These baked pumpkin donuts are the perfect fall treat! They are healthier and easier to make than deep-fried donuts, but still taste amazing. They’re full of cozy spices and wholesome ingredients like pumpkin puree and whole wheat flour. The crunchy cinnamon sugar coating brings these to the next level! These pumpkin donuts are the perfect breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Why I Love These Healthy Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Texture: These pumpkin donuts have a delicious cake donut texture. The crumb is dense, and the inside is extra soft and tender. The exterior is slightly crisp and pairs perfectly with the crunchy cinnamon sugar coating.
- Flavor: These donuts are packed with my favorite fall flavors. They’re spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, and packed with pumpkin purée. The whole wheat flour also adds an extra layer of nutty flavor! These donuts are the perfect cozy breakfast, snack, or dessert, especially with a mug of hot coffee or tea.
- Ease: The best part about these healthy baked pumpkin donuts is how easy they are to make! They’re made with simple ingredients and no special tools. You could even make these in a muffin tin if you don’t have a donut pan. Best of all, you don’t have to deal with the mess and danger of deep frying!
- Healthy: I also love that these pumpkin donuts are much healthier than most desserts sold commercially. They’re made with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour and pumpkin purée. This recipe also uses less butter and sugar than most other donut recipes!
Types of Donuts
There are two main types of donuts: yeasted donuts and cake donuts. Yeasted donuts are super light and fluffy. The dough isn’t super sweet and most of the flavor comes from the glaze or frosting. On the other hand, cake donuts are much denser, but still super tender. The batter itself is usually sweetened already and the donuts are commonly covered in a glaze. These baked pumpkin donuts fall into the cake donut category. They have the perfect dense crumb, super soft inside, and a slightly crisp exterior. They’re similar to apple cider donuts, especially with the cinnamon sugar coating on the outside.
Key Ingredients in these Healthy Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- All purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour: Feel free to substitute all purpose flour.
- Spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger): You could also use pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Granulated sugar
- Butter
- Eggs
- Pumpkin purée: I recommend using canned pumpkin purée because homemade pumpkin purée often contains too much moisture. If you are using homemade purée, make sure to strain out most of the liquid. Also, double check that you are using pure pumpkin purée and not canned pumpkin pie filling, which already has sugar mixed in.
- Milk or yogurt: Any milk or yogurt will work here (nonfat, low fat, or whole milk). To make these dairy free, you could also substitute unsweetened applesauce.
Tips and Techniques for Making Healthy Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Use fresh spices: for best flavors, make sure you use spices that are relatively fresh (not the one that’s been in the back of your pantry for the past 10 years!).
- Make sure your baking powder and baking soda aren’t expired: many people don’t realize that baking powder and baking soda can actually expire! If you are having trouble with very dense donuts, double check that your leaveners aren’t expired.
- Use room temperature eggs: this helps them incorporate much easier into the batter and prevents the melted butter from seizing.
- Use canned pumpkin purée: homemade pumpkin purée often has too much moisture. If you are using homemade purée, make sure to strain out most of the liquid.
- Don’t over mix the batter: over mixing can develop too much gluten in the batter, which leads to tough and chewy donuts. Mix just until there are no more pockets of flour left. It’s ok if there are some small lumps!
- Wait to coat the donuts in cinnamon sugar: the sugar coating will absorb moisture and dissolve if stored overnight, so I recommend coating these in sugar right before serving.
- Coat the donuts in sugar while warm: this helps the cinnamon sugar stick to the surface.
- Brush some melted butter on the donuts: if you are having trouble getting the sugar to stick to the donuts, try brushing some melted butter on the donuts before coating in sugar. This also adds amazing flavor!
- Enjoy the donuts warm: these donuts are best enjoyed warm! To reheat, I recommend microwaving the donuts for 15-20 seconds under a damp paper towel.
Variations and Ingredient Substitutions for Healthy Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Muffins: If you don’t have a donut pan, you can make these in a muffin pan. A mini muffin pan will work the best. If you are using a standard muffin pan, make sure to increase the baking time.
- Flour: Feel free to substitute all purpose flour for the whole wheat flour.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Instead of the ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, you could use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
- Brown sugar: For a richer flavor, try using brown sugar instead of granulated sugar in the donut batter.
- Maple syrup: For maple pumpkin donuts, try using 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 sugar in place of the sugar in the batter.
- Chopped nuts: For extra flavor and texture, try adding 1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts to the donut batter.
- Applesauce: To make these donuts dairy free, use unsweetened applesauce instead of the milk.
- Vanilla glaze: Instead of cinnamon sugar, try coating these donuts with a simple icing made of 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons milk, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract.
If You Liked These Healthy Baked Pumpkin Donuts, You Might Also Like…
- Maple Donut Muffins
- Healthier Apple Cider Donuts
- Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Cake
- Healthy Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
- Healthier Pumpkin Bread
- Airfryer Apple Fritters
Healthy Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Cozy pumpkin cake donuts that are baked, not fried! These donuts are healthier and easier to make than fried donuts, but still taste amazing. They are filled with warm pumpkin spice and wholesome ingredients like pumpkin puree and whole wheat flour.
Servings: 12 donuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup whole wheat flour or substitute all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger optional
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar use 1/2 cup for sweeter donuts
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée
- 1/4 cup yogurt or milk
For the cinnamon sugar coating:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease 2 donut pans (12 cavities total) liberally with oil or butter.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together sugar and melted butter until well combined. Then whisk in the eggs until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, pumpkin purée, and milk. Whisk until everything is smooth and well combined.
- Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined (be careful not to over mix). Spoon or pipe the batter into the greased donut pans. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the donuts start to pull away from the edges of the pan and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove pans from the oven and allow donuts to rest in the pans for 5 minutes.
Make the cinnamon sugar:
- In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and ground cinnamon.
Coat the donuts:
- While the donuts are still warm, remove them from the pans and immediately roll in the cinnamon sugar, pressing down gently to help the sugar stick. Transfer to a wire rack or serve immediately. These donuts are best enjoyed warm (especially with a mug of tea or coffee!)
Notes
If you don’t have milk or yogurt, you can also substitute unsweetened applesauce.
If you are having trouble getting the cinnamon sugar to stick to the donuts, try brushing the donuts with some melted butter for rolling in the cinnamon sugar.
The sugar coating will absorb moisture and dissolve if stored overnight, so I recommend coating these in sugar right before serving.
If you have any leftover donuts, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, I recommend microwaving for 15-25 seconds under a damp paper towel.
