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These Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Donuts are a delicious dessert loaded with lemony flavour, and baked to perfection. They’re topped with a sweet lemon poppy seed glaze for a healthy and gluten-free donut!
What better way to kick off a new week than with donuts? And not just any donuts…gluten-free and vegan lemon poppy seed donuts.
Yup. Pretty much the best possible way to kick off a Monday, right?
It’s no secret that I’m a total sucker for lemon poppyseed. We’ve got Lemon Poppyseed Bliss Balls, Healthy Lemon Poppyseed Muffins, and Lemon Poppyseed Spelt Pancakes already hiding on the blog, so naturally, donuts are the next logical step!
I’m getting SO excited for creating recipes for this time of year, because June means all sorts of LOCAL fresh produce! From berries to citrus fruits, so many fresh things are coming to the blog!
One of my favourite spring flavour combinations is lemon and poppy seeds. Lemon is so vibrant and fresh – to me, it’s just one of those ingredients that feels like spring.
A few notes on these vegan lemon poppy seed donuts
These vegan lemon poppy seed donuts are filled with vibrant lemon flavour and of course, plenty of poppy seeds!
For a donut, they’re also reasonably healthy. These donuts are low in fat, baked in a donut pan instead of deep-fried, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
Like any good donut, they still have sugar in them (you’re welcome), but they’re also naturally sweetened with coconut oil in the donut recipe. The glaze is filled with powdered sugar and lemon juice, so you don’t lose the deliciously tangy lemon flavour!
If you’re looking to really reduce your sugar intake, you can replace the cane sugar in the recipe with stevia or xylitol. You can also substitute regular flour for the gluten-free flour blend if you prefer.
These donuts are also delicious without the icing, which will make them even healthier. (Though for myself, icing is one of the best parts of eating a donut!)
I use this donut pan, but if you don’t have/don’t want to buy a donut pan, you can fill these into little muffins tins instead.
These donuts store well in an air tight container for a couple of days, though they’re best enjoyed right away so they don’t dry out!
More donut recipes to try
If you tried these Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Donuts or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!
Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Donuts
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 12 donuts 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Say hello to your new favourite treat! These baked donuts are loaded with lemon and poppy seed flavour and baked to perfection!
Recipe adapted from it doesn’t taste like chicken
Ingredients
Donuts
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 1/3 cup almond milk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1–2 tbsp almond milk
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon zest and poppy seeds.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the almond milk, lemon juice, coconut oil and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Spoon the batter into a piping bag, or a large ziplock bag and cut a hole in the corner.
- Spray your donut pan with some cooking spray, and then pipe the batter into the pan.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- To make the icing, mix the powdered sugar, almond milk, lemon juice, vanilla, lemon zest and poppy seeds together until combined.
- Once the donuts are cooled, dip them into the icing. Let sit for 30 minutes for the icing to set.
Notes
I use this donut pan to make this recipe
Some gluten-free flours don’t have xantham gum already added to them, which will help the donuts rise. If your blend doesn’t have it, add 1/4 tsp xantham gum to the recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 donut
- Calories: 137
- Sugar: 16g
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 0.2g
- Protein: 0.6g
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I love it the first time a taste them, but was someone else who did them.
I did them yesterday, when I poor the coconut oil in the wet ingredients (cold milk) it freeze. It was hard to pipe the batter in the pan after cause there was coconut oil block.
I used room temperature coconut oil, should a melt it in the microwave before to avoid this.
Despite, they are good.
Thanks. I will redo them for sure
Hi Julie, the coconut oil should be melted as listed in the recipe notes 🙂 This will prevent the oil from clumping and create a smooth batter!
Wow! Amazing donut. So moist and flavorful. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Will definitely make these again and again.
So happy you liked the recipe Kathleen!
These turned out really nice, sweet but not too sweet, and super texture. I used rehydrated lemon peel (from Penzey’s) with no issue.
Thanks Donna! Happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Hi! I was SO upset when my favorite donut shop that introduced me to these donuts closed but here they are! Now I can make them myself 🙂 🙂 Can I use simple syrup (made from 100% cane sugar) instead of organic cane sugar?
So happy to hear that Danielle! (That you can make donuts at home now, not that your favourite donut shop closed!) I’d recommend using actual sugar, a liquid sugar like simple syrup may change the texture of the donuts.
Hi! Would I be able to substitute almond milk with oat milk?
Sure! Oatmilk will work 🙂