Mini Chocolate Donuts (Vegan)

Who can resist mini chocolate donuts? Just 8 ingredients and less than 10 minutes to make these light and fluffy morsels of yumminess. Drizzle with caramel sauce, coat with icing sugar, dip in icing or eat as they are, these are perfect for any occasion. Vegan mini chocolate donuts recipe with easy gluten free option.

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A stack of mini chocolate donuts dusted with icing sugar on a blue plate.

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Why I Made This Recipe

My 6 year old is always bugging me to make donuts. He absolutely adores them and doesn’t mind what size or flavour they are. And as we were making some party treats for some weekend celebrations, I figured these would be perfect to add to our dessert table. 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

These donuts take less than 10 minutes from prep to plate and are perfect for a quick snack when you get a sweet craving. They are soft, fluffy and easy to make.

Ingredients and Substitutions

This is a vegan recipe that uses 8 basic ingredients and can easily be adapted for gluten free diets. For some commonly asked questions about this recipe, check out my FAQ section.

8 ingredients in bowls to make chocolate donuts. Melted butter, cake flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, plant based milk, white sugar and apple sauce.

Dry Ingredients

Cake Flour: A lot of donut recipes use all purpose flour but I prefer a lighter consistency. Cake Flour has a lower protein content, less gluten and will create a more gentle texture in your baked goods. I always use it in my cakes and highly recommend it if you’re a fan of fluffy cakes and donuts. 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 two times to ensure it is incorporated fully. For more info on this flour, check out my handy Cake Flour post to learn how to make your own. To make your own gluten free cake flour, simply substitute the all purpose flour with 120 grams (1 US Cup) of a 1-to-1 GF flour substitute (I love Bob’s Red Mill), remove 1 tbsp of the flour and replace it with 1 tbsp corn flour. Sift two times as above.

Baking Powder and Salt: Baking powder helps the donuts rise. Remember that baking powder adds PUFF to a recipe which is exactly what we want here. Salt is added to cut back on the sweetness, and also to enhance the flavours.

Sugar: I’m using white sugar in this recipe. If you want a slightly caramelly undertone, you could sub with golden or light brown sugar. You can also substitute with coconut sugar.

Cocoa Powder: I am using dutch processed cocoa powder. Regular cocoa powder will work just as well if you can’t find dutch processed.

Wet Ingredients

Melted Butter: I am using unsalted plant based melted butter to add fat to the donuts. I prefer to use melted butter in donuts to retain that lightness. You can substitute with a light oil such as canola if you prefer or regular unsalted butter if you’re not dairy free or vegan.

Apple Sauce: I am using apple sauce as the egg replacement in this recipe. If you prefer to use an egg, I recommend using 1 large-sized egg (roughly 50g).

Plant Based Milk: my preference is to use almond milk in my baking but you can sub it with any plant based milk. If you are not vegan or dairy free, use regular milk (any percentage will work).

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.

A glass bowl with ingredients for chocolate donuts in it, prior to mixing.

Add 15g (1 tbsp) melted butter, 50g apple sauce and 90ml plant based milk and mix until fully combined.

A glass mixing bowl with chocolate donut batter after mixing.

I highly recommend putting the donut batter in a piping bag to help fill them evenly (less messy as well!). You can even use a ziploc bag if you don’t have piping bags.

Chocolate donut batter in a piping bag with a red spatula in the middle.

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.

Pinching the top of a piping bag to clean off the spatula.

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.

Cutting the end of a piping bag with a green scissors.

Fill the donut cavities 1/2 full. There will be enough batter for at least 24 mini donuts.

Piping chocolate donut batter in to a mini donut pan.

Tap the pan on the counter a few times to level off the batter.

Holding a mini donut pan filed with chocolate donut batter, prior to baking.

Bake in the preheated oven for 6-7 minutes until well risen.

A mini donut pan filled with baked donuts on top of a cooling rack.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes then remove the donuts from the pan and place them on a cooling rack. Dust with icing sugar or glaze as required. Serve with my 5 minute caramel sauce for true indulgence. Top tip: let the donuts cool completely before icing them.

5 mini vegan chocolate donuts on a plate dusted with icing sugar.

More Ideas

I used these mini vegan chocolate donuts on my recent strawberry marshmallow kabobs recipe. A perfect quick treat to make if you have some fresh strawberries and marshmallows. Our kids devoured them in no time at all.

For vanilla donuts, omit the cocoa powder and add 1tsp vanilla bean paste to the ingredients.

6 strawberry marshmallow kabobs on a white tray.

Common Questions

How many mini vegan chocolate donuts does this recipe make?

This recipe makes 24 mini donuts and can easily be doubled/tripled if you need more.

Can I make larger donuts?

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.

How long will these last?

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.

Can I freeze these mini donuts?

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.

I don’t have apple sauce. Can I use an egg instead?

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.

Can I make these Gluten Free as well?

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?

Check out more of my small bites recipes, which would complement these donuts perfectly on a dessert table:

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 some little bites of yumminess with my 4 ingredient coconut ice (DF, GF, Vegan)