S’mores Donuts (gluten free + vegan recipe)
Classic summer s’mores donuts! Rich gluten free and vegan chocolate baked donuts are topped with a creamy marshmallow frosting, sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs, and drizzled with melted chocolate ganache. These donuts are the perfect dessert for summer.
Best of all, they are pretty easy to make for as complicated as they look!
Free from: Wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, celery, corn, sesame, mustard, lupin, sulfites, nightshades, tomatoes, and more
In the mood for more donuts? Check out these gluten free and vegan donuts, gluten free apple cinnamon donuts, or easy baked egg free vanilla donuts.
This recipe was updated in April 2023 with new photos and an improved recipe.
Why You’ll Love these S’mores Donuts
- Baked recipe, not fried
- Easy to mix up and decorate
- Dairy Free, Egg Free, Nut Free, and more!
Ingredients
Here is a quick rundown of what you’ll need to make the most amazing s’mores donuts.
- Flour: You can use either all purpose flour or your favorite gluten free flour blend. I recommend using a gluten free 1:1 blend like King Arthur Measure for Measure.
- Cocoa Powder: You can use either Natural Unprocessed or Dutch Processed cocoa powder.
- Dairy free Milk + Apple Cider Vinegar: Use your favorite dairy free milk here. I typically use soy milk, but coconut milk, almond milk, oat milk, and rice milk will all work. The apple cider vinegar gets added to transform this into a vegan “buttermilk”.
- Vegan Marshmallows: I really recommend either Dandie’s Marshmallows or Campfire Marshmallows.
- Chocolate Chips: For these I used EnjoyLife Ricemilk baking chips and they melted beautifully.
Tip! You can make these donuts quicker and easier by using a cake mix. Some of my favorite cake mixes are King Arthur Chocolate Cake Mix (gluten free) or Kate’s Safe and Sweet Chocolate Cake Mix (top 9 free).
Allergy Substitutions
If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can swap for white vinegar at half the amount, or use an equal amount of lemon juice.
If avoiding corn, make sure that your baking powder and vanilla are corn free. See my shop page for my favorite corn free (and other allergy friendly) products.
Instructions
For the full instructions, complete with recipe measurements, please see the recipe card below.
There are 3 parts to making these donuts: Making the donuts, making the marshmallow frosting, and assembling them together.
First up, the donuts!
Start by making a flax seed egg and making the vegan buttermilk. Set them aside from about 5 minutes while you whisk together the remaining wet ingredients. Add the flaxseed and the milk into the wet mixture.
Switching to a spatula, sift in the dry ingredients. The batter will be very similar to cake batter when finished.
Next up, filling the donut pan. This part can get tricky.
Tip! If you are using a metal pan like I am, don’t be afraid to spray quite a bit of oil into the pan to make sure the donuts don’t stick.
I have found that using a piping bag is the safest and neatest method of transferring the batter. If you don’t have a piping bag, a plastic bag with the corner cut off is basically the same thing.
Fill up each donut cavity about halfway. You should have enough batter for 12 regular sized donuts or 24 mini donuts.
Now, it’s time to bake the donuts. These take about the same amount of time as a cupcake, so about 23 to 25 minutes.
Remove them from the oven and using a toothpick, remove the donuts from the hot pan and onto a wire cooling rack. Let them cool completely before frosting or the frosting will just fall off.
Frosting the Donuts
While the donuts are cooling, make the chocolate ganache and the marshmallow frosting.
To make the marshmallow frosting, add the marshmallows to a pan with the dairy free milk and heat over medium-low heat until the marshmallows have fully melted. This takes a few minutes and requires a lot of stirring.
When the frosting has fully melted, remove from the heat and you can begin to dip the donuts in! This frosting is kinda tricky in that it always wants to cool faster than I can dip donuts. If it starts to seize up, just add another splash of warmed dairy free milk.
After frosting with the marshmallows, it’s time for graham cracker sprinkles. Simply crush and crumble a vegan graham cracker and sprinkle it on top. That’s easy!
Finally, it’s time for the chocolate ganache. Melt the chocolate with a splash of dairy free milk in either a double boiler or a microwave safe bowl. Mix it until the chocolate is just about melted, then you can just keep mixing and the heat from the bowl will finish melting the chocolate.
Pop this ganache into another piping bag, or using a spoon, drizzle the ganache over each donut. And you are done! Enjoy!
Recommended Equipment
I personally prefer metal donut pans to silicone ones. Just use a bit of spray and they pop out perfectly each time!
As I mentioned, it is so much easier to fill these donuts using a piping bag.
FAQs
No, they are specifically designed to bake in the oven.
Fridge: Keep these donuts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Store unfrosted donuts in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then frost and serve as directed.
More S’mores Goodies
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Equipment
- Donut pan
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- Spatula
- Piping bag (recommended)
- Cooking pot
- cooking spray
Ingredients
Chocolate Donuts
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon flax seeds
- 3 tablespoons hot water
- ⅔ cup dairy free milk
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons oil
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Marshmallow Frosting
- ½ cup marshmallows make sure they are vegan
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips make sure they are dairy free
- ¼ cup graham crackers crushed
- ¼ cup dairy free milk
Chocolate Ganache
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon dairy free milk
Instructions
Chocolate Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Thoroughly spray a donut pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Make the flax seed egg. In a small bowl, combine the ground flax seeds with hot water. Stir together well and set aside for 5 minutes to allow it to gel.
- Make the vegan “buttermilk”. In a small cup, mix together the dairy free milk and apple cider vinegar. Set this aside as well to allow it to curdle slightly.
- Sift together the dry ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix together the batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients of the flaxseed mixture, dairy free milk mixture, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix well with a spatula, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Fill the donut pan. Transfer the donut batter to a piping bag (or plastic bag with the corner cut off). Fill each donut about ½ way full.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated oven for 23 to 25 minutes. The donuts will have puffed up and will be done when a toothpick inserted into each pulls out clean. Using a toothpick, carefully lift each donut out of the hot pan and let it cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Marshmallow Frosting
- Make the frosting. In a pot on the stove, combine the marshmallows with dairy free milk. Over medium-low heat, stir constantly until the marshmallows have fully melted. Optionally, you can add a spoonful of powdered sugar if you want this to be sweeter. Remove from the heat and begin dipping the tops of each fully cooled donut into the frosting. Place them on a wire rack to allow for drips. If the frosting begins to harden, add a few more splashes of dairy free milk.
Chocolate Ganache
- Frost. In a microwave safe bowl, or in a double boiler on the stove top, melt the vegan chocolate chips with a tablespoon of dairy free milk. Mix until fully melted. Carefully pour into a piping bag, or use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate on top. Enjoy!
Notes
- How to Store
- Fridge: Keep these donuts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Store unfrosted donuts in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then frost and serve as directed.
- Allergy Substitutions + Variations
- If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can swap for white vinegar at half the amount, or use an equal amount of lemon juice.
- If avoiding corn, make sure that your baking powder and vanilla are corn free. See my shop page for my favorite corn free (and other allergy friendly) products.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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