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Healthy Chocolate Donuts (gluten-free)

Oct 31, 2019 · 16 Comments

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A tray of Healthy Chocolate Donuts

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 πŸ˜‰

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!

A stack of three Chocolate Donuts

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! πŸ™‚

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.

A stack of three Chocolate Donuts with a bite taken out of the top of one

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! πŸ™‚

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! πŸ™‚

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.

5 from 1 vote
A chocolate covered donut
Print
Healthy Chocolate Donuts (gluten-free)
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 
Servings: 11 donuts
Calories: 134 kcal
Ingredients
Chocolate Donuts
  • 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
Donut Glaze
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 5-6 tsp 2 % milk (or milk of choice)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Healthy Chocolate Donuts
  1. To begin, preheat your oven to 350 and spray two donut pans with non-stick spray.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or till the donuts are springy to touch.

Chocolate Donut Glaze
  1. To a small mixing bowl, add your powdered sugar and cocoa powder and whisk them together thoroughly, so there are no cocoa powder clumps.

  2. Add your milk and vanilla, and whisk again till you have a smooth, even glaze.

  3. 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.

  4. Add sprinkles, and devour!

Recipe Notes

I recommend storing these in an airtight container in the fridge, and they will last about a week stored that way.Β 

All Recipes, Breakfast, Holiday Breakfasts, Summer Breakfast

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karolina says

    February 20, 2023 at 9:31 am

    And if I’m using the butter, should it be melted?

    Reply
  2. Karolina says

    February 20, 2023 at 9:27 am

    Hi Chelsea, I would like to try your recipe soon 😊😊 Should the ingredients be in room temperature??

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      March 1, 2023 at 7:04 pm

      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.

      Reply
  3. Lynne J says

    March 4, 2022 at 11:18 pm

    What can I do if I do not have a donut pan?

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      March 10, 2022 at 2:53 am

      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.

      Reply
  4. Christina says

    May 27, 2021 at 12:59 am

    What can I use in place of oat flour?

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      May 28, 2021 at 9:00 pm

      Hi Christina. Regular flour or a gluten-free all purpose flour should also work just fine!

      Reply
  5. Luciana says

    January 3, 2021 at 8:48 pm

    I loved the donuts!

    Reply
  6. Hope says

    November 22, 2020 at 5:38 pm

    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!

    Reply
  7. Caroline says

    September 2, 2020 at 4:40 am

    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

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      September 3, 2020 at 2:07 am

      Hi Caroline. Yes, I would think that should work just fine as a substitute. Good luck and I hope you enjoy!

      Reply
      • Caroline says

        September 6, 2020 at 6:11 am

        Awesome yay. Can’t wait to make. Thank you

        Reply
  8. Elizabeth says

    June 5, 2020 at 6:08 pm

    Hi,

    If we have a coconut allergy, can I use olive oil instead of coconut oil, do you think?

    Thanks!
    Elizabeth

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      June 5, 2020 at 9:35 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Ramona Worth says

        June 15, 2020 at 12:18 am

        Do you think I could use coconut flour instead of oat flour?

        Reply
        • Chelsea Green says

          June 15, 2020 at 2:11 am

          I don’t think that would work, sorry. Coconut flour soaks up liquids very quickly so you would have to use a lot less.

          Reply

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ABOUT ME

Hey, I’m Chelsea! I'm a Colorado Mom baking up simple, gluten-free recipes at over a mile high above sea level. Here you'll find healthy breakfasts and snacks, decadent desserts, and fun drinks. Join me, whether you bake in the mountains or not! Read More…

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