Gluten Free Donut Recipe
Gluten Free Donut Recipe – This strawberry decadent gluten free donut recipe is dedicated to our little gluten free kids. Well, not so little anymore, but you get the idea. About 3 years ago, they decided to go gluten free and have been very patient with me to develop this recipe.
Well, with a little more motivational wishes from our kids a few weeks ago, I finally conquered this recipe.
Gluten free donuts are truly a ‘hole’ lot easier to make than you might think, Sorry, but I just couldn’t resist the pun!
But seriously, is there anyone on this planet who would not love to eat donuts for a special breakfast treat? This is one of those classic make-ahead breakfasts that you can make on the weekend and dole on on Monday morning with a side of scrambled eggs and homemade smoothie.
Gluten Free Donut Recipe — Perfectly Delicious Whether You’re Gluten Free or Not!
When I was 31 I finally caved to my autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s and opted for anti-inflammatory diet. I got rid of gluten, dairy (lactose-based), added sugar juices and all the foods that came with this. It would take a few more years to make the coconut sugar swap for refined white sugar.
A few years ago, our kids decided they too wanted to be gluten free since Abigail was having gut and skin issues and Jack was eager to be like us. So, the kids committed to opting out of the birthday cupcakes brought to school by friends, McDonald’s Happy Meals (that I allowed them to get about once per month). They also gave up the box of Dunkin’ Donut donut holes that became a classic purchase on road trips a few times a year.
Since then, they have asked several times for me to make a gluten free donut recipe. They didn’t even care what flavor.
And since Jack and Abigail love strawberry and they are back in season – I thought why not give it a try.
How to Make a Healthy Gluten Free Donut Recipe
Here’s a few main ingredients that I won’t make this gluten free donut recipe without:
#1: Whole Grain Gluten Free Flour is the Perfect Companion!
Sure, we can use gluten free flour, but the kind does matter. When I first started baking with gluten free flour, I made my own mixture. It was a mess. The recipe called for several ingredients and if any of them were out of date, they didn’t work the same. It took a lot of effort.
Enter – King Arthur Gluten Free Flour made with Brown Rice Flour!
This is now my go-to flour. You can pick it up at most grocery stores now – like Publix and even Target. Plus, of course you can grab some on Amazon.
#2: Sweet Your Donuts with Coconut Sugar and Pure Maple Syrup
This delicious gluten free donut recipe is not only dairy free but also sweetened naturally. I use a blend of coconut sugar and pure maple syrup to get the sweetness just right. By the way, did you know maple syrup is not an empty calorie sweetener? An analysis of pure maple syrup reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The study shows that this delicious natural sweetener also contains phytonutrients including lignans, coumarins, and other health-promoting antioxidants.
#3: Use Strawberry Puree or No Sugar Added Strawberry Jam
Why O’ why must jam always be filled with refined white sugar. For this recipe, you can either use fresh strawberries puree or make a homemade Strawberry Sauce. You certainly can look for a brand of jam that doesn’t use refined sugar as a sweetener, but by the time you do, it’s quite costly.
Do you Prefer Donut Holes?
If you are more of a donut hole kind of person, you can easily make this gluten free donut recipe into cute little strawberry donut holes. You may not be able to frost and top them with coconut, but you can certainly try.
Bake Your Donuts!
These donut pans make it easy to bake donuts versus fry donuts. And if you’re a clean, healthy family like we are then you will definitely appreciate having these pans handy when you’re craving donuts.
Check out this Donut Pan to make the perfect sized baked donuts every single time.
The best donut hole pan. Using the small scoop and slightly overfilling the holes makes perfect donut holes every time.
Is it a Gluten Free Donut Recipe or Doughnut Recipe?
By the way, if you are wondering if I misspelled donut, here is a fun little news clip that helps clear things up: Click HERE to read more.
Add Lots of Toppings to this Strawberry Gluten Free Donut Recipe
This recipe is so versatile and there’s plenty of ways you can mix it up. If you would rather make Cherry Donuts — then use Cherry Jam (without refined sugar) and look for fresh cherries to top them with.
The Cream Cheese frosting is made with coconut-based cream cheese and can be typically found in the grocery store with vegan cheese options. We love Kite Hill and Miyoko’s.
Just have fun. If nothing else, your family is going to love them and you can add them to your weekly breakfast menu line-up.
Kitchen Favorites
Baked Gluten Free Donuts
Gluten Free Donut Recipe – Strawberry Edition. Decadent strawberry gluten free donut, coconut, cream cheese frosting and strawberry glaze.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12–16 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup nut or hemp milk, try Almond Milk or Hemp Milk
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 3/4 cup gluten free flour
- 1/4 cup flaxseed, ground
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 organic eggs, such as Vital Farms
- 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
- 1 cup strawberry puree or pure strawberry jam
FROSTING INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar, see notes below
- 1/4 cup coconut-based cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
STRAWBERRY GLAZE
- 1/2 cup strawberry puree or pure strawberry jelly
- 1–2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, diced
OPTIONAL: 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil the doughnut pans with coconut oil and set aside.
- In a liquid measuring cup, add the 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and fill to 1 cup with nut or hemp milk. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, ground flaxseed, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Using a whisk, stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the vanilla, maple syrup, eggs and coconut oil. With a hand mixer, mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until well combined.
- Alternating, add 1/2 of the milk mixture to the large bowl. Using the hand mixer to combine on medium speed. Then add 1/2 of the egg mixture. Mix again on medium speed. Then, add the rest of the milk mixture, mix again – and the rest of the egg mixture, mix again. (Alternating mixing creates a smooth and creamy buttermilk dough that is perfect for this gluten free donut recipe.)
- Fold in the 1 cup of strawberry pure (or use a no-added sugar strawberry jam).
- To a large decorating bag or 1 gallon plastic bag (cut a small piece the size of your thumb off the corner when filled), add all of the donut dough to the bag and begin piping into the donut pan.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove donuts from pan and let cool on a wire rack.
- Once cooled, frost the gluten free donuts with the cream cheese frosting (see below), then push the donut gently into a bowl of unsweetened shredded coconut. Gently spoon the strawberry glaze and then top with the diced strawberries.
OPTIONAL: GLUTEN FREE DONUT RECIPE FROSTING
- In a high speed blender, add the 1/2 cup of coconut sugar and pulse for 10-15 seconds. Be careful to not breath in the sugar when you remove the lid. Set aside.
- To a small mixing bowl, add the room temperature cream cheese and vanilla and blend together using a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes, or until well creamed.
- Add the coconut sugar and mix until well combined.
OPTIONAL: STRAWBERRY GLAZE FOR THE GLUTEN FREE DONUT RECIPE
- In a small bowl, add the strawberry puree or jam along with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. If not thin enough to spread, add another 1/2-1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
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More Gluten Free Donut Recipes:
If you love these donuts, you’re definitely going to love these Chocolate Donut Holes with Chocolate Ganache (can be made as donuts just as easily!). Or, check out these grain free Cinnamon Sugar Donuts.
Hi, Thank you for the recipe! I have the dry ingredients mixed together and just realized I cannot find my donut pan. Is the cupcake in your picture the same recipe and, if so, any chance you have baking instructions for making these into cupcakes?
Hi Jill,
The cupcake in the picture is simply for decoration, so I’ve never tried this recipe in cupcake form. However, there’s a good possibility it may work! If you try it out, let me know how it goes!
I finally made these donuts today during Bombogenesis Grayson and they’re quite yummy (thankfully without a power outage). My older child and I gobbled it up while my younger one licked the icing first and is slowly working on the actual donut (hours later) 🙂 We used the leftover icing to make chocolate-covered apple and banana slices 🙂
One editing suggestion: for step 3 of the donut, it would be helpful to indicate how much vanilla extract to add. I had to look down to the icing instructions to figure out that the donuts require the 1 teaspoon and the icing requires the 3/4 teaspoon.
Thanks for another yummy recipe!
Hi Kimberly! I am so happy to hear you liked the donuts as much we do =) I love the idea of using the leftover frosting to make chocolate covered fruit too!
And thank you SO much for catching that mistake with the vanilla. I just fixed the recipe.
Wishing you and your family and very happy (and healthy!!) 2018 xoxo
Hi, Ivy.
For grinding oats into flour, which type is oats are best? Steel cut? Rolled? Quick cooking?
Thanks,
Kim
Any way to make these sans eggs?
Hi Marianna, As a coincidence, someone else asked this yesterday in an email. They wanted to know if they could substitute flaxseeds for the eggs and while I am pretty sure this would work (you would want to use 6 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds to replace the 2 eggs in the recipe), I just wanted to quickly share what I wrote on Facebook today (please see below.) Although many people avoid eggs for allergy reasons, I know a lot of people are concerned they are not healthy, which really is just not the case at all—assuming of course you are not allergic! Anyway, not sure if any of the below is of interest to you, but thought I would share just in case 😉
EGG-citing news (for egg lovers!)
Although we had long ago made up our minds that pastured “whole” eggs (WITH the yolks!) were a healthy food regardless of their cholesterol content, it looks like mainstream nutrition guidelines might finally be changing their recommendations about dietary cholesterol soon.
The 2015 dietary guidelines will soon be released and it appears the importance of lowering dietary cholesterol will probably be downplayed.
The pastured eggs we eat are not at all the same as the eggs that come from factory-farmed chickens though (and they are not the same as “vegetarian” or “free range” chickens either).
And we always, always eat the “whole” egg—yolk and all!—because the sunny yellow part delivers a truly amazing source of choline (SO important if you are trying to get pregnant or pregnant, btw), vitamin K2, lecithin, lutein, and much more.
When it comes to eggs, throwing out the yolk is equivalent to throwing the baby out with the bath water. Yes, egg yolks have cholesterol but the cholesterol in your food is not exactly to blame for high serum (blood) cholesterol. Eating eggs and other cholesterol-rich foods such as shrimp does not necessarily increase the amount of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Nor does it increase the risk of heart disease (1)
Click the link below to learn more about the incredible edible egg benefits, why it is so important to choose pastured eggs and why certain nutrients in eggs are critical to good health.
https://cleancuisine.com/are-eggs-healthy/
Reference:
1. McNamara DJ. “The Impact of Egg Limitations on Coronary Heart Disease Risk: Do the Numbers Add Up.” J Am Coll Nutr. 2000 Oct; 19 (Suppl): 540S-548S.