Enjoy that fall-favorite pumpkin flavor with these Healthy Baked Pumpkin Donuts. They’re the ultimate classic donut recipe, made gluten-free with the perfect texture from almond flour, and coated in a delicious layer of cinnamon-sugar. These pumpkin spice donuts are sure to be a new family favorite!
Pumpkin-flavored everything, please!
When fall is just beginning, we all start craving pumpkin flavor EVERYTHING! These pumpkin spice donuts are going to satisfy your pumpkin hankerings. They’re seasoned with a delightful mix of pumpkin, cinnamon, clove, and ginger. We’ve also added a cinnamon-sugar coating to give this homemade donut that classic appearance and sweetness you’d find at the bakery!
Additionally, this recipe uses a combination of almond flour and coconut flour to make a naturally gluten-free donut recipe. This not only creates the perfect texture as the donut bakes but makes it a great recipe for anyone on the hunt for delicious gluten-free donuts!
Healthy donuts made easy!
Baked donuts are my favorite. It keeps the donut healthier (less oil than fried donuts) and they’re easier to make! You still get the same delicious donut taste, especially when a cinnamon-sugar coating is involved!
Grab yourself a donut pan, I highly recommend a silicone pan for easy removal and whip up a batch of these baked pumpkin donuts. It only takes 30 minutes to bake a batch, then let them cool completely in the donut pan.
Once they’ve cooled, you’ll remove them from the donut pan and dip the tops in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Recipe created and brought to you by Ana Ankeny, Social Media Coordinator of The Real Food Dietitians and blogger herself!
Healthy donuts can be served for all occasions
Growing up I always loved going to the bakery with my grandma for a donut and a coffee (coffee for her as I didn’t appreciate it when so young). I loved the smell of the bakery!
Baking these donuts and the smells coming from the oven always brings me back to those memories. Whether it’s a donut early in the morning with a cup of coffee (or a latte), a dessert after dinner, or brought to share with friends, donuts are perfect for any time and any occasion. They’re special enough to feel like a treat and yet easy to make and a crowd-pleaser!
What you’ll need
- Almond flour – blanched almond flour works best
- Coconut flour – this coconut flour works great
- Cane sugar – we need a little sweetness in donuts and this cane sugar works great. For a Paleo option use coconut sugar (or maple or date sugar).
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon, ginger, and cloves – may substitute pumpkin pie spice.
- Sea salt
- Milk of choice – for a dairy-free donut, use your favorite dairy-free option. Can also use cow milk.
- Eggs – this recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Avocado oil – may substitute olive oil.
- Pumpkin puree – canned pumpkin works great for this recipe
We love using pumpkin in the fall
This pumpkin donut recipe only calls for ¼ cup of pumpkin puree. That means if you’re using a typical can of pumpkin, you’re going to have some leftovers. Rather than let it go to waste, we have a solution to what to do with that extra pumpkin! Here are a few of our other pumpkin recipes that call for a little pumpkin puree.
- Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Brownies
- Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats
- No-Bake Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
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How to make Healthy Pumpkin Baked Donuts
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a large mixing bowl combine the almond flour, coconut flour, sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Mix until all the almond flour lumps are gone and the cinnamon is mixed in well.
- Step 2: In a small mixing bowl, add the eggs, dairy-free milk, avocado oil, pumpkin puree, and apple cider vinegar. Whisk until creamy and smooth.
- Step 3: Pour the wet pumpkin mixture into the dry almond mixture. Using a large spoon, stir until well mixed.
- Step 4: Using a donut pan (I recommend a silicone donut pan), evenly fill all donut cavities ¾ of the way full, smooth the tops, and make them even with the back of the spoon or with your finger.
- Step 5: Bake for 25-27 minutes. The donuts will begin to brown at 20 minutes, but they need the full 25-27 minutes to bake. Remove only when fully golden brown and all sides of the donut have pulled away from the pan.
- Step 6: Set on a cooling rack and let fully cool before attempting to remove from the pan.
- Step 7: Once the donuts are cool, remove from the donut pan and place them on a serving platter.
For coating in cinnamon-sugar
- Step 1: In a low-profile bowl or plate mix together the cinnamon and sugar.
- Step 2: Take one donut and lightly mist with water (or dampen one finger and lightly brush along the top of the donut) then place moist side down on the plate of cinnamon-sugar to coat.
- Step 3: Repeat with all donuts.
Baking tips and tricks
- The donuts will rise while baking, so be sure to only fill the donut cavities to ¾ full.
- It’s very important to bake these the full time listed and to let them fully cool before removing the baked donuts from the pan. If removed too early, the donuts will either stick in the pan or break upon removal.
- If using a metal donut pan, spray with cooking spray before filling with the donut mixture.
How to store Baked Pumpkin Donuts
You can store these donuts (granted there are leftovers and you don’t eat them all in one sitting!) in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 3 days. They will also last in the fridge for up to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to one month.
If you want to stack the donuts in your container to save space, we recommend placing a layer of parchment paper between the stacks to prevent the donuts from sticking together.
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Healthy Baked Pumpkin Donuts (Gluten-Free)
Enjoy the fall-favorite pumpkin flavors with these Healthy Baked Pumpkin Donuts. They’re the ultimate classic donut recipe made gluten-free with the perfect texture from almond flour and coated in a delicious layer of cinnamon-sugar.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- 2 Tbsp. coconut flour
- ½ cup cane sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon*
- ⅛ tsp. ground cloves*
- ⅛ tsp. ground ginger*
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
- 2 whole eggs
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup milk of choice (dairy-free if needed)
- 1 Tbsp. avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Optional cinnamon-sugar coating:
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a large mixing bowl combine the almond flour, coconut flour, sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Mix until all the almond flour lumps are gone and the cinnamon is mixed in well.
- In a small mixing bowl, add the eggs, dairy-free milk, avocado oil, pumpkin puree, and apple cider vinegar. Whisk until creamy and smooth.
- Pour the wet pumpkin mixture into the dry almond mixture. Using a large spoon, stir until well mixed.
- Using a donut pan (recommend silicone donut pan), evenly fill all donut cavities ¾ of the way full, smooth the tops, and make them even with the back of the spoon or with your finger.
- Bake for 25-27 minutes. The donuts will begin to brown at 20 minutes, but they need the full 25-27 minutes to bake. Remove only when fully golden brown and all sides of the donut have pulled away from the pan.
- Set on a cooling rack and let fully cool before attempting to remove from the pan.
- Once the donuts are cool, remove from the donut pan and place them on a serving platter.
For the cinnamon-sugar coating:
- In a low-profile bowl or plate mix together the cinnamon and sugar.
- Take one donut and lightly mist with water (or dampen one finger and lightly brush along the top of the donut) then place moist side down on the plate of cinnamon-sugar to coat.
- Repeat with all donuts.
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Notes
*substitute 1 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground ginger
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1 donut without coating
- Calories: 135
- Fat: 8 g
- (Sat Fat: 1 g)
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Carbohydrate: 13 g
- (Fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 9 g)
- Protein: 4 g
Dietary
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These taste more like pancakes than donuts, maybe sad muffins. Not donut-like at all. 🙁 Real donuts probably need way more fat and sugar.
Hmmmm, that’s a very honest review, which we appreciate. Thanks for giving them a try – it sounds like you’re looking for a more traditional-style donut.
I followed the direction exactly, though the taste was great, they completely fell apart while trying to remove them from the donut pans. I will try again but use coconut oil spray on the pans. I debated whether to spray the pans in the first place but decided to adhere to the directions which did not mention that oiling the pans would be useful. I have baked with these ingredients before and they are often oily enough to facilitate easy removal, not so with these.
Hi! If you use a regular (not a silicon) donut pan, you may want to spray the pan. Please let us know how they turn out for you! Thanks!
Do you think adding some collagen powder or protein powder to this would work? My silly sons who lift a lot were joking about making “bro-nuts”, which would be high protein. I would love to surprise them but don’t want to risk a whole wasted batch if it doesn’t work. My thought was unflavored collagen probably.
“Bro-nuts”…Hahahaha!! I do think that you could replace a portion of the flour (perhaps 1/2 cup) with collagen without dramatically altering the texture, though they may be more apt to stick to the pan. Perhaps serve the donuts with a side of eggs and bacon?
Looks delicious and I plan to make this! But I don’t think you can claim this is paleo with Cane sugar as an ingredient… I will substitute with allulose or maple sugar.
Yes, you can substitute maple sugar. I’m not sure about allulose.
I plan to make these but would like to substitute monkfruit sweetener for the cane sugar. What would you recommend for amounts or if this would work? Thanks!
Hmmmm. We have zero experience with monk fruit so we could not say for sure how much you could use and still get the desired results.
Thanks! I used 1/3 cup monkfruit sweetener and it was perfect!
Do you have an opinion on sugar/sweetener alternatives? I am always looking for ways to minimize calories. Thanks again!!
That’s great – thanks for the update, Jeaneen!
As for alternative sweeteners, I don’t use them very often in my own kitchen but have used Wholesome Allulose a few times and had good results with it.
Jeaneen, in my baking, I usually use 2/3-3/4 cup monkfruit sweetner when a recipe calls for a cup of sugar. I use granulated when granulated is called for and I use liquid when honey is called for. It’s worked out just fine for me. I am at a low altitude if that makes a difference at all. I haven’t made this recipe yet so I can’t speak to it directly. I’ve had to sub many ingredients over the past 7 years because of food intolerances, so I’m not entirely new to this kind of thing. A lot of times it’s just a matter of reading up on what the manufacturer says the sub rate is (1:1 or 3/4:1 etc) and then giving it a try and tweaking it for your own taste. Hope this helps.