If you love hot cocoa as I do, wait until you try these Gluten Free Hot Chocolate Donuts! They make a delicious winter treat! These mini donuts are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, just like the donuts you had before going gluten free! Even better? These little donuts are ready in about 20 minutes!

A stack of three hot cocoa donuts.

We are getting a lot of holiday baking done early this year…I have been testing out fun recipes each week, and my kids tell me which recipes are worth making for the blog!

These cookies are both perfect for dipping in hot cocoa! They love these Gluten Free Chocolate Mint Madeleines dipped, too! These cookies are both perfect for dipping in hot cocoa!

The top view looking down at a stack of donuts.

Why Make These Donuts:

  1. These delicious donuts are like a comforting mug of hot cocoa but in solid form. I am a hot cocoa lover, and by including hot cocoa powder in the donut batter, these little gluten free hot chocolate donuts have the same flavors!
  2. Make them in 20 minutes!
  3. They freeze well, so you can enjoy them anytime!

Dip them into melted chocolate and top with mini marshmallows! If you are a donut fanatic like us, you will want to check out all of my Gluten Free Donut Recipes!!

Allergen Information:

These donuts are gluten-free and soy-free. See the Substitution section below for nut-free and dairy-free options.

Top Pick
King Arthur, Measure for Measure Flour 3 lbs

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.)

Buy Now
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

Ingredient Notes:

  • Gluten Free Flour Blend – 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.
  • Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t
  • Almond Flour – I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
  • Hot Cocoa Powder – several brands are gluten free. I suggest Hershey’s or Swiss Miss for this recipe.
  • Unsalted Butter
  • Cocoa Powder – most brands are gluten free. I like Anthony’s and Ghirardelli’s brands best.

Substitutions:

  • Make this recipe nut-free: Use non-dairy milk that doesn’t contain nuts, like rice or coconut milk. Next, omit the almond flour and add an additional ½ cup gluten free flour blend. Note depending on your flour blend, you may need to add more liquid.
  • Make this recipe dairy-free: Use plant-based butter and ensure your hot cocoa is dairy-free. Also, note that Cup4Cup brand flour has dried milk powder.
Top Pick
Babycakes Donut Maker, Mini

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!

Buy Now
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:

Step by step recipe photos making the donuts.

Step 1: Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl. I used a lot of almond flour in my donut recipe. I like that the protein helps balance out the sugars in these donuts.

🔑 Sandi says: If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t include xanthan gum, make sure you add one teaspoon!

Step 2: Combine the wet ingredients into a semi-thick batter.

Step 3: Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix.

Step 4: Add the donut batter to a BabyCakes Donut Maker. (*Note: I have an older model of BabyCakes Donut Maker. The newer ones make 4 donuts at a time.)

Step 5: Allow the gluten free donuts to cool. Once cool, dip each donut in melted dark chocolate. Add your favorite sprinkles and the little marshmallows for decoration!

Donut Maker vs Donut Pan

If you don’t have a donut maker, you can easily bake these donuts in a donut pan. I like to use this donut maker because it makes the outsides of the donuts slightly crispy and delicious.

Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:

What chocolate is best for dipping the donuts in?

I used these dark chocolate melting wafers to dip my donuts in, but you can also melt chocolate chips or shake things up and use white chocolate!

How do you store gluten free donuts?

These donuts will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.

Which Sprinkles Are Gluten Free?

There are many brands of gluten free sprinkles out there, but some, including a very popular brand, use shared equipment. If you are Celiac or very sensitive to gluten, try one of these gluten free sprinkles brands:

Donuts stacked on a straw in a mug of hot cocoa.

Enjoy a cup of Rumchata Hot Chocolate with these donuts!

More Gluten Free Donut Recipes:

  1. Love ripe bananas? This Gluten Free Banana Donuts recipe is full of yummy banana flavor!
  2. These special Gluten Free Gingerbread Donuts are perfect for the holidays or year-round!
  3. You will LOVE this Gluten Free Jelly Donuts recipe (these are fried and filled with jelly!)
  4. No grain, no refined sugar…no problem with this Paleo Apple Cinnamon Donuts recipe.

Gluten Free Hot Chocolate Donuts

Sandi Gaertner
Easy gluten free hot chocolate donuts.
5 from 11 votes
gluten free allergy icon
soy free allergy icon
vegetarian icon
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Gluten Free Donut Recipes
Cuisine American
Servings 24 donuts
Calories 123 kcal

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup gluten free flour blend * see note
  • ¾ cup almond flour * see note
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • dash of salt
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup butter * see note
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • ½ cup hot cocoa powder (Any sweetened brand!)
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • ½ cup melting chocolate for dipping

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the BabyCakes Donut Maker. (If using an oven, preheat to 350º F.)
  • In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
  • Add eggs, melted butter, and almond milk to the dry ingredients and mix well.
  • Add a dollop of donut batter to each section in the donut maker. (If baking in a donut pan, add batter to each donut section.)
  • Cook in the donut maker for 3-5 minutes until done. (Bake in oven for 20 minutes.)
  • Melt dark chocolate in a bowl and microwave for 45 seconds to melt. Dip each donut into the melted chocolate.
  • Optional, add sprinkles.

Video

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
  3. Make sure to use a sweetened hot cocoa powder with this recipe.
  4. I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
  5. Other dairy-free kinds of milk will work but I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
  6. To make these donuts dairy-free, use vegan butter.
  7. These donuts will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight 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

Serving: 1gCalories: 123kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 75mgPotassium: 39mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 138IUCalcium: 37mgIron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @FearlessDining or tag #FearlessDining!

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 with more details from an older ½020 post.

(*This post was updated from an older 12/2018 post with more pictures and better step by step instructions.)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




20 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made these today and they were fantastic! Used the same flour amount as another person commented here since I didn’t have enough almond flour and they turned out well! very light and chocolatey. Yum!

  2. 5 stars
    This made my husband’s father’s day! My 9 year old son and I felt like we knocked it out of the park when we made these donuts tonight.
    Made these with my Dash Express Mini Donut Maker.
    I did a few substitutions and additions and added 1 step:
    Substituted 1 and 1/2 cups of Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 instead of almond flour.
    Substituted 3/4 cups of hot cocoa powder instead of 1/2 cup and adding cocoa powder (I searched for a hot chocolate-based recipe because I was out of cocoa powder 😅)
    Sifted sugar, flour, hot cocoa powder, and baking powder after mixing them together. I REALLY wanted to do whatever I could to make sure the donuts would be fluffy, and it worked!
    Added 1 teaspoon of imitation vanilla extract. My son insists no recipe is done without it and he was right.
    We also made icing by melting a Hershey kiss and half of a dark chocolate Cadbury bar (yep, all the solid chocolate in the pantry 🤣) and adding milk, hot cocoa powder, and confectioner’s sugar to make enough to cover most of the donuts.
    When we ran out of icing, we cinnamon-sugared the last batch of donuts and they were pretty great too!

  3. 5 stars
    Yep! These’ll do. I’ve been eyeballing this recipe for a while now and finally bought $12 Wilton donut pans on Amazon. They hold 12 donuts, and the molds are on the smaller side, so I ended up with a little extra batter that I threw into cupcake papers to bake. The donuts are awesome! I struggled a bit with dipping the chocolate but covered them in sprinkles to hide any delicious flaws. Thanks for posting this recipe! Can’t wait to try others.

  4. Is there a way to substitute the hot cocoa mix? Maybe adding more cocoa powder & sugar? We don’t have a dairy free mix and I want to try these soon! Thanks.

    1. Hi Christy, I am sure you can use cocoa and sugar, but I haven’t tried it so I am not sure what proportions to recommend. If you try it, please do come back and let us know how it turns out. I also have a delicious gluten free chocolate donut recipe on my blog.

  5. 5 stars
    Ahh that mini donut make is too cute! I think I need to find me one right now! I am so happy that there’s almond flour in this recipe too – I am starting to really enjoy things made with it lately! 🙂

    1. We love almond flour too Joyce. It helps balance out the sugar and it minimizes sugar-buzzed kids 🙂

  6. Sandi, these donuts look and sound amazing! I love that you included some of your fails….I’ve also had melted marshmallows a time or two. Oh well, at least they still taste amazing!

  7. The weather has really turned this week and it’s icy out there! Cuddling up with a warm hot chocolate and a few of these gorgeous little doughnuts is a very attractive prospect right now!