Velvety pumpkin puree and a blend of warming spices come together for these Easy Baked Pumpkin Donuts. Loaded with all your favorite fall flavors, this seasonal treat can be savored in under 30 minutes.
If you love these baked pumpkin donuts, try this recipe for Baked Gluten Free Apple Cider Donuts, or this Chocolate Pistachio Zucchini Donut.
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These baked pumpkin donuts are perfect for this time of year. In the midst of all things pumpkin, everyone needs to have a donut recipe in their baking repertoire to embrace the flavors of the season.
Though we all love donuts, we shouldn’t be eating too many deep-fried foods. These baked donuts are the perfect alternative.
Can you bake donuts?
If you’ve never made baked donuts before you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how easy they are to make and how great they taste. The batter is poured into a donut baking tray that has donut shapes, much like a muffin tray but with holes in the middle. The tray is then placed in the oven so the donuts are baked instead of deep fried. With less oil and fewer calories, you may just decide baked donuts are the way to go to celebrate the fall and the quintessential flavors this time of the year.
If you don’t have a donut baking pan you can use a muffin tray, see the instructions below.
Why You’ll Love This Baked Pumpkin Donuts Recipe
Seasonal: Nothing says fall better than pumpkin flavored goodies and these donuts are no exception.
Baked: No need to worry about the oil that fried donuts absorb and the mess they make when you are frying them.
No special equipment needed: You don’t need to buy any special equipment to make donuts at home. See note below about how to use a muffin try to make healthy baked pumpkin donuts.
Ingredients
DONUTS
- All-purpose flour – Choose unbleached all purpose white flour.
- Pumpkin puree – Pumpkin puree adds the rich, pumpkin taste to these pumpkin spice donuts.
- Sea salt – A touch of sea salt helps bring out the flavor.
- Baking soda & baking powder – These helps the donuts rise.
- Spices: A combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves add that pumpkin spice taste.
- Brown sugar – Brown sugar sweetens up these pumpkin donuts.
- Canola oil – Use canola oil or a mild flavored oil.
- Egg – This recipe calls for one egg. For a vegan option use 1/4 c apple sauce.
- Vanilla extract – Use real vanilla extract for the best flavor.
GLAZE
- Confectioner’s sugar – Also known as icing sugar or powdered sugar.
- Milk – Any kind of milk helps the glaze become pourable.
- Vanilla bean paste – Use vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract.
How To Make This Recipe For Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Step 1: Add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices to a large bowl and mix.
- Step 2: Whisk together sugar, oil, pumpkin puree, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
- Step 3: Combine the wet ingredients with the dry using a silicone spatula. Gently stir until it becomes a smooth batter.
- Step 4: Transfer the batter to a pastry bag and fill each of the prepared doughnut cavities. It’s best to lightly grease each cavity.
- Step 5: Bake at 350F degrees for 12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
- Step 6: Prepare the glaze by combining the confectioner sugar with milk and vanilla bean paste and whisk until smooth. Spoon onto the cooled pumpkin spice baked donuts. Allow glaze to set before serving.
Tips and Variations
- Spray the wells: Use a touch of olive oil spray inside the donut tray wells so the pumpkin donuts come out easily.
- Use pumpkin puree: Make sure you buy pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is sweetened and may also contain spices.
- If you don’t have a piping bag: Use a large Ziploc bag and pour the batter into it. Cut a hole in the corner and squeeze the batter into the prepared donut wells.
- Change up the glaze: Make a pumpkin flavored glaze, cream cheese based glaze or even maple syrup glaze.
- Adjust the spice: Add more or less cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves based on your preference.
- Make them gluten free: Substitute a 1-1 gluten free flour.
FAQs
This is really a matter or personal preference though it is healthier to bake donuts as opposed to deep frying them.
If you don’t have a donut-shaped baking tray you can use a muffin tray and tin foil. Using 4″ x 4″ piece of aluminum foil, create a mold using your middle finger that you can lay in the muffin tray so you can pour the dough into a doughnut shape.
The flavor profile is the same it’s just that you won’t get exactly the same texture and you don’t get the fried taste. Try these baked pumpkin donuts and you’ll see how good they taste without any frying.
Make ahead and storage
There’s nothing quite like freshly baked donuts but these baked pumpkin spice donuts can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container on the kitchen counter for 3-4 days. You can bake them up, freeze them, and when you are ready to eat them, thaw and then ice them. Though if you do have iced leftovers they will still freeze well.
Freeze uneaten donuts for up to 3 months. Freeze on a cookie sheet and then transfer to a container so you can easily grab one donut at a time.
Looking for more pumpkin recipe inspiration?
- Pumpkin Spice Protein Shake
- Pumpkin Walnut Bread
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup
RECIPE TIP
If you don’t have all the spices on hand, pick up a jar of pumpkin pie spice which usually contains a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
Soft Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 egg vegan option; 1/4 c apple sauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Glaze
- 1/2 cup confectioner sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices together (dry mix)
- In a separate bowl combine the sugar, oil, pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla. Whisk to combine
- Add the wet mix to the dry. Using a silicone spatula, fold into a smooth batter.
- Transfer batter to a pastry bag (see notes) and fill each doughnut cavity with the batter.
- Bake at 350F degrees for 12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let it cool off on a wire rack.
Glaze
- In a small glass bowl, combine the confectioner sugar with milk and vanilla bean paste and whisk until smooth. When doughnuts are cool, spoon about 1 tbsp of glaze over the top of each doughnut. Allow glaze to set before serving
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
15 Delicious and Healthy Baked Goods To Try
This recipe is great! I was looking for a baked donut recipe and though I didn’t have pumpkin on hand I traded out the pumpkin for homemade, chunky apple sauce and it was so delicious!
Exactly Ludmilla. I actually doing the same tomorrow, same recipe but homemade apple sauce instead. Glad it worked out for you 🙂
I was easy enough but I subed 1 C of whole wheat with a dash of orange and made mini’s. Glaze on the side for whomsoever wants it. Nice and popable!! Thanks
Thanks for sharing this amazing baked donut recipe, this is very suitable for the fall season. I want to try this recipe, but I don’t have a donut pan. I love baked donuts so much that I think now I should buy a donut pan. Store bought donuts are generally unhealthy and sometimes overloaded with the glaze.
Once I discovered that I could made donuts that are much healthier and just as delicious, my whole life changed 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
I was easy enough but I subed 1 C of whole wheat with a dash of orange and made mini’s. Glaze on the side for whomsoever wants it. Nice and popable!! Thanks