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Cakey and moist, these breakfast donuts are a perfect start to your weekend! Made with oats, they take less than 30 minutes to make.
I love breakfast desserts, so it’s no surprise that breakfast donuts are something I make my family a little too often.
Unlike classic sugar and fat-filled donuts, this one is free from refined flour, butter, sugar, and frying! They are a spin on my healthy donuts but swapping out the flour for ground up oats.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick and easy. Unlike traditional donuts, I have made them without yeast, so you don’t have to worry about proofing them. Also, their consistency is such that you can pour them into donut trays and bake them instead of fry.
- Fun breakfast option. Like my blueberry baked donuts, these are a great substitute if you are bored of everyday oats or breakfast bars. They are not overly sweet or indulgent and can be versatile and customizable, like baked oats!
- Perfect texture. The donuts have the perfect balance of fluffiness and cakiness, and the addition of the oats give them that slightly chewy texture.
Ingredients Needed
As mentioned earlier, these donuts use a handful of wholesome ingredients to make. Here is what you’ll need:
- Oat flour. Blended oats that have a flour-like texture. You can buy any pre-packaged oat flour or make your own.
- Coconut sugar. My preferred sweetener because it is less refined than white or brown sugar.
- Baking powder. This will make your donuts nice and fluffy and have some rise.
- Cinnamon. For the lovely, warm Cinnabon-like nostalgia.
- Sea salt. You’ll need just a pinch to balance the sweetness.
- Almond milk. This is the usual milk in my fridge, but use any milk you like.
- Egg OR flax egg. Use one egg or make a flax egg by allowing to gel a tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with three tablespoons of water.
- Vanilla extract. Cinnamon and vanilla perfectly complement one another. A splash of a good quality vanilla extract will elevate this recipe.
- Almond butter. For binding and moisture. I like almond butter because it goes well with the other flavors and isn’t as overpowering as peanut butter. You can use any nut or seed butter you enjoy.
For the Glaze
- Greek yogurt. I used plain Greek yogurt, but any thick yogurt will work just fine.
- Confectioners sugar. Just a little bit to add some sweetness but also thin out the yogurt enough to drizzle over each donut.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How to make the breakfast donuts
Step 1- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix well.
Step 2- Make the donut batter. Whisk the milk, vanilla extract, and egg/flax egg in a small bowl. Pour into the dry mixture. Add the melted nut butter and mix well until a batter is formed.
Step 3- Bake the donuts. Transfer the batter to the greased 12-count doughnut pan or muffin tin and bake for 20-30 minutes in a preheated oven at 350°F. Remove it from the oven once you see a golden brown color on top and a toothpick comes on clean.
Step 4- Cool them down. Let the donuts sit in the pan for roughly 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 5- Make the frosting. Whisk together the yogurt and confectioner’s sugar and frost the donuts once cooled.
Recipe tips and variations
- Avoid overmixing the batter. Like cake or pancake batter, you want to combine the batter until fully incorporated.
- Avoid overbaking the donuts. For soft, cakey donuts, bake until the toothpick comes out clean. Any longer, and you’ll end up with dry and dense donuts. Remember, they will continue to cook as they cool down.
- Frost cooled donuts. Sugar glaze seeps off the hot donuts. So, wait for the donuts to cool down before frosting them.
- Add mix-ins. To change things up, I sometimes fold through some dried fruits, fresh berries, or to treat the family, some chocolate chips.
Storage instructions
To store. Store leftovers in an airtight container on your kitchen top for 3 to 4 days.
To freeze. For more extended storage, toss the breakfast donuts into freezer-safe bags and freeze them for up to 4 months.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! If you don’t want to use rolled oats, you can use all-purpose, wholewheat, or cake flour. You will need to add an extra 2-3 tablespoons to compensate for the extra liquid.
Yes, you can. If you don’t own a donut pan, bake them as muffins. The cooking time will not differ.
More tasty donut recipes to try
Breakfast Donuts
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups oat flour oats ground into a flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk I used unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 flax egg or 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons almond butter can sub for any nut butter
Glaze
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 12-count donut pan and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix well.
- In a small bowl, whisk the milk, vanilla extract, and egg/flax egg. Pour into the dry mixture. Add the almond butter and mix very well until a batter is formed.
- Transfer the batter to the greased donut pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a toothpick comes on clean. Remove from oven and let sit in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, frost.
- To make the frosting, whisk the yogurt and confectioner sugar until combined. Dip each donut in it and let it sit on a wire rack to firm up.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe originally published May 2016 but updated to include new information for your benefit.
what is coconut butter and where do you get it?
Hi Suzy, coconut butter is blended coconut meat, which results in a buttery spread. You can get it at most health food and some grocery stores. It is also available online or amazon. 🙂
I tried the original option (used coconut flour – could not find the other). However, the “batter” for me turned out as a bowl of crumbles. Went ahead and baked just in case. Still after the allotted time, they still looked like balls of crumbles. Also tasted very dry. Loved the sound of the concept, but for those like me that are not great cooks, this recipe did not like me.
Hi Jen! Unfortunately, the original version can’t have the oat flour subbed with coconut flour- It just won’t work. If you want to use coconut flour, you need to follow the ‘Paleo’ option directions.
Coconut flour in general requires more liquid and needs larger number of eggs than is standard to keep it from ending up really dense. You can see that from Arman’s paleo recipe. It has more eggs than is standard for donuts. Four eggs equates to approximately a cup and that’s on top of having less flour, half a cup of honey, and half a cup of milk as liquid ingredients, versus a cup in the vegan recipe.
Sorry for my French but what does T mean in your recipes? tablespoon? tx These looks great.
Hi Carole- Apologies for not being clear enough, the T stands for tablespoon 🙂
I tried the paleo recipe. It’s very dense and dry. Was thinking maybe to add coconut oil to the recipe? Thoughts?
Hi Dee! I’m sorry to hear that- I’d add some dairy free milk and maybe a tablespoon of coconut oil- It generally should be quite soft and fluffy 🙂
THANK YOU so much for all the different options! It was an incredible relief to scroll down and see that there were even options to choose from? I am not used to seeing that on very many food blogs so THANK YOU! So excited to make these!
No worries at all, Alix- Hope you enjoy! 🙂
This looks great and I want to make it this week but I am confused about the frosting.
The ingredients for the cinnamon frosting are listed as coconut butter, sweetener, and milk- no mention of cream cheese or cinnamon (“For the cream cheese one, allow to sit at room temperature until it softens. Mix with granulated sweetener and cinnamon. Spread over each doughnut.”). Can you help out with ingredient list and amounts? Thanks!
Hi Kirsten- Apologies for that! The cream cheese one, depending on whether you want a thick frosting or thin one, start with half a tub (100 grams) and mix with 1-2 T sweetener until desired sweetness, then frost.
Awesome! Just got doughnut pans for a “savory breakfast bagel “- eggs, cheese and sausage. Now I have a sweet recipe! What do you mean by Drippy almond butter? How can I tell at the store!
😀 LOVE using doughnut pans for that exact recipe!!!!!! We must have the same brain 🙂
Now for drippy almond butter, it’s sold at Trader Joe’s, or Barney Butter smooth is drippy too 🙂
For the drippy almond butter, I can sub any nut butter. Is that like peanut butter? I’m confused 🙂
Plus thank you for creating a GLUTEN free doughnut where the ingredients are weird!!
Aren’t weird. Not are.
Hahahaha thanks, Jamie! 🙂
For the drippy almond butter, I can sub any nut butter. Is that like peanut butter? Will it affect the taste? It won’t taste like peanut butter?
Hi Jamie! I usually avoid peanut butter for baked goods, as the peanut butter flavor is very evident.
This looks amazing!!!! Thank you sooo much! Just to be sure, the T in your recipe is a tablespoon, not a teaspoon?
Hi Ashley! thanks so much for your kind words- That is correct, so 15 mls 🙂
My daughte is allergic to wheat, oats and egg. How can adjust the flour in the original option? Can i use any GF flour? If i use the flour ratio in the paleo version, do i need to adjust the baking powder? Thank you for providing a healthy, allergy-free doughnut option.
Hi Angel! You could try the paleo option and use flax eggs, but I can’t vouch for the results, sorry!
Ok I’m gonna be super honest here . I was just diagnosed with diabitiis 2 . I’m 46 year old over weight busy wife,mother,grandmother, this fills like my whole world is changing . I’m tired I’m depressed I don’t like shots and blood . And I love good food . So if just only one or two of these pancakes turn out good I’m gonna be soooooooo happy !!!!! Depression is hard when you have to accept change . And if you can find little things to give you hope . I think that is a good thing w
Hope you enjot the pancakes, Michele! I’m sorry for your diagnosis!
Hi – these look delicious! I’m always looking for healthy “treats” for my 10-yr-old son. Question – are these full size doughnuts or mini?
Hi Shannon! 🙂 These are the standard sized ones (I think…I’ve seen mini ones and large ones) – I used a 12 count doughnut pan 🙂
Do you have a printable version of your recipes? 🙂
Hi Michelle! 🙂 The recipe plugin should allow you to do so (It’s in the top right corner of it :))
My cookbook will be out next year too, ha! 🙂