This vegan donut hole recipe is the perfect treat to satisfy your sweet tooth and it’s even made with a healthy twist! These are vegan and gluten free, and made in the air fryer instead of being deep fried.
Making homemade donuts is actually super easy and requires just a few simple ingredients! Because these are made with healthy ingredients, you can easily enjoy these for breakfast or even grab on the go as quick energy bites!
What you’ll need for your vegan, gluten-free donut holes
Dough Ingredients
- oat flour: I made these with oat flour because it’s naturally a gluten free flour and I think it’s the most flavorful flour. You can make your own by grinding it really finely in a blender, or find it at almost any grocery store. If you don’t insist on making gluten-free donuts and would rather use all purpose flour or whole wheat flour, I have included instructions for those in the notes section of the recipe card.
- sugar: in this recipe, I used white sugar only because I wanted my donuts to be lighter in color. You can use coconut sugar or brown sugar if you prefer to bake with those instead.
- vegan yogurt: these donuts work best with thick, creamy yogurt that is high in fat, instead of runny, watery yogurt. Unfortunately none of the stores around me had thick yogurt the week I was making these, so as you can see the yogurt I used is a bit runny, but I recommend thick yogurt so that the donuts are more moist and less crumbly. I love this vegan yogurt by GT’s because I think it’s the thickest, but it is quite expensive, so this one from Forager is another great option.
- baking powder
- coconut oil: you can also use vegan butter
- vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
Topping Ingredients
- sugar
- cinnamon
- melted coconut oil
The full recipe with the exact ratios is at the bottom of the post, along with the nutritional information.
How to make the vegan cinnamon sugar donut holes
To a large mixing bowl, add all of the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt), followed by the wet ingredients (yogurt, coconut oil, vanilla). Combine them well, but be careful not to over mix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or place the dough in an airtight container and refrigerate it for 15-20 minutes so it can chill and become easier to shape.
Once the dough has chilled, form balls that are about 1 inch in diameter. You will get about 8 donut holes from this recipe.
Prepare your air fryer by spraying it with coconut oil so that the donut holes don’t stick. If your air fryer is like mine and it actually has a wire rack like an oven, prepare the baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper also greasing it with coconut oil (or another oil of choice).
Place each dough ball on the baking sheet and then place in the preheated air fryer.
Bake the donuts in the air fryer at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes, flipping them halfway. You’ll know they are ready when they start to become lightly golden brown.
Note: keep in mind that if you make the donut holes bigger or smaller, the bake time will change. Bake for less for smaller donuts, and give them more time if they are larger.
While the donuts are baking, prepare two separate bowls- one small bowl with melted coconut oil and one with the cinnamon sugar mix.
Once the donuts have cooked, give them just a few minutes to cool off at room temperature (this is so that you don’t burn your fingers).
Dunk each donut in the bowl of melted coconut oil. Immediately after, roll them around in the cinnamon sugar mix.
These are best enjoyed when warm!
Video
If you liked this vegan donut hole recipe, you might also like these vegan donuts and other easy recipes
Vegan Donut Holes (Gluten Free, Air Fried, Cinnamon Sugar)
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
Donut Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup oat flour 180 grams
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegan yogurt works best with thick yogurt, not runny
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- dash of salt
- dash of vanilla
Topping Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- melted coconut oil
Instructions
- To a large bowl, add all of the donut ingredients. Combine them well, but be careful not to overmix.
- Refrigerate the donut dough for 15-20 minutes so it can harden and become easier to shape.
- Once the dough has chilled, form balls that are about 1 inch in diameter. You will get about 8 donut holes from this recipe.
- Bake the donuts in the air fryer at 350*F for 8 minutes, flipping them halfway.
- Note: keep in mind that if you make the donut holes bigger or smaller, the bake time will change. Bake for less for smaller donuts, and give them more time if they are larger.
- While the donuts are baking, prepare two bowls- one with melted coconut oil and one with the cinnamon sugar mix.
- Once the donuts have cooked, give them just a few minutes to cool off.
- Dunk each donut in the bowl of melted coconut oil. Immediately after, roll them around in the cinnamon sugar mix.
- These are best enjoyed when warm!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Making this vegan donut hole recipe in a mini muffin pan
Another alternative way to bake these if you don’t want to directly stick them in the air fryer, is to place each dough ball in a mini muffin liner and cook them in a mini muffin pan (however, this will only work if your air fryer is big enough to fit a mini muffin pan!). I’ve seen many people make their donut holes using this method.
If you do it this way, you can even skip the shaping into dough balls part and place the dough in a piping bag and directly pipe the dough into the muffin liners.
Other toppings instead of cinnamon sugar
You can also make a sugar vanilla glaze instead of making these cinnamon sugar flavored with a little bit of dairy-free milk and powdered sugar. If you prefer chocolate flavored donuts, you can even make a chocolate glaze by melting together some chocolate and coconut oil and dunking the donuts in it. You can even just dip them in maple syrup, if you’re really in a rush or are feeling lazy!
Why air fry instead of deep fry
Traditional donut holes are, of course, fried. This makes them super delicious and I’m personally a huge fan of regular, fried donut holes, but air frying is actually so much easier because it doesn’t involve hot oil and a big mess. Not only that, but air frying them makes them a healthier choice.
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Do the plain donut holes freeze well?
I have not tried freezing them, so I can’t say I’m sorry :/