just add another half-teaspoon of cider at a time until it drizzles nicely off your whisk. If you accidentally add too much cider (which I’ve definitely done!), just dust in a little more powdered sugar until it firms back up. It’s the simplest glaze, but it really amps up that cider punch. I even played around and added a pinch of cloves to it once, kind of like how I make the icing for my royal icing, and it was fantastic!
Once they are cool—and I mean totally cool—just dunk the tops right into the bowl. Let any extra drip off, and then place them back on the rack to set for about 15 minutes. That’s it! Then you have these gorgeous, tangy-sweet Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts ready to go.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions for Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
Now that you’ve mastered the mixing, let’s talk about how you can play around with these ingredients if you need to, or if you just want to boost the flavor even more. Baking is fun, but deviating from the instructions sometimes leads to the best surprises, right?
If you’re looking for a slightly heartier texture, the recipe notes mention using whole wheat pastry flour, and I do recommend that over regular all-purpose flour if you go that route. Pastry flour has less protein, so it still keeps things tender, which we love, unlike standard bread flour which would make these tough.
And oh my gosh, if you want an extra little aromatic kick that screams autumn, you absolutely *must* try adding 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves to your dry mix along with the cinnamon and nutmeg. It just deepens that whole cider experience. It smells incredible while they bake!
What if you’re out of applesauce? That’s okay! Applesauce is what we vegan bakers lean on for richness instead of relying on refined egg substitutes. If you don’t have any, you can usually substitute it 1:1 with plain, unsweetened almond or soy yogurt. It adds just enough moisture to keep the crumb from cracking.
Also, about the oil—if you don’t have a neutral oil on hand, melted coconut oil works beautifully! You might notice a very slight coconut undertone, but honestly, with all the spice and cider, it just tastes warm and yummy. Just make sure it’s fully melted but not hot when you pour it in with the wet ingredients.
Storage and Reheating Instructions for Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
Because these are cakey donuts made without any eggs or dairy, they have their own specific storage needs if you want them to taste as good on day two as they did coming out of the oven. My biggest warning right off the bat: please try to avoid the refrigerator!
The fridge is the enemy of almost all baked goods, and it’s especially mean to these beauties. Cold air dries out the crumb so fast, and it can even make the glaze get a little grainy or weepy. We want to keep that soft, cakey texture, so we’re sticking to room temperature storage.
Put your completely cooled and glazed donuts into an airtight container. If you layer them, put a piece of parchment paper or wax paper between the layers so the glaze doesn’t stick to the top of the donut underneath. They should stay perfectly soft on the counter for about two full days. Any longer than that, and they start losing that fresh-baked magic.
Now, sometimes you just need a warm donut, right? If you want to reheat one, don’t dare put it in the microwave! That’s a fast track to a rubbery donut. Instead, wrap the individual donut loosely in a tiny piece of foil and pop it into a toaster oven or a regular oven set to about 250°F (120°C) for just 3 to 5 minutes. That little bit of dry heat will wake up the spices and warm the cake gently without nuking the texture. It’s totally worth the extra two minutes!
Frequently Asked Questions About Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
I get so many emails asking little things about baking these donuts, and I love hearing from you! Sometimes you just need that extra reassurance before you commit to your pre-heat cycle. Here are the ones I hear the most often, hopefully, they help you get these cinnamon-spiced treats into your belly quicker!
Can I make these without a donut pan?
Oh yes, absolutely! Not everyone has a dedicated donut pan, and that’s totally fine. If you don’t have one, you can bake this exact batter right in a standard muffin tin. Just make sure you grease the cups really well, maybe even use paper liners if you’re worried about sticking. The main difference is the cook time. Since the muffins are thicker than the donuts, they’ll need a bit longer—probably closer to 18 to 20 minutes before that toothpick comes out clean. You’ll get little mini apple cider cakes instead of rings, which are just as yummy!
What kind of apple cider works best?
This is a big one! We want that deep, rich, concentrated apple flavor. Please try to avoid the thin, watery refrigerated apple juice if you can. Look for something labeled as ‘Unfiltered Apple Cider’ or sometimes even ‘Sweet Cider.’ It just has a much more robust flavor that stands up well to the spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. If you happen to have some leftover from making something like my cider layer cake, that strong stuff is perfect here!
Are these cakey or yeast donuts?
These are definitely cake donuts! They use baking soda and baking powder as leavening agents, which means everything happens right there in the oven quickly. There’s no rising time needed, which is why this recipe is so fast. That’s why we treat the batter gently, like a regular cake batter, to keep that tender, crumbly texture that contrasts so beautifully with the sugary glaze.
Why do the instructions say not to overmix?
I cannot stress this enough! Because we’re using regular all-purpose flour and we aren’t using eggs for structure, we rely on careful mixing to activate the leavener but avoid making the gluten in the flour tough. Overmixing creates chewy, dense donuts, and we want them light and fluffy! Stop mixing the second you don’t see visible puddles of dry flour. A few small lumps are totally fine—they will smooth out in the oven!
Estimated Nutritional Snapshot of These Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
Okay, so even though these Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts taste like pure indulgence—like you should probably be eating them while sitting by a roaring fire—the nutritional side is actually pretty manageable, especially since they are baked and vegan! I always like giving you guys a peek at what you’re putting into your bodies, even for a quick treat like this. But you know how it is with homemade everything; these numbers are just an estimate based on the precise measurements in the recipe above, so they might shift a tiny bit depending on the exact brand of applesauce you grab.
If you’re curious about how fruits pack a punch in terms of natural sugars, even in healthy baking, you can read my thoughts on that right here. But for now, here is what you can look forward to in one standard serving of our cider donut:
- Serving Size: 1 donut
- Calories: 190
- Sugar: 18g (Mostly from the applesauce, cider, and glaze!)
- Fat: 5g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 0mg (Yep, because they’re vegan!)
See? Not too bad for something that tastes like a carnival treat without any of the guilt. They’re light, spiced, and perfectly portioned for a quick morning satisfying bite!
Print
Baked Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
- Total Time: 27 min
- Yield: 12 donuts 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A recipe for baked donuts made with apple cider, suitable for a vegan diet.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple cider
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (like canola or vegetable)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (for glaze)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider (for glaze)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a standard 12-cup donut pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, apple cider, applesauce, oil, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix gently until just combined. Do not overmix the batter.
- Spoon or pipe the batter evenly into the prepared donut pan, filling each cup about two-thirds full.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the donuts cool, prepare the glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of apple cider until smooth. Add more cider, a half teaspoon at a time, if the glaze is too thick.
- Dip the top of each cooled donut into the glaze. Let the glaze set before serving.
Notes
- You can use whole wheat pastry flour for a slightly different texture.
- For extra flavor, add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves to the dry ingredients.
- If you do not have a donut pan, you can bake the batter in a greased muffin tin for about 18-20 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 donut
- Calories: 190
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 5g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: baked donuts, vegan, apple cider, dessert, pastry, cinnamon, easy recipe