This is a special vegan mochi donut recipe with sweet potato. The sweetness of the sweet potato is drawn out especially because its cooked twice in this recipe. This is why the recipe doesn't call for any sugar. I warn you it’s so good so you might not be able to stop eating it! But it's low in fats, low or sugar-free (depending on your preference), and contain absolutely no animal products it is the healthiest and animal friendliest snack you can indulge on.
This is a yeast free donut because some of our readers were looking for non yeast vegan donut recipe. I do still love my vegan yeast donuts too but you this sweet potato vegan mochi donut could be made in 8 minutes because you don't need to wait for yeast to rise.
Where did mochi come from?
Mochi comes from Japan. Mochi is made from pounding glutinous rice (in English it may also be called sticky rice or sweet rice) into cake. In Japan making mochi is a New Year tradition where some communities will use a large wooden motor and pestle and pound out the glutinous rice to make mochi. Foods eaten during New Year all have auspicious meanings.
Mochi signifies long life because similar to cheese, warm mochi stretches really long. Making the glutinous rice become smooth and sticky takes many hands to pound and fold the rice for it to become mochi. They do not call it mochi but glutenous rice is eaten in many areas in Asia like China, Korea, and Thailand.
Is mochi vegan?
Mochi is the Japanese word for glutenous rice. Mochi itself only signifies glutenous rice so it is vegan. But in the US mochi products have become popular like mochi ice cream and mochi donuts. These may not be vegan depending on what other ingredients are contained in these sweets. In order to distinguish the mochi ingredient from mochi-based sweets we will refer to mochi as the ingredients (glutenous rice) and mochi sweets, mochi ice cream, and mochi donuts as the sweets that may contain mochi.
Is Mochi nut free?
Mochi the ingredients are naturally nut free. However, sweets that are made from mochi like mochi donuts, and mochi ice cream, and mochi filled with sweets may contain nuts.
Is mochi milk free?
Mochi is naturally milk free. However, sweets that are made from mochi like mochi donuts, and mochi ice cream, and mochi filled with sweets may contain milk.
Do mochi donuts taste like mochi?
Mochi by itself does not have any flavor just like pasta, rice, or flour is flavorless. Mochi does have a unique sticky consistency and smooth texture. In that regards the mochi donuts and mochi have similar stickiness. Of course, mochi donuts have many ingredients it is not as sticky as the actual mochi.
What is Mochi donut made of?
Mochi donuts consist of sticky flour either tapioca flour or rice flour which gives it a chewy glutenous consistency. (So technically mochi donuts do not actually contain mochi/ glutenous rice. The most related or similar ingredient to mochi is normal rice flour. And some recipes do not even use that and opt for using just tapioca starch. But that doesn't bother us at all it's still delicious and has the chewy sticky texture that we love! Read further to find out the interesting history of mochi donuts.)
Some store-bought mochi donuts or recipes may also contain flour, milk, egg, sugar, baking powder, and oil. Also, I want to emphasize that not all sugars are vegan-friendly. This is also mentioned in the sugar breakdown section for how sour patch kids are not vegan-friendly. If you are in the US, I recommend opting for organic sugar because Certified U.S. Department of Agriculture organic sugars are vegan friendly.
Is mochi donuts gluten-free?
Mochi donuts could be made gluten-free but some recipes and store-bought mochi donuts may contain flour, which contains gluten. It is best if you check with the store if their mochi donuts are gluten-free before purchase. (Our mochi donut recipe is gluten-free)
Is Mochinut vegan?
Mochinut is a popular mochi donut place located in the US, Korea, and Thailand. They serve mochi donuts, Korean rice flour hot dogs, and bubble tea. In their FAQ they state that their mochi donuts contain a “small portion of wheat flour, egg & milk powder” so their donuts are not vegan. Their mochi donuts seem delicious so hopefully, they start offering a vegan option.
Are mochi donuts vegan?
Many store-bought mochi donuts are not vegan and may include eggs and milk.
is Mochinut gluten-free?
Mochinut does include wheat so it's not gluten-free.
History of Mochi Donuts – Did Mister Donut invent mochi donuts?
An international donut store chain, Mister Donut, was founded in the US but after an acquisition, all the US stores converted to Dunkin' Donuts. (Except for one Mister Donut store left in Illinois) Mister Donuts operate and have a huge presence outside the US, with Japan having the longest history. The First Mister Donut outlet opened in 1971. The donuts called mochi donuts in the US first appeared in Mister Donut Japan under the name “Pon de Ring” in January of 2003.
The “Pon de Ring” was inspired by pão de queijo, a chewy Brazilian cheese bread that contains tapioca flour. The unique donut shape was developed not because it looks cute but because the dough containing tapioca flour will not rise evenly in the normal donut shape. (Hence it looks like 8 donut holes connected like a pearl necklace.) In fact Mister Donut “Pon de Ring” have tapioca flour and not sweet rice flour! So the “mochi” donut, in the beginning, had no mochi in it.
Mochi donut was inspired by Brazilian bread, refined and developed in Japan, and named and branded in the US. (Reference: Japanese Wikipedia Pon de Ring)
4 Ingredient Vegan Mochi Doughnut
Ingredients
- 1 cup of cooked sweet potato about half of medium to large size sweet potato
- 2/3 cup of white rice flour
- 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
- 9 teaspoons of plant based milk
Optional
- 1 tsp organic sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. (You can also cook the donut in the toaster oven set to 400 degree Fahrenheit)
- Cook the sweet potato. You can bake, steam or boil the sweet potato. Make sure before you use the sweet potato it’s not too watery. If it is watery put the cooked sweet potato in a colander and let it sit until the excess water is drained out.1 cup of cooked sweet potato
- Mix and mash the sweet potato, white rice flour, coconut oil, and plant based milk in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of organic sugar if you would like to add sugar. Mix all the ingredients well. You will be able to make one big round ball.1 cup of cooked sweet potato, 2/3 cup of white rice flour, 1 teaspoon of coconut oil, 9 teaspoons of plant based milk, 1 tsp organic sugar
- Separate the ball into 12 donut holes. Roll each into round balls.
- Put the doughnut holes on a cooking sheet and leave in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit
- Flip the donut to cook the other side and bake for 10 more minutes (still on 400 degrees Fahrenheit)
- (Optional) Sprinkle organic sugar and/ or cinnamon and cardamon for flavor. Brushing a layer of coconut oil on the donut hole will make it easier for the spices to coat on the outside of the donut1 tsp organic sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cardamom
Notes
We also have an easy delicious sweet potato fries recipe you can use to make something else with your leftover sweet potatoes.
