Make homemade Dairy Free Donuts in your very own kitchen! Top with your favorite donut toppings like chocolate glaze, vanilla glaze, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, and don’t forget the sprinkles! This post is sponsored by Oléico.
I’ve been working on this recipe for a few weeks as my little one saw a donut in the store and wanted to try one. Food allergies are tough, especially when you can’t try something due to allergens.
When I made these dairy free donuts, we tried a few variations to remove the butter. I’m extremely pleased with the results of using Oléico Safflower Oil in the donut dough and for frying the donuts. Our family LOVED the donuts, and we think you will, too!
Nothing beats a freshly fried donut, and it’s pretty impossible to find a good dairy free donut that is also free from our other allergens. So, to the kitchen, let’s go!
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Oat Milk – Since we’re making dairy free donuts, we’re using our plant-based milk of choice. I prefer using a higher fat-content oat milk when baking as well.
- Active Dry Yeast – We prefer making a yeast donut when making fried donuts. This helps the donuts rise.
- Granulated Sugar – We use sugar to feed the yeast and sweeten the donut dough.
- Vanilla Extract – Always use good quality vanilla. We prefer using real vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla.
- Eggs – BAKING TIP! Always take your eggs out about 30 minutes before making the donuts so that they’re at room temperature.
- Oléico Safflower Oil – When frying donuts or anything on high heat, good quality oil is a must. We use Oléico Safflower Oil as it has a smoke point of 450°F. It’s odorless and flavorless, PERFECT for donuts!
- Salt – A little bit of salt helps balance all of the flavors.
- All-Purpose Flour – This ingredient may need to be increased depending on the dough. You’ll also need more for prepping the donuts.
For the donut glaze, you’ll need powdered sugar, cocoa powder if you’re making a chocolate glaze, vanilla extract, and oat milk. You can use sprinkles for topping as well. If you don’t like glaze you can even do powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar.
How to make Dairy Free Donuts
Warm the oat milk to 90-105°F and place it into a mixing bowl with the yeast and one teaspoon of sugar. Let the yeast bloom and get foamy; this should take about 5 minutes.
Once the yeast has bloomed, add the vanilla extract, eggs, safflower oil, sugar, and flour. Combine until dough forms and pulls away quickly from the bowl. Add more flour if needed, a tablespoon at a time.
Once the dough has formed, you can transfer the dough to a clean bowl lightly greased with oil.
Cover with a clean, damp kitchen cloth until the dough doubles in size, about an hour. You can also use a wet paper towel if you don’t have kitchen cloths.
After rising the dough, place the dough onto a floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.
Next, you’ll need to use a floured-dusted donut cutter or biscuit cutter to shape your donuts.
Next, you’ll place the shaped donuts onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, allowing them to rise covered with a clean kitchen towel for about an hour.
Around 45 minutes into the rising time, add the oil to a pot and bring the oil to 360-375 degrees F.
Once the oil is heated to the temperature, use a mesh skimmer to carefully drop the doughnuts into the hot oil.
Fry the donuts for 1-2 minutes per side. They should be a light golden brown.
When removing the cooked donuts from the oil, place them onto a cooling rack with a paper towel.
While the donuts are cooling, make the glaze.
Dip the donuts into the glaze, covering the tops of the donuts.
Place them back onto a cooling rack with parchment paper underneath to catch any glaze drips.
Before the glaze dries, add any sprinkles or desired toppings.
Recipe tips and variations
- Always use a liquid measuring cup for liquids and a dry measuring cup for dry ingredients. I prefer a scale, but you always want to ensure you’re measuring correctly.
- Ensure you’re using a high smoke point oil like Oléico Safflower Oil.
- Add one teaspoon of cornstarch to every 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to prevent powdered sugar from melting.
- Add chocolate chips, crushed cookies, or even candies to the tops of the glaze.
- Use the pieces of holed donuts to make dairy free donut holes!
Storage and reheating tips
- How to store leftover donuts: We recommend enjoying the donuts within 1-2 days for the best quality. We recommend storing them in an airtight container on the counter. We like using a bakery box or plastic container lined with parchment paper.
- How to freeze donuts: After cutting the donut shapes out, we recommend flash freezing on the baking sheet. You can freeze the donuts in a freezer-safe container once the donuts are frozen. Once ready to fry them, take them out and let them defrost on the counter for an hour before frying.
How to serve
We love serving freshly baked donuts with a cup of warm hot cocoa (check out our homemade dairy free hot chocolate mix!) or coffee with breakfast. They’re perfect for dessert, too!
Frequently asked questions
An oil with a high smoke point is a must when frying donuts. We recommend using Oléico Safflower oil, which has a high smoke point at 450°F. This oil is made from High Oleic Safflower Seeds, and then it’s expeller expressed without using any chemicals, making it 100% natural. It’s not just for frying, either. You can use it for baking, cooking, and even something as simple as a salad dressing, as it has no flavors or odors. It’s also Kosher certified as well as non-GMO. While donuts aren’t the most heart-healthy, we enjoyed this as a treat! Oléico oil does contain beneficial heart health ingredients like omega-9 fatty acids, which are known to help lower LDL cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation, and protect against heart disease.
Using a high smoke point oil reduces the amount the oil begins to oxidize and releases harmful compounds. It also helps prevent the actual smoke from causing the smoke detector to go off.
Yes, you’ll switch the oat milk to regular milk if you’d like.
Fresh donuts are best enjoyed the first day or, at max, the second day.
Add one teaspoon of cornstarch to every 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to prevent powdered sugar from melting.
more recipes with sprinkles
Dairy Free Donuts
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Print Pin Recipe 🖤 SaveIngredients
Donuts
- 1 1/8 cups oat milk
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup Safflower Oil we use Oléico brand
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 1/3 cups all-purpose flour use more if needed, adding a tablespoon at a time
- Oléico Safflower Oil for frying
Chocolate Donut Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar use more as needed if making chocolate and vanilla glaze
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder leave it out for vanilla glaze, or split in half and use 1-2 tablespoons for half chocolate
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons full fat oat milk more or less as needed, you can also use water for the chocolate glaze
- sprinkles optional
Instructions
Donuts
- Warm the 1 1/8 cups of oat milk to about 90-105 degrees F and place it into a large mixing bowl.
- Add 2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let it sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla extract, eggs, safflower oil, sugar, and flour. Combine using a wooden spoon, Danish whisk, or dough whisk in a mixer until mixed. Then add the flour and combine until dough forms and pulls away easily from the bowl. Add more flour if needed, a tablespoon at a time.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl that’s greased with a little bit of oil. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth and allow the dough to rise for at least an hour so it can double in size.
- Place the dough onto a floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough until it's around 1/4-inch in thickness. Use a floured-dusted donut cutter or biscuit cutter to make your donuts.
- Place the shaped donuts onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and let them rise covered with a clean kitchen towel for about an hour. They should puff up nicely.
- Around 45 minutes into the rising time, add the oil to a pot and bring the oil to 360-375 degrees F.
- Using a mesh skimmer, carefully drop the doughnuts into the hot oil. Fry the donuts for 2 minutes per side. Place the cooked donuts onto a cooling rack with a paper towel on a baking sheet and then top with your desired donut glaze or toppings.
Chocolate Glaze
- In a bowl, combine the glaze ingredients and mix until combined.
- If it's too thick, add one teaspoon of milk or water until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Add cocoa powder to make chocolate, and you can make half and have, if desired, with the same amount.
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Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
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