Healthy breakfast donuts are delicious baked donuts, and kids love them! This is a gluten free donuts recipe and a vegan donuts recipe that’s easy to make. If you’re just learning how to eat gluten free, go ahead and have these donuts for breakfast – they’re guilt-free!
Donuts for breakfast?? Absolutely not!
Donuts have a bad rap. Sugary, sweet, fried, and unhealthy….but oh so delicious.
After making gluten and dairy free lemon donuts earlier in the week, my kids have been begging me to make more donuts. I decided to attempt a breakfast donut recipe that is so healthy, any mom would feel good giving them to their kids for breakfast.
Check out all of my donut recipes in The Best Gluten Free Donut Recipes post.
Healthy Donuts
This healthy donuts recipe has all of the good stuff.
- almond flour
- chia seeds
- flaxseed meal
- raisins
These gluten free donuts are dairy-free and refined sugar-free too.
Will your kids know these are healthy donuts? Not unless you tell them!
How do you cook this gluten free donuts recipe?
My saving grace has been this Babycakes Mini Donut Maker. It makes baked donuts in under 5 minutes, which is perfect for a busy morning.
You can also bake the donuts in a donut pan. If you do this, don’t forget to spray the pan with coconut oil so they are slightly crispy on the outside.
One thing you will notice is this donut batter is thick, much thicker than other donut recipes I have posted. That is because it is jam-packed with nutrition.
As a result, the breakfast donuts take a bit longer to cook in the donut maker, but they are still moist and flavorful.
Check out all of the good stuff in this delicious vegan, gluten free donut recipe! You can visibly see the flaxseed, chia, and raisins in them.
Gluten Free Donuts Recipe – Substitutions and Variations:
- Add dried cranberries or blueberries instead of raisins.
- Add in some chopped pecans or walnuts for even more protein!
- Feel free to add a few chocolate chips if your kids are really picky eaters.
- If it is around the holidays, add a teaspoon of pumpkin spice!
(**Please note there are affiliate links in this post. Making a purchase from an affiliate link will not change the price you pay for an item. A tiny commission will come to Fearless Dining to help offset the costs of running this blog. I truly appreciate the support !)
Tools You Need To Make This Recipe:
- Babycakes Donut Maker. As I mentioned above, this is fast and easy. Plus an extra bonus, using it won’t heat your house up if you want donuts in the summer!
- Donut Pan. If you prefer, you can also bake donuts in this easy non-stick pan.
- Certified gluten free oats. Make sure your oats are certified gluten free. Oats are very easily cross-contaminated with wheat so really make sure so you stay safe.
How to make this healthy breakfast donuts recipe:
Easy gluten free healthy donuts.
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend (*Note, my flour blend has xanthan gum included. If yours doesn't, add 1 teaspoon.)
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup gluten free oats
- 1/2 cup lightly sweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup ground flaxmeal
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- dash salt
- 1/2 cup grade B maple syrup
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup raisins
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In a large bowl, add dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
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In a medium bowl, add all wet ingredients and mix well.
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Plug in the Babycakes Donut Makerto heat.
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Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well.
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You will notice this dough is thicker than my other donut recipes. That is ok, it will add another minute or two to cooking...but these are still moist and delicious.
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Spray coconut oil into donut sections of donut maker.
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Add a spoon full of dough into each donut section in the donut maker.
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Close the lid and cook for 4-5 minutes until done.
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Move to cooling rack.
More Yummy Donut Recipes!
-
- Chocolate Donut with Cookie Dough Frosting
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- Gingerbread Donuts
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- The BEST Lemon Donuts
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- Healthy Breakfast Donuts
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- Pumpkin Donuts with a Honey Glaze
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- Vanilla Pudding Donuts
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- Chocolate Orange Donuts
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- Grain Free Blueberry Donuts with Coconut Glaze
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- Maple Bacon Donuts
Lisa Bryan
Finally a donut that’s healthy to eat! Haha. Love all the ingredients in this though – yum!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you are excited about these donuts. My kids love them for breakfast 🙂
Sharon
What a wonderful way to start the day! These donuts are good and good for you, I love that.
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Sharon 🙂
Morgan B. Eisenberg
Healthy doughnuts? UHM YES PLEASE. These look so amazing!
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Morgan 🙂
Heidy L. McCallum
What are great GF recipe to try out on the kids. I bet they would love it.
Sandi Gaertner
Donuts rule in our house LOL. Kids are so funny.
Helen of Fuss Free Flavours
Donuts for breakfast, and with no guilt! Such a good idea, and they do sound very tasty indeed. Great that you can make variants and nice and easy to make.
Sandi Gaertner
My kids definitely thought I was crazy when I first served donuts for breakfast 🙂
Dannii
Donuts for breakfast? Sign me up! I can just imagine my daughters face if I Serves these up for breakfast.
Sandi Gaertner
LOL, she will love you for it Dannii 🙂
Valentina
Yum. I will definitely try these for my GF son, and I’m certain he’ll LOVE them!
Sandi Gaertner
I hope he likes these as much as my kids do Valentina 🙂
Natalie
Donuts for breakfast? Yes please! These look so delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Natalie 🙂
Brian Jones
They look fantastic, not sure I can get my head around sweet stuff for breakfast, no matter how healthy, but they look great for a mid morning snack 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
LOL, sweets in the morning are hard for me…but these don’t taste crazy sweet so I love making them.
Kara
Hi!. Wondering if there is a sub for flaxseed? I told my boys I’d make doughnuts for breakfast and these looks awesome!
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Kara, I would think you could use more almond flour to substitute for the flaxseed. Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Lana
These look amazing! Unfortunately I can’t get my kids to eat raisins mixed into other foods… any thoughts on a substitute? I know raisins help to sweeten it.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Lana, feel free to substitute dried apricots or any other dried fruit. Have a great morning :-).
Chantel
Is there a sub for the eggs?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Chantel,
I haven’t tried any substitution. If you do, please stop back and let us know what you tried. Your experience could help other readers 🙂
SaraLiz
I baked my donuts in a half-dozen pan this morning and they came out great! (325 for maybe 20 min?). I had some extra batter so I tossed it in the waffle iron just to compare. It turned out great either way, but the waffles will give you the crisp outside with the soft inside, while the donuts were moist and soft. So it’s personal preference. Either way, a great recipe and everyone loved.
(I did make two substitutions: I was out of applesauce, so I used one of my kids’ blueberry/pair/purple carrot pouches and I used dried blueberries instead of raisins)
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much for writing about your experience making these in a donut pan. This will help a lot of my readers 🙂
Andi
These are sooo good! We made them in a finite pan (350 x 15-17 min), added a little cinnamon and vanilla and made a tofutti cream cheese icing (tofutti, maple syrup, and vanilla) because we are dairy free. My 5 year old loved them! Thank you!
Sandi Gaertner
Wow, thank you so much for letting us know your experience using a donut pan. They sound absolutely delicious with the tofutti 🙂
Jodi
Thanks for the yummy recipe! I don’t use non-stick cookware. I hope someone tries a donut pan and shares!
Sandi Gaertner
If I hear back I will let you know Jodi 🙂
Catherine
Dear Sandi, now all I would need is a cup of coffee! Sounds like a perfect way to start the day to me! xo, Catherine
Sandi Gaertner
I hope you like it Catherine 🙂
Heather C.
I’m wondering if anyone has had luck with this recipe in a “donut pan”? I’m curious what the baking temp/time might be (since I don’t have an electric donut maker)
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Heather, I know several people were going to try this, but I haven’t heard any feedback. If you try it, I would spray the pan with coconut oil so the edges crisp a bit. Please let me know how they turn out.
Tiffany
Would you recommend a substitute for the almond flour? TIA:-)
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Tiffany, almond flour behaves very differently from flour. I would recommend you sub 1/4 of additional flour blend to make up for the 1/2 cup almond meal. Please let me know how that turns out. Thank you so much for writing.
Flynn | Gluten-Free Diet
Breakfast is key to starting the day in a balanced way. As a vegan I am avoiding meat and fish or any dairy foods. And because of this my imagination was activated and I started cooking different kind of foods without the prerenced of dairy stuff.
Renee
These are incredible. I do not have a donut maker or pan so I decided to make them in my Belgium waffle iron. I made 1/2 of recipe exactly as above and the other 1/2 I added cinnamon. I like them either way. Keeping this recipe. Thank you.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Renee,
I am so glad you liked this recipe. Your note made my day and I appreciate your taking the time to stop by and leave a comment 🙂
Raia
I think I need these. Yep, I do. Thanks so much for sharing them at Savoring Saturdays! I’m going to feature them at this weekend’s party. 🙂
Robyne
Can these be frozen
Sandi Gaertner
That is a great question. Donuts don’t last long enough in our house, but given the ingredients, I would say yes….you may want to put it in a toaster oven for a few minutes so it gets the crispy outside again after you defrost it.
Ali Williams
Oh Sandi, there’s just nothing better than a gluten free doughnut is there? These look scrumptious. If you’re interested we would love to have you link the up to Savoring Saturdays! Have a wonderful day 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you Ali, would be happy to 🙂
Kathy
And if we don’t have the donut maker, what do you think of muffins pan?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Kathy, I haven’t thought to try a muffin pan. Please let me know if you give it a try and how they turn out.
Lauren @ Create Bake Make
You’ve certainly created my idea of the perfect treat, LOVE that these are good for you. I can’t wait to make them for my boys.
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you Lauren 🙂
Elle @ Only Taste Matters
I have to admit when I read the title, I laughed. A healthy donut? It seemed funny to me, like jumbo shrimp. But you did it! That is one healthy yet delicious looking donu1. What is the icing though? I assume that isn’t healthy but it looks too good for me to care.
Sandi Gaertner
LOL, the icing is more for show…but it was a guaranteed way to get my kids to try them after I accidentally said the word healthy to them. It is a Wilton’s squeezable icing.