Healthy Pumpkin Cake Donuts - Gluten Free
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These 30-minute baked Healthy Pumpkin Cake Donuts are moist and fluffy and just so happen to be gluten free & dairy free too! Make a batch of the best pumpkin donuts for your next fall get together or even bake them over the weekend as a healthy treat for your kids.
I developed this recipe since I wanted to have a healthy pumpkin flavored snack ready in the freezer for my postpartum journey. They're easy to defrost on the counter, pack tons of flavor and are made with healthy ingredients!
If you love pumpkin recipes, try my Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread; it's so good! As a trained chef, I also have dozens of others gluten free dessert recipes that are easy to make & you will love!
What I love about these healthy pumpkin donuts
- Only 15 minutes of prep time! Between prep and baking these donuts are ready within 30 minutes.
- Made with healthy gluten free ingredients - filled with oat flour, almond flour, cashew butter and more delicious nutritious ingredients!
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Perfect sweet school snack!
- Super light and fluffy - won't leave you feeling overly full like a regular fried donut.
Jump to:
What makes these donuts healthy?
- Made with coconut oil instead of butter!
- Baked, not fried like your average donut.
- "Hidden" healthy ingredients such as cashew butter, oat flour and almond flour.
Ingredients
Here are notes on some of the key ingredients in this recipe -
- Gluten free flours include Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour, almond flour and oat flour - this flour combination yields super soft and fluffy donuts!
- Baking soda and baking powder - to help the donuts rise
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt - the perfect set of spices to give these donuts that classic pumpkin spice flavor.
- Refined coconut oil - I choose "refined" coconut oil so it doesn't have a strong coconut flavor.
- Light brown sugar and maple syrup - Gives these donuts just the right amount of sweetness.
- Vanilla extract - Nearly every baked good needs it!
- Canned pumpkin puree - Be sure to buy the "pure" version and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Oat milk- any milk will work here!
- Egg - Provides structure & a bit of protein to the donut.
- Cashew butter - Has a mild flavor and adds healthy fat.
Find the full list of recipe ingredients and instructions in the recipe card found at the bottom of this post.
Recipe Method
Prep the oven and baking dish - Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 6-count donut pan with cooking spray.
Mix the dry ingredients - In a medium-large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, oat flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.
Mix the wet ingredients - In a bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the coconut oil and brown sugar until fluffy. Then, add the maple syrup, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, oat milk, egg and cashew butter.
Add dry to wet - Add all the dry ingredients into the mixer bowl and whisk until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
Fill the donut pan - Transfer the batter to a piping bag and snip off the end (or use a gallon ziplock). Pipe half of the batter into the donut pan.
Bake the donuts - Bake the donuts for 16-18 minutes until they look set and cakey, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Dip in cinnamon sugar mixture - Let the donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip onto the wire rack to cool for another 8-10 minutes. Once donuts are partially cooled, dip each donut into the cinnamon-sugar mixture until well coated.
Tips for recipe success
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature to ensure even mixing! If the coconut oil is cold or the egg is cold, it can cause the batter to mix unevenly and won't result in a smooth batter.
- Make sure the donuts are slightly cooled before dipping in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to ensure that they don't fall apart when too warm.
- Store donuts in a ziplock bag or container on the counter for 3-4 days. You can also easily freeze these donuts in a freezer safe ziplock for up to 3 months.
Yield
This donut recipe makes 12 baked donuts. I only have 1 donut pan (with 6 cavities), so I need to bake them in 2 batches, but you can easily buy 2 donut pans and bake all 12 donuts at once!
Best ingredient swaps
- Oat milk - You can use any other kind of milk such as a nondairy almond milk or rice milk, or even dairy milk works!
- Light brown sugar - For an even healthier donut, swap the brown sugar with coconut sugar.
Recipe FAQ
Sorry, but no! This recipe needs to use canned pure pumpkin puree for optimal results. Canned pumpkin pie filling has many other ingredients added and would greatly change the flavor and texture of these donuts.
I like to use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour in this recipe, along with oat flour and almond flour. Don't only use one type of flour otherwise the texture won't turn out right; all 3 are needed.
More recipes you may love!
Looking for other gluten free dessert recipes like this? Try these:
Healthy Pumpkin Cake Donuts - Gluten Free
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 6-count donut pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or with handheld electric beaters), beat the coconut oil and brown sugar for 1-2 minutes or until creamy.
- Add the maple syrup, vanilla, pumpkin puree, oat milk, egg and cashew butter. Beat for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl down as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- Transfer the batter to a large piping bag and cut off the end (or place into a gallon ziplock bag). Pipe half of the batter into the donut pan cavities.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- While the donuts bake, mix together the cinnamon-sugar mixture in a medium shallow bowl.
- Transfer the pan of baked donut pan to a wire cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes before turning the pan over to remove the donuts from the pan. Let donuts cool for 8-10 minutes. When donuts are still a bit warm, dip them into the cinnamon-sugar mixture until evenly coated. Let cool completely.
- Fill the now-empty baking pan with the remaining batter and bake as directed above. Repeat with cooling & cinnamon-sugar steps as directed above.
Test Kitchen Notes
- Note on nutrition calories - I only accounted for 3 tablespoon of the cane sugar in the nutritional information since there will realistically be leftover cinnamon-sugar mixture left in the bowl at the end that doesn't get used.
- Oat milk - can swap with almond milk or any other milk of choice.
- My donuts baked perfectly at 17 minutes, but every oven is different.
- Storage - Store donuts in a container or ziplock on the counter for 3-4 days, or freeze in a freezer-safe ziplock for up to 3 months.
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