You are going to love my new guilt-free donut recipe! Imagine delicious baked gluten free donuts that taste like dessert! This is a gluten free breakfast donuts recipe with zero guilt! I also include a vegan egg-free version!
Donuts for breakfast?? Absolutely not! Donuts have a bad rap. Sugary, sweet, fried, and unhealthy….but oh so delicious. Kids will love getting mom-approved donuts for breakfast! They also freeze well so that you can have donuts any time.
After making Gluten Free Apple Cider Donuts earlier in the week, my kids have begged me to make more. I decided to attempt a breakfast donut recipe that is made with wholesome ingredients that any mom would feel good giving in to their kids for breakfast.
These gluten free donuts are also dairy-free and refined sugar-free too. Will your kids know these are healthy donuts? Not unless you tell them!
Check out my donut recipes in The Best Gluten Free Donut Recipes post.
Allergen Information:
This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free.
- Make these donuts nut-free by omitting the almond flour and adding 1/3 cup additional gluten free flour blend. Make sure to use a different milk that isn’t almond or nut-based.
- Make these donuts egg-free (vegan) using Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer. Other brands, like Just Egg, may work; I haven’t tested them.
Made these today as muffins (baked 26 minutes). Followed the recipe except I substituted 3/4 cup honey for the maple syrup. Intolerance issue. Added walnuts and no raisins. Turned out amazing
Helen H., Facebook“
If you are new to gluten free, I have a ton of great gluten free resources to help you navigate all aspects of gluten free living.
This is one of my favorite gluten-free flour blends for cookies, cakes, pie crust, biscuits, and muffins! (Do not use this flour blend for yeast recipes.)
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Baking Powder – Use aluminum-free.
- Rolled Oats – Be sure to use certified gluten free oats in this donut recipe with oats.
- Shredded Coconut – Use unsweetened.
- Almond Flour – I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
- Chia Seeds – Stealth protein!
- Flaxseed Meal – Full of omega 3s!
- Raisins – They add just the right amount of sweetness.
- Non-Dairy Milk – I used almond milk, but any plant-based milk works.
- Eggs – Use size large eggs.
- Applesauce – Use plain or cinnamon flavored.
- Maple Syrup – Use pure maple syrup.
- Coconut Oil – You can also use other types of oil.
- Raisins
Tips For Sucess
1. Do not overmix your donut batter. I do not recommend using a stand mixer to make this recipe.
2. Every flour blend has a different grain-to-starch ratio. This can affect how much liquid you need. Adjust the wet and dry ingredients, so they look like my photos below.
Flavor Variations:
- Add dried cranberries or blueberries instead of raisins to this gluten free donut recipe with almond flour.
- 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!
Step-By-Step Directions:
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
Step 2: In a smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients and mix. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix them into a batter.
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 nutritious ingredients.
Note this photo of the batter in the donut maker is from my pumpkin donuts recipe. I forgot to snap a photo of the donut batter cooking, but I thought it was important to show you a picture to see all the steps to make these.
I love making donuts in this BabyCakes Donut Maker. It is so easy to use, and the donuts cook in just 3 minutes. Clean-up is easy too!
Step 4: If you make these donuts in a donut maker, it will take 5-8 minutes per batch.
Step 5: If baking these in a donut pan, you will need to bake for 20-25 minutes at 350º F (depending on how high you fill the donut sections in the pan. You can also bake them as muffins!
Recipe FAQ:
As a result of the thicker batter, these breakfast donuts take a bit longer to cook in the donut maker, but they are still moist and flavorful.
These donuts will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container or in a zip-style freezer bag for up to 4 months in the freezer.
Thaw the donuts in the microwave oven for 30 seconds or leave them on the counter for 30 minutes.
More Gluten Free Donuts Recipes:
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Include which flour blend you used. This helps others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Healthy Breakfast Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- ½ cup almond flour * see note
- ¼ cup gluten free oats * see note
- ½ cup lightly sweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup ground flaxmeal
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- dash salt
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup melted coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons water
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- In a medium bowl, add all wet ingredients and mix well.
- Plug in the Babycakes Donut Maker to heat.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well.
- 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.
- Spray coconut oil into donut sections of donut maker.
- Add a spoon full of dough into each donut section in the donut maker.
- Close the lid and cook for 4-5 minutes until done.
- Move to cooling rack.
For A Donut Pan:
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Add the donut batter to a piping bag or sandwich baggie with the corner removed.
- Pipe into a greased donut pan.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the donut pan.)
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. 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.
- I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
- Be sure to use certified gluten free oats.
- To make this recipe nut-free, omit the almond flour and substitute an additional 1/4 cup gluten free flour blend.
- These donuts will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
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.
This post was updated from an old May 2017 post with more recipe details.
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.
Hi Lana, feel free to substitute dried apricots or any other dried fruit. Have a great morning :-).
Is there a sub for the eggs?
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 🙂
Can you use chickpea liquid from a can and beat them for a few minutes?
Hi Connie, I have never used chickpea liquid so I am not sure how to advise you other than to request you send an update if you try it. I am sure other readers probably wonder this as well. Thank you!
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)
Thank you so much for writing about your experience making these in a donut pan. This will help a lot of my readers 🙂
Thanks so much! I was reading comments to find out time and temp in the oven. Your substitutions sound amazing!
Lots of subs for picky kids/lack of ingredients- I made these with cashew meal (ground up cashews in food processor) because I didn’t have almond flour. I put the oats in the food processor so they couldnt be detected by the picky kids. I also used 1/2 butter, 1/4 applesauce, 1/4 coconut oil, to sub the coconut oil so the coconut flavor wouldn’t be so strong. Also, I used 1/2 honey, and 1/2 syrup bc we were running low. We also, left out the raisins so the kids would be more likely to eat the donuts and not pick them out. We baked in the oven with the donut pan at 350 for 12 minutes and they were perfect. So good and moist and i think with a little glaze they will be devoured by the little monsters. I will likely be cleaning up still by the time they are gone 🙂
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!
Wow, thank you so much for letting us know your experience using a donut pan. They sound absolutely delicious with the tofutti 🙂
Thanks for the yummy recipe! I don’t use non-stick cookware. I hope someone tries a donut pan and shares!
If I hear back I will let you know Jodi 🙂
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
I hope you like it Catherine 🙂
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)
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.
I used a donut pan this weekend. I made a dozen donuts with this recipe however I could have easily been a little more frugal with the batter and made 18. 350 degrees for 17 minutes. Turned out perfectly.
I am so glad you liked this recipe. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know 🙂
Would you recommend a substitute for the almond flour? TIA:-)
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.
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.
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.
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 🙂
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. 🙂
Can these be frozen
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.
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 🙂
Thank you Ali, would be happy to 🙂
And if we don’t have the donut maker, what do you think of muffins pan?
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.
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.
Thank you Lauren 🙂
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.
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.