Easy Vegan Apple Cider Donuts, Perfect for Fall

|Updated Sep 28, 2022

These vegan cinnamon sugar-coated Apple Cider Donuts are soft, fluffy, moist, and simply perfect for the fall season.

These donuts are baked, not fried, and are quick and easy to make. You only need one bowl to prepare the batter.

Apple Cider Donuts taste like fall in dessert form, and will make your whole kitchen smell amazing! Serve these warm or at room temperature with hot tea, coffee, or apple cider.

On a budget?

  • Turn these into muffins if you don’t have a special donut pan
  • These donuts (or muffins) freeze well, so feel free to double or triple the batch
  • This recipe is great for using up bruised or dented apples. Just cook some peeled and chopped apples then mash them into apple sauce

Want to make these a little healthier?

  • Use whole wheat flour to make these donuts
  • Instead of vegan butter choose melted coconut oil
  • Or make these completely oil-free by replacing the butter with more apple sauce
  • Skip the last step of butter and sugar coating. Serve donuts with sugar-free apple sauce for dipping

Want to make these even more special?

  • Choose a high-quality apple cider to use
  • Concentrate your apple cider before adding to the batter for even stronger flavors
  • Top your donuts with chopped walnuts or hazelnuts
  • Decorate donuts with icing and/or edible glitter 

Prep time: 15 mins
Baking time: 15 mins

Vegan Apple Cider Donuts

makes 12

Ingredients

  • 1 cup apple cider (make sure it’s vegan)
  • 1/4 cup apple sauce
  • 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 cups of flour
  • 1 tbsp potato starch or corn starch
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pumpkin spice
  • 1/4 tsp salt

For icing:

  • 1/3 cup vegan butter, melted
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 360 F/180 C.
  2. In a bowl whisk together apple cider, apple sauce, melted butter, and white and brown sugar.
  3. Add flour, starch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and salt, and gently whisk until everything is well combined.
  4. Spoon batter into a silicon donut pan. If using a steel pan lightly grease it first.
  5. Bake donuts for about 15 minutes, or until they are baked through.
  6. Remove from the oven and place donuts on a cooling rack.
  7. For the icing mix together sugar and cinnamon.
  8. Once donuts are cool enough to handle, brush them with vegan butter generously, then dunk them into cinnamon sugar to coat well.
  9. Apple Cider Donuts will keep at room temperature in an air-tight container for 3-4 days.