These vegan donuts with chocolate glaze and hazelnuts are pure decadence! But they are baked, therefore, super fluffy and oil-free! Have some of these goodies!
Actually I’ve never been a big donut fan before I turned vegan. I’d always take muffins and cookies over donuts any time. Mostly because I don’t like that a lot of them are super sweet. But now that I tried so many new things in the last couple of months, I thought what the heck why not just give vegan donuts a try. So I ended up with these delicious donuts with chocolate glaze and hazelnuts.
Can You Eat Donuts as a Vegan?
Admittedly, it is a bit harder to eat donuts as a vegan, but you definitely can. The only thing that is actually harder as a vegan, is to get store-bought donuts. Store-bought donuts mostly contain milk, eggs and butter. Plus, the chocolate glaze often contains butter.
Dunkin Donuts, for example, does not (yet) offer vegan donuts. However, they offer vegan bagels, muffins and hash browns. If you want to check their vegan options, have a look here. If you want to have homemade-donuts, vegan donuts are super easy to make.
Are Vegan Donuts Good For You?
Yes, definitely better than regular donuts! Because they don’t contain eggs and dairy products, they are free of cholesterol and saturated fat. Plus, usually you bake homemade vegan donuts and don’t fry them. Therefore, are overall lower in fat.
Some vegan donuts also use black beans or chickpeas as a basis, instead of flour. This way you not only get a super delicious treat but also one that is packed with proteins!
It’s probably hard to believe, but I used kidney beans for the donut batter. At first, I was really skeptical about baking with beans. But when my black bean brownies turned out so delicious and moist a couple of weeks ago, I thought I really needed to use beans for other baked goods as well.
However, I also added a cup of whole wheat flour this time, so the vegan donuts are not gluten-free, but it’s very easy to change the recipe.
People would probably never guess that there are beans in these vegan donuts, they are just so damn chocolaty and delicious!! I made these for my family a couple of days ago and everybody just loved them! I’m telling you they were gone so fast!
They are already used to my crazy bean recipes and weren’t even a bit surprised when I told them that I used kidney beans for the batter. Haha, they know me and my vegan recipes pretty well by now.
How to make these vegan donuts
I bought a special donut baking tray a couple of weeks ago and I love how easy it is in comparison to frying donuts.
- First, place the drained kidney beans in a blender together with brown sugar, almond milk, and cacao and blend until the mixture is smooth.
- Then transfer it to a medium bowl and stir in the whole-wheat flour, the baking powder, and vanilla. Spray the donut pan with cooking spray or grease it with vegan butter such as Earth Balance.
- Then either use a spoon to fill each donut or fill the batter into a Ziploc bag and cut off one edge.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the vegan chocolate hazelnut donuts for 9-11 minutes.
- Allow to cool down in the pan for a couple of minutes, then move them to a cooling rack.
How to make a chocolate glaze for donuts
In the meantime, make the chocolate glaze. Melt a 3.5-ounce package vegan dark chocolate either by using a microwave or place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place it over a pan of barely simmering water.
Once melted, cover the donuts with the chocolate and sprinkle with hazelnut brittle. I used store-bought brittle, but of course you can also sub it with chopped hazelnuts if you want. Or use other decorations like sugar sprinkles or coconut flakes.
Did I make you hungry yet? Then I guess you should start baking. What’s your favorite donut recipe? My next recipe is definitely going to include some kind of pumpkin or pumpkin spice. I simply love eeeeverything with pumpkin in it these days!!
If you’re looking for more vegan donuts, check out my roundup of 24 drool-worthy vegan donuts. So many delicious vegan donuts in just one place! Or check out my roundup of 27 vegan chocolate recipes.
As always, I love hearing from you in the comment section below, on Facebook, or Instagram.
Sina
Vegan Donuts with Chocolate Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can kidney beans
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 3.5 oz package vegan dark chocolate
- 4 tablespoons hazelnut brittle You can also sub it with chopped hazelnuts, or use sugar sprinkles or coconut flakes instead
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the kidney beans. Place them into a blender together with the brown sugar, almond milk, and cacao and blend until the mixture is smooth.
- Then transfer it to a medium bowl and stir in the whole-wheat flour, the baking powder, and vanilla. Spray the donut pan with cooking spray or grease it with vegan butter such as Earth Balance.
- Either use a spoon to fill each donut or fill the batter into a Ziploc bag and cut off one edge.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F and bake the vegan chocolate hazelnut donuts for 9-11 minutes. Allow to cool down in the pan for a couple of minutes, then move them to a cooling rack.
- In the meantime, make the chocolate glaze. Melt a 3.5-ounce package vegan dark chocolate either by using a microwave or place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place it over a pan of barely simmering water. Once melted, cover the donuts with the chocolate and sprinkle with hazelnut brittle.
Debbie
Oh my, these look so good. I rarely ate doughnuts before I was vegan, but now I sometimes crave them. Probably because it’s so rare to find them.
Sina
Thanks, Debbie! You’re right, they really are pretty hard to find. I actually just had vegan donuts once when I was in New York and I haven’t seen any since then. But this recipe is so easy, so I’ll definitely make this more often. :-)
Ilona @ Ilona's Passion
When I looked at this donuts I said OMG! when I read ingredients I said WOW….. I have to make them ASAP. Totally yummy:)
Sina
Haha! Thanks, Ilona! So great to hear that you like them. Let me know how they turned out. :-)
Tianna
wow these look amazing!!
stop by and chat with me :) http://storybookapothecary.com
Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen
OMG! What a stunning idea of adding kidney beans to the donuts. My daughter is a big donut sucker, and this seems like the best way to make her eat some extra fiber! YUMMY! :)
Sina
Thanks, Anu! So glad you like them! I was a bit skeptical at first, but when my black bean brownies turned out really delicious a couple of weeks ago, I just knew that I had to do some more baking with beans. :-)
Allison Jones
These look amazing! They definitely don’t look like they were made with beans and I’m sure they don’t taste like it either.
LiveLifeWell,
Allison
Sina
Thanks, Allison! No, you wouldn’t even guess that they are beans in them. They taste really chocolatey and the cocoa powder totally masks the beans. But they make the donuts really moist and I simply love baking with them. :-)
Mira
Love baked donuts and would love to try these! Love that you used beans! The chocolate hazelnut combo is perfect!
Sina
Thanks so much, Mira! :-)
Trish at View from the Birdhouse
These look amazing! And the include kidney beans – that is really neat. I want to try this recipe. Thanks!
Sina
Thanks, Trish! :-) If you try it, let me know how you liked them. ;-)
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter
Oh my gosh, these donuts are amazing! I love that you made them with beans and that they’re vegan! My husband and I have a secret weakness to donuts so these are just calling my name! That glaze though! Swoon!
Sina
Thanks, Kelly! So glad you like them! :-) I simply love baking with beans!
Farrah
Donuts haven’t ever been my absolute favorite treat either, but these look amazing! I love that you snuck in kidney beans! :P I never would’ve guessed that!
Sina
Thanks, Farrah! I know, isn’t it crazy that you can bake with beans? :-) I was pretty skeptical at first, but when I made black bean brownies a couple of weeks ago and they turned out absolutely delicious, I just had to come up with another bean recipe.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Those are simply chocolatey doughnuts of joy!!! I love the hazelnut!
Sina
Thanks, Rebecca! I do too! :-)
Alessandra
These turned out so well! Kidney beans are awesome in vegan desserts. I have a doughnut-shaped baking pan at home too. Going to test out a variation of this!
Jenn
Amazing!! I LOVE that you used kidney beans! Healthy donuts…sign me up! And these pictures are stunning!
Sina
Thanks, Jenn! :-)
Tori
Oh my God, these look absolutely devine! I can’t believe they are vegan! I want them!
Sina
Thanks, Tori! So glad you like them. :-)
The Vegan 8
Omg seriously?! These look incredible! I could eat 5 right now! And I love that you used kidney beans instead. I have wanted to try those in some brownies instead of black beans, because they are much softer and would mush/blend so much better. I’m in love with these. All that cocoa powder would definitely mask the beans. Great recipe!
Sina
Thanks, Brandi! Haha! I could have eaten five of them too, but they were gone way too fast! :D I didn’t even have a chance to have a second one. ;-) But I don’t wanna complain, I love it when my family loves the vegan stuff I bring over. I definitely like baking with beans, it makes them so moist and yeah you’re right the cocoa powder totally masks the beans. You probably wouldn’t even guess that there are beans in them. :-)
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit
These are epic Sina!!!!!!!! That bite missing shot with the perfect gaze crackle just makes me want to steal them right from the screen! And brown sugar with chocolate is so rich, I just love everything about these donuts <3
Sina
Thanks, Natalie! :-) I actually never really liked donuts before I turned vegan, but I just love these. And the kidney beans make them so moist. If you’d told me this a couple of years ago, I probably would have laughed. I mean beans in sweets sounds pretty weird, right? But it’s amazing!! :-)
Ashley
Can you replace kidney beans with something else? I’m allergic to them! :(
Sina
Hi Ashley, Are you allergic to beans in general or just kidney beans? If not you could replace them with black beans. :-)