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These made-from-scratch, baked Pumpkin Donuts are easy and versatile. Top them with one of the options below or your own favorites. Enjoy them as a snack, or pair them with some fresh fruit and Greek yogurt for a balanced breakfast.
Some mornings just require donuts. But when Autumn rolls around, you need a special kind of donut. A pumpkin donut!
Why You Should Make These Pumpkin Doughnuts
- These pumpkin donuts are a healthy alternative to greasy, carby, fried donuts.
- These are made with all-natural ingredients and no refined sugars or fats.
Should Donuts Be Baked Or Fried?
When you buy a donut in the store, it’s deep-fried. But when you make them at home, you have the option to bake them, making them a much healthier experience while still getting all the flavor you hope for.
Are Baked Donuts Better Than Fried?
In my opinion, baked donuts are much better than fried donuts. Not just because they are healthier but because they taste better when they aren’t saturated with all that grease.
Recipe Additions
If you want to play around with the flavor of these a bit, here are some suggestions:
- Instead of pumpkin spice, try ground cinnamon or ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, or a combination of any of those.
- If you don’t mind the extra calories, make a pumpkin cream cheese to spread over the top of these instead of the glaze. Or, you can simply dip your donuts into the cream cheese if that’s easier.
- Mix in about a half cup of finely chopped apple to the batter.
Recipe Tips For Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- If you use a silicone donut pan, make sure to set it on a baking sheet to make moving it in and out of the oven easier.
- You can add a little maple syrup to the glaze ingredients to get a maple glaze instead. One or two teaspoons should do the trick.
- If you prefer, use a mini muffin pan to make mini muffins instead of donuts.
About The Ingredients
Whole wheat flour – For the best results, use either whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour will work, but it will give you a denser, breadier donut.
Egg – Room temperature is best.
Unsweetened applesauce – No sugar added.
Pumpkin puree– Not pumpkin pie filling.
Plain Greek yogurt
Pumpkin pie spice – No sugar added.
Baking powder – Make sure it’s newer. Older powder doesn’t work as well.
Salt
Baking soda
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk– Or plain.
Pure vanilla extract
Stevia
Glaze
Whey protein powder– I used cinnamon swirl, but vanilla is fine, too.
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk– Or plain.
Pure vanilla extract
Stevia – To taste if needed
How To Make Pumpkin Donuts
Preheat oven to 350° F. Gather and measure all your ingredients.
Stir the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until you have a well-mixed batter.
Carefully spoon the batter into a doughnut pan. Don’t fill too high, or you won’t have a hole in the middle of your doughnut when they are done baking. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick pulls out clean.
Allow the donuts to cool. Cooling them on a wire rack is best.
For the glaze, simply whisk all the glaze ingredients together in a small mixing bowl and pour over the cooled donuts.
Let it dry a bit and serve.
Do Pumpkin Donuts Need To Be Refrigerated?
They do, yes. Store these in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezing
These freeze well. Wrap them well and store them in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Reheating
If you want to eat these warm, simply microwave them for a few seconds until warm. I don’t recommend warming these in the oven. They tend to dry out too much.
More Pumpkin Dessert Recipes
- Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Butter
- Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecake
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Pumpkin Donuts Recipe Card
Pumpkin Donuts Recipe
Recipe Notes: Another variation I've tried is using two egg whites instead of the whole egg and ¼ cup raw coconut crystals in place of the stevia. For the frosting we've also used nonfat plain Greek yogurt with a packet of stevia and a few drops of vanilla extract.
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Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Servings: 8 donuts
Calories: 75kcal
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ tsp. baking powder
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or plain)
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 4 packets stevia
Glaze
- ½ scoop whey protein powder (I used cinnamon swirl but vanilla is fine too)
- 1 tbsp. unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or plain)
- ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
- stevia to taste if needed
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Gather and measure all your ingredients.
Stir all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until you have a well-mixed batter.
Carefully spoon the batter into a doughnut pan. Don't fill too high, or you won't have a hole in the middle of your doughnut when they are done baking. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick pulls out clean.
Allow the donuts to cool.
For the glaze, simply whisk all the glaze ingredients together in a small mixing bowl and pour over the cooled donuts.
Let it dry a bit and serve.
Notes
Please note that the nutrition data given here is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.
Nutrition
Serving: 1donut | Calories: 75kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 130mg | Potassium: 111mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1230IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg
Recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted on 11/13/12.
