Who can resist mini chocolate donuts? These easy vegan mini chocolate donuts need just 8 simple ingredients and less than 10 minutes to make. They’re light, fluffy, chocolatey, and so much fun to eat! Dust them with icing sugar, drizzle with caramel sauce, dip them in icing or add your favourite sprinkles. However you decorate them, these little donuts are perfect for back-to-school lunchboxes, picnics, playdates, parties or a quick weekend baking project with the kids.
They’re naturally vegan and dairy-free, with an easy gluten-free option too, so they’re a great little treat to have in your baking rotation when you need something quick and allergy-friendly.
Why I Love These Mini Donuts
I love a recipe that doesn’t require a lot of planning, and these mini donuts definitely fall into that category. There is no yeast, no rising time and no deep frying involved. Just mix the batter, pipe it into your mini donut pan and bake!
And because they’re mini, they’re especially fun for kids. They can help make the batter, pipe the donuts into the pan (with a little supervision!) and, best of all, decorate them once they’ve cooled.
They’re also one of those recipes that can work for so many different occasions. Need a quick sweet treat? Make these. Planning a picnic? Make these. Looking for something fun to bake together at the weekend? You guessed it!
Check out my strawberry marshmallow kabob post for a great way to use these mini vegan chocolate donuts in a quick-to-assemble dessert.
Why You Should Make These
Here are just a few reasons to keep this recipe bookmarked:
- Quick: You can have freshly baked mini donuts ready in less than 10 minutes.
- Easy: No yeast, proving or deep frying required.
- Kid-friendly: They’re simple enough for little bakers to help make and decorate.
- Perfectly mini: They’re great for lunchboxes, snack plates and sharing.
- Easy to customize: Keep them simple or go all out with icing and sprinkles.
- Free-from friendly: They’re vegan and dairy-free, with an easy gluten-free option.
- Make-ahead friendly: Freeze a batch so you have treats ready when you need them.
Perfect for Back-to-School Prep
Back-to-school season always seems to arrive before we’re ready for it! I love doing a little baking ahead of time so there are homemade treats ready for those busy school days.
These mini donuts make a fun lunchbox treat and are small enough to tuck into a lunchbox without taking up too much room.
They’re also a great recipe to make with the kids before school starts. Let them help decorate the donuts, and you’ll have a fun afternoon activity and a batch of treats ready for the week.
Just remember to check your school’s food-allergy and sharing policies before packing any homemade treats.
Great for Picnics and Playdates
Mini food is always fun at a picnic, and these donuts are easy to pack and transport.
Pop a few into a container alongside your favourite fruit and other picnic snacks for a simple homemade dessert. They’re also perfect for playdates when you need something sweet that can be made quickly.
A Fun Family Baking Project
If you’re looking for an easy recipe to make with the kids, this is a good one to try.
The ingredients are simple, the batter comes together quickly and there’s no complicated decorating required. Once the donuts have cooled, set out some icing, sprinkles or other toppings and let everyone decorate their own.
And let’s be honest, getting to eat the donuts at the end is probably the best part!
Ingredients and Substitutions
This is a vegan recipe that uses 8 basic ingredients and can easily be adapted for gluten-free diets.
I’ve included all my substitution tips below, but if you’re looking for answers to the most common questions, you’ll also find my FAQ section further down the post.
Dry Ingredients
Cake Flour: A lot of donut recipes use all-purpose flour, but I prefer cake flour for these mini donuts because it gives them a lighter, softer texture. Cake flour has a lower protein content and less gluten, which helps create those fluffy little donuts.
I always use cake flour in my cakes too and highly recommend it if you’re a fan of light, fluffy baked goods.
To make your own cake flour for this recipe, weigh out 120 grams (1 US cup) of all-purpose flour, remove 1 tablespoon and replace it with 1 tablespoon of cornflour. Sift twice to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
For more info, check out my Cake Flour post to learn how to make your own.
For gluten-free donuts, use 120 grams (1 US cup) of a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend. Remove 1 tablespoon of the flour and replace it with 1 tablespoon of cornflour, then sift twice.
Baking Powder: Baking powder helps these little donuts rise and gives them their light texture. Remember, baking powder adds PUFF to a recipe, which is exactly what we want here!
Salt: Salt helps balance the sweetness and enhances the chocolate flavour.
Sugar: I’m using white sugar in this recipe. If you’d like a slightly deeper, more caramel-like flavour, you can substitute it with golden or light brown sugar. Coconut sugar will also work.
Cocoa Powder: I use Dutch processed cocoa powder, but regular unsweetened cocoa powder will work just as well.
Wet Ingredients
Melted Butter: I use unsalted plant-based melted butter to add fat and richness while keeping the donuts light. You can substitute this with a light oil such as canola oil if preferred. If you’re not vegan or dairy-free, regular unsalted butter will work too.
Apple Sauce: Apple sauce acts as the egg replacement in this recipe, and helps keep the donuts soft and moist. If you don’t need the recipe to be vegan, you can substitute the apple sauce with 1 large egg (approximately 50g).
Plant Based Milk: I usually use almond milk, but any plant-based milk should work here. If you’re not vegan or dairy-free, regular milk can also be used.
How to Make Mini Chocolate Donuts
Gather all your ingredients and supplies. The butter should be melted and the milk at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 425°F / 220°C and spray your mini donut pan with oil. I usually bake mine in 12 cavity donut pans but if you have a larger pan, go right ahead and bake them all at the same time.
Start by adding 120g (1 US Cup) cake flour, 70g (1/3 US Cup) white sugar, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt to a mixing bowl and stir together.
Add 15g (1 tbsp) melted butter, 50g apple sauce and 90ml plant based milk and mix until fully combined.
My Favourite Trick for Filling the Donut Pan
I highly recommend transferring the batter to a piping bag before filling the donut pan. It makes the whole process much easier and helps you fill the cavities evenly without making a huge mess!
Don’t have a piping bag? A zip-top bag works too.
My top tip when scooping the last of the batter into the piping bag is to close the bag with your hand and pull out the spatula to clean it off. It saves you from scraping batter all over the outside of the bag!
Once the piping bag is full, use a bag tie or chip clip to close off the bag and cut off the tip of the bag with scissors.
Fill the donut cavities 1/2 full. There will be enough batter for at least 24 mini donuts.
Tap the pan on the counter a few times to level off the batter.
Bake in the preheated oven for 6-7 minutes until well risen.
Allow them to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove them and place them on a cooling rack.
Once completely cool, dust with icing sugar or decorate with your favourite glaze and toppings.
For an extra indulgent treat, serve them with my 5 minute caramel sauce.
Top tip: Let the donuts cool completely before icing them. Otherwise, your glaze is likely to melt straight off!
More Ways to Enjoy these Mini Donuts
These little chocolate donuts aren’t just for snacking. There are so many fun ways to use them!
Make a fun dessert table
They’re perfect for birthday parties, celebrations and dessert tables. Because they’re small, guests can grab one (or two!) without committing to a whole slice of cake.
Turn them into donut kabobs
I used these mini vegan chocolate donuts in my strawberry marshmallow kabobs recipe. Add fresh strawberries and marshmallows for a fun dessert that’s incredibly quick to put together.
Make vanilla mini donuts
Want to switch things up? Omit the cocoa powder and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste to the batter for easy vanilla mini donuts instead.
You could even make both flavours and let everyone choose their favourite!
Let the kids decorate them
For a fun family baking activity, set out cooled donuts with a few different toppings and let everyone create their own.
Try icing and sprinkles, a drizzle of chocolate or caramel sauce, crushed cookies or simply a dusting of icing sugar.
There’s no need to make them perfect. That’s half the fun!
Common Questions
This recipe makes 24 mini donuts and can easily be doubled/tripled if you need more.
Absolutely. This recipe is actually a slightly modified version of my ring donut recipe and will make 12 donuts. For vanilla donuts, omit the cocoa powder and add 1 tsp vanilla bean paste.
Two minutes! Kidding (well, not quite as that’s how quickly my kids would eat them!). These donuts are best enjoyed on the day of baking but will store well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To freeze, seal in an airtight container. To defrost, remove from the freezer and leave on the counter to come to room temperature before opening the container. This will reduce condensation forming on the donuts.
Absolutely. If you are non-vegan, sub the apple sauce with 1 large egg. Make sure it is at room temperature before making the donuts.
Yes, with one easy flour substitution. You will need to create GF cake flour by weighing 120g (1 cup) of 1-to-1 GF Flour mix, removing 1 tbsp and adding 1 tbsp cornflour. I highly recommend using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour Mix. Sift twice before adding to the recipe.
Craving more mini treats?
If you’re putting together a dessert table, planning a party or simply looking for more small bites to bake, check out these recipes:
- What’s not to love about my easy to make Air Fryer Churro Bites (vegan)
- Kids and adults will go crazy for my allergy safe Rice Krispie Treats (dairy free)
- My easy no bake treat with some Strawberry Marshmallow Donut Kabobs (dairy free)
- How about little bites of yumminess with my 4 Ingredient Coconut Ice (DF, GF, Vegan)
Easy Vegan Mini Chocolate Donuts
Equipment
- Spray oil
Angela’s Top Tip
Weigh your dry ingredients in grams with a scale for best results!
Ingredients
Mini Chocolate Donuts
- 120 grams Cake Flour (1 US Cup)
- 70 grams White Sugar (1/3 US Cup)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 90 ml Plant Based Milk
- 50 grams Apple Sauce
- 15 grams Plant Based Butter (unsalted) (1 tbsp – melted)
- 1 tbsp Cocoa Powder
Instructions
Prep
- Gather all your ingredients and supplies. The butter should be melted and the milk at room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 425°F / 220°C and spray your mini donut pan with oil.
To make the mini donuts
- Add 120g cake flour, 70g white sugar, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt to a mixing bowl and stir together.
- Add 15g melted butter, 50g apple sauce and 90ml plant based milk and mix until fully combined.
- Fill the donut cavities 1/2 full. I highly recommend putting the donut batter in a piping bag to help fill them evenly (less messy as well!).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 6-7 minutes until well risen.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes then place the donuts on a cooling rack. Dust with icing sugar or glaze as required. Top tip: let the donuts cool completely before icing them.
Video
Notes
- Yield: This recipe makes 24 mini donuts. They’re best enjoyed on the day of baking but will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Serving idea: Dust with icing sugar, add your favourite icing glaze or drizzle with my 5 Minute Vegan Caramel Sauce for an extra-indulgent treat.
- Freezer friendly: To freeze, place the cooled donuts in an airtight container and freeze. To defrost, remove from the freezer and leave at room temperature before opening the container. This helps reduce condensation forming on the donuts.
- Make your own cake flour: No cake and pastry flour? Check out my handy cake flour hack to learn how to make your own, including an easy gluten-free option.
- Substitutions: Check out the recipe post for non-vegan and gluten-free substitution options.
- For lunchboxes: These make a fun back-to-school or lunchbox treat. Be sure to check your school’s food-allergy and sharing policies before packing homemade treats.
- Nutrition: Nutritional information is based on 1 mini donut per serving, with 24 servings per recipe. Nutrition information is calculated based on the ingredients in this recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes.
Leave a Reply