Cozy and easy to make, these Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Donuts are baked and then tossed in a cinnamon sugar coating for pure perfection. Made without yeast, you can have delicious homemade donuts in 30 minutes!
I have an important question for you- are you a fried donut person or baked donut person? Let me know in the comments! I'm partial to baked donuts because, well, fried foods can be intense. Also, making baked donuts at home is so much easier than dealing with frying. This easy recipe will be your new go-to when you're craving donuts whether it's for breakfast or an afternoon snack!
Healthy Donuts
These gluten free baked donuts are allergy friendly including being dairy free, nut free, and refined sugar free. Plus, they are lower sugar than any donut you'd find in the store. My mission is always to create lower sugar baked goods because you truly don't need all the sugar usually called for in recipes to make treats taste good! Why not enjoy something delicious without the blood sugar crash?
Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Donut Ingredients
- Gluten-free flour blend: be sure to use a 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour with xanthan gum for best results.
- Tigernut flour: this is a nut free substitute for almond flour and is my favorite way to decrease the amount of sugar needed. Both tigernut and almond flours are naturally sweet, so you can get away with less added sugar.
- Olive oil: the heart healthy fat used to help achieve a lighter texture in these baked gluten-free donuts.
- Yogurt: I use a dairy free yogurt to keep this recipe dairy free, but you can also opt for Greek yogurt if tolerated.
- Maple syrup: there is only ¼ cup of maple syrup in this recipe, just be sure to use pure maple syrup.
- Egg: 1 large egg.
- Coconut sugar: this unrefined sugar is used to toss the donuts in!
- Coconut oil
- Cinnamon, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract
How to Make Gluten Free Baked Donuts
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a donut pan and set aside. Be generous in coating the pan so that the donuts do not stick!
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Beat together the wet ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Spoon batter into a piping bag (see below if you don't have a piping bag)
- Pipe batter into the doughnut pan.
- Bake the donuts in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops spring back when touched. They won't necessarily be golden brown since we aren't frying them.
- While donuts back, make the cinnamon sugar topping and pour into a large plastic bag.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Use a wire rack to flip the donuts out.
- Toss donuts in cinnamon sugar mixture. If the mixture is not sticking, you can lightly brush the donuts with coconut oil. Place coated donuts on a cooling rack.
Substitutions and Variations
- Flours: you can use almond flour instead of the tigernut flour if you tolerate nuts.
- Oil: I have not tested this recipe with melted butter or melted coconut oil. It would probably work to use either, but the donuts would be more dense. The olive oil helps yield a more tender crumb.
- Yogurt: I have not tested alternatives for this, but wonder if unsweetened applesauce would work. This may give you more of an apple vibe if you are making these in the fall!
- Maple syrup and coconut sugar: stick to a liquid sweetener in the donut batter, like agave. You can substitute the coconut sugar for brown sugar but they won't be refined sugar free anymore.
- Variations: make these gluten free dairy free donuts more fall themed by using pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice instead of the cinnamon. This is a great base donut recipe, so skip the cinnamon-sugar and coat them in your favorite homemade glaze if desired!
Serving and Storage of Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Serve donuts with a warm cup of a coffee, a cold glass of your favorite milk (almond milk, regular milk, whatever floats your boat!), or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Donuts taste best fresh, but if you have leftover gluten-free cinnamon sugar donuts, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
FAQ
Not to worry! You can use a gallon zip lock bag. Add the donut batter to the bag then cut off the corner and pipe the donuts out of the bag that way.
I have not tested an egg free version of this recipe to make vegan donuts. You could certainly try an egg substitute and if you do, leave a comment letting me know how it went.
More Gluten Free Donut Recipes
Gluten Free Strawberries and Cream Donuts
Gluten Free Blackberry Jam Donuts
Gluten Free Entenmann's Protein Donuts
If you try this recipe, let me know what you think by leaving a rating and review below!
Baked Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Ingredients
- ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp 1:1 gluten free flour
- ½ cup tigernut flour or almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup yogurt of choice I use coconut yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a donut pan and set aside. Be generous in coating the pan so that the donuts do not stick!
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Beat together the wet ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Spoon batter into a piping bag (see below if you don't have a piping bag)
- Pipe batter into the doughnut pan. You may have extra batter and need to bake in batches.
- Bake the donuts in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops spring back when touched. They won't necessarily be golden brown since we aren't frying them.
- While donuts back, make the cinnamon sugar topping and pour into a large plastic bag.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Use a wire rack to flip the donuts out.
- Toss donuts in cinnamon sugar mixture. If the mixture is not sticking, you can lightly brush the donuts with coconut oil. Place coated donuts on a cooling rack.
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