These baked gluten-free and paleo donuts taste like Krispy Kreme copycats! They are soft and tender and melt in your mouth with the option of a classic paleo powdered sugar or chocolate glaze.
These baked paleo donuts have been calling my name ever since I bought a donut pan several months ago.
I kept wanting to make them but it just seemed like so much work. When I finally made them, I kicked myself for waiting so long. Not only were they super easy, but they're about the best thing ever!
To me, they taste just like a krispy kreme copycat! When you bite into them, they are a little squishy but spring right back. Plus, they're topped with a rich glaze that melts in your mouth. I'm in love 💕💕
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you'll have to use a donut pan. The batter is really thin, so you cannot form it into a donut shape without a donut pan.
I think they taste like krispy kreme copycats! They are light, fluffy, and topped with a rich glaze that melts in your mouth. But they're baked and waaayyyy healthier!
Ingredients
Here are the simple paleo ingredients you will need:
- Blanched Almond Flour: Paleo, grain-free flour. Be sure to use finely ground, blanched almond flour, or the texture will be off.
- Tapioca Flour or Arrowroot: This is a starch that makes the donuts light, fluffy, and squishy!
- Grain-Free Baking Powder: For homemade grain-free baking powder, combine 1 part baking soda to 2 parts cream of tartar and 2 parts arrowroot, tapioca, or potato flour.
- Sea Salt: Enhances Flavor.
- Coconut Palm Sugar: Paleo sweetener, or use granulated sugar of choice
- Eggs: Adds moisture and binds the ingredients together.
- Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk: Adds moisture. When combined with the vinegar, it makes homemade dairy-free buttermilk.
- Vinegar: Adds tenderness to the grain-free donuts, but don't worry, you can't taste it!
- Butter: Feel free to use non-dairy butter, ghee, or avocado oil.
- Warm Water: Moisture and tenderness.
- Pure Vanilla: If possible, use pure vanilla and not imitation vanilla.
Easy instructions
Start by whisking together the dry ingredients. This includes blanched almond flour, tapioca or arrowroot flour, coconut palm sugar, sea salt, and baking powder.
In a separate bowl, whisk together some eggs, non-dairy milk, melted butter or oil, vinegar, water, and pure vanilla.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. The batter will be fairly thin, this is normal.
Pour the batter into a greased donut tin, filling each one about two-thirds full.
Bake the paleo donuts at 375 degrees for 15 - 18 minutes or until the tops are nicely browned and firm to the touch.
Allow to cool slightly. Then remove from the pan and dip the tops in either a paleo powdered sugar or chocolate glaze (recipes below).
Set aside on a cooling rack until the tops are slightly set, and serve warm!
Paleo powdered sugar glaze
To make homemade powdered sugar:
- Blend preferred paleo granulated sugar in a very dry blender or coffee grinder until it is a fine powder.
- Mix in 1 Tbsp. arrowroot or tapioca flour per cup of sugar (after it's a fine powder).
I prefer to use xylitol or allulose when making paleo powdered sugar.
*Note- If using pure allulose and not an allulose blend, it's only 70% as sweet as other sweeteners, so you'll need to add an additional ⅓ cup per 1 cup of sweetener.
I've tried this method with coconut palm sugar and we didn't really like it, but it could just be our taste buds! I know many people use coconut palm sugar all the time to make powdered sugar 😀
Or you can buy one of these allulose and monk fruit keto powdered sweeteners (
They are natural, acceptable on a paleo diet, have ZERO aftertaste, and dissolve beautifully!
Tip: I don't recommend the erythritol or erythritol blends for frostings because they lend a cooling-like aftertaste and don't completely dissolve - even the powdered varieties!
Chocolate glaze
Or, if you prefer a chocolate glaze, use this dairy-free chocolate ganache recipe I use on top of my flourless cake!
Storage
Store leftover gluten-free donuts covered at room temperature for one to two days. After that, store covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Substitutions
- Some people include butter on a paleo diet, and others do not. Feel free to replace the butter with non-dairy butter, ghee, or avocado oil.
- Unfortunately, the blanched almond flour is a very unique flour and cannot be substituted.
Looking for more recipes?
I think you'll also love these Almond Flour Gingerbread Men Cookies from Perchance To Cook!
Just be sure to use paleo-friendly chocolate chips and any sweetener you prefer - if any at all!
If you’ve tried these Baked Paleo Donuts or any other recipe on the blog, please let me know in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
Paleo Donuts With A Classic Powdered Sugar Or Chocolate Glaze
Ingredients
Donuts:
- 1 ½ cups Blanched Almond Flour - finely ground
- 1 cups Tapioca Flour or Arrowroot
- 1 ½ tsp. Grain-Free Baking Powder*
- 1 tsp. Sea Salt
- ¼ cup Coconut Palm Sugar - or granulated sugar of choice
- 3 large Eggs
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk
- ¼ tsp. Vinegar - white or apple cider
- 2 Tbsp. Butter (can use non-dairy or ghee) - melted and cooled, OR avocado oil
- ½ cup Warm Water
- ½ teaspoon Pure Vanilla
Classic Glaze:
- 1 cup Paleo Powdered Sugar - see notes below
- 2 Tbsp. Butter (can use non-dairy or ghee) - melted
- ¼ tsp. Pure Vanilla
- 1 Tbsp. Non-Dairy Milk - or as needed to thin
Chocolate Ganache Glaze:
- Chocolate Ganache - click the link for the recipe (use paleo chocolate chips and any preferred sweetener - if any!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a donut pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients.
- Then, stir in wet ingredients in the dry and mix well.
- Fill each donut tin about ⅔ full.
- Bake 15-18 minutes or until nicely browned and firm to the touch.
- Allow to slightly cool in the pan. Then, remove from the pan and dip the tops into powdered sugar glaze or chocolate ganache. Place on a cooling rack to let the topping slightly set and serve warm.
Classic Glaze:
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together all of the glaze ingredients. Add additional non-dairy milk to thin as needed.
Add Your Own Notes
Notes
- Nutritional Information includes powdered sugar glaze using monk fruit/allulose powdered sweetener.
- For grain-free baking powder: combine 1 part baking soda to 2 parts cream of tartar and 2 parts arrowroot, tapioca, or potato flour.
- Blend preferred granulated sugar in a very dry blender or coffee grinder until it is a fine powder.
- Mix in 1 Tbsp. arrowroot or tapioca flour per cup of sugar (after it's a fine powder).
- I prefer to use xylitol or allulose when making paleo powdered sugar.
- If using pure allulose and not an allulose blend, it's only 70% as sweet as other sweeteners so you'll need to add an additional ⅓ cup per 1 cup of sweetener.
- I've tried this method with coconut palm sugar and we didn't really like it, but it could just be our taste buds! I know many people use coconut palm sugar all the time to make powdered sugar 😀
- Or you can buy one of these allulose and monk fruit keto powdered sweeteners (Note- I don't recommend the erythritol or erythritol blends for frostings). They are natural, acceptable on a paleo diet, have ZERO aftertaste, and dissolved beautifully
- *Note- As a special gift to my readers, I've teamed up with BESTI to give you guys 10% off! Simply use the code "CRAVEABLE" at checkout.
Nutrition
NET CARBS = Total Carbs - Fiber - Allulose - Xylitol
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary. Sugar alcohols, xylitol, and allulose are included in the total carbs and fiber.
Looking for more information on the keto diet? Check out my
Erin says
Can you use actual milk in this recipe?
Cassidy says
Yes, you can use actual milk 😀 I hope you like them, please come back and let me know what you thought!
XO,
Cassidy
Kristina says
These were so tasty fresh out of the oven and iced! How would you recommend storing extras to eat later? I’ve had my batch in a Tupperware dish at room temperature and sadly they are kinda soggy now.
Cassidy says
Hi Kristina, I'm so happy you liked them! I think the best way to store them to keep them from getting soggy would be to let them cool completely and then freeze them, preferably without the glaze. I hope this helps 😀
XO,
Cassidy
Kate says
Quick, easy and delicious! Love to make these as a family on the weekends!
Cassidy Stauffer says
Thank you so much, Kate!!! I'm happy you and your family like them 😀
XO,
Cassidy
Katie says
Excellent, they are a Paleo Crispy Creme! Can’t wait to make them for my moms birthday and national donut day lol!
Cassidy Stauffer says
Thank you!!! I'm so happy you like them 😍😍
XO,
Cassidy
Katie says
I just had to come back after having a couple more and say how awesome these donuts are, especially with coffee. I don’t know you got the recipe so perfect. Out of all of the paleo donuts I have made these taste the most like a real donut. My husband who can eat anything he wants loves them too. He says he thinks they’re better than the fried donuts. I love these donuts!!!
Cassidy Stauffer says
Oh my goodness, thank you SO much!!! This makes my day 😍😍
XO,
Cassidy
Ashley Judd says
I need to find my donut pan! This looks awesome! ?
Cassidy Stauffer says
Thank you Ashley, I hope you like them as we do!!!
Claudine Perry says
Cassidy I notice in some of your recipes you call for Earth Balance.I assume to avoid the dairy.If you are not totally avoiding dairy, as I notice Earth Balance has soy and I'm avoiding that, is butter/ghee or some other oil okay to use?
Cassidy says
Hi Claudine! Yes, you can use butter or ghee. Earth Balance also has a soy free version if you're interested. Even though we still avoid most dairy, I switched over to grass-fed butter instead of dairy free butter. I need to go back and update all my recipes that call to Earth Balance butter and tell everyone that butter or ghee will also work. Hope that helps and you like the donuts!! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
-Cassidy
Holly says
Made these today and my son ate almost the entire batch....he was SOOOO thrilled to get a yummy donut again since being gluten free.....the texture was SO similar to the Krispy Kreme original donut he was just freaking out EXCITED! Thanks for such an AWESOME recipe! For the icing I mixed Swerve (powdered) with a touch of International Delight Vanilla creamer 😉
Cassidy says
I'm SO glad you like these, and you icing sounds delish!!!
-Cassidy
Naomi says
Hi! I love this recipe - it's so versatile. I added 1/2 c of pumpkin and dropped the tapioca starch to 1/2 c and eliminated the water. They are so sweet that I don't even need to put any icing on them. Thanks so much!
Cassidy says
Thanks for the nice comment Naomi, and letting me know what substitutions you used, I'll have to try that!
xo,
Cassidy
Sasha says
Oh my gosh, this recipe is the BEST grain-free donut recipe I've ever had (and trust me when I tell you I've tried a bunch as I'm a huge donut lover)! Even my husband loved them and he's usually anti- grain-free baked goods. Keep sharing your amazing recipes!!!!!!
Sasha says
How many donuts does this yield? 6? 12?
Thanks!
Cassidy says
Hi Sasha!
Sorry it's taken me so long to get back with you. This recipe makes about 12 donuts, I updated the recipe to include this information 🙂
Thanks,
Cassidy
Lora says
I just made these this morning and my kids loved them! I dipped them in the chocolate ganache (minus the coffee) and threw some dye free sprinkles on top. Thanks for another great recipe!
CassidyS says
Amanda-
Yes, I usually freeze all of my baked goods that we don't immediately eat. Hope you enjoy them!
CdnSKmom-
Sorry the texture didn't turn out well for you. Did you use the Honeyville brand? if you used a different brand that's probably what it was.
Thanks for the feedback,
Cassidy
CdnSKmom says
I made this recipe today and maybe did something wrong because they weren't like a donut in texture or taste, more like a dense dough-y bread... It reminded me of paska at Easter growing up so I liked it, but my son only took a few nibbles.
Thanks for the recipe, it was a culinary return to my childhood!
Anonymous says
Do these donuts freeze well?
Thanks,
Amanda
CassidyS says
April-
I haven't tried these in a donut maker but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work... except you will probably have to adjust the baking time. If you make 'em in the donut maker let me know how they turn out!
Thanks,
Cassidy
April Carroll says
Do you think these would work in the little donut makers? (The ones that close like a waffle maker?)
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom says
Thanks so much for linking up to Allergy-Free Wednesday. Hope to see you next week.