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Baked Vegan Jelly Donuts (Paczki) 

Amazing baked vegan jelly donuts (paczki) are so much easier to make in the oven. Pillowly soft, filled with jam, and delicious! 

Many vegan jelly donuts, aka paczki, on a wood tabletop. Some are stacked on top of each other and have a bite taken out so you can see the fluffy inside filled with jam.
Baked vegan jelly donuts on the kitchen table with extra jam.

Why You’ll Love these Baked Vegan Jelly Donuts

Here in Michigan, I’ve grown up eating these donuts every spring on fat Tuesday where bakeries make them fresh and the lines are super long to get a freshly baked batch. We don’t even call it Mardi Gras, in the midwest, it’s Paczki Day! 

I have so many memories of eating these donuts but until I went vegan I never atempted to make them. Plus, I was a bit intimidated by trying to fry them. That’s why I tried to bake them and I freaking LOVE the results!

What I love about this recipe is the consistency in making the dough and baking the dough. I don’t need to worry about burnt outsides and raw insides – baking gets it right every time. 

Tip! Paczki is pronounced Poon-Shh-Key and rhymes with Moon-Shh-Key! The “shh” sound helps to smoosh the sounds together. A bunch of these donuts are called paczki while a single donut is called a paczek. 

I don’t need to tell you why to enjoy a donut. Just trust me on this one, these donuts are one to make. 

Ingredients 

For the full ingredients, complete with measurements, please see the recipe card below. 

Ingredients for making vegan jelly donuts in various glass bowls on a wood table. Black and white labels have been added to name each ingredient.
Ingredients for the donuts measured out into bowls and ready to mix together.
  • Bread Flour: This is so important to use in this recipe. Traditional paczki are made with a high gluten flour and bread flour is a perfect flour to use. It makes the donuts lighter, have a better texture, and taste more like a donut. I tested this close to a dozen times bread flour vs all purpose and strongly recommend that you use only bread flour. 
  • Mashed Potatoes: This is my secret ingredient on how to make vegan breads and donuts super soft, super fluffy, and super delicious! I use instant mashed potatoes made with simple water. 
  • Plant Based Milk: I’ve made this recipe with unflavored, unsweetened soy milk and had the best results. Other non dairy milks like coconut milk, oat milk, or almond milk should also work here. 
  • Yeast: In the majority of my baking recipes, I use active dry yeast and let it proof in warmed soymilk (for this recipe). I prefer to do this so that I can always make sure that the yeast is alive and active before baking. 
  • Sugar: This helps to not only make the donuts sweet, but helps to give the texture of a donut. 
  • Vanilla Extract: Adding a full tablespoon of vanilla may seem extravagant but I promise you will not regret it when you take that first bite of donut. The full tablespoon transforms this into an amazing baked donut. 
  • Oil: Use a neutral oil to make these like canola oil, vegetable oil, or refined coconut oil. 
  • Salt: A bit of salt to help the taste and texture. 

To fill the jelly donuts, you’ll need jam or jelly! Other options for filling include apple pie filling, vegan lemon curd, vegan vanilla custard, or even chocolate ganache (although that is more of an American variation). 

Finally, you need powdered sugar to sprinkle on top after baking and filling. 

Instructions 

Make sure to check out the recipe card below for the full recipe and ingredient list.

Start by proofing your yeast and one tablespoon of sugar in warm milk. The soy milk should have a temperature of between 110F and 120F (43-46C). Any colder and the yeast won’t activate as well and any warmer will potentially kill off the yeast. 

A silver mixing bowl is filled with the soymilk and yeast after the yeast has been activated.
Using warmed soymilk helps the yeast to come alive and get super bubbly like this.

Let the yeast rest for about 10 minutes to give it time to come alive. 

Then, add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer. The oil, mashed potatoes, vanilla, sugar, bread flour, and salt. 

Start kneading your dough and work it until a smooth dough ball forms that is slightly sticky and tacky. You don’t want to add a ton of extra flour to the dough when making this, so just keep working the dough until it comes together. 

Now, I strongly recommend that you use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment but you can make these donuts by hand. If you are making them by hand, add a few extra minutes of knead time. 

A silver mixing bowl filled with the donut dough before the first rise.
The donut dough before rising.
A silver mixing bowl filled with the donut dough after rising. It has doubled in size.
Donut dough after rising – look how much it grew!

Lightly coat a big bowl with some oil and place the dough ball in the bowl to rest for about an hour, or until it doubles in size, in a warm spot in the kitchen.

Shaping and Baking

After an hour, place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 12 equal portions. They don’t have to be perfect, but my dough balls are generally between 90 and 100 grams in weight. 

Shape each into a dough ball, rolling them in your hands and then on the countertop to get a perfectly shaped little dough ball.

The donut dough divided into 12 equal portions is on a parchment lined baking sheet.
12 donuts divided and placed on a baking sheet.
A piece of parchment has some shaped donuts and a rolling pin on it. They are next to a tray filled with un baked donuts.
Rolling the donuts into the right shape.

Place 6 donuts to a parchment paper lined baking sheet as they expand quite a bit in the oven. 

Let the dough balls rise for about 20 minutes while the oven preheats to 375F/190C. Do not cover the dough this second time, you want the donuts to dry out slightly on top. 

Before placing them in the oven, it’s time to give the donuts a final shaping. Using a rolling pin, gently roll each donut out into an oval. Don’t press too hard and don’t flatten them too much. You just are shaping the donuts so they look like paczki and not dinner rolls. 

Place 6 donuts on a parchment lined baking sheet. Gently brush the tops with more canola oil and bake in the oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until golden brown and the internal temperature is over 195F/90C. 

Remove the donuts from the oven and immediately roll them in granulated sugar, if you like. This isn’t a totally necessary step but it does make them extra paczki like! 

Six donuts are rolled in granulated sugar after baking. They are on a parchment lined baking sheet.
The baked donuts after rolling in the granulated sugar, before rolling in powdered sugar and filling.

Place the remaining donuts in the oven and bake. Let the donuts cool completely before filling and covering in sugar. 

A silver baking tray filled with rows of vegan jelly donuts, aka, paczki. They are stacked up so the jam is on top.
All the finished vegan paczki stacked together on a baking tray.

Filling the Jelly Donuts 

After the donuts have rested and cooled for about an hour, you can start to fill them up. 

Use a chopstick or a knife to make a hole in the side and give it a little wiggle. You want to give the filling a little space to live in. 

Fill a piping bag with your filling of choice and add the filling to each donut. Start by under filling and then add more filling as needed so you don’t have a big mess. 

Stack them side by side with the filling side up so it doesn’t drip everywhere. 

Tip! Make sure you fill these donuts while they are still slightly warm from the oven. The dough is a bit more pliable when it is warmed. If you let them cool completely, the dough will become harder to move and make way for the filling. 

Variations

There are so many different types of delicious fillings you can add to the donuts. Here are a few of my favorite fillings:

  • Different Jam/Jelly Flavors: Wild blueberry, Raspberry, Strawberry, Peach
  • Rose hip Jam is the most popular flavor in Poland 
  • Lemon Curd
  • Vanilla Custard
  • Nutella
  • Chocolate Ganache
  • Apple Pie filling 

Many vegan jelly donuts, aka paczki, on a wood tabletop. Some are stacked on top of each other and have a bite taken out so you can see the fluffy inside filled with jam. In the background are the jelly jar and bottles.
All the finished vegan jelly donuts on a kitchen table with extra jam and sugar.

Paczki vs Donuts

Paczki are a type of Polish Donuts eaten in Poland before the Lenten season, on Fat Thursday (not Fat Tuesday like in the United States). According to tradition, you need to eat as many paczki as possible on the last Thursday before lent or else your barn will be filled with mice in the coming summer. I don’t own a barn but one can never be too sure so I suggest eating lots of donuts. 🙂 

Paczki are a little bit different from other yeasted donut recipes in that they are a cross between a donut and a brioche bread. They have more eggs and butter in the traditional recipe. This gives you a donut that is a bit heartier, more dense, and a lot more flavorful dough.

Getting this richness while being vegan required a lot of testing and tweaking. Not that I was complaining!

How to Store 

These paczki jelly donuts are best eaten the day they are made, and are especially good when still warm from the oven! 

If you need to store any leftovers, it depends on if you have filled them or not. 

Unfilled Jelly Donuts: Unfilled jelly donuts can be coated in sugar and left on the countertop for 3 to 4 days. I prefer to store my donuts this way, filling them as I want to enjoy one. This is the best way to store these donuts. 

Filled Jelly Donuts: Filled jelly donuts should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, though they will begin to dry out simply because it’s a baked good in the fridge. However, because they are filled with jam or jelly, they need to be kept in the fridge to be safe. 

I hope you enjoy making and eating these vegan jelly donuts! They have become a treasured family favorite recipe in my house and my wish is they become the same in yours. Enjoy!!

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If you try these out, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. And if you want more delicious, vegan friendly recipes you can subscribe to the newsletter. Did you make these? Please tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest! I love to see your creations!

Many vegan jelly donuts, aka paczki, on a wood tabletop. Some are stacked on top of each other and have a bite taken out so you can see the fluffy inside filled with jam.

Baked Vegan Jelly Donuts (Paczki)

Amazing baked vegan jelly donuts (paczki) are so much easier to make in the oven. Pillowly soft, filled with jam, and delicious!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Rise Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Baked Goods, Polish
Keyword: bread, breakfast, donut, vegan baking
Servings: 12 big donuts
Calories: 303kcal

Equipment

  • Mixing bowl
  • Mixing spoons
  • measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • Stand mixer with dough hook
  • Rolling Pin
  • parchment paper
  • Baking sheets

Ingredients

Donut Dough

  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1 ⅓ cup soy milk unflavored unsweetened
  • 3 tablespoons mashed potatoes
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 3 ⅓ cup bread flour plus more for rolling
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Filling and Rolling

  • ½ cup jam
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Proof the yeast. In a large bowl, combine one tablespoon of the granulated sugar with the yeast and the warmed (110-120°F/43-46°C) soymilk. Whisk together and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to proof. If no bubbles/foaming has appeared, the yeast isn’t active and you’ll need fresh.
  • Make the dough. Into a large bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, add the remaining ingredients of mashed potato, canola oil, sugar, vanilla, salt, and the bread flour. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes to allow the ingredients to combine, then, mix on medium speed for the next 6 to 8 minutes to allow the dough to form. This dough is very sticky so you may be tempted to add more flour. Only add flour in the final 2 minutes of mixing if necessary.
  • First Rise. Gently shape the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly greased bowl. Place the bowl, covered with a clean kitchen towel, in a warm spot in your kitchen and let it rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
  • Shaping + Second Rise. When the dough has doubled in size, place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, about 90 to 100 grams in weight. You don’t need to be super precise with this. Roll each donut into a tight dough ball in your hands and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, 6 donuts to each sheet. Allow them to rise, uncovered, for 20 minutes while the oven preheats.
  • Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
  • Final Shaping. Right before the donuts are ready to go in the oven, use a rolling pin to gently give each donut their final shape. Gently roll into an oval, making sure not to push down hard at all. Brush the top of each donut with more canola oil.
  • Baking. Bake the donuts in the oven for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown and they have reached an internal temperature of over 195°F/90°C.
  • Rolling. When the donuts are hot from the oven, roll them in more granulated sugar for a bakery style donut. Allow the donuts to cool so they are able to be handled. Before filling, roll the donuts again in powdered sugar until they are totally covered.
  • Filling. Using a chopstick or knife, make a hole in the side of each donut, wiggling slightly to make a space for filling. Fill each donut with the filling of your choice, using a pastry bag to make the filling easier. Repeat for each donut. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • How to Store 
    • These paczki jelly donuts are best eaten the day they are made, and are especially good when still warm from the oven! 
    • If you need to store any leftovers, it depends on if you have filled them or not. 
    • Unfilled Jelly Donuts: Unfilled jelly donuts can be coated in sugar and left on the countertop for 3 to 4 days. I prefer to store my donuts this way, filling them as I want to enjoy one. This is the best way to store these donuts. 
    • Filled Jelly Donuts: Filled jelly donuts should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, though they will begin to dry out simply because it’s a baked good in the fridge. However, because they are filled with jam or jelly, they need to be kept in the fridge to be safe.

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 120mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 104IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg
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