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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.
I just made the oat flour version for my wheat, egg, nut, soy, plus-allergic daughter and they are A-MA-ZING! I can’t wait for her to get home from school to try them! Our house borders an apple orchard and the aroma of fresh baking doughnuts in the morning can be torture…I’m so happy to have a safe option to offer her!
Have you tried baking these with other spices, or maybe omitting the cinnamon/spice altogether? Curious if they would taste like a basic cake doughnut. The cinnamon version is fantastic, just wondering about possible variations. Thanks!!
In the recipe, is T a teaspoon or Table spoon? Thanks dan
Hi Dan! It’s tablespoon 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. I am so excited to try it! However, I just had one quick question. If I cannot have coconut flour( I have gastroparesis) would I just substitute that amount and do all almond flour or can it be made with all purpose flour if need be?
Thank you so much & have aBeautiful day!
?Michelle E.
Hi Michelle! you’d be best to stick with the first oat flour option- I haven’t tried the second one omitting coconut flour, sorry!
Thanks so much for the new recipe. I’m just double checking that you used 1/2 cup (170 grams of stevia & monk fruit). It seems like a lot of sweetener.
Hi Brad, that is correct- The sweetener I use is cup for cup replacement for sugar 🙂
Ok, 1/2 cup it is, we’ll be trying this recipe this week. Thanks again.
Has anyone tried xylitol with this recipe?
Hi Mary! Some readers have- They mentioned that they just had to adjust the amount, as some brands weren’t cup for cup substitutions 🙂 Enjoy!
I made these over the weekend and my kids devoured them! I had my usual issue, though, when baking with oat flour – the doughnuts were very crumbly and fell apart. Any tips? I will admit I didn’t grease my doughnut pan (I quickly learned the non-stick pan wasn’t non-stick enough), but I have this issue with other baked goods made from oat flour. Thanks for your input! I’m going to try these as muffins next.
Hi Kristen! Sometimes, it helps to add a little more milk 🙂 They work beautifully as muffins 🙂
Would it be possible to substitute honey in the original recipe instead of granulated sweetener? I try to avoid processed sweeteners if at all possible and I don’t have coconut flour
Hi Haeley! I’ve never tried it with that, but another reader used maple syrup and just adjusted the flours if needed 🙂
what about using coconut flour instead of oat flour????
There is a coconut flour/paleo version listed in the ingredients 🙂
Cannot wait to try these! Perfect for work mornings on the run! Your recipes are so easy to follow, which is great considering I really don’t like to cook.
Hi there, I’m wondering your opinion on if subbing tahini for drippy almond butter might work? Thanks! 🙂
Hi Kaden! I haven’t had much success with tahini as a good substitute (unless it’s a no bake recipe)- It tends to be a little bit too oily and bitter.
I highly recommend that people grind their own oats (even a blender works for this) and if you have a halfway decent food processor you can make cashew butter, almond butter, and coconut butter for way cheaper than in the stores while also controlling added ingredients. I make organic almond butter for cheaper than you can get a smaller quantity of non organic. Oh, and I recommend keeping your flax seeds in the fridge and any ground flax in the fridge as the oil in them can go rancid which makes it smell like rotting fix.
Thank you for this recipe! I am allergic to wheat and soy as well as being vegan. I’ve avoided most doughnut recipes as they tend to use a gluten free flour blend and those are usually very much lacking in the nutrition department. These are also incredibly easy and contain things I always have on hand. This is the only baked good recipe I have made that uses only oat flour and isn’t at all gummy. First time using saigon cinnamon, and I definitely approve. I snuck a couple of the mini donuts with fresh made coconut butter on top, the rest are going to use the protein frosting.
Thanks for the feedback, Sarah! 🙂
I made the paleo option and these were the best paleo treats I’ve made so far. I don’t usually comment on the recipes I try but I simply had to say something after making these! Just so good. I didn’t have the ingredients for the icing so I left that out and I didn’t have almond butter so I used cashew butter. Seriously unreal. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Megan! Apologies for the delayed reply, I just saw this! Thank you so much for trying it out, I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I was wondering if these would bake in a donut maker? My daughter bought me a 70’s Exeter, just like the one I bought my mom when I was a kid!
Hi there! I’ve never tried it in a donut maker before- I’m curious to hear how it turns out!