Easy Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Donuts in Under 20 Minutes

|Updated Jan 2, 2023

For the perfect last-minute Christmas recipe, make these holiday-inspired peppermint donuts, which are completely vegan and finished in under 20 minutes. This easy, festive dessert recipe is like hot chocolate with a candy cane in the form of a donut, and looks like a work of art!

You'll love the taste of rich, chocolatey flavor from natural cocoa powder and the tender, soft texture of the donut. Aside from the taste, this recipe is quick and easy, and most of the ingredients you'll already have on hand. It takes just ten minutes to prep the donuts and glaze and ten minutes for the donuts to bake. They're the perfect grab-and-go dessert to serve at the holiday party and are so easy to make, children love to partake in this recipe!

What You'll Need to Make Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Donuts

It's time to gather your ingredients to make the donuts before you make the chocolate glaze. You'll start by adding the dry ingredients in your bowl and then mixing the wet ingredients, including your flax egg into that same bowl to create the doughy batter. Many of these easy vegan ingredients you'll already have on hand, likely stored away in your pantry. For this you will need:

Flax egg
All-purpose flour
Granulated Sugar
Natural Cocoa Powder
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Salt
Soy Milk
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Sauce
Vanilla Extract
Vegan Butter

What You'll Need to Make Vegan Glaze

When the donuts are in the oven, it's time to make the vegan chocolate glaze and add the crushed peppermint candies. The glaze is easy to make and you'll dunk each donut in it when they are baked through and cooled off. You'll reuse the cocoa powder, salt, and soy milk from the donut recipe for the glaze, so don't put those away yet! You'll want to use the vegan glaze for all your dessert recipes, here's what you'll need:

Natural cocoa powder
Powdered sugar
Salt
Soy Milk
Crushed Peppermint Candies

What is a Flax Egg?

For an easy egg substitute that's completely vegan, a flax egg works perfectly and has the same sticky texture and binding properties as a real egg, and is super simple to make. All you need is water and flax, and the exact flax-egg ratio. Everything you need to know about flax egg, how to make a flax egg, including the correct ratios, check out The Beet's flax egg recipe.

How to Store Vegan Donuts

If you have leftovers or plan to make extra for the next day, these vegan donuts can easily be stored at room temperature, no refrigeration needed! In an airtight container at room temp, your donuts will stay fresh for one to two days. If you want to enjoy the donuts later in the week, refrigerate them for up to four to five days, but if you want to have them months from now, wrap each donut in wax paper and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Easy Vegan Substitutes for Vegan Donuts

Have all the ingredients on hand but missing a few? We have easy substitutes that you may already have and will save you a trip to the grocery store. Don't have vegan butter? Try coconut oil instead and use the same measurements. If you're looking for a gluten-free option for vegan donuts, try using a gluten-free blend instead of all-purpose flour. The ratios are the same! Don't have applesauce but have a banana laying around? Use mashed banana instead of apple sauce and you'll still get that gooey, eggy texture. If you don't have vanilla extra or want to amplify the taste of peppermint use peppermint extract instead.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

Cost: $3.05 recipe | $0.25 serving

Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Donuts

Makes 12 donuts

Ingredients

Donuts

1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water) ($0.10)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ($0.12)
1 cup granulated sugar ($0.12)
6 tablespoons natural cocoa powder ($0.65)
¾ teaspoon baking powder ($0.02)
¼ teaspoon baking soda ($0.02)
½ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
¾ cup + 1 tbsp soy milk ($0.36)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar ($0.01)
3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce ($0.15)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract ($0.20)
1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted ($0.15)

Glaze & topping

¼ cup natural cocoa powder ($0.44)
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar ($0.42)
A pinch of salt optional
3-4 tablespoons soy milk ($0.10)
2-3 tablespoons crushed peppermint candies ($0.18)

Instructions

Donuts

Combine the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl. Set it aside for 5-10 minutes, or until gelatinous and thickened.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and lightly spray or grease a 12-donut pan.
In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then whisk to combine.
In a separate bowl, combine the flax egg, milk, vinegar, applesauce, butter, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, but be careful not to overmix the batter.
Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a large tip or a freezer bag with one corner cut off. Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan, about ½ -¾ full.
Bake the donuts for 9-10 minutes, or until slightly springy. Let the donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then pop them out of the pan and onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Glaze & topping

To make the glaze, sift the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt together in a small bowl, then mix in the soy milk until the glaze is smooth.
Once the donuts have cooled completely, dip the tops in the glaze. Immediately sprinkle them with crushed peppermint candies, then return them to the wire rack until the glaze has set. Enjoy!