Published: · Modified: by Alissa Saenz · This post may contain affiliate links · 26 Comments
These scrumptious vegan lemon doughnuts are baked (not fried!), so they’re super easy to whip up at a moment’s notice! Sweet and tangy and drizzled in lemon glaze, they’re perfect for dessert or a sweet indulgent breakfast!
You really can’t go wrong with lemon flavored desserts. As a recipe creator I’ve been surprised to find that my lemon desserts are often more popular than chocolate ones. Whoa! My vegan lemon bars, vegan lemon bundt cake, vegan lemon cupcakes, and vegan lemon loaf are some of my readers’ favorites. Well, if you enjoyed any of those treats, I think you’ll LOVE my vegan lemon doughnuts.
Jump to:
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How They’re Made
- Variations
- Shelf-Life & Storage
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Vegan Doughnut Recipes
- Vegan Lemon Doughnuts
This recipe is a great way satisfy your doughnut cravings. It’s super quick and easy. Baking the doughnuts cuts out all of the fuss with hot oil that’s normally involved in making a batch of doughnuts, but they’re every bit as delicious as my more conventional, fried vegan doughnuts.
You’ll need to get yourself a doughnut pan, but it’s totally a worthwhile investment! Check out the bottom of this post for some more delicious recipes you can make with it.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below you’ll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- All-purpose flour. This might also be known to you as white flour or plain old wheat flour. I’ve also successfully made this recipe with whole wheat pastry flour.
- Sugar. Make sure you’re using organic granulated sugar. Conventional sugar is often processed using animal bone char, so you’ll want to avoid it to keep the recipe vegan.
- Baking soda.
- Baking powder.
- Salt.
- Non-dairy milk. Use an unsweetened and unflavored variety. Pretty much anything other than canned coconut milk will work, but if you need guidance, check out my guide to non-dairy milks.
- Lemon juice. Lemon is the star of this recipe, so use freshly squeezed juice. You’ll need about three lemons to give you enough juice for the doughnuts and the glaze.
- Vegetable oil. Any neutral oil you normally like to bake with will work in this recipe. Melted coconut oil, canola oil, and corn oil are all fine. You could even use olive oil!
- Lemon zest.
- Lemon extract.
- Coloring. This is totally optional, but if you’d like your doughnuts to have a nice yellow color like mine, add a couple drops of natural yellow food coloring or a pinch of turmeric.
- Powdered sugar. Again, make sure this is organic.
How They’re Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Start by preheating your oven to 350°F and oiling the cavities of your doughnut pan(s).
Step 2: Combine your dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.
Step 3: Now combine your wet ingredients in a small container: milk, lemon juice, oil, lemon zest, lemon extract, and yellow food coloring or turmeric, if using.
Step 4: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir everything together just until a batter is formed and you stop seeing flour streaks.
Step 5: Divide the batter among the cavities of your doughnut pans. You can pipe it in if you’d like, but I keep things simple and use a spoon.
Step 6: Stick the doughnut pans into the oven and bake your doughnuts until they’re fluffy and have darkened a bit around the edges.
Step 7: Place the pan on a wire rack and let the doughnuts cool completely before you remove them.
Step 8: Once your doughnuts are cool, stir some powdered sugar together with lemon juice in a small bowl.
Step 9: Dip your doughnuts in the glaze until the tops are nicely coated. Let them sit on parchment paper for a few minutes to allow the glaze to set.
Variations
- Cream cheese frosting topped doughnuts. Swap the glaze out with my vegan cream cheese frosting. Just be warned that it’ll go on quite a bit thicker!
- Top your doughnuts. Coat the glaze in sprinkles, decorating sugar, shredded coconut, or chopped nuts.
- Powdered sugar coated doughnuts. Skip the glaze, and instead coat your doughnuts in organic powdered sugar.
Shelf-Life & Storage
Vegan lemon doughnuts will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, in the fridge for about 1 week, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can these doughnuts be made gluten-free?
I haven’t tested a gluten-free version of this recipe, but I think an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend would work.
My doughnuts are sticking to the pan. How can I get them out?
First, make sure they’re completely cool. Once they are, use a butter knife to gently loosen each doughnut from the pan. Keep working it around the doughnut until it comes out. It’s worth mentioning that I’ve found that older pans tend to stick more, so if you’ve been using the same pan for a while, consider replacing it.
Can I make this recipe without a doughnut pan?
You can try baking the batter in a muffin tin, or even a mini muffin tin, which will give you something like doughnut holes. Keep an eye on them while they’re in the oven, as the bake time may need to be reduced a bit.
More Vegan Doughnut Recipes
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
Vegan Lemon Doughnuts
These scrumptious vegan lemon doughnuts are baked (not fried!), so they’re super easy to whip up at a moment’s notice! Sweet and tangy and drizzled in lemon glaze, they’re perfect for dessert or a sweet indulgent breakfast!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 22 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 227kcal
Author Alissa
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup organic granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 drops natural yellow food coloring (optional, you can also use a pinch of turmeric for color)
For the Glaze
- 1 ½ cups organic powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
Make the Donuts
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Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly oil an 12 cavity doughnut pan, or a couple of 6 cavity pans.
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Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
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In a small container, such as a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk, lemon juice, oil, lemon zest, lemon extract, and yellow food coloring, if you’re using it.
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Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir the ingredients together just until they’re completely combined. Don’t overmix the batter.
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Divide the batter among the doughnut cavities, filling each one to a level just barely below the rim. You can spoon the batter in, or pipe it using a pastry bag if you’d like.
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Bake the doughnuts for 12 minutes, or until they’re puffy and ever so slightly browned around the edges.
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Place the pans on a cooling rack and let the doughnuts cool completely.
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Once the doughnuts are cool, stir the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl. You can add extra powdered sugar if if seems too thin, or more lemon juice or some water if if seems too thick.
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Dip the top of each doughnut in the glaze, then place it on a sheet of parchment paper until the glaze has set,
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Serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 1doughnut | Calories: 227kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 176mg | Potassium: 33mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1mg
About Alissa Saenz
Hi, I’m Alissa! I’m a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! You can read more about me here.
I’d love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.
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