Fluffy, baked Strawberry Donuts are a great healthier breakfast for families. Great for the strawberry lover, pink princesses, or Valentine’s Day!
Do you like baked donuts?
I like all donuts (of course, as long as they’re gluten-free!). My husband and kids do too. Warm, fresh donuts are good anytime.
And something about being in the dead of winter has me dreaming of all things summer lately. Gardening, sunshine, and fresh berries.
So I combined my donut cravings with my summer cravings, and here’s my newest creation: Strawberry Donuts.
These fluffy, baked donuts are taking me straight to summer. Baking them, instead of frying them, makes me feel a lot better about eating them for breakfast too.
These donuts feature strawberry jam in the glaze, and one extra fun ingredient: freeze dried strawberries.
Have you ever tried to bake with strawberry before and the flavor fell flat? I’m with you. Keep reading, below, for some tips for sweet strawberry success!
Strawberry, strawberry, strawberry…
Ask any seasoned baker, getting real strawberry flavor into baked goods is very tricky. Strawberries are watery. They aren’t very strong in flavor when you add them to baked goods.
I love strawberries but it’s seriously a love-hate relationship when it comes to baking. I dread working with them. They can be so blah and easily make things mushy! No one wants a mushy Strawberry Donut!
So how do you get a good, strong strawberry flavor?
Strawberry jam and freeze dried strawberries are my secret weapons. Just like in my Double Strawberry Oat Muffins, a little strawberry jam goes a long way in providing extra strawberry flavor.
And freeze dried strawberries are one of my new favorite ingredients! Arguably, the most important ingredient in these Strawberry Donuts is the freeze dried strawberries. Without adding any water content, they provide a sweet and strong natural strawberry flavor.
So, are freeze dried strawberries healthy? Yes! Freeze dried strawberries only contain strawberries. No added sugars. You can find them at Target, Trader Joe’s, or amazon. They are a little expensive for a small bag, but worth the price for a fun treat.
Prior to adding them to the batter, I recommend chopping them up in a chopper, till they are very finely chopped.
There are no substitutions for the freeze dried strawberries in this Strawberry Donut recipe. Without them you just won’t get the strawberry flavor you need.
You could, though, make the donuts without the strawberries, like my Vanilla Donuts. Then, you could make the strawberry glaze, with just the strawberry jam. The flavor won’t be as strong, but you’ll get a hint of strawberry and a pretty pink glaze.
Other important ingredients for these donuts:
Greek yogurt. It’s thicker than regular yogurt so it will provide a different texture. It makes the donuts tall and springy. It’s also healthy! You can make these donuts with either plain or vanilla Greek yogurt.
To make these donuts gluten-free, you can use a gluten-free all purpose flour instead.
To make these donuts a little healthier, you could make them with oat flour instead of all purpose flour. I recommend using store bought oat flour for the most consistent results of a fine flour, that won’t give you crumbly donuts.
One last tip before you go: I’ve got a simple trick to make your own piping bag out of a ziploc bag, if you need it! How?
Place a quart (or gallon) ziploc bag inside a cup, with one corner pointing directly down into the bottom. Wrap the edges of the bag around the cup so it stays put. Pour your donut batter into the bag. Unwrap the edges of the bag from your cup. Twist the top like a piping bag, and either hold it or clip it. Tada! Piping bag (pictured above in step 3).
My make shift piping bags aren’t strong enough for thicker frostings, but work great for light batters like this Strawberry Donut batter.
Other donut flavor ideas:
Want a Chocolate Strawberry Donut too? Start with my Chocolate Donut recipe and top it with this strawberry glaze. Yum!
Maybe you want a Raspberry Donut? Check out freeze dried raspberries too! You could use them, and raspberry jam, to easily make a raspberry donut instead.
If you love strawberries or pink food (like my 3 yr old daughter!) then these are the donuts for you. Baked, fluffy and filled with strawberry flavor and topped with a simple strawberry glaze.
Let me know after you make these, what you thought! Leave a comment and a rating, below, or find me on Instagram and tag me.
If you want more fun breakfast recipes for kids, check out my Funfetti Granola, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies, and Healthy Funfetti Pancakes.
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey, white sugar)
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I prefer Fage 2%)
- 1/4 cup milk of choice (skim, 2%, whole or almond)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries, finely chopped
- 1 cup flour (can use gluten-free all purpose flour or oat flour)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp strawberry jam
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1-2 tbsp milk of choice (skim, 2%, whole or almond)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup freeze dried strawberries, finely chopped
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To begin, preheat your oven to 350 and spray a donut pan with non-stick spray.
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To a large mixing bowl, add your butter, maple syrup, Greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla, and whisk together till smooth. Add egg and briefly blend in. Add freeze dried strawberries, flour, baking soda and salt and mix together entirely, creating a smooth donut batter.
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Fill your pan with the batter, till just below the top of each donut cavity. *You can do this by carefully using a spoon, or by piping the dough into the pan.
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Bake in the oven for 7-9 minutes, or till the donuts are springy to touch. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Gently run a knife around the edge of the donuts, and flip the donuts out onto a cooling rack.
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To a small mixing bowl, add your strawberry jam, vanilla and 1 tbsp of milk. Whisk till smooth. Add your powdered sugar and freeze dried strawberries and whisk till you have a smooth glaze. Add your extra tablespoon of milk if the glaze is too thick, and after that continue to add teaspoons until it's the right consistency.
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Carefully dip each donut into the glaze, or drizzle the glaze across the tops of the donuts.
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Devour!
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