Vegan Sourdough Donuts Recipe

These old-fashioned vegan sourdough donuts are light, airy and fried to perfection. Top them with vanilla glaze, chocolate glaze, cinnamon sugar or roll them in powdered sugar and fill them with your favorite jelly, jam, curd or pastry cream.

a variety of vegan sourdough donuts on a table.

Making Vegan Sourdough Donuts the Old-Fashioned Way

In the words of Homer Simpson, “Mmmmmmm, doooonuts”. I haven’t had real old-fashioned fried yeast doughnuts in ages. I’ve always wanted to make them from scratch and they seemed like the perfect weekend specialty sourdough recipe to try to create. Oh my, was that a good idea. These are dangerously good.

If you’ve been longing for a real old-fashioned doughnut that is vegan friendly, the time is here my friends!

These doughnuts are fried up light and fluffy with a slight sourdough tang. The dough itself is not sweet. They rely on a sweet glaze, sugar dusting, or fillings to make them sweet and add different flavors. You can glaze or fill them with anything you’d like. The photos show a variety of donuts with classic vanilla bean glaze, chocolate ganache glaze, cinnamon sugar coating, and a rhubarb jam filling. This recipe made a big batch of about 18 doughnuts which is perfect for larger families or sharing with friends. We brought them to school for the teachers and staff to enjoy. You can halve this recipe if you want to make a smaller batch.

Ingredients

Sourdough Starter: Sourdough donuts need active bubbly sourdough starter for the dough to rise. Use 100% hydration starter, which mean a starter that is made of equal parts water and flour. Follow my sourdough starter tutorial to learn how to make your own starter from scratch.

All-Purpose Flour: Regular unbleached purpose flour is perfect for soft fluffy yeasted doughnuts. All-purpose flour has a lower amount of protein than bread flour and will result is a soft tender crumb structure, which we want for donuts.

Vegan Butter: Use any vegan butter alternative you like. I usually use Country Crock Plant Butter sticks for vegan baking. Earth Balance Buttery Sticks and Miyokos Vegan Creamery Butter also work well in this recipe.

Non-Dairy Milk: Use unsweetened non-dairy milk such as soy milk, almond milk or oat milk for the best results. Thicker nuts milks may are too creamy for this recipe and will result in dense, heavy donuts.

Coconut Milk: A couple tablespoon of creamy coconut milk adds just the right amount of richness to this donut dough without making it heavy or dense.

Sugar: A small amount of granulated sugar adds a touch of sweetness to the dough. Use friendly sugar or unrefined sweeteners such as maple syrup, coconut sugar or whole cane sugar.

Kosher Salt: A pinch of kosher salt will bring out the flavor of the doughnuts. Vegan butter is usually salted so only 1 teaspoon of kosher salt is needed. You can also reduce or omit the salt if using salted butter if you prefer.

Frying Oil: Use a neutral tasting oil with a high smoke point when deep frying. I prefer extra-light olive oil. Other options include avocado oil, grape seed oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, canola oil or vegetable oil.

child's hands holding a chocoalte glazed vegan sourdough donut decorated with orange peel.

How to Make Vegan Doughnuts with Sourdough

Step 1: Make the Donut Dough

First, melt the vegan butter in a small saucepan then remove it from the heat and stir in the milk, water, coconut milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves. This will cool the melted butter down and create a mixture that is lukewarm and not too hot for the live yeast in the sourdough starter.

Combine this mixture with the sourdough starer in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Set the mixer tot the lowest speed and add the kosher salt and half of the flour. Mix it until the flour in incorporated then add the remaining flour. Continue mixing the dough at low speed until it comes away from the side of the bowl. If its too sticky add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix the dough for a total of 5-6 minutes until a soft tacky dough forms.

Step 2: Bulk Fermentation

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it into a smooth ball then place it into an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or beewswax wrap and let the dough bulk rise until it is puffy and has doubled in volume, about 8-10 hours at room temperature.

Tip: Make the dough in the evening to rise overnight and fry doughnuts in the morning. You can also refrigerate the dough overnight once it is has bulked to at least 50% volume and then let it come to room temperature in the morning before shaping and proofing the donuts.

Step 3: Shape and Proof

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin. Cut doughnuts using concentric circle cutters, about 2.5” circle for outer edge and 1“ circle for the center. Save small 1″ cutouts for doughnut holes or re-roll them into the dough. If making filled doughnuts do not cut out centers. Rework, roll and cut the dough scraps until all of the dough is used up.

Transfer doughnut cut-outs onto floured baking sheets and cover them with kitchen towels. Let them proof in a warm spot for about 1 hour until puffy.

Step 4: Fry the Donuts

Heat the frying oil in a deep-sided 8” cast iron or enameled heavy-bottomed pan when the doughnuts are nearly done proofing.

Fry the doughnuts in small batches of 2-3 until they are a deep golden color, about 45 seconds per side. Use a slotted spoon, kitchen spider strainer or chopsticks to turn and lift doughnuts.

Transfer the fried doughnuts to cooling racks set over sheet pans to allow the excess oil to drain or to a plate lined with paper towels. USE CAUTION when working with hot oil.

Step 5: Add Donut Toppings

Here’s where you can get creative. Make sure add the toppings while the vegan sourdough donuts are still warm for the best results. Dip them into vanilla bean glaze or chocolate glaze as detailed in the recipe card. Roll them in cinnamon sugar or pipe your favorite filling into the centers and roll them in powdered sugar.

a chocolate gazed vegan sourdough donut decorated with orange peel on a small turquoise cake stand

Storage

Doughnuts are best enjoyed the day they are made but I do have to say these were still pretty darn good on day 2. You can also freeze the plain doughnuts after they are fried and before adding any glaze, sugar coating or fillings then reheat them in the oven at a later date.

A child's hands are holding a chocolate gazed donut decorated with orange peel with more donuts on the table.

Tips for Making Sourdough Doughnuts

Weigh the Ingredients: I always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh ingredients when making bread dough or baked goods. It is the most accurate way to bake and ensures that you will get the correct results from any recipe.

Use Active Starter: Make sure to feed your sourdough starter beforehand so that it is very active and bubbly when you are ready to make the dough.

Temperature Matters: Because this recipe relies solely on the sourdough starter as the leavening agent the time it takes the dough to bulk rise and proof depends greatly on the ambient temperature and humidity of the space. In general, the warmer it is the faster sourdough bread dough will rise. On top of that, this is an enriched dough, and the additions of milk, sugar, and fat tend to slow down the yeast activity and make the bulk rise time longer.

If you want to speed up the rise time then you’ll need to find a spot that is warm. A cold oven with the light on creates an ideal environment for this. On the other hand, if you want to slow down the rise time then you can always pop the dough into the fridge to slow down the yeast activity. The longer a dough takes to rise the more pronounced its sour flavor will be.

Do a Test Fry: Whenever I’m deep-frying something I like to start with a small tester, in this case, a small doughnut hole, before frying a whole batch up. This will help you judge the perfect temperature and time for frying the doughnuts. Don’t overcrowd the pot and fry the donuts in small batches to ensure the best results.

Use a Thermometer: Use an instant thermometer to keep an eye on the oil temperature. Remember that as you add the doughnuts to the oil the temperature will drop and you may have to adjust the heat level throughout the frying process.

The Proper Tools: Have your station set up before you begin frying. Have the cooling rack and sheet pan ready to go to drain the doughnuts. Use a kitchen spider, slotted spoon or chopsticks to turn the doughnuts in the oil and remove them when they are done frying.

mini jam-filled vegan sourdough donuts rolled in powdered sugar.

Recipe FAQs:

What is the best oil to use for frying?

I prefer extra-light olive oil for frying and that is what I used here. Other options include avocado oil, grape seed oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, canola oil or vegetable oil.

What is 100% hydration sourdough starter?

100% hydration sourdough starter means a starter that is fed with equal parts by weight of flour and water

Can doughnuts be frozen?

Yes, the plain unglazed doughnuts can be frozen for up to 6 months. Reheat them in the oven then proceed with glazing or filling them.

Can I make donuts without a stand-mixer?

Yes, the dough can be kneaded by hand until it is smooth and elastic. It will take about 10-12 minutes.

More Vegan Doughnut Recipes:

Love this recipe?

Please leave a star-rating review of the recipe and let me know what you think in a comment below. This small act is a great way to show your support for the food blogs you read and love.

Tag @fareisle in your photos on Instagram with #fareisle so I can see your creations!