Baked Chocolate Donuts (Vegan)

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Is there are more perfect dessert than chocolate donuts? I would argue that it would possibly be these healthier, vegan, baked chocolate donuts. These are so easy to make, are super fluffy and delicious, and are great to share with family and friends. And I bet they won’t even be able to tell that they are vegan!

What you will need to make this recipe

Donut Ingredients

• oat flour: oat flour is just ground up oats. You can either make your own by grinding up oats in a blender, or you can buy oat flour at pretty much any grocery store. This is a brand I like to use.
• whole wheat flour: I like using the combination of both oat and whole wheat flour. The oat flour adds a unique flavor, and oats contain a lot of nutritious ingredients. The whole wheat flour has gluten, so it adds texture and hold to the recipe and makes the donuts extra fluffy.

If you want to keep the recipe gluten free, you can use all oat flour, but make sure to give the donuts plenty of time to cool off before glazing them because oat flour doesn’t have as strong of a hold as when whole wheat flour is incorporated. However, the taste is great with all oat flour as well, so if you are gluten intolerant, I recommend it!

• peanut butter– use creamy natural peanut butter for this recipe. Natural peanut butter is the kind that only lists “peanuts” and possibly also salt under the ingredients. It doesn’t have any added oils and sugar. This kind of peanut butter is runny and smooth. This is the consistency required for this recipe and that is why traditional peanut butters like Jiffy won’t work- the batter will become too thick.
• cacao powder– cacao powder is different from cocoa. cocoa is processed at a high temperature and loses a lot of its nutritional value, while cacao powder is high in iron, magnesium, and potassium. This is why I prefer baking with cacao powder, but you can definitely substitute the cacao for cocoa if you don’t have any on hand. Navitas is one brand that is sold in many places, but there are many others. Here is what cacao powder looks like, so you know what to look for.
• baking powder
• dash of salt
• dairy free milk: any dairy free milk will work for this recipe. I like soy or oat in this recipe.
• coconut oil: make sure the oil is melted before you add it to the batter. If it is not, you can microwave the coconut oil for a few seconds to melt it.
• vanilla

Glaze Ingredients

• melted chocolate– use any chocolate of choice. I use a vegan dark chocolate. Two brands that have really good vegan dark chocolate are Endangered Species and Beyond Good. Note: make sure to measure out the chocolate once it has already melted.
• coconut oil: as stated previously, make sure the coconut oil is melted before adding it to the recipe.

You can also add some maple syrup to the glaze if the chocolate you chose isn’t sweet enough and you would like your glaze to be sweeter. It’s hard for me to say how much maple to add because it all depends on the sweetness of the chocolate you chose. I recommend tasting the glaze before glazing the donuts.

How to make the baked chocolate donuts

Donut Directions

To make the donuts, first combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them well.

Next, in a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients until everything is evenly mixed.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk them together until you get a thick but runny batter.

Transfer the batter to a large piping bag and cut off the end (I recommend cutting the hole at least 1 inch in diameter).

Pipe the donut batter into a donut mold.

Bake the donuts for 12-15 minutes at 350F/ 175C.

Glaze Ingredients

While the donuts are baking, create the chocolate glaze.

Start by melting chocolate chips or a chocolate bar and measuring out 1/4 cup of melted chocolate.

Add the coconut oil and combine the two.

Once the donuts are done baking, make sure they have cooled for 20-30 minutes on a cooling rack.

Once the donuts are cooled, dip each one into the melted chocolate.

Leave to set until the chocolate hardens & enjoy!

Donuts taste best when enjoyed the same day, but you can also store them in the fridge for 4-5 days

If you liked this recipe, you might also like these other vegan chocolate recipes:

chocolate baked oats

chocolate protein pancakes

How can I make this recipe gluten free?

To make this recipe gluten free, you can do two things. One- you can replace the whole wheat flour with oat flour. That way the only flour used in the recipe will be oat flour, which is gluten free. If you have an allergy, make sure that you buy a brand that specifically says it is gluten free.

Another thing you can do to make the recipe gluten free is to replace the whole wheat flour with a gluten free flour that is specifically made for baking. A good alternative is this one from Bob’s Red Mill.

This recipe will not work with almond flour or coconut flour.

If I have a nut allergy, what can I substitute the peanut butter with?

The peanut butter can be substituted for sunflower butter, which is a great substitute for allergies. Sunbutter is popular brand that people love.

How should I store the donuts? How long will the donuts last?

When stored in the fridge in an airtight container, the donuts will last for 4-5 days. I recommend microwaving them for just a few seconds after taking them out of the fridge so soften them up before eating.