Baked Pumpkin Donuts – Gluten-Free and Vegan

Soft and pillowy baked pumpkin donuts rolled in powdered sugar for a sweet breakfast treat. These donuts are gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan, and are great for entertaining for brunch. Fall into Autumn with this easy recipe that's on the table in just under 30 minutes. 
A stack of baked pumpkin donuts with cinnamon sticks.
A stack of baked pumpkin donuts with cinnamon sticks.

Is there anything more quintessentially Fall than pumpkin? Okay, maybe apples… but Fall has almost become synonymous with pumpkin, especially in recent years. These baked pumpkin donuts are gluten-free and vegan and PERFECT for a Fall brunch.

If there is one thing that should be pumpkin flavored.. it’s these donuts. Because pumpkin belongs in donuts. Pumpkin donuts baked to perfection in just 10 minutes and rolled in powdered sugar for a perfectly spiced breakfast treat that tastes just like Fall.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not someone who loves pumpkin spice everything.

I am personally not a fan of pumpkin spice lattes. I find them to be a little too sweet for my liking. HOWEVER, my boyfriend is kind of obsessed with them. As soon as the PSL hits Starbucks, he’s ordering them on the daily. Me? I’m more of an almond milk latte fan myself.

Am I the only one who realizes it’s suddenly Fall solely based on the fact of the number of pumpkin spice products they find at the grocery store? Nowadays there’s a pumpkin spice flavor of every product offered ever. You hear me? EVER!

From coffee creamers, to cereal, to yogurt, to chips (WHY?!?), to alcohol…. there’s a pumpkin spice variety.  I don’t typically buy into it, but I bought some pumpkin spiced hand soap the other day, so maybe I’m turning a new leaf.

And I promise, I’m not judging all of the pumpkin spice lovers out there (only slightly). I just am not a fan of literally everything being pumpkin flavored. Let’s just let some pumpkin things be sacred. Okay? Like these donuts.

Baked pumpkin donuts rolled in powdered sugar with cinnamon sticks and pumpkin puree.

Do you ever bake your own donuts? If not, you should. It’s SO easy! All you need is a few simple ingredients and a donut pan and you’re in business. The donut batter just takes about 5 minutes to put together and after 10-12 minutes in the oven, you’ll have fresh, warm donuts for breakfast!

To make these donuts pumpkin flavored, make sure you use pure pumpkin puree, not the canned pumpkin pie filling that is loaded with sugar. We just want the pure stuff that is 100% pumpkin.

Then we add in pumpkin pie spice for that warm and homey flavor that really enhances the pumpkin. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand, here’s my recipe for homemade pumpkin pie spice. I like to keep it on hand all season long!

You could go with a glaze, but to make these donuts even simpler, I just like to roll them in powdered sugar after they’ve cooled a bit from the oven. It lets that pumpkin flavor shine! Though I think a maple glaze could be great as well.

I love this donut recipe because it’s so easily adaptable for different food allergies or diets. I’ve made it gluten-free and vegan already for you, but if you are able to eat dairy, you can easily use regular butter. As always, if you are vegan, make sure you use vegan sugars!

A wire rack of gluten-free vegan pumpkin donuts rolled in powdered sugar.

Use Up Leftover Pumpkin Puree With These Recipes

You’ll only use 1/2 cup pumpkin puree in this recipe, so you’ll have some extra. Use up those leftovers with a few of my favorite pumpkin recipes. Try my Gluten-Free Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies for an easy breakfast on the go. My Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Pancakes are another great option for brunch. If savory is more your thing, try this Pumpkin Apple Cider Turkey Chili.

Want to have your cake and eat it too? This gluten-free pumpkin cake from Flippin’ Delicious is just what you need! Craving Fall recipes but still have warm weather where you are? Never fear! This Pumpkin Pie No-Churn Ice Cream from Life After Wheat will keep you cool while satisfying the need for pumpkin!

How to Make Gluten-Free Vegan Baked Pumpkin Donuts

It is so easy to make these gluten-free vegan baked pumpkin donuts! You can have breakfast on the table in just under 30 minutes with this recipe. Soft, pillowy baked donuts are dipped in powdered sugar for a sweet treat great for serving at a gluten-free brunch.

 

A stack of baked pumpkin donuts with cinnamon sticks.

Baked Pumpkin Donuts – Gluten-Free and Vegan

Soft and pillowy baked pumpkin donuts rolled in powdered sugar for a sweet breakfast treat. These donuts are gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan, and are great for entertaining for brunch. Fall into Autumn with this easy recipe that’s on the table in just under 30 minutes. 
5 from 11 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
Servings: 6 donuts
Calories: 177kcal
Author: Megan

Ingredients

  • 1 + 1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 cup vegan butter (melted and cooled)
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a donut pan with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice and whisk together.
  • Add in melted vegan butter, pumpkin puree, almond milk, apple cider vinegar and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
  • Spoon the batter into the donut pan wells or pipe it with a pastry bag.
  • Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the donut comes out clean.
  • Let cool for a few minutes and then turn donuts out onto wire rack. 
  • Pour powdered sugar into a shallow bowl. Press donuts into the powdered sugar on both sides. 
  • Best served the same day. 

Nutrition

Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 462mg | Potassium: 133mg | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 3535IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 0.6mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @ADashofMegnut or tag #adashofmegnut!

 

about megan

I’m Megan

A gluten-free food blogger from Chicago and lover of all things food, showing you gluten-free can be easy and delicious, too. Let’s make gluten-free stress free together! Read more…

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37 Comments

  1. Do you know that your recipe calls for 1 + 1/2 cups of gf flour? There’s no way that is correct. I wasted a lot of precious ingredients with this recipe.

    1. Hi Carol, It is in fact correct. It’s one cup plus another half cup. I’ve tested the recipe 5 times and made it countless times since then. Can you share what went wrong when you tried the recipe so I can help you? Did you make any substitutions from the recipe as written? Thanks.

    2. 5 stars
      It worked for me 🙂

    3. So glad it worked for you Nicole! Thanks for sharing! <3

  2. Thanks for sharing! I love that it’s vegan and gluten free. Do you use this blend for any other recipes?

  3. Do you know if the recipe works the same with regular flour?

    1. Hi Jessica! Yes, it will work with regular flour! Enjoy!

  4. Can you use wheat four instead of gluten free flour?

    1. Hi Sue, One of our readers successfully tried it with regular all-purpose flour with the same quantities. Hope that helps!!

  5. Christina says:

    I can’t find 1:1 gf flour blend (I live in rural Australia). Would this work with a regular all purpose gf flour? The brand I use is white wings.

    1. Hi Christina, I haven’t tried White Wings GF flour before, but it should work as long as it’s a flour blend that is meant to work in a 1-to-1 swap with regular flour. Hope this helps!

  6. 5 stars
    Made these for Thanksgiving. Hubby said he could eat the batter by itself, it was that good. Thanks for posting a great recipe!

    1. Thanks Tammy! So glad you and your family enjoyed them!

  7. 5 stars
    I just made these for the first time and they are so delicious. I used regular butter and flour because that’s what I had on hand. Also, I don’t have a donut pan so I made these into muffins instead. I just had to cook a few minutes longer. They taste incredible and are so moist! I topped with a little homemade whipped cream. This would be a great recipe for kids to do since it’s so simple.

    1. So glad you enjoyed these Brooke! I’m also very glad to know that it works well with regular butter and flour! The whipped cream on top sounds amazing!

  8. 5 stars
    Delicious! We loved them. Thank you for a perfect gluten free vegan recipe ?

  9. 5 stars
    I used regular flour, they turned out super yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    Also, first comment is a total grouch, don’t let the negs get you down! 🙂

  10. Does the recipe work with other non-dairy milks? Like soy milk? Thanks!! 🙂

    1. Hi Zoe, I haven’t tried it but it should work with other non-dairy milks just fine.

  11. Rachel Carpenter says:

    Could you make the batter the day before and just bake in the morning?

    1. Hi Rachel, I wouldn’t suggest it. The leaveners begin to react right away when mixed so I’d suggest making the batter right before baking.

  12. Mackenzie Kneeshaw says:

    Can I swap the apple cider vinegar for something else ?

    1. You can use white vinegar as a replacement! Vinegar is necessary to help the donuts rise.

  13. 5 stars
    These are amazing! I’ve made them twice this week.

    1. So glad you enjoyed these, Katie!

  14. Kellie Barton says:

    Megan! I made these into muffins and they were amazing! I froze them after cooling completely. Perfection! Making them again this morning.

    1. Thanks, Kellie!! What a great idea to make them muffins! Totally doing that very soon!

  15. Christina says:

    Can the butter be replaced with oil?

    1. Hi Christina, Yes – you can swap the vegan butter for oil. Go for an oil that doesn’t have a strong flavor for this recipe.. so canola, vegetable or sunflower oil would be my choice. Hope this helps!

  16. 5 stars
    I needed to bake for the full time, and used Young Living EO’s instead of spices! Great recipe!

    1. Thanks, Maureen! I’m glad you enjoyed them!

  17. Are the donuts supposed to be doughy in the middle or bread like?

    1. Hi Lindsey, The donuts should be cakey in the middle. If it’s doughy – they need more time baking.

  18. Do you think I could substitute the vegan butter for extra virgin olive oil? I am very eager to try this for my vegan best friend. Thank you.

    1. Hi Arianna, You can use oil (same amount) in place of the vegan butter. I’ve tested it with vegetable oil and it does work, so the extra virgin olive oil should work just fine here!

  19. 5 stars
    What could I do if I don’t have a donut pan 😭

    1. Hi Marisa! I haven’t tried this myself, but I’ve seen people use a regular size muffin tin if you have one of those. Spray the muffin tin with cooking spray or grease it with oil. Bunch up some aluminum foil into a ball and place it in the center of each muffin well. Then, pipe the batter around the ball so that it forms a hole in the center. I’d say piping the batter would be easier than spooning it so that the ball doesn’t move around – you can just place the batter in a large ziploc bag and then cut off the tip. Another version I’ve seen is very similar with the aluminum foil ball but they also line the whole muffin well with aluminum foil – you can check out this article to see how they did it https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-to-make-doughnuts-without-a-doughnut-pan/ Hope this helps and you get some baked pumpkin donuts in the near future 🙂