Fun and festive Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Donuts that are soft, fluffy, bursting with vanilla, and smothered in a sweet glaze. Enjoy these gluten-free vanilla donuts plain or top them with sprinkles for an extra colorful treat.
If you like gluten-free donuts, you might also like my Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Donuts. My Gluten-Free Vegan Donuts are a favorite among many.
For more breakfast recipes check out my Gluten Free Breakfast section.
Gluten-Free Donuts
I've mentioned this in previous posts - my girls and I enjoy a donut every Friday. It helps us wind down for the week and rewards us for getting up and getting ready for the day on time. These gluten-free vanilla cake donuts are one of our favorite gluten-free donuts.
Gluten-free donuts are an extra special treat that we save for Friday mornings. We like to make up a big batch of gluten-free donuts and freeze them for the future weeks. When we run out of gluten-free donuts, we bake up another batch.
These Gluten-Free Vanilla Birthday Cake donuts are incredible any time and aren't just for celebrating birthdays. You can decorate them with frosting or enjoy them plain.
Gluten-Free Vanilla Donuts are super easy to make if you have a good recipe, so I hope you'll try these and see just how simple they are to make.
When you do, please stop back by and let me know what you thought and what you topped your gluten-free donuts with.
Gluten-Free Cake Donuts
We rotate the types of gluten-free donuts we make, adding in variety and giving me a chance to test out new gf donut recipes. My girls like to dip these gluten-free vanilla cake donuts in glaze and add sprinkles.
I love it when they bake with me, and they love being rewarded with a sweat treat for helping. The girls and I devoured these Gluten-Free Vanilla Birthday Cake Donuts straight from the oven.
The second batch made it to the glaze and sprinkle process and were frozen for the next week. The texture in these gluten-free vanilla donuts is perfect. There is a little give when you pick the donut up. It's tender, and melts perfectly in your mouth.
Do I have to use a donut pan?
If you don't have a donut pan, I recommend you get one. But for now, you can use a muffin pan or a mini muffin pan. Just note that the cooking time is lower with a donut pan because the donut dough gets contact all around, including in the center with the donut pan.
Can I make these gluten-free donuts dairy-free?
Absolutely. Substitute the milk for your favorite dairy-free milk. Also use dairy-free milk in the glaze.
These gluten-free vanilla cake donuts are insanely simple to make. They bake up in less than ten minutes and are tender, flavorful, and hit your donut-loving taste buds in all the right places.
You can have fun with the glaze by adding in color, or you can use different types of sprinkles. One year for Halloween, we made the glaze purple and topped the donuts with orange sprinkles. They were fun to hand out to friends on Halloween.
Do these gluten-free vanilla cake donuts freeze well?
Yes, these gluten-free vanilla cake donuts freeze well. We often double the batch and freeze the rest for our Friday donut days. That way, I don't have to make a fresh batch each week. Simply take them out the night before, or defrost them in the microwave in the morning.
What gluten-free sprinkles do you recommend?
Judee's has a huge variety of certified gluten-free sprinkles. Look at all the gorgeous colors!
Chef's Select is another great option.
Most sprinkles don't have wheat or gluten in them, but they are usually processed in a facility that processes other glutinous ingredients. Make sure to check labels for allergen information.
My Gluten-Free Gingerbread Donuts are delicious any time of year, not just in the fall months, if you're looking for a gluten-free donut with some spice. These gluten-free cinnamon rolls are also delicious and easy to make.
Did you make these gluten-free cake donuts? Please let me know what you think in the comments below. Also, if you have a question that I haven't already answered above please leave a comment and I will get back to you.
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Donuts
Fun and festive Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Donuts that are soft, fluffy, bursting with vanilla, and smothered in a sweet glaze. You are going to love how easy these gluten-free donuts are to make.
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 2 cups all purpose gluten-free flour blend
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk (or dairy-free milk)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
- ½ cup oil of choice
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ - 1 cup sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease two six-serving donut pans; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, vanilla, and oil.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan filling about ½ full. The batter should not cover the center of the donut, where the hole will go.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the donuts rise and set.
- Remove from oven and carefully remove the donut from the pan. You may need to use a spoon or a rubber spatula to loosen them if they stick.
- Cool donuts on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Place your wire rack over a cookie sheet or piece of parchment paper.
- For the glaze: In a separate small mixing bowl, combine the powered sugar and milk. Heat covered in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir until all sugar lumps are dissolved.
- One at a time, dip the tops of your donuts into the glaze.
- Place your donut back on the rack and repeat until all donuts have been dipped.
- Repeat 1-2 more times until your glaze is white.
- After the last dip in the glaze, dip the donuts into the sprinkles.
- Store donuts in a airtight container at room temperate for up to three days.
Notes
- You can use dairy-free milk to make these gluten free donuts dairy-free.
- When working with or measuring gluten-free flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level. Do not scoop your measuring cup into the gluten-free flour. The best method really is to weight it but I don't have the ingredient weights for all my recipes yet.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 donutAmount Per Serving: Calories: 303Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 301mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 4g
Trudy Seim
I made these with my aspiring culinary son Nick, who"s autistic. He was so excited to see the results of our efforts. We made them just as the recipe said, they were wonderful, and so much fun to make. I had bought the donut forms to make my new IBS diet more fun. So worth it. We found we only needed 2 coats of sugar glaze, though we had to make a second batch. I think we were putting it on pretty thick. lol
chrystal
Hi Trudy,
Thank you so much for stopping back by and letting me know know that you and Nick enjoy them!
Best,
Chrystal
Leonie
Thank you so much! My 3 year old granddaughter has celiac and was craving doughnuts. Her 7 year old brother and I made these today and she was so happy to see them and to eat them and the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed them too. My doughnut tray will make many trips to the oven I’m thinking. Great recipe. Thank you again from Australia
chrystal
Hi Leonie,
I am so glad you and your granddaughter and grandson love these donuts 🙂 Thank you for letting me knows you enjoyed them.
Best,
Chrystal
Elizabeth
We just made these donuts. They are fantastic. We used krusteaz gluten free flour. Two of our kids have Celiac Disease and have missed doughnuts. They asked me to make some more for tomorrow. Thank you for posting this recipe.
chrystal
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for stopping by to let me know that you and your kids loved these donuts and what flour blend you used. I haven't tried the Krusteaz flour blend yet but I'm glad to know it worked in this recipe.
Best,
Chrystal
Mary
We can't do eggs so wondering if we can sub in flax eggs or applesauce?
chrystal
Hi Mary,
You can do a flax egg in this recipe. The texture isn't the same, but it's still quite yummy. I also have a cinnamon sugar donut that I've done a flax egg in and I have a gluten-free vegan chocolate espresso donut that used flax egg. You can leave out the espresso and it will be a chocolate donut. Hope that helps!
Best,
Chrystal
Lisa
I have been trying to figure out which GF flour works best. I decided to split the batch and do 6 with Pamelas Baking Mix and the other Rogers 1-to-1.
Verdict: The Pamelas are toasted colour but crumbled while trying to dip it into the icing and so I ended up with pieces of donut. They did, however, get harder with time so those might be better to ice completely cool. They still are fragile but very delicious!
Rogers: The donuts turned out rising and looking like a perfect donut except they stayed very light in colour. Good too but the flavour of the Pamelas was better 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
chrystal
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing about those two flour blends. I haven't tried either of them yet 🙂 I usually use my flour blend recipe or Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 in this recipe.
Best,
Chrystal
Asyria
I don’t have a gluten free flour “blend” will regular gluten free flour work also?
chrystal
Hi Asyria,
All I mean by gluten-free flour blend is a blend of gluten-free flours. I use bob's red mill 1-to-1. What gluten-free flour do you have?
Best,
Chrystal
Crystal
Are these donuts neutral enough to use a blueberry or citrus flavored glaze? In search of a great gluten-free donut base that I can top with multiple flavors of glaze for a party!
*Loved* the chocolate donuts!
-Crystal
chrystal
Hi Crystal,
Yes, these are your basic vanilla flavored donuts. They can be topped with a variety of flavored glazes 🙂
Best,
Chrystal
Christine
The director for my son's play asked me to provide donuts that he can eat. I told her there is no such thing. Then I took a deep breath and sent my search engine to work. Thank you for this delicious, easy recipe with suggestions for dairy free!
I substituted 1/2 cup almond flour for an equal amout of gf flour for extra moistness. Delicious!
chrystal
Hi Christine,
I am so glad you liked these donuts! Thank you for stopping by to let me know. We make donuts each Friday to celebrate the end of the week 🙂 I have a section under recipes called "donuts" if you ever want to try something else.
All my best,
Chrystal
Derval Gaughan
My 8 year old daughter is coeliac and has never had a donut so we are so very excited to make these this weekend. I bought the Wilton donut pans so we're all set. Just wondering what type of oil we should consider when you say "oil of choice"? Also I am in Ireland so we have different GF flour blends. I usually use Doves Farm - should I use a self raising {Ingredients: flour blend (rice, potato, tapioca, maize & buckwheat), raising agents (mono-calcium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate), thickener (xanthan gum)} or a plain blend {Ingredients: rice, potato, tapioca, maize, buckwheat}? Thank you in advance for your reply 🙂
chrystal
Hi Derval,
For the oil, you can use canola oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, or any mild flavored oil. I haven't used Doves Farms flour but looking at the ingredients, I'd use the plain blend and follow the rest of the recipe. If you don't have baking powder then you can use the other self rising blend. Again, I haven't used this flour but I am guessing it will work.
Best,
Chrystal
Derval Gaughan
I just wanted to let you know that we tried these today using the plain flour and they turned out fab. Thanks so much for such a great recipe. I posted a link to your site on my Irish GF Facebook page if that’s ok.
chrystal
Hi Derval,
I am so glad you like these donuts! Thank you for stopping by and letting me know you like them.
Best,
Chrystal
Lix
These gluten-free donuts are absolutely incredible. My kids love helping me and they are so easy to make. I never thought I could make a donut and I was so impressed with these and how they turned out.
chrystal
Hi Lix,
I am so glad you like them! Thank you for stopping by to let me know 🙂
Best,
Chrystal
Jeni
Do you have a recommendation for a good substitute for the buttermilk? Flax milk or lactose free cows milk maybe?
chrystal
Hi Jeni,
You can use flax milk or a lactose free cows milk in this recipe.
Best,
Chrystal
Cassidy @ Cassidys Craveable Creations
Oh my goodness these look so delicious!! I love that you freeze them then eat them with your girls every Friday - I need to adopt your tradition! Thanks for the recipe!
Teronia Wilson
These doughnuts are delicious! I used King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour Blend and an egg replacer and they came out just fine. I also used melted butter in my glaze and oh boy!
Teronia Wilson
P.S. I also used coconut milk just to use it up.
Shawna
Did you use coconut milk as a replacement for buttermilk?
chrystal
Hi Shawna,
You can use coconut milk, just not full fat. You can also use almond milk.
Best,
Chrystal
chrystal
Hi Teronia,
Thank you for stopping by to let me know that you loved these donuts and what flour blend you used.
All my best,
Chrystal
Amy
Made these for my daughter's birthday to go with our ocean themed cake. Put red sprinkles around the edges to make "life preservers." They were a huge hit with both kids and parents alike. I didn't have a single donut left.
chrystal
Hi Amy,
Such a cute idea! So glad everyone liked these donuts. Thanks for taking time to stop by and let me know 🙂
Best,
Chrystal
Anette
I made these donuts for my hubby's birthday yesterday. He has a ton of food restrictions, so he is always weary of new recipes I try and if they will work out and taste well.
I surprised him with them and he absolutely loves them! So does my son!
I used almond milk instead of cow's milk and the Bob Mill's 1:1 all purpose GF flour.
chrystal
Hi Anette,
I am so glad all three of you like them! Thank you for taking time to let me know.
All my best,
Chrystal
K Harris
Has anyone tried using powdered stevia in this? I also have honey...
chrystal
I haven't use stevia in this donut recipe but I have used Lakanto monkfruit sweetener. If you normally use stevia as a 1-for-1 you could try it.
Best,
Chrystal
Olivia
These are THE best gluten free donuts I have ever had. I had so many doubts because all of the other ones I've tried have not had the same texture or were too dry. These beat them all. Thank you!! Best donut I've had in 13 years.
Olivia
I also used vegetable oil, almond milk, and a gluten free flour blend.
chrystal
Thanks for letting me know!
Best,
Chrystal
chrystal
Hi Olivia,
I am so glad you think so 🙂 Thank you for stopping by. I have many donut recipes you might also like - chocolate and cinnamon sugar, and many more. Happy donut baking!
Best,
Chrystal
Emily A
Thanks for the inspiration to make gluten free donuts! I’d never thought I could do such a thing. They were nice! The only problem was that as they rose, that rose flat, so I ended up with a flat top. Any ideas what I could have done wrong? Still delish though and simple and fun enough to try making with my 2 toddlers.
chrystal
Hi Emily,
I am so glad you liked them! A couple of things that could make them fall a bit flat on one side: if they are not cooked through all the way, if you are at a higher elevation, or if the batter was mixed a little too long. Your toddlers might like my chocolate donuts too! Happy baking.
Best,
Chrystal
Emma
Has anyone tried freezing them? Guessing un decorated then once defrosted them. Then decorated do they taste any different or must you make for the day then eat with 2 thing?
chrystal
Hi Emma,
We freeze donut all the time. You can freeze them with or without the glaze. When you are ready to enjoy them you can either pull them out of the freezer the night before and let them defrost, or reheat them in the microwave (the glaze melts a little).
Best,
Chrystal
Amy C
Are these best day of baking or day after? Thanks so much!!
chrystal
Hi Amy,
I think these are best day of but we freeze the leftovers and reheat when we are ready. I hope that helps!
Best,
Chrystal
Amy
Thank you so much for this recipe. The donuts are delicious. Sweet and great texture. My son is allergic to wheat and recently has been able to eat baked egg, so these are perfect. We used the tsp of vinegar with almond milk substitution. We'll be making these to share with friends and family too.
chrystal
Hi Amy,
Thank you for stopping by and letting me know 🙂 I am so glad you and your son like these donuts. I have around 300 recipes here and I hope you find many more that you love.
All my best,
Chrystal
Brenna
Thanks for posting this donut recipe! We played around with our own gluten free flour blend by mixing potato and tapioca starch with rice and quinoa flour and got a lovely texture! We also applied some maple syrup with a pastry brush while they were warm instead of making a glaze and it worked out very well as well!
Being the gluten free person in the family it was exciting to find a recipe that stuck together.
Thanks again!
chrystal
Hi Brenna,
I am so glad you like these donuts! Thanks for stopping by to let me know and to share what methods you used.
Best,
Chrystal
Chocoviv
Looks cute and yummy too!
clvinson
Stop reading the reviews, and make these doughnuts! They are fabulous!! Warming the icing in the microwave makes all the difference to these delicious doughnuts. We added pink food coloring and sprinkles and my granddaughter was totally delighted with her birthday doughnuts!
chrystal
I'm so glad you like them! Thank you for the glowing comment.
Best,
Chrystal
Crystal
I was so glad to find this recipe after figuring out that two of my kids need to eat a gluten free diet. I’ve been eating gluten free for 10 years, but since I was the only one in my family, I didn’t put a lot of effort into making very many baked goods. Today was the second time I made this recipe, and the donuts are SO good! Very easy and quick recipe. In fact, I got up only 20min early this morning to have some done before the kids went to school. The first time I made it, I used a chocolate glaze and sprinkles, which worked well. Today, I used cinnamon sugar for the topping. Yum! ☺️. I doubled the batch to freeze a dozen for another time. Thank you for such a great gluten free recipe!
chrystal
Thank you so much for taking time to stop by and let me know that you and your kids love these donuts. Did you know I have a cinnamon sugar donut recipe? It's super good too.
Best,
Chrystal
Kate
Hello I'm excited to make these. Could I use applesauce instead of oil?
Thanks
Kate
chrystal
I haven't tried applesauce in this recipe yet. If you try it please let me know how it turns out!
Best,
Chrystal
Ulrika Bergquist
I will definitely buy myself a donut pan and try these cuties! I prefer to bake from scratch so could you tell me what this flour blend contains? Thanks!
Ulrika from Sweden
chrystal
I used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 and I've used my blend. Here is my blend:
Gluten-Free Flour Recipe – Yields 4 cups
2 cups white rice flour
1 cups tapioca flour
1 cups potato starch
Add 2 teaspoons of xanthan for extra support
I hope that helps.
Best,
Chrystal
Rosie
Absolutely amazing. My 4 grandkids are all celiac and they are over the moon for these donuts !!
chrystal
So glad you and your grandkids love these donuts 🙂 Thank you for stopping back by to let me know Rosie.
Best,
Chrystal
April Daugherty
These are delicious, thank you so much for this recipe. I have not eaten doughnuts in years...... Thank You!
chrystal
I am so glad you love them. Thank you for letting me know.
Best,
Chrystal
Michelle A Mooers
Omg... just wow.
Thank you for making my boys 14th birthday.
Vanilla birthday donuts came out amazing!
1 month ago my boy & daughter diagnoses mitochondrial disorder pans/pandas. My boy diagnosis autsim when he was 4.
Nonetheless my kids are now Gluten free,casien free,soy free,corn free,all GMO and preservatives.
Weve been gluten free for few years due to my celiac disease, found out 3 years ago.
So my poor boy,couldnt enjoy the few things that he liked.....1 month ago ,due to their allergies, kids lost more than half of what theu were able eat. Because most gluten free food has soy or corn.
So i stayed up tomorrow is his birthday, goggled what i could make special for his day.....I found your receipts. So amazing, he is going to jump for joy!! I do have say,finding sprinkles so very difficult! I am not huge fan,because the supernatural sprinkles are very crunchy...but my boy,he was so happy he had his sprinkles for his pancakes and bake goods.
I did had my superfood powder into the donut mix,and on the mini donuts I added fresh crushed bananas ,glaze,sprinkles and powder sugar ontop.
Bless all of you,and esspecially the author of the receipts!!
I give 10 stars. Just,thank you!
chrystal
Awe, thank you Michelle. I am so very happy you and your family love these donuts. Thank you for stopping by and sharing.
Best,
Chrystal
Laurie-Ann
Wonderful recipe! I received donut pans for Christmas and this was the perfect recipe to try them out. I didn’t have buttermilk, but I did have eggnog! I used Robin Hood all purpose gluten free flour. I also used eggnog in the glaze and sprinkled in a little Pumpkin pie spice. So yummy! Will make again. Maybe even tomorrow. I’ll let the batter sit for a half an hour before baking. I find rice flours a bit gritty.
chrystal
I love the addition of eggnog. Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
Best,
Chrystal
Eleni
My 2,5 year old celiac daughter and I loved those donuts!! Even my husband liked them who will survive without donuts in his life . We skipped the glaze nut I will definitely be making them very soon. One question though. Has anyone ever tried to freeze them for later?
chrystal
Hi Eleni,
I'm so glad they love these donuts. Yes, we often freeze batches and pull them out and reheat them. It makes mornings super quick and it allows us to keep a treat in the freezer for birthday parties, etc.
Best,
Chrystal