If you love gluten free desserts, these gluten free vanilla donuts are going to make your mouth water! Full of vanilla flavor, you will be hooked on these baked vanilla pudding donuts.
Moist and delicious with a bit of crispiness on the outside...you will want to make these donuts again and again!
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Every now and then I just NEED gluten free donuts. Nobody in my family seemed to mind helping me out with this problem.
These gluten free vanilla pudding donuts are just the bomb. There are a few words to describe how good they are. These gluten free vanilla donuts are that good!!
They are moist but crispy around the edges, and bursting with yummy vanilla flavors...they are definitely memorable.
And if you are a true vanilla lover, you need to try this Simple 3 Ingredient French Vanilla Mousse too!
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.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Pudding mix - I used Jello brand vanilla pudding mix, cook style. Always check the ingredients to make sure the pudding mix you choose is gluten free!
How to use pudding mix in baking:
The secret to this moist, delicious gluten free vanilla donut recipe is in the pudding. It adds a whole new level of yumminess to this simple gluten free donut recipe. I used pudding mix in this gluten free vanilla raspberry bundt cake recipe and it is so good!
A note about the pudding I used. I used regular pudding and not the instant mix. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I wanted to let you know so you knew what to shop for on your next trip to the grocery store.
I received a message from a reader who lives abroad and I didn't realize you can't get pudding mix in many countries. If this is the case for you, or if you would like to make your own homemade DIY pudding mix I am recommending this recipe because it is naturally gluten free. I recommend adding a ⅓ cup to this recipe.
Recipe step by step directions:
Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend.
Step 2: In a smaller bowl, add your wet ingredients and mix well.
Step 3: Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix. Try not to overmix the batter, just mix until barely mixed. This will make your donuts a bit fluffier.
Step 4: Add your donut batter to the preheated donut maker, or see below for detailed instructions to bake them in a donut pan.
How do you use a donut maker?
I know I talk about my donut maker a lot. (I see that Babycakes redesigned their donut maker so it looks a little different than this. Both work the same. This is what I use to make donuts. Luckily, these are not fried so they are a lot healthier to eat 🙂
TIP: Spray a little coconut oil on the donut maker so it makes the outside of the donuts a little crispy, just like they were fried.
This donut maker will cook your donuts in just 4-5 minutes!
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:
Jello brand pudding mix is gluten free. You can also use Simply Delish or Vivian's brand, which is also dairy-free.
You can definitely use a donut pan to make this gluten free vanilla donut recipe. I highly recommend spraying it with coconut oil for a little crisp to the outside of the donuts. Bake the donuts for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.
These gluten free vanilla donuts will keep 2-3 days in an airtight container...but note they will soften and lose their slightly crisp outsides.
Yes, you can easily freeze these donuts. I toss them into a freezer ziplock bag and freeze them. Note they will lose their crispy outsides when freezing. To thaw the donuts, just take them out of the freezer and let them warm to room temperature...though my kids will eat them frozen too!
Decorate the donuts with icing or melted white chocolate. Add rainbow sprinkles. Check out what brands of sprinkles are gluten free. Many are made on shared equipment with wheat.
While you are here, check out The BEST Gluten Free Donuts Recipes on my blog!
More gluten free donuts to try:
- Don't tell the kids these gluten free donuts are healthy! Healthy Gluten Free Breakfast Donuts are that good!
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Donuts are made for peanut butter lovers!
- If you love pumpkin and spice, these ahhhmazing Gluten Free Pumpkin Donuts are so good, eat them all year long!
- Gluten Free Banana (aka Chunky Monkey) Donuts are full of ripe banana, chocolate, and nuts!
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📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Vanilla Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 box vanilla pudding * see note
- ½ cup almond flour * see note
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter 1 stick
- dash salt
- Icing sprinkles, etc. (I used Wilton brand)
Instructions
- Preheat the Babycakes donut maker.
- In a mixer, add wet ingredients and mix on low speed.
- Gradually add in flour, pudding, sugar, and salt.
- Continue to mix on low speed until blended.
- Spoon batter into each donut cup in the donut maker.
- Cook 3-4 minutes until done.
- Remove from the donut maker onto a cooling rack.
- When cool, drizzle with icing.
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.
- These donuts will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
- You can bake them in a donut pan. Just add the batter to a greased donut pan and bake at 350º F for 20 minutes until done.
- You can easily freeze these donuts. I toss them into a freezer ziplock bag and freeze them. Note they will lose their crispy outsides when freezing. To thaw the donuts, just take them out of the freezer and let them warm to room temperature...though my kids will eat them frozen too!
Nutrition
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(* This post was updated from an older May 2018 post with more details on making this recipe.)
Beth
Hi there!
Super excited to try this recipe! We have a donut fryer and are looking for a gluten free donut recipe that will work with it. Do you think this recipe would be ok for a fryer?
Thank you so much!
Sandi Gaertner
When you say fryer, do you mean hot oil and not a donut maker? This batter isn't thick enough to hold a donut shape for frying. I haven't tried this but you could experiment and add extra flour. You could also use my fried gf jelly donut recipe but cut the donuts as circle donut shapes instead of round filled.
Ms Ali
Hi, I live in a country where the pudding mix isn’t available, any substitutes you can advice on.
Thankyou!
Sandi Gaertner
I did a quick search and found this recipe so you can make your own. I can't put links in comments so I will add it to the pudding section of the post for you.