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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How great would it be if you made these with monkfruit sweetner instead of cane sugar! How would that impact the nutritional information for the recipe? Outside of the cane sugar, the rest looks delicious and nutritious. I would just like to see a lower carb option for those of us trying to avoid caloric sweetners to our baking.
Hi Linda! We have not tested this recipe with monk fruit sweetener. However, if you do, we would love to know how they turnout. And we will keep in mind your request of sharing lower carb / sugar baked goods for future recipes! Thank you!
They taste great, but mine fell apart completely when I removed them from the pan. I used a regular donut pan sprayed with cooking spray. We enjoyed them as a crumble!
Bummer to hear these fell apart for you but glad you were still able to enjoy them! It’s definitely important to allow them to cool completely before removing from the pan. Not sure if that was the case here but wanted to mention that for other who might try this recipe 🙂
I used a silicone pan, baked for 26 min, let the donuts cool for about 30 min before touching them, and mine also fell apart while trying to get them out of the donut pan. They tasted great bur definitely could not be eaten as donuts.
Sorry to hear that they didn’t turn out for you. The key is to let them cool completely. I will make that more clear in the directions and plan to make this recipe sometime in the next week. Thanks for the constructive feedback!
My family is not gluten intolerant. What is the substitution using regular flour?
Most all of our recipes are tested with both gluten-free flour AND regular all-purpose. I did test this recipe with a regular all-purpose flour and they turned out great. Baking time MAY vary slightly so you’ll want to start checking them at the lower range of the baking time. Enjoy!
Hi Stacie! So did you do a 1:1 substitution of regular all-purpose flour making it 1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour then? We have made these so many times since this recipe was published and while the flavor is just outstanding and totally blows people’s minds when they learn they’re gluten free… I’ve had multiple batches ruined — even after cooling 30+ minutes — because they crumbled coming out of a regular greased pan and a silicone mold as well. So I thought perhaps trying this with regular flour may do the trick? Thanks kindly for your help.
Hi Jenny,
That’s a good question. I’ll have to make them again and make note of how much flour I use but I think I would also go with 1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp. I wonder why they are crumbling? It could maybe be related to the kind of pumpkin you are using (some are thicker than others). I have a can of pumpkin on hand so I’ll make them both as the recipe is written and with all-purpose flour and update the recipe accordingly. Thanks for the feedback!
These were amazing! I couldn’t even tell that they were gluten-free. I also cut the sugar in 1/2 and they were still wonderful. 10/10 recommend 😍
My family loves these donuts! I’ve made them twice now and both times the recipes has been easy and the donuts turn out great. I plan to make them over the Thanksgiving holiday when all of my kids will be home.
Hi Lisa! Thank you for sharing that. Glad they turned out great for you as some have had a difficult time removing them from the donut pan. We however, have not been able to replicate the issue so it’s good to know that they turned out perfect for you!! Hope your kids love them, too!