Vegan donuts at Ronald’s Donuts in Las Vegas

From the outside, Ronald’s Donuts in Las Vegas is a typical mom and pop donut shop. But what makes it unique is that about 70% of their offerings are vegan.

There was a time in my life that I was quite the donut-phile. I was known to drive with a singularity of purpose to a certain donut shop at 10:50 pm so that I could still catch their donuts while they were “hot now.”

My husband, then-boyfriend, wooed me by showing up at my apartment unannounced on a Saturday morning with my favorite varieties.

Then I went vegan, and I figured my donut-eating days were behind me…

While there are a few shops and companies selling cake donuts that are free of animal products, that was never really my bag. Raised donuts – glazed or crème filled – was where it was at.

Hasta la vista, Long Johns and bye-bye, Bismarcks. I gave a goodbye to glazed and didn’t look back…

Until, that is, I heard murmurings through the blogosphere about the mythical Ronald’s Donuts.

Ronald’s Donuts

To look at it, Ronald’s is your typical mom and pop donut shop in every way – non-descript booths, locals reading newspapers while they slurp cups of coffee, and a long case of donuts. But what differs is that about 70% of their offerings are vegan. Yeast and vegetable shortening replace animal ingredients.

Interestingly, in and around the shop there are no signs anywhere noting their veganosity. Only about 10% of Ronald’s customers are vegan or lactose intolerant, and they don’t want non-vegan donut enthusiasts to reject theirs before they’ve tried them.

So the other customers suck down vegan donuts unaware, and Ronald’s counts on vegans to spread the word to other vegans– and that they do.

For longer than I can remember I’ve been hearing tales told about Ronald’s Donuts. There was even one time that I thought I’d procure a donut without a 4-hour drive ahead of it. A friend of a friend was going to Vegas, and word was she was going to bring back donuts for us too. Somehow we never received those sweet pastries… Very suspicious.

So when we set out on our cross-country adventure, the first stop had to be Ronald’s Donuts.

Vegan Donuts

We pulled into the strip mall that houses Ronald’s, and when I walked inside I was greeted by one of the owners behind the counter. I asked her which of the donuts were vegan, and she indicated the top two very long rows.

With that, I set about making some difficult decisions.  I finally pared it down to a glazed twist, a chocolate-covered soy custard filled, and a raspberry filled all to share with my husband, who was waiting in the car.

We had plans of saving one of the donuts for later, but those ideas were quickly squelched with our first taste. The chocolate-covered soy custard filled reminded me of a Boston Crème donut – very light with a soft, almost sour crème inside.

The twist was airy and not overly sweet, but the very best of the bunch was the raspberry filled. The strong raspberry jelly stood out against the mild yeasty donut.

In no time at all, all of the donuts had vanished, and we were headed down the highway. The casinos and crowds of Vegas have never been a pull for me but one thing might bring me back someday – and that thing is Ronald’s Donuts.

It’s probably a good thing they don’t serve them hot.  The petrol costs might kill me.