Gluten free lemon 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.

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! I love to make these donuts for the 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.

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.

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

Allergen Information:

This lemon donut recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free. You can easily make this gluten free lemon donut recipe nut-free! To make these nut-free, add ¼ extra gluten free flour blend instead of the almond flour.

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 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!)
  • Cane Sugar and Salt
  • Baking Powder and Soda- Use aluminum free baking powder.
  • Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add ¾ teaspoon.
  • Coconut Oil – Or another light oil.
  • Apple Sauce and Lemon Juice
  • Non-Dairy Milk – I used almond milk, but other dairy-free kinds of milk will work. Regular milk is also fine to use.

A Note About Gluten Free Flour

Every single gluten free flour blend has a different starch-to grain ratio. This affects the moisture level of what you are baking. If your batter seems runny, you will need to add more flour. If your donut batter is too dry, you will need to add more non-dairy 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.

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 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.

Recipe FAQ:

I suggest spraying the donut pan or donut maker with a little coconut oil or gluten-free baking spray so the outside of the donut gets a little crispy.

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.

How do you store leftover donuts?

Store the donuts in an airtight container. I recommend freezing the donuts if you don’t eat them within two days.

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 tsp of agar-agar. Used Monk fruit as sweetener. Drizzled with honey and lemon mixture.”

Rachel St. M, Pinterest user.

More Gluten Free Donut 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!

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
gluten free allergy icon
soy free allergy icon
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Gluten Free Dessert Recipes, Gluten Free Donut 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
  • 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.

Leave a Reply

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

Recipe Rating