Vegan Donuts Filled With Pistachio Cream

Name: Vegan Donuts Filled With Pistachio Pastry Cream
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 110 min
Ingredients: 50 g unsalted shelled pistachios (raw or roasted); 30 g granulated sugar (*see notes); 50 g vegan sweetened condensed milk; 315 g all-purpose flour ((plain flour)); 2 ½ teaspoons instant yeast; 15 g granulated sugar (*see notes); ¼ teaspoon sea salt; 150 ml soy milk (or oat milk); 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar; 75 g vegan butter; 22 ml olive oil; 30 g vegan sweetened condensed milk; 400 ml soy milk (or oat milk); 50 g vegan sweetened condensed milk; 50 g cornstarch ((cornflour)); ¼ teaspoon sea salt; 60 g pistachio butter

These fluffy vegan donuts are delectable without being overly sweet and are sure to satisfy all your donut cravings.

Filled with the creamiest silky smooth pistachio pastry cream, that's flavored with real homemade pistachio butter.

Given that these are yeast raised donuts, they taste so fresh and will make your entire home smell like a Krispy Kreme donut stand!

a stack of vegan yeast donuts coated in sugar and pistachios with pistachio cream oozing out from their centers. The background is pink which contrasts with the small green jar of pistachio pastry cream next to the doughnut pile.

Jump to:

📖 Recipe Overview
🧾 Ingredients Needed
🥣 How To Make Filled Vegan Donuts
📝 Recipe Tips
💬 FAQs
🍰 More Pistachio Desserts
Vegan Donuts Filled With Pistachio Pastry Cream

📖 Recipe Overview

Incredibly Fragrant - They smell and taste like they're straight from the bakery. Plus, the pistachio filling is subtle and creamy, without overpowering the amazing taste of the donuts.
Suitable for baking or frying - The choice is yours! When fried, they become crisp on the outside with a slightly denser center. When baked they become light and pillowy!
Customizable - If you're not a fan of pistachio, you can fill them with dairy-free nutella, strawberry jam, chocolate ganache, lemon curd, or even a combination to mix things up!

Love baking fluffy yeasted bread recipes? Try these vegan sticky pecan buns, cinnamon rolls, and apple sweet rolls next.

🧾 Ingredients Needed

Here's everything you need to make this fluffy vegan donut recipe:

a marble counter topped with ingredients to make vegan pistachio doughnuts, all measured out into individual bowls.

Ingredient Notes

Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk - Vegan condensed milk is used to sweeten the pastry cream and donut batter, it also acts as the donut glaze. I use Nature's Charm and their new squeezy bottle makes it super easy to pour and glaze the donuts, without having to open or waste an entire can.
Instant Yeast - Make sure your dried yeast is "instant" (aka quick rise). I use this here and for vegan cinnamon rolls as it activates more quickly than active yeast, which means the doughnuts don't need to prove for very long during the second rise.
Cornstarch - This is the thickening agent for the homemade pistachio pastry cream. You can opt for arrowroot starch instead. Both of these act as an egg-replacer in vegan custard recipes.
Vegan Butter & Olive Oil - As well as adding flavor to the dough, fat softens the gluten structure and helps soften the donuts.
Granulated Sugar - This is mainly used in the pistachio sugar coating for the donuts. Raw pistachios and sugar are quickly pulsed in the food processor which creates a gorgeous sparkly pistachio green coating.

🥣 How To Make Filled Vegan Donuts

Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Before getting into the main steps of this vegan doughnut recipe, there are a few things to prepare:

To prepare the pistachio sugar coating, add the pistachios and sugar to a food processor and blitz until finely ground, and set them aside for coating the donuts later.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
Lastly, make your vegan buttermilk by mixing together the plant-based milk and apple cider vinegar.

pouring warmed milk into a bowl with yeast and flour to make vegan baked doughnuts.

Step 1: Make the dough. Melt the butter in a saucepan and whisk in the condensed milk, olive oil, and buttermilk mixture. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and bring the mixture together using a spatula.

a bowl with freshly kneaded vegan dough.

Step 2: Knead the dough. Turn out the dough onto a clean surface - no need to dust it with flour. Knead the dough for 8 minutes, then let it rest for 3 minutes, before rolling it into a ball.

proved vegan doughnut dough in a greased bowl.

Step 3: First prove. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, dust the top with a pinch of flour, and cover the bowl with a clean towel. Let it prove in a warm part of your kitchen for an hour, or until it has doubled in size.

cut out donut rounds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, being left for 20 minutes to prove.

Step 4: Shape and Bake. Roll out the dough to ½" thick, and cut out 2 ½" circles, transfer them to a lined baking tray. Prove for another 20 minutes, then bake for 10-11 minutes until risen and golden brown.

a pastry brush with condensed milk being used to glaze donuts fresh from the oven on a wire rack.

Step 5: Glaze. While still warm, use a pastry brush or spoon to coat the baked donuts with a thin layer of condensed milk.

a fried vegan donut on a plate of pistachio sugar, being coated all over.

Step 6: Sugar Coating. Immediately coat the glazed donuts in the pistachio sugar mixture. Place the donuts on a wire rack to cool fully for 1 hour.

a bowl with pistachio custard and a spatula stirring it showing the thick and creamy consistency.

Step 7: Make the pistachio cream. Cook the soy milk, cornstarch, salt, and condensed milk until thick. Whisk in the pistachio butter. Cool for 5-10 minutes then refrigerate for an hour until completely cold.

vegan donuts rolled in pistachio and filled with pistachio pastry cream in a lined glass pan.

Step 8: Fill the donuts. Use a skewer or small piping tip to poke a hole in each donut Transfer the pistachio cream to a piping bag or zip-lock bag and cut off the tip. Insert the piping bag into the donut and carefully fill it with the desired amount of cream.

📝 Recipe Tips

Don't be tempted to flour your surface. There is a common misconception for doughnut-making that you need to work with a lot of flour when in fact, this will throw off the ratios of your dough.

Knead the dough for the specified period of time. This step is essential for developing the gluten strands in the dough, which will strengthen the dough and help it hold onto the gas bubbles created by the yeast - hello fluffy donuts!

Fresh donuts for the win. Just like bread, donuts tend to taste best when freshly baked, and after that, they slowly start to become stale. For that reason, they are always best on the first day.

Small batch vegan donuts. Feel free to half, third, or quarter the recipe if you'd like to make a small batch of donuts.

💬 FAQs

Can I fry vegan donuts?

Yes, you absolutely can fry these donuts. You will need 2-3 cups of oil and a large deep pan, or deep fat fryer. Heat the oil to 190°C (374°F) and fry the donuts for a couple of minutes on each side, until golden brown.

The key here is to make sure the temperature of the oil doesn't get too hot or cold, or your donuts won't puff up. I recommend using a candy thermometer to check the oil temperature between each batch.

Once cooked, carefully lift the donuts onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to help soak up any excess oil.

How long do vegan donuts stay fresh?

Although they will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days, these filled vegan donuts taste best on the day they are baked.

Can I freeze vegan donuts?

I personally do not recommend this. Usually, you can "freshen" your donuts by warming them in the microwave. But seeing as these are filled donuts, that isn't really an option!

If you don't think you'll use up all the donuts in time, simply prepare a smaller batch.