I’m Happy Dough – Pahoa Location

I'm Happy Dough – Your Top Spot in Pahoa for Scratch-Made Vegan Donut Goodness
Local Expert's Rating:
5.0 / 5
The Bottom Line:

When you want scratch-made vegan donuts on the double, you cannot go wrong with a trip over to I’m Happy Dough. After a humble start at Big Island farmer’s markets, they’ve now opened their much-anticipated Pahoa location. So, don’t hesitate to swing by whenever you’re hankering for fresh-baked treats.

- The HawaiianIslands.com Local Expert Team

When you need fresh-baked vegan donuts in your life, set your sights on a trip over to I’m Happy Dough. Although they were once a farmer’s market staple, they’ve moved onto the next stage of their journey: Their very own shop! You can now find them in the heart of the Puna Kai Shopping Center in Pahoa, ready to roll out their scratch-made fare on the daily. So, instead of brightening up your weekends with their donuts, you can make your visits an everyday affair.

Anyone who’s gotten a taste of their donut deliciousness will tell you that their shop was always a surefire thing. Their talented crew would roll into the Kaimu Farmer’s Market bright and early on Saturday mornings, and then sell out of all their donuts in no time flat. Then, they would do it all over again at the Market at the Park on Sunday. With so much demand coming their way, it just made sense to make it official with a Monday through Friday establishment. But that doesn’t mean they’ll leave the farmer’s markets behind.

If you want to see what all the buzz is about, you’ll just have to skip on over to the shop for yourself. Upon arriving, the scent of fresh-baked donuts will get you salivating while their humble selection has you hemming and hawing over the possibilities. From basic glazed to cinnamon sugar delights, they have all the fan favorites on tap until they sell out. Each day starts with the creation of their donuts, so you can get the freshest treats when cravings strike.

While you definitely wouldn’t know just by taste alone, all their donuts are 100% vegan. They’ve painstakingly left out the animal products without compromising on flavor or texture. Their donuts are light and airy inside while still offering a nice chew to every bite. On top of that, they have the perfect amount of sugar, so the donuts never feel cloyingly sweet. Even when they are covered in a scrumptious glaze, these baked treats always seem to have the perfect amount of sweetness throughout.

Come by to try the:

Chocolate Glazed
The Chocolate Glazed lets you keep it somewhat simple while still enjoying rich, bold flavor in every bite. They make these raised donuts one by one using their vegan dough. Once they come out of the fryer, their donuts take a swim in their housemade chocolate glaze to complete the picture of perfection.

Vanilla Sprinkle
If you’re wild about sprinkles, let the Vanilla Sprinkle donut win you over. This amazingly good treat begins with their yeast-raised donut batter. After the donuts come out of the fryer, they get dunked in vanilla glaze and then plop into the sprinkles for the finishing touch.

Apple Fritter
Whenever you’re craving apple pie, you cannot go wrong with the Apple Fritter. They build all the right flavors by putting fresh apples right in the yeast dough and then frying them until golden brown. A sweet glaze goes over the top at the end to bring all the flavors together just right.

All their most popular donuts sell out fast. So, if you want a dozen or more, it’s best to call in your order ahead of time. As long as you contact the team by 7 pm, they’ll have your donuts ready to go by the next morning. With that move, you can count on getting all the flavors you want every single time. If you don’t call in your order, you’ll just have to leave your vegan donut journey up to chance. 

Insider Tips:
-They often sign up as a vendor for events all across the island. Want to see where they’ll go next? Follow their social media pages to see where their donuts will show up.
-Want to skip straight to chowing down on donuts galore? Just put in your order online through their website. They’ll have your items ready to go when you get there.
-If you’d like to treat a special someone to oh-so-delicious donuts, give the gift of I’m Happy Dough gift cards.