This gluten free gingerbread donut recipe makes a delicious holiday treat. These donuts are absolutely perfect with crisp outsides and soft on the inside!! Stack them up and eat them one by one…these bite-sized donuts are full of gingerbread flavor! They are great for the holidays!
Tis the season for all things gingerbread and these bite-sized (okay, maybe two or three bite) gluten free gingerbread donuts. They are a delicious snack that everyone will enjoy.
Drizzle a little icing to make them even better. These donuts are also dairy-free, so dig in! If you love gingerbread as much as we do, check out these gluten free gingerbread biscotti recipes.
While I am doing that, I hope you can enjoy these delicious gingerbread donuts. This donut recipe is easy to make, so you can have donuts all the time. I have lots of great gluten free donut recipes to try!
Why I can’t get enough of this gluten free gingerbread donut recipe:
- I am a self-proclaimed donut fanatic. These gingerbread donuts are bursting with gingerbread flavor.
- You can make and eat them in less than 10 minutes!
- They are fun to decorate for the holidays! Drizzle on some icing and dust with sprinkles. If you don’t want the added sugar, skip the icing because these donuts have enough bold flavor to stand alone. Feel free to eat these gingerbread Christmas donuts plain.
Absolutely wonderful. My daughter ate almost all of them.
Erica, Blog comment
It is so nice to find gluten free that taste amazing.”
You can check my list to make sure your sprinkles are gluten free. Many brands are made on shared equipment.
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Allergen Information:
These homemade gingerbread donuts are gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and oat-free. See the Frequently Asked Questions section below for a nut-free version.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten free flour blend (I have used several brands, including Bob’s Red Mill, Authentic Foods, King Arthur, and Pamela’s blends for this donut recipe. Make sure the blend you use has Xanthan gum, otherwise add 1 teaspoon.)
- Almond flour. I like almond flour better than almond meal because it is ground more finely. My favorite brands are Anthony’s and Honeyville. Costco often carries almond flour, but I haven’t seen it in our store lately.
- Baking powder – I recommend using aluminum-free baking powder.
- Eggs – Use size large.
- Molasses – you can use regular or blackstrap molasses
- Non-Dairy Milk – I used almond milk, but other dairy-free or regular milk will work.
- Pure vanilla extract – please do not use imitation vanilla.
Try these fun flavor variations:
- Add white or chocolate chips to the donut batter.
- Instead of using icing, dust your gluten free gingerbread donuts with powdered sugar.
- Dip these donuts in melted white chocolate.
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend.
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients to a bowl. Whisk to blend.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
📢 Sandi says: Every gluten-free flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio. The brand of gluten-free flour you use will affect the moisture of the batter. If your cake batter is too runny, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more liquids.
Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this.
Step 4: Mix up the batter and pour it into each section. Close the lid. It’s not a great picture, but it shows you how your donut batter should look in the donut maker.
One thing I love about making mini donuts is how easy they are to make. I have been using this Babycakes Mini Donut Maker for a couple of years now, and it is a huge time saver for me.
Donut pan directions:
You can definitely use a donut pan to make this gluten free gingerbread donut maker. You will want to bake your donuts at 350º F for 15 minutes.
Allow it to cool and ice the same way you would using a donut maker. Just spray the pan with coconut oil so the edges get crispy.
Frequently Asked Questions:
You can definitely make this recipe nut-free without the almond flour. Omit the almond flour and add 1/4 cup additional gluten free flour blend. Also, use coconut or flaxseed milk instead of almond milk.
These cookies will last up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge or for up to 4 months in the freezer.
If you want to use coconut sugar to make these donuts low glycemic, that is completely fine.
More Gingerbread Recipes
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Gingerbread Donuts
Equipment
- Donut maker
- Donut pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend *see note
- ½ cup almond flour *see note
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- ⅓ cup almond milk *see note
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
Instructions
- Preheat the Babycakes mini donut maker.
- In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- In a small bowl, add all wet ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
- Spoon batter into each little donut hole section of the donut maker.
- Do not over fill. I fill until it is just slightly full.
- Close the lid and allow to cook for 3 minutes.
- Open the lid and see if they are done.
- (If not, cook an additional minute.)
- Cool on a cooling rack, then top and eat.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF, Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend in this recipe. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- If you are nut-free, you can omit the almond flour and add 1/3 cup extra gluten free flour blend.
- Other non-dairy kinds of milk will work but I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
- If you do not have a donut maker, you can make this in a donut pan. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Spray coconut oil or another light oil on the donut pan. Use a batter filled piping bag (or a plastic bag with the corner cut out) to pipe the donut batter into each donut section. Bake for 15 minutes, or until done.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of a donut. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the donuts need to bake longer
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
*Note: this recipe was updated from an 11/16/15 post with more information to help you make the best gluten free gingerbread donuts ever.
I made these and was confused why there was powdered sugar and butter in the photo of ingredients.
They were very good. I got 22 donuts when I made them.
Hi Jackie, the powdered sugar and butter was there more if someone wanted to make frosting for the donuts.
Absolutely wonderful. My daughter ate almost all of them. It is so nice to find gluten free that taste amazing.
I am so glad you and your daughter loved this recipe. Thank you so much!
Just made this last night as a muffin with vanilla icing, it was delicious! Going to make this for my Christmas gifting this year. All my wheat friends will love this and not even realise it’s wheat free!
I love you made these as muffins. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know. I am sure this will encourage others to make these as muffins :-).
how did you make your icing?
Hi Adrienne, I used a tube by Wilton, but you can easily make it by mixing 1 cup powdered sugar to 1-2 tablespoons water or milk. Add the liquid slowly because it is easier to control how thick or runny you make it by adding a little at a time.
Such an awesome holiday donut recipe!! So cute and tasty.
I am really glad you liked it Katherine 🙂
Hi there! I am having trouble finding the icing recipe you used to drizzle on the donuts! What should I search on your site? Thank you!
Hi Hannan, I actually used a squeezable icing by Wilton that I found at my grocery store. To make your own, all you need is powdered sugar and water. One cup powdered sugar, and add 1 table spoon water. Mix and add another tablespoon. If you need the icing thinner, add a little more water, but add a tiny bit at a time now because it can get runny really quickly. Good luck 🙂
These donuts look fabulous! By the way it was so nice meeting you last weekend!
Thank you so much Patricia 🙂
It is so easy to use Arman, I can’t recommend these little donut cookers enough. I appreciate your stopping by.
Thank you Catherine 🙂
Thank you so much Kristen 🙂
wow, your schedule sounds just like ours, but I will always make time for doughnuts!!
Can these be baked in the oven; and can you suggest a substitution for almond flour?
Hi Anne, You can definitely bake these in a donut pan. I recommend spraying it with a coconut oil so the edges get crispy. As for substituting the almond flour. You could try using an extra 1/4 cup of the gluten free flour instead. Please let me know how that turns out as I haven’t substituted this yet. Also note, if you aren’t using the same gluten free flour blend, don’t forget to add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum so they bind together. I appreciate your stopping by 🙂