These vegan glazed donuts are fried to perfection and are topped with an easy powdered sugar glaze. The perfect vegan breakfast or dessert!
Creating these vegan glazed donuts
Did you hear? It’s National Donut Day! Friday and it’s Donut Day, what could be better? I’ve sung the praises of baked vegan donuts in the past and hold my donut pan near and dear to my heart, but this time I wanted to try my hand at a fried yeast donut. I know that the fried versions are not as healthy as the baked, but really, it’s like comparing fried potato chips to baked potato chips.
There were so many vegan fried donut recipes I wanted to test out, but to start, I decided to go with the classic glazed yeast donut. In my opinion, you can’t beat the crunch of super sweet vanilla glaze over a warm fried donut, fresh from the frying oil. These do take a little time, between the two rise times and a bit of frying, but it is well worth the time commitment and fear of frying things in oil (I have this fear!).
I started the dough for these donuts the night before and finished mid-morning, allowing for both rises and ample frying/glazing time, but you can make them a day-long project if you wanted. Make sure your yeast is fresh (I used this kind), or the dough and donuts won’t rise and you will end up with flat, not pillowy rings of fried dough. I actually don’t have a donut cutter, so I used a circular biscuit cutter and cut the holes out with a shot glass.
Whisk the powered sugar glaze up while the donuts are frying and just watch yourself around all that hot oil, those burns on the arms are not fun for anyone. Also, make extra glaze because double glazing your donuts is something you should just be doing, especially on a Friday/Donut Day. I hope the sun is shining where you are and you have glazed pastry in one hand and big cup of coffee in the other!
Tips for making vegan donuts
Don’t rush the rise time—I know it’s tempting to pull the donut dough out of the fridge early, but it really needs the full hour in the fridge to rise properly. The second rise time is equally important, so don’t skip it! If you rush the rise times, your donuts will turn out flat and sad, which isn’t what we’re going for!
Use unsweetened almond milk—Most almond milks at the store are sweetened, even if they’re unflavored. You want to use unsweetened, plain almond milk in these vegan glazed donuts, otherwise they’ll be far too sweet.
Use your preferred oil for frying—I used olive oil to fry these vegan donuts, but you can also use canola or vegetable oil. Just choose an oil with a high smoke point that’s neutral in flavor.
Glaze the donuts while still warm—Nothing beats warm glazed donuts. Add the glaze to the donuts when they’re fresh out of the fryer; it’s okay if the glaze turns runny, that’s what you want!
If you’re looking for more donut recipes today, search the hashtag #nationaldonutday on Twitter and Instagram. Thanks to the lovely The Faux Martha for bringing this perfect holiday to my attention!
More vegan donut recipes on Heart of a Baker:
- Vegan Nutella Doughnuts
- Vegan Pumpkin Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
- Vegan Chocolate Doughnuts with Ginger Spice and Chocolate Glaze
- Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Doughnuts
Vegan Glazed Donuts
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Fried
- Cuisine: American
Description
These vegan glazed donuts are fried to perfection and are topped with an easy powdered sugar glaze. The perfect vegan breakfast or dessert!
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 3 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup almond milk (heated until warm)
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons potato starch
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
- Olive oil (for frying)
For the glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons almond milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons of the yeast in 3/4 cup of the milk. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and stir to create a paste. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, stir together the remaining milk and yeast. Add the yeast paste and sugar, salt, vanilla, and potato starch. Mix until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of remaining flour and melted coconut oil, until the mixture becomes incorporated. Add rest of flour in 1/2 cup increments until dough is smooth and not too sticky. If dough is still too sticky, add a little more flour and stir again. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- After dough has chilled, roll out on a floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out doughnuts with a doughnut or cookie cutter, 3 inches in diameter with 1 inch holes. Keep rerolling and cutting the dough until all has been used. (I actually used a biscuit cutter and a shot glass for the holes). Place the doughnuts on a lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 15 minutes.
- After doughnuts has risen, heat a large pan over medium high heat with at least 2 inches of olive oil, for frying. Once oil has become hot enough (test with a small piece of dough, making sure it sizzles, but doesn’t start popping/smoking, when it’s dropped in), fry all the doughnuts until golden on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side. When removed from the oil, place them on a stack of paper towels to drain off excess oil. When all the doughnuts have been made, allow to drain and make the glaze.
- To make the glaze: Whisk together the powered sugar, almond milk and vanilla extract. Dip each doughnut in the glaze and allow to harden on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Keywords: vegan glazed donuts, vegan donuts
June @ How to Philosophize with Cake says
Those look awesome! I will have to try this recipe–been looking for some doughnuts to try 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
Yes! It takes bit of time, but is well worth it 🙂
Megan - The Emotional Baker says
I’ve been dying to make traditional donuts, but have been nervous about frying! I’ll have to get over that to make this awesome treat!
The Frosted Vegan says
I was too! It’s really not that scary, as long as you keep an eye on it 🙂
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
Yahoo for donut day! But I’m a bad food blogger and I didn’t make donuts. So I have to go buy some instead. Sigh. These look FABULOUS! XO
The Frosted Vegan says
I’ll share mine with you! I mean, if you buy some, can you pick me up some of those crumb topped donuts? Because those are my FAV. xoxo
Ashley says
These look so, so good, Abby! I’ve never made homemade donuts before because there is something about them that intimidates me, but these simple approachable. And that GLAZE! Oh my goodness.
Ashley says
Oops, they *seem simple + approachable. Too much donut excitement to proofread before posting! 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
Haha, totally understand the feeling!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
This looks amazing! I love the vanilla glaze! Pinned 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
I know, right? Vanilla glaze, all day everyday.
Cynthia/What A Girl Eats says
What a great option for vegans on National Doughnut Day!
The Frosted Vegan says
You got it girl!
Inez says
I made these yesterday and they were absolutely scrumptious! I’ve never fried dough before but it was actually a lot of fun! I’m not sure that’s a good thing… 🙂
★★★★★
The Frosted Vegan says
It’s SO a good thing! I’m so happy you loved them Inez, enjoy one for me! 🙂
Eden Passante says
Gorgeous donuts! I would love to try this recipe out sometime!
Heart of a Baker says
They are so worth the time put in! Enjoy!
Jessica Oliver says
Just made these, so good! Thanks!! I ended up adding maple syrup instead of vanilla for the frosting. My first donut since I went vegan nearly two years ago and I’m pregnant so these hit the spot! Lol
Heart of a Baker says
So happy you loved them!!
Brigitte says
I want to make this recipe but 3 table spoons of yeast ? There is definitely something wrong with this measurement. I bake all the time yeast bread and buns I never used that much yeast , could you let me know ..thank you
Heart of a Baker says
So sorry for the error on my end! It should be 3 teaspoons!
Brigitte says
I want to make this recipe but 3 table spoons of yeast ? There is definitely something wrong with this measurement. I bake all the time yeast bread and buns I never used that much yeast , could you let me know ..thank you