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    Home Recipes Donut Recipes

    Dairy Free Gluten Free Lemon Donuts

    Published: Mar 14, 2018 · Modified: Apr 19, 2021 by Sandi Gaertner · 99 Comments · As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Lemon gluten free donuts are the perfect homemade baked donuts to make for breakfast or brunch, and these gluten free lemon donuts are dairy-free too! This easy gluten free donuts recipe is quick; the little lemon donuts are ready to eat in under 20 minutes.

    Several stacks of iced lemon donuts.
    Jump to:
    • Why these donuts are great:
    • Ingredient notes:
    • Variations:
    • Recipe step-by-step directions:
    • Donut pan baking instructions:
    • Tips and Recipe FAQ:
    • Reader Raves:
    • More gluten free donut recipes:
    • 📖 Recipe
    • Gluten Free Lemon Donuts
    • Fearless Dining
    • 💬 Comments

    Lemon gluten free donuts are the snack my kids love when they get home from school. Drizzle icing on top, or eat these lemon gluten free donuts plain! They are bursting with delicious lemon flavor!

    Just look at those little lemon gluten free donuts, and you can see how moist and delicious they are!

    If you love donuts as much as we do, you will check out my BEST gluten free donut recipes!

    My gluten free lemon tart recipe and my gluten free lemon bundt cake recipes are other great ways to use up those lemons :-). A delicious breakfast addition would be these gluten free lemon poppy seed muffins.

    Why these donuts are great:

    These moist and delicious gluten free donuts are so quick and easy to make with this Babycakes Mini Donut Maker. From start to finish, we had little lemon donuts in under 15 minutes!! If you don't have a donut maker, I include directions for baking in the oven!

    I love to make these donuts for kids. This easy gluten-free donuts recipe is much less guilty because I used applesauce to keep these gluten-free doughnuts super moist and reduce the sugar in this recipe.

    For even more delicious lemon desserts, check out my Gluten Free Lemon Desserts roundup!

    Top Pick
    King Arthur, Measure for Measure Flour 3 lbs
    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 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 have not tested other flours.
    • Almond flour - helps add some protein, so there isn't a big sugar crash after eating one or two of these....(okay, maybe more like four or five. These are hard to resist!)
    • If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
    • Non-dairy milk - I used almond milk, but other dairy-free kinds of milk will work. I do not recommend canned coconut milk.

    Variations:

    The beauty of this recipe is that you can easily customize the flavor.

    • Omit the lemon, and you have a delicious vanilla donut.
    • Add white chocolate chips.
    • Add blueberries or raspberries, which would taste delicious with this lemon donut.

    Recipe step-by-step directions:

    Photos of the lemon donuts steps 1 and 2.

    Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend.

    Step 2: In a smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients and whisk to blend.

    Lemon donuts photos of steps 3 and 4.

    Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until "just barely mixed." This will help keep your donuts light and fluffy.

    Step 4: Preheat your donut maker. Add batter to each donut section when the light indicates it is hot. Close the lid and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the cooked donuts to a rack to cool.

    Step 5: Allow the donuts to cool completely. Drizzle icing over the donuts, or dip in white chocolate.

    Donut pan baking instructions:

    I get this question a lot from my readers. I tend to use this little donut maker in most of my donut recipes. It is easy to use, making my donuts taste like they were fried...but they aren't!

    It takes about 5 minutes to bake donuts in a donut maker. If you prefer to use a donut pan, bake these gluten free lemon donuts at 350º F for 20 minutes. Remove the donuts from the pan onto a cooling rack.

    A single Gluten Free Lemon Donut with a bite taken out so you can see how light and fluffy the inside is.

    Tips and Recipe FAQ:

    I suggest spraying the donut pan or donut maker with a little coconut oil so the outside of the donut gets a little crispy.

    Can you make this recipe nut-free?

    You can easily make this gluten free lemon donut recipe nut-free! To make these NUT FREE, instead of the almond flour, add ¼ extra gluten free flour blend.

    Can you make them dairy-free?

    This recipe is naturally dairy-free. You can create a delicious dairy-free donut glaze by mixing 2 cups of powdered sugar with ¼ cup of almond milk.

    Can you use coconut sugar or another low-glycemic sweetener instead of sugar?

    You can definitely use coconut sugar in this gluten free lemon donut recipe. Note your donuts will be more of a brown color as coconut sugar is dark like brown sugar. To make a sugar-free lemonade drizzle, use honey with a small amount of lemon juice.

    The top view of lemon donuts.

    Reader Raves:

    A photo of reader Ann M's finished lemon donuts.
    Here is a photo of reader Ann M's finished lemon donuts.

    These were very good. Didn't have applesauce so used vanilla yogurt. Added a teaspoon of agar-agar. Used Monk fruit as sweetener. Drizzled with honey and lemon mixture."

    Rachel St. M, Pinterest user.

    More gluten free donut recipes:

    • Donuts on a rack with an icing drizzle.
      Guilt Free Gluten Free Donuts {Dairy-Free}
    • Gluten Free Banana Donuts with Chocolate Coconut Walnuts
    • A stack of three gluten free beignets.
      How to Make Perfectly Fluffy Gluten Free Beignets
    • A stack of three hot cocoa donuts.
      Easy Gluten Free Hot Chocolate Donuts

    📖 Recipe

    stacks of lemon donuts

    Gluten Free Lemon Donuts

    Sandi Gaertner
    One bite and you will be hooked on these delicious gluten free lemon donuts! They are full of fresh lemon flavor.
    4.80 from 39 votes
    dairy free allergen icon
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    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
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    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 25 minutes mins
    Course Gluten Free Dessert Recipes
    Cuisine American
    Servings 18 donuts
    Calories 167 kcal

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

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 ¼ cup gluten free flour blend * see note
    • ¾ cup almond flour * see note
    • ¾ cup sugar
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 2 large eggs
    • ½ cup applesauce
    • ⅔ cup coconut oil melted
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • ½ cup almond milk * see note

    Instructions
     

    • In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and whisk together to blend.
    • In a medium bowl, add all wet ingredients and whisk.
    • Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
    • Preheat the Babycakes Mini Donut Maker.
    • Put a little dough into each section of the donut maker.
    • Cook for 5 minutes until done.
    • Remove and put onto cooling rack.
    • Ice, frost, or eat plain.

    Oven Baking:

    • Preheat your oven to 350º F. Add your donut batter to a donut pan. Bake 20-22 minutes until the donuts are baked.

    Notes

    1. I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. 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. I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
    4. I used almond milk but other dairy-free kinds of milk will work but I do not recommend canned coconut milk. I used ½ cup, but starchier gluten free flour blends may need more milk.
    5. These will donuts 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: 167kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 38mgPotassium: 36mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 28IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 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.

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    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. MG

      July 19, 2023 at 12:29 pm

      5 stars
      Had everything for these and hadn’t used the donut maker I inherited from my grandma yet. Yum! I did have some blueberries I need to finish up, so lemon blueberry donuts for a morning snack. I offered to glaze them, but Hubs preferred them plain.

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        July 19, 2023 at 12:50 pm

        I love you added blueberries. I saw you post the photo of the donuts you made with this recipe, they looked so good!

        Reply
    2. Toni

      July 10, 2022 at 3:49 pm

      When making nut free, you say (in two places) to substitute "1/4 extra" of the gluten free flour in place of the almond flour. Does that mean "1/4 CUP extra"?

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        July 11, 2022 at 1:47 pm

        Hi Toni, you add 1/4 additional flour blend and omit the almond flour.

        Reply
    3. Laura

      April 08, 2022 at 11:47 am

      Where is the milk in this recipe? I don't see it in the ingredients, but you mention it in the notes and also in some of the comments.

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        April 09, 2022 at 9:46 am

        Hi Laura, You will need 1/2 cup of milk or non-dairy milk. Thank you!

        Reply
    4. Dawn

      December 04, 2021 at 7:45 am

      If we wanted to try these as a vegan Donut, do you have any suggestions on replacing the eggs?

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        December 04, 2021 at 8:57 am

        I would recommend Bob's Egg Replacer powder...I used it in this vegan donut recipe: https://www.fearlessdining.com/amazing-gluten-free-egg-free-vanilla-donuts/ I would mirror it and add the lemon juice/zest.

        Reply
        • Dawn

          December 05, 2021 at 7:03 am

          Great, thank you for the feedback. We will let you know how they turn out. 🙂

    5. liza

      May 01, 2021 at 10:13 am

      Do you have to use the almond flour, or can you use all Bob's Red Mill?

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        May 01, 2021 at 10:18 am

        Hi Liza, you can make them nut-free, but you need to use less flour than the almond flour quantity. Almond flour absorbs a lot less moisture. To make these NUT FREE, instead of the almond flour, add ¼ extra gluten free flour blend.

        Reply
      • Ariel Van Ness

        January 20, 2022 at 10:19 pm

        First off, just a quick "housekeeping note", your actual recipe lists almond MEAL for the ingredient, but the Amazon link, and the footnote, both refer to/strongly suggest using almond FLOUR, NOT almond meal. So that might be worth fixing on the recipe, so as not to confuse readers/cause any problems for those who might skip the footnotes. 🥰

        Secondly, We loved these donuts! We did replace the coconut oil with avocado, (with three littles and no microwave, taking the time to melt the coconut oil on stove/oven, and then wait for it to cool a bit so as not to fry the eggs in the batter, is just not going to happen. 🤦🏻‍♀️) so the batter was on the runnier side. Because of this, we had to fiddle around with the time/temp a bit to find out what worked best, and the *ahem* 2nd, 3rd, or 4th batch we made, we did skimp a bit on the liquid ingredients/added a smidge more flour to help with the batter consistency... so we're still tweaking to find the best way to use the recipe with avocado oil, but overall, they were super yummy! 😋 TIP: If you LOVE lemon like we do, adding several drops of lemon essential oil really helps punch up the lemon flavor.

        Reply
        • Sandi Gaertner

          January 21, 2022 at 11:46 am

          Hi Ariel, thanks for the housekeeping note. I will check that. As for the avocado oil, it shouldn't be any different than the coconut oil. What gluten free flour blend are you using? The starchier mixes tend to turn out more liquidy than others. My guess is that is your problem, not the fact that you are using avocado oil.

    6. Kiki

      April 22, 2021 at 5:01 pm

      Wow! So easy! So good! Thank you for this amazing recipe!

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        April 22, 2021 at 6:55 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed them Kiki 🙂

        Reply
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