These Gluten-Free Baked Pumpkin Donuts make for a delicious treat for any fall day (or any day for the year-round pumpkin lover)! A lighter and healthier take on gluten-free baking and donuts!
I know, right?!
Not only are these gluten-free donuts, but they are also baked donuts (READ: the healthier donut cousin of the fried donut) AND they are pumpkin!
They are pumpkin drizzled with chocolate! And they are easy to make!
Can you think of a more perfect breakfast/mid-morning snack/lunch/afternoon snack/dessert/super special occasion treat that is sure to impress everyone you know?
These are some goooood donuts.
MORE ABOUT THESE GLUTEN-FREE BAKED PUMPKIN DONUTS…
These perfectly sweet, chocolate-drizzled, pumpkin-spiced, gluten-free baked donuts are quite possibly my favourite thing right now. And they are everything a baked donut should be – light, tender on the inside, definitely not dry and crumbly, and super, super easy to make.
The base for these pumpkin donuts is almond flour. Almond flour is an amazing (but expensive!) thing and is has come to be my favourite gluten-free flour hands down (and is right there next to oat flour!). Almond flour gives baked goods this insanely moist, tender and almost melt-in-your-mouth texture that cannot be done with any other gluten-less flour.
When almond flour is mixed with all of the good things that make up that incredible pumpkin pie flavour – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and clove – seriously awesome things happen. Pumpkin pie spice blend + vanilla extract = sweet, warm, comforting flavour explosion!
Pumpkin donuts aren’t pumpkin donuts without added pumpkin. I use 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree here. (You can make your own or use canned pumpkin.) It doesn’t seem like a lot of pumpkin but you can definitely taste it in these donuts.
And lastly, that chocolate drizzle! I have to admit, I’ve always thought that the pumpkin and chocolate combo that usually goes wild this time of year is a little weird. Pumpkin – delicious on its own. Chocolate – delicious on its own. But together? They can’t possibly go. But friends, let me tell you, pumpkin and chocolate, they go. The rich chocolate and the rich pumpkin are pretty much a perfect match and I’m not judging if you want to drizzle all the chocolate on these donuts.
Because who doesn’t love a good donut? I have only just recently gotten into donuts… mostly because I only recently found an inexpensive donut pan. #gamechanger
I’ve been experimenting with tons and tons of different donut recipes. And I have to say that this donut recipe from A Clean Bake is by far the best gluten-free donut recipe going. Seriously everything you could want in a donut and without that unfortunately mushy or fallen centre (which happened to me a little too often). It is that recipe that these donuts are inspired from and adapted from today. And they are good!
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Gluten Free Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Total Time: 36 minutes
- Yield: 6 donuts 1x
Description
Gluten Free Baked Pumpkin Donuts make for a delicious treat for any fall day. Best of all, these pumpkin donuts are gluten free, dairy free and simple to make with almond flour, pumpkin puree, eggs and warm and cozy pumpkin pie spices.
Ingredients
For the Donuts:
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- Pinch of ground clove
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
- 3 tablespoons sugar (I prefer organic cane sugar)
- 3 tablespoons oil**
- 1 tablespoon milk (I like almond milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Chocolate Drizzle:
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate (I use 4 square of my favourite chocolate bar)
- 1 teaspoon butter (or coconut oil)
- 1 teaspoon powder sugar (I prefer organic)
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Instructions
For the Donuts:
- In a mixing bowl, combine almond flour, tapioca, baking powder, spices and salt. Set this almond mixture aside.
- In a second mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, pumpkin, sugar, oil, milk and vanilla.
- Fold the almond mixture into the pumpkin mixture ensuring no large lumps remain.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Let the donut batter rest for 10 minutes or so while the oven heats.
- Spray a donut pan with oil or cooking spray. Transfer the donut batter to the prepared pan – about 2 tablespoons per donut depending on your pan. Do not over fill the donuts.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or donuts feel spongy to the touch and are just brown around the edges. Let the donuts rest for 3-5 minutes in the pan before carefully transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Chocolate Drizzle:
- Break or chop the chocolate into bite sized pieces, if using a chocolate bar.
- Add the chocolate and butter to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes stirring every 30 seconds until chocolate is melted completely.
- Stir in the sugar and salt.
- Drizzle the warm chocolate over top of the donuts, using a spoon or piping bag. You can also dip the donuts or smear the chocolate on top too.
- Let chocolate cool completely before storing in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
You can use 1 1/4 teaspoons prepared pumpkin pie spice instead of adding cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all spice and clove individually.
I prefer a light, neutral oil like canola or grapeseed oil but melted coconut oil or avocado oil may work as well. [br]Prep time listed does not include cooling time.
Donut Recipe adapted from A Clean Bake’s Paleo Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
Just made my these donuts and they were a hit with my husband and my young kids. Definitely a go-to recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Glad to hear it, Jen!! They are definitely a favourite of mine for sure!!
These look amazing! Loving that chocolate drizzle <3
Thanks Maya!!
I mean, I’m a forever donut fan, so a healthy pumpkin donut is deeeefinitely something I can stand behind. These look amazing!!! Thanks for being a part of the celebrations today, Rebecca! 🙂
This was so much fun! Healthy donuts are always the best, right?!
ohmygosh – these sound delicious! all the pumpkin spice flavors and the chocolate drizzle – to die for!
Thanks, Becca!
OHMYGODDDDDD you guys are so freakin amazing!! I was so surprised when I check my Instagram this afternoon and saw all your beautiful recipes. Words can’t describe how blown away I am 🙂 Thank you so so much Rebecca! I was actually hoping to make some pumpkin spice donuts this weekend so you’ve totally saved me some recipe searching time 😉 Can’t wait to try!
Yay!! It was so much celebrating you and Nate! So happy for you guys! I know you will love these donuts!
Yes to chocolate and pumpkin! Such a bomb combination. These look delicious!!
Thanks, Erica. I can’t get enough of that pumpkin and chocolate lately!!
OOoOo love these healthier donuts!
Yes! Healthy donuts should be the only kind of donut 😉 Thanks, Laura!