Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts

4.20 from 5 votes

These Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts are anything but boring! They are super fluffy, soft, moist, and are a delicious sweet treat that comes loaded with lemony flavor married together with a slight nutty flavor from the poppy seeds and baked to perfection. Gluten-Free option.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Brunch, Dessert, Snack

Keyword: dairy-free, dessert, donuts, doughnuts, easy, holiday, homemade, lemon, poppy seeds, sweets, vegan

Servings: servings

Calories: 271kcal

Author: Shanika

Ingredients

DONUTS:

1 ½ cups organic all-purpose flour
½ cup organic cane sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 Tbsps poppy seeds
1 cup Almond milk (You can use your fave plant-based milk)
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
3 Tbsps vegan butter, melted (See Notes!)

LEMON GLAZE:

2 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1-2 Tbsps Almond milk (You can use your fave plant-based milk)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

FOR THE DONUTS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and spray your donut baking pans that has 6-wells.
In a bowl, add the milk + lemon juice, whisking together well and letting it sit aside for 5-6 minutes until "activated" and the milk thickens a bit. This creates the "buttermilk".
In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, lemon zest, and sea salt. Finally, stir in the buttermilk and melted butter, until combined and batter is thick and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Fold in the poppy seeds.
Spoon the batter into a piping bag and pipe batter it into prepared donut pan wells, filling them about ¾ of the way.
Bake for 10-13 minutes or until toothpick inserted into donuts comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before releasing the donuts from their pan and unto a cooling rack to cool completely.

TO MAKE THE LEMON GLAZE:

Whisk together the powdered sugar, Almond milk, and lemon juice until smooth and consistency is met. NOTE: For a thicker glaze, add additional powered sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) until consistency is met. For a desired thinner glaze, add additional milk (1 tablespoon at a time) until consistency is met.
Once fully cooled, dip each donut into the prepared Lemon Glaze and set them back onto cooling rack so that glaze hardens a bit. Top with a few sprinkles of poppy seeds for garnish, if desired. Repeat until all donuts are glazed and sprinkled.
Bon Appetit!

Notes

STORAGE: Can be stored in a tightly sealed container and best if placed in the refrigerator for up to 3 days for ultimate freshness.
FREEZE (LONGER STORAGE): For longer storage, freeze the donuts in an airtight container for up to three months. To serve, defrost the donuts on the counter for several hours. You can also freeze the baked, undecorated donuts and add the glaze just before serving.
GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: To make these donuts GF, I recommend using a GF Flour Blend (Bob’s Red Mills has a great version!). NOTE: If the batter is too ‘thin + runny’, simply add additional GF flour, ¼ cup at a time.
SWEETENER: If you choose to opt out of pure cane sugar, you can always substitute with coconut sugar, Agave, or pure maple syrup instead. For liquid sweeteners, just adjust the amount of milk used by reducing it by 2 Tbsps to start.
FLOUR: If you want your donuts to be more of a ‘cakey’ texture, substitute 1 cup of All-purpose flour with Super-Fine Cake Flour.
OIL: Instead of melted vegan butter, you can use melted coconut oil or vegetable oil, if preferred.

Nutrition