Baked Vegan Gingerbread Donuts Under 50 Cents a Serving

|Updated Dec 6, 2022

Broke Bank Vegan

The holidays are incomplete without gingerbread houses, cookies and donuts. These festive vegan gingerbread donuts are a warming and cozy dessert that will bring a smile to everyone’s face.

Are Donuts Vegan?

Donuts are not vegan because they are made with eggs, milk, and butter. We made this vegan gingerbread donut recipe vegan but replaced milk with vegan buttermilk, eggs with a flax egg, and butter with vegan butter.

Vegan Gingerbread Donuts Ingredients

All-purpose flour
Baking soda
Baking powder
Ground cinnamon
Ground ginger
Ground allspice
Ground cloves
Salt
Flaxseed meal
Vegan buttermilk
Brown Sugar
Unsweetened applesauce
Vegan butter
Brown Sugar
Maple Syrup
Soy Milk
Powdered sugar

Vegan Gingerbread Donut Subsitutions

Swap vegan butter for coconut oil
Make this recipe gluten-free by replacing all-purpose flout with 1:1 gluten-free blend
Use mashed banana if you don’t have applesauce

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How to Make Vegan Gingerbread Donuts From Scratch

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and lightly grease a donut pan with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and salt together. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the flax egg, vegan buttermilk, brown sugar, applesauce, and melted vegan butter until well combined.
Transfer the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients, and stir together until just combined (a few flour streaks are okay).
Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a large tip or a freezer bag with one corner cut off. Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan, about 1⁄2 - 3⁄4 full.

How Long Do You Bake Donuts For?

Donuts only need about seven to nine minutes in the oven. The key to a perfectly baked donut is to let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing them and placing them on a wire rack.

Which is Healthier? Baked Donuts vs Fried Donuts

Baked donuts are healthier than fried donuts because you are avoiding the extra saturated fat in oil that is required in the frying process. Saturated fat is not only higher in calories, but too much of it can actually lead to heart disease. Another big plus to baking is that it is a much cleaner process than frying and getting oil all over the stovetop.

Do Baked Donuts Taste the Same as Fried Donuts?

Baked donuts taste just as good (if not better) than fried donuts. The cooking method does not alter the taste of the donuts but might make the texture a little more bread-like and the exterior less crispy.

The Easiest Vegan Donut Glaze

In a small saucepan, add the vegan butter and brown sugar. Bring to a light boil over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup and soy milk, then bring it back to a light boil.
Whisk in the powdered sugar until the glaze is smooth. Add the last tablespoon of soy milk if needed.
Working quickly, dip each donut in the glaze.
Transfer back to the wire rack until the glaze is set.

How to Store the Baked Vegan Gingerbread Donuts

The holiday donuts can be made in advance and stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 1-2 days and in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can also wrap each donut in wax paper and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Cost: $1.86 recipe | $0.23 serving

Baked Vegan Gingerbread Donuts

Makes 8 donuts

Ingredients
Dry

1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour ($0.12)
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda ($0.02)
3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder ($0.02)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ($0.04)
1 teaspoon ground ginger ($0.02)
1⁄8 teaspoon ground allspice ($0.01)
1⁄8 teaspoon ground cloves ($0.01)
1⁄4 teaspoon salt ($0.01)

Wet

1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 2 1⁄2 tablespoon water) ($0.10)
1⁄2 cup vegan buttermilk (1⁄2 scant cup soy milk + 1⁄2 tablespoon vinegar) ($0.24)
1⁄2 cup brown sugar ($0.09)
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce ($0.10)
1 1⁄2 tablespoons melted vegan butter ($0.22)

Glaze

2 tablespoons vegan butter ($0.29)
1⁄4 cup packed brown sugar ($0.10)
1 tablespoon maple syrup ($0.15)
1-2 tablespoons soy milk ($0.05)
2⁄3 cup powdered sugar ($0.27)

Instructions

Donuts

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and lightly grease a donut pan with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and salt together. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the flax egg, vegan buttermilk, brown sugar, applesauce, and melted vegan butter until well combined.
Transfer the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients, and stir together until just combined (a few flour streaks are okay).
Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a large tip or a freezer bag with one corner cut off. Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan, about 1⁄2 - 3⁄4 full.
Bake the donuts for 7-9 minutes, or until slightly springy. Let the donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then pop them out of the pan and onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Glaze

In a small saucepan, add the vegan butter and brown sugar. Bring to a light boil over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup and soy milk, then bring it back to a light boil.
Whisk in the powdered sugar until the glaze is smooth. Add the last tablespoon of soy milk if needed. Working quickly, dip each donut in the glaze. Transfer back to the wire rack until the glaze is set. Enjoy!