Healthy donuts (or doughnuts)? Yes! This healthy donuts recipe is spiced like sweet cake and is gluten-free, dairy-free, flourless, moist and fluffy! Enjoy them as dessert food or a breakfast treat, baked and topped with red, white and blue icing for patriotic festivities or simply anytime.
Baked, not fried, is the way to go for a healthier version of delicious homemade donuts. Usually for breakfast we eat homemade granola bars, no bake bars, no bake protein balls or oatmeal, and it was starting to feel rather redundant. It was time to introduce a homemade healthy donuts recipe to the family!
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 15 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 25 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 6 donuts
- ⚡ Calories: 251kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Warm cinnamon-vanilla cake donuts under a sweet glaze with a chocolate drizzle
- ✋ Difficulty: Blend the wet, mix the dry, fill the donut pan, bake and glaze.
Quick Answer
Blend ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon almond milk with 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla, then mix into 1 ⅓ cups oat flour, ⅓ cup coconut sugar, 1 teaspoon each baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and ½ teaspoon salt. Fill a greased donut pan about ¾ full and bake at 350 degrees F for 15-16 minutes until golden and springy. Glaze the cooled donuts with 1 cup confectioners sugar whisked with 1-2 tablespoons water, then drizzle with melted red and blue candy wafers.
Jump to:
We are feeling very patriotic over here with patriotic sweet treats! Mainly in preparation for the Fourth of July. To celebrate our independence beach-side with fireworks and a scrumptious healthy donuts recipe!
Where does the time go? We are already almost into July? Say whatttt????! So of course I have patriotic dessert food and picnic food on my mind. Last year for the Fourth of July we went to June Lake and celebrated in Mammoth. Each year they have a full weekend of festivities including a parade, fireworks each night and games and activities in the village. Since our boys are pretty young, they were passed out by 7:00 pm so we missed the fireworks. We still had a blast during the day watching the horses trot on the streets in the parade and experiencing colorful red white and blue shenanigans all around us. After the parade we headed back to our cabin in the woods and cooked up some delicious lobster to enjoy with shrimp ceviche.
Every once in a while the boys and I love to head to our local breakfast joint for coffee, doughnuts and bagels. The boys always want glazed doughnuts so we get a few doughnut holes to keep them satisfied. Only one time I upgraded it to a deliciously glazed with sprinkles. Those donut holes just did not compare any longer! I don't blame them one bit! So we decided it would be fun to start making donuts from scratch at home.
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Oat flour instead of wheat flour. Grinding gluten-free oats super fine makes a light flour packed with iron, minerals and fiber that keeps bodies full longer.
- Baked, not fried. A donut pan gives the classic ring shape without the fatty deep-fried old way of making them.
- The blender does the wet work. Blending the milk, egg, coconut oil and vanilla combines them evenly before they hit the dry mix.
- A thick glaze stays put. Starting with 1 tablespoon of water keeps the icing like a thick paste so it does not absorb into the doughnuts.
- Third batch is the charm. After a muffin-batter version and a too-dense coconut flour version, this vanilla, coconut oil, oat and cinnamon batter won and we have made it several times since.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Gluten-free, dairy-free and flourless with oat flour standing in for wheat.
- 251 calories a donut, and low in sugar if you leave out the icing.
- 25 minutes start to finish with one bowl and a blender.
- Kid-approved. This healthy donut recipe was a hit at our house, I had to hide them from the boys, husband included!
- Dress them for any holiday. Red, white and blue for the Fourth, or play with sprinkles, fruit or nuts like my pumpkin breakfast cookies.
Key Ingredients and Equipment
- 1 ⅓ cups oat flour - grind gluten-free oats super fine in a blender or food processor, or see my how to make oat flour guide. Leave those oats grinding for a while until they are a nice light consistency, but not too long: I mixed mine in the NutriBullet and it got hot, so when I opened it I had a giant puff of flour all over me! A oat flour substitute also works.
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon almond milk - or regular milk if not dairy-free.
- 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - the wet team.
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar - a less refined sweetener that deepens the cake flavor.
- 1 teaspoon each baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon, plus ½ teaspoon salt.
- For the glaze: 1 cup confectioners sugar and 1-2 tablespoons water, plus optional food coloring.
- For the drizzle: ¼ cup colored candy wafers, or add food coloring to ¼ cup melted white chocolate chips.
- Equipment: a donut pan, a blender or food processor, and two quart-sized bags for drizzling.
Full recipe ingredients and measurements are in the recipe card below.
Variations
- Any-holiday donuts: swap the red and blue drizzle for whatever colors fit the party, or top with fun sprinkles, fruit or nuts.
- Skip the icing for a lower sugar breakfast donut, dusted with cinnamon.
- Muffin-batter shortcut: my first batch used the same batter as these healthy chocolate chip oatmeal muffins and they turned out delicious as donuts by adjusting the baking time slightly. They were cutely wrapped as end of the year teacher's gifts for the boys to give.
- Skip the coconut flour experiment. I tried a gluten-free flour mix with coconut flour, did too much, and they turned out too dense and coconut flavored. Trial-and-error lesson learned.
- Gift them: I made labels! Click Here For Free Printable Healthy Flourless Donuts Labels.
How to Make Healthy Donuts
1Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a doughnut pan with cooking spray to coat. Using a blender or food processor, blend the almond milk, egg, coconut oil and vanilla until combined.
2In a medium size bowl combine oat flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine. Make a well in the center and add the wet mixture. Mix to combine, being careful not to over-mix.
3Pour the mixture into the doughnut pan, making sure each ring is about ¾ full. Bake in the oven for 15-16 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to the touch. Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let set for about 1 minute. Flip over and tap lightly over a cooling rack to remove the doughnuts. Allow to cool before adding icing.
4Make the icing: whisk the confectioners sugar and 1 tablespoon of water together, adding about ½ tablespoon more if needed. The icing should be slightly thick, not too watery. Scoop icing with a spoon and lightly drizzle and spread on top of each cooled doughnut.
5Melt the chocolate: add ¼ cup red candy wafers to one small oven-proof bowl and ¼ cup blue to another (or use white chocolate morsels with a few drops of food coloring in each). Heat in the oven about 3-5 minutes until the morsels are shiny, then mix well to blend.
6Add each color to a quart sized bag. Seal and snip the end. Drizzle red and blue chocolate on top of the doughnuts. Allow to cool before serving.
As always, be sure to check out the full recipe details in the recipe card below.
Expert Tips
- Grind the oats fine. Seriously leave those oats grinding for a while until they are a nice light consistency for the fluffiest crumb.
- Keep the icing like a thick paste. Start with 1 tablespoon of water and add only small amounts. If it is too watery it absorbs into the doughnuts.
- Warm the chocolate gently. About 300 degrees for a couple of minutes; keep checking until the morsels are shiny. That's when they are done and ready for mixing, bagging and drizzling.
- Do not over-mix the batter once the wet meets the dry, so the donuts stay springy.
- Cool before glazing. Icing a warm donut slides right off.
- More oat baking: the same pantry makes my baked oatmeal and gluten-free oatmeal muffins.
Serving Ideas
Pile them on a platter for a Fourth of July picnic next to allergy-friendly snacks, serve one warm with morning coffee, or wrap a few as gifts with the printable labels above. Random... I will say if you are ever in New York City, I have heard that The Doughnut Project has some truly amazing doughnuts to try. Or just make them at home if you completely live across the country:-) They disappear as fast as my peanut butter oatmeal cookies and no-bake oatmeal cookies.
Healthy Donuts FAQs
Yes. Baking skips the deep-fry oil entirely, and these use oat flour, coconut oil and coconut sugar, so each donut is 251 calories with fiber from the oats, and low in sugar if you leave out the icing.
Finely ground gluten-free oats. Grind them in a blender or food processor until they are a nice light consistency; oat flour is packed with iron, minerals and fiber that keep bodies full longer.
Yes, with certified gluten-free oats and almond milk. Use regular milk if dairy is not an issue.
It is too thin. Whisk the confectioners sugar with just 1 tablespoon of water first and add more only in small amounts; the icing should be like a thick paste, and the donuts should be fully cooled.
Warm them in an oven-proof bowl at about 300 degrees for a couple of minutes, checking until the morsels are shiny, then mix, bag, snip the corner and drizzle.
Yes, the batter bakes up beautifully as muffins too; my first test batch used the same batter as chocolate chip oatmeal muffins. Adjust the baking time slightly and check for a springy top.
Patriotic Healthy Donuts Recipe
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Ingredients
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon Almond Milk or regular milk if not dairy-free
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cup oat flour
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons water
- optional food coloring
Decorations
- ¼ cup Colored Candy Wafers or add food coloring to ¼ cup melted white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 350 Degrees F. Spray with cooking spray a doughnut pan to coat. Using a blender or food processor blend the Almond milk, egg, coconut oil and vanilla until combined.
- In a medium size bowl combine oat flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine. Make a well in the center and add the wet mixture. Mix to combine but being careful not to over-mix.
- Pour the mixture into the doughnut pan, making sure each ring is about ¾ full. Bake in the oven for 15-16 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to the touch.
- Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let set for about 1 minute. Flip over and tap lightly over a cooling rack to remove doughnuts. Allow to cool before adding icing.
- To make the icing:
- Whisk the confectioners sugar and 1 tablespoon of water together. Add about ½ tablespoon more if needed. The icing should be slightly thick, not too watery. Scoop icing with a spoon and lightly drizzle and spread on top of each cooled doughnut.
- Melt the chocolate:
- Get two small oven-proof bowls. Add ¼ cup red colored candy wafers to one bowl and ¼ cup blue candy wafers to another. Or use ¼ cup of white chocolate morsels to each bowl. If using white chips add a few drops of food coloring to each to make your color. Heat in the oven at 350 degrees about 3-5 minutes or until morsels are shiny. Remove and mix well to blend. Add each color to a quart sized bag. Seal and snip the end. Drizzle red and blue chocolate on top of the doughnuts. Allow to cool before serving.
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