Fluffy, thick, and filled with chocolate flavor, these Healthy Chocolate Donuts don’t disappoint!
A “healthy” donut?? You’ve got to be kidding me.
No lies here. Literally, ever. I’m a “call it like I see it” type of person. Some call it unfiltered, I just call it blunt 😉
So how do I justify my claim that these are healthy? These donuts:
- Have no refined flour, and are made with certified gluten-free oat flour (packed with fiber and they will keep you full longer!)
- Are refined sugar-free – only sweetened lightly with maple syrup (both in the donut and glaze)
- Use plain Greek yogurt for the perfect donut texture (and added protein)
I’ll give you this: They’re still donuts. They still come with a glaze that has a little powdered sugar, and sprinkles on top.
But these are the healthiest donuts I’ve ever eaten, and maybe ever will!
It’s like… I took a bowl of chocolate oatmeal and made it into a donut. YUM.
So, what exactly is the texture of these donuts?
I’m glad you asked. These are NOT going to be like fried, yeast donuts. No, my friends, healthy donuts can’t really be fried and melt-in-your mouth like those unfortunately.
These donuts are like a classic baked donut, that’s thicker yet still fluffy. I would not say they’re like cake donuts though, as cake donuts are typically much more dense and moist (…like cake!).
These donuts are thick and fluffy, light, and filled with chocolate flavor. Your kids will love them, you’ll love them… they’re a win-win!
So, how do you make these baked Healthy Chocolate donuts?
First, and most importantly, for this recipe to work at all you’ll need to own a donut pan. I never thought I would use mine, and I’ve actually ended up loving it.
If you like baking and making creative things yourself – get a donut pan! 🙂
The rest of this recipe is really easy. Surprisingly, making homemade baked donuts is pretty easy and a lot of fun!
The first step is to stir the dry ingredients together. Be sure to whisk the dry ingredients together thoroughly so you don’t end up with chunks of cocoa powder baked into your donuts!
Next, you’ll mix your wet ingredients together (maple syrup, coconut oil, Greek yogurt, milk, vanilla and egg). Again, be sure that you mix the Greek yogurt into the wet ingredients well so you have a well-combined mixture, rather than a pool with chunks of Greek yogurt throughout.
Last, you’ll combine your dry and wet ingredients. And, let your batter rest.
It sounds dramatic (sheesh, let your batter get some beauty sleep!). But the batter will thicken up and the texture will change, so be sure to give it 5 minutes or so for the oat flour to soak up everything.
Next, you can scoop your batter into one corner of a ziploc bag, trim the end off, and “pipe” the batter into the donut pan. Or, you can use a spoon and simply scoop the batter around into the donut cavities, filling them in all the way around.
Fill each donut cavity about 3/4 of the way full of batter, not up to the top of the pan.
Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or till the donuts are springy to touch!
TIP: For the sake of ease and to ensure your baked goods turn out and aren’t a crumbly mess, I recommend buying oat flour for donuts Unless you have a high powered blender and can get your oats blended up as fine as the oat flour you can buy in a store. For example, my blender does a great job blending up oats, but my food processor does not blend my oats up fine enough.
The last piece is the healthier chocolate glaze. An easy touch that these donuts aren’t complete without. Just be sure to whisk the glaze ingredients together thoroughly, so you don’t end up with cocoa powder clumps in there!
And by the way, I’ve found that if you make this glaze with almond milk it won’t harden. But, the moist glaze adds an extra level to these donuts that I love still!
And then, sprinkle away my friends. However many sprinkles you want on top! If these are for kids, then extra sprinkles please! 🙂
These gluten-free Healthy Chocolate Donuts are a fun, easy breakfast that’s perfect for a first day of school, birthdays, and Holidays! I hope you love them as much as we did! 🙂
More healthy breakfast ideas, coming right your way!: Check out my gluten-free Orange Carrot Oat Muffins, Chocolate Banana Breakfast Cookies, and Maple Nut Granola.
- 1 cup oat flour (certified gluten-free)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil (melted, or butter)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I prefer Fage 2%)
- 1/4 cup 2% or almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 5-6 tsp 2 % milk (or milk of choice)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
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To begin, preheat your oven to 350 and spray two donut pans with non-stick spray.
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In a small mixing bowl, add your oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and whisk them together thoroughly till there are no cocoa powder clumps.
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In a large mixing bowl, add your coconut oil, maple syrup, Greek yogurt and milk and whisk together till well combined (with no yogurt clumps). Add your vanilla and egg and whisk together again.
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Pour your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and stir them together till well combined, forming your donut batter. Let your batter rest for 5 minutes, for the oat flour to soak up some of the wet ingredients.
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Now, you can take spoonfuls of batter and fill the donut cavities, filling each one about 3/4 way full. Or, you can pipe your donut batter into the pan, using a piping or ziploc bag.
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Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or till the donuts are springy to touch.
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To a small mixing bowl, add your powdered sugar and cocoa powder and whisk them together thoroughly, so there are no cocoa powder clumps.
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Add your milk and vanilla, and whisk again till you have a smooth, even glaze.
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After your donuts have cooled, you can carefully dip the tops of your donuts in your glaze, or you can drizzle the glaze across the tops of them with a spoon.
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Add sprinkles, and devour!
I recommend storing these in an airtight container in the fridge, and they will last about a week stored that way.
Wow! These were a hit! I wanted to make a more healthy snack for my 3 yr old who was demanding “chocolate doughnuts!” (I never give him doughnuts but he loves chocolate). So I made these. I used half GF flour and half almond flour. I also added about an eighth cup of powdered nutritional yeast tablets, B1 capsules and multivitamin capsules all combined. I did add a bit extra maple syrup to make sure they were sweet enough and a bit more of both flours to keep the dough consistency right. I ended up using a glaze made of coconut sugar, cornstarch, milk and butter with a bit of maple syrup as I don’t use sugar sugar. And whaaalaa! A hit! Thank you for the recipe!
Can I double the recipe. I am afraid because I don’t want it to go wrong
Yes, you can definitely double the recipe. Just be prepared to be baking lots of rounds of donuts!
And if I’m using the butter, should it be melted?
Hi Chelsea, I would like to try your recipe soon 😊😊 Should the ingredients be in room temperature??
Hi Karolina. Sorry it took me a bit to reply. Yes, it’s best if the ingredients are room temperature, except the coconut oil/butter will be melted.
What can I do if I do not have a donut pan?
Hi Lynne. That’s a great question! You can try baking them in a muffin pan, but I’m not sure if they would turn out (I would also guess they would need more time to bake). That’s my best idea though! Sorry if that’s not more helpful.
What can I use in place of oat flour?
Hi Christina. Regular flour or a gluten-free all purpose flour should also work just fine!
I loved the donuts!
These donuts are amazing! My only complaint is how easily they fall apart. When I tried to glaze them, it was so thick the donuts crumbled as i tried to pull them out. I guess i would rather them be too soft than dry and crumbly 🤣 thanks for the recipe!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Do you think it’s ok if I substitute Greek yogurt for So Delicious coconut milk yogurt instead? I am dairy free and gluten free
Hi Caroline. Yes, I would think that should work just fine as a substitute. Good luck and I hope you enjoy!
Awesome yay. Can’t wait to make. Thank you
Hi,
If we have a coconut allergy, can I use olive oil instead of coconut oil, do you think?
Thanks!
Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth. I would first recommend butter instead because I know it works, and I haven’t tried making these donuts with olive oil. That being said, I would think that using olive oil would still work fine! Hope that helps.
Do you think I could use coconut flour instead of oat flour?
I don’t think that would work, sorry. Coconut flour soaks up liquids very quickly so you would have to use a lot less.