Four cinnamon sugar-coated gluten-free vegan apple cider donuts are stacked on a cooling rack, with a red apple and a glass measuring cup filled with brown liquid in the blurred background.

These gluten-free apple cider donuts are baked instead of fried, and they still taste like the real thing. The apple cider gets reduced down until it’s concentrated, so the apple flavor comes through in every bite instead of getting lost in the batter. A roll in cinnamon sugar right out of the oven finishes them off.

Applesauce swaps in for eggs here, so these can easily be made vegan along with being gluten-free. You’ll need a donut pan, but the batter itself is straightforward: mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet in another, combine, and bake.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Quick to bake. Once the batter’s mixed, these are in and out of the oven in about 12 minutes.
Sugary cinnamon coating. Rolling them in cinnamon sugar while they’re still warm coats every donut evenly.
Freezes well. Make a batch ahead and reheat one whenever you want a donut.

Five sugar-coated gluten-free vegan apple cider donuts sit closely together, with part of a red apple visible in the corner. The donuts appear soft and are displayed on a cooling rack.

Ingredient Notes

Apple Cider – Reduce it down to 3/4 cup before using. Measure it as you go instead of relying on the clock since stovetop heat varies.
Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (in the blue bag). It already has xanthan gum in it, so the donuts hold together without turning gummy.
Butter – You can use regular unsalted butter or a vegan butter, such as Earth Balance. Any stick-style vegan butter should work, just melt it before adding it to the wet ingredients.
Applesauce – The applesauce adds a lot of flavor to the apple cider donuts and also replaces the eggs, so you can easily make these donuts vegan.

Measure your reduced cider for consistency

Reduce the apple cider until it measures 3/4 cup, not just until a timer goes off. A wide, shallow saucepan speeds this up and makes it easier to keep an eye on the level as it reduces.

Four gluten-free vegan apple cider donuts, sugar-coated and golden, rest on a cooling rack next to a red apple and a glass measuring cup filled with apple cider. One donut has a bite taken out of it.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use a different gluten-free flour blend?

I’ve only tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour in the blue bag. Other blends can behave differently, especially if they don’t already have xanthan gum mixed in, so results may vary if you swap it out.

Why does this recipe use apple sauce and apple cider vinegar?

Applesauce takes the place of eggs and adds additional apple flavor to the donuts, and the apple cider vinegar helps activate the baking soda. Together with the xanthan gum and the flour blend, they give the donuts enough structure to hold their shape without eggs.

Why is my batter so thick?

This batter is meant to be thick, more like a muffin batter than a thin cake batter. If yours seems runny, double-check that your apple cider was reduced all the way down to 3/4 cup. Too much liquid is the most common cause of a thin batter.

Expert Tips

Grease the pan well. Even with a good donut pan, use a light coat of cooking spray or oil in every well so the donuts release cleanly.
Pipe the batter instead of spooning it. A piping bag or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off fits the wells, fills the wells evenly, and keeps batter out of the center of the hole.
Coat them right out of the oven. Let the donuts cool for a minute or two in the pan, then roll them in cinnamon sugar while they’re still warm. Warm donuts pick up the coating much better than cold ones.

Four gluten-free vegan apple cider donuts on a cooling rack, with one donut featuring a large bite taken out of it, revealing its soft interior.

Storage Instructions

Storing: Keep the donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you’re not serving them right away, hold off on the cinnamon sugar coating until just before serving so it doesn’t dissolve.

Freezing: Freeze the plain, uncoated donuts in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. At room temperature, then roll in cinnamon sugar right before serving.

Reheating: Warm a donut in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften it back up before coating with cinnamon sugar or serving.

Serving Suggestions

If you’re setting up a fall brunch, add a batch of apple cider thyme mimosas to the table. The fresh thyme plays well against the warm spices in these donuts. If you want something to nibble on after, my apple cider caramels use that same reduced-cider trick, so the apple flavor is just as concentrated. alongside them for a fall dessert spread that leans into the same cider flavor.

For a bigger spread, set out a gluten-free pumpkin coffee cake too. The streusel topping and cream cheese glaze give guests something different frmo the cinnamon sugar on the donuts, so the table doens’t feel like it’s all one flavor.