Vegan Pumpkin Doughnuts

Key Ingredients

Baked doughnuts are always one of my favourite things to make as they use very simple ingredients that I usually have on hand. For this pumpkin version, you’ll of course need the pumpkin but the rest should be pantry staples.

Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Plain flour – also known as all purpose flour in the US. You can also substitute this with a 1-1 gluten-free flour blend containing xanthan gum.
• Baking powder – so the doughnuts rise while baking and become light and soft.
• Pumpkin pie spice – I am using my homemade pumpkin pie spice blend which is a combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. You can use a store bought blend or just substitute with all cinnamon.
• Pumpkin puree – not only is this the key flavour of these doughnuts, but the pumpkin also adds essential structure acting as an egg replacer. I am using my homemade pumpkin puree but you can also use canned pumpkin in this recipe.
• White sugar – used in the doughnuts themselves plus extra for the cinnamon sugar coating.
• Vanilla extract – make sure to use vanilla extract instead of imitation vanilla essence for the best flavour.
• Canola oil – keeps these doughnuts soft and moist. You can use any flavourless vegetable oil here.
• Dairy-free milk – I use oat milk in the batter, but you could use soy milk or almond milk, or even regular if you do not need these to be suitable for a dairy-free or vegan diet.

For the cinnamon sugar coating, I just use a combination of white sugar with ground cinnamon but you can also use additional pumpkin pie spice here for a stronger flavour. I also like to brush the doughnuts lightly with some melted dairy free butter to get the cinnamon sugar to properly stick and add a little extra flavour.

Step-By-Step Instructions

This is a relatively simple recipe that doesn’t take long to make. You will need a doughnut pan though if you’re wanting to get that classic shape. I can’t remember where I bought mine – I’ve had it for so long, but this doughnut pan from Amazon (affiliate link) is very similar. I’ve also seen them quite cheap at Kmart.

I know it’s just another thing to clutter your kitchen, but once you’ve had freshly baked doughnuts at home, you’re going to want to make them again and again. If however you’re not ready for another pan, you can use a muffin tin but you may need to adjust your cooking times.

Start by combining your dry ingredients in a bowl and whisking them well to combine.

Then, in another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, vanilla extract, and oil until well combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, whisking as you slowly pour in the dairy-free milk, until the batter is smooth.

From here, you can carefully spoon the batter into your doughnut pan that has been greased with a light spray of cooking oil, or the easier option is to pour the batter into a large piping bag or ziplock bag, and snip off the tip. Then you can easily pipe the batter into the doughnut pan, filling each mould until ¾ full.

Bake in the oven for 10–12 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Let the doughnuts cool in the pan for 2 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack.

👉 This recipe makes a total of 8 doughnuts and my doughnut pan only has 6 holes so I do need to bake them in batches. Once the first batch has been turned out onto a wire rack, gently wash out the pan and give it another spray of cooking oil and you’re ready to bake the remaining doughnut batter.

For the coating, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and set aside. In another small bowl, melt the dairy-free butter in the microwave.

Once the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, you can either dunk them in the melted butter or, as I prefer, brush them lightly with the melted dairy-free butter. This way you’re avoiding too much soaking into the doughnuts making them soggy.

Once they have the butter on them, dip them in the cinnamon sugar mixture until fully coated.

For a different option, instead of coating the doughnuts in the cinnamon sugar mixture, you can dunk them in the maple glaze from my vegan maple glazed doughnuts recipe.

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