Healthy Banana Donuts with Chocolate Glaze

 
A few years ago, I attended a blogging conference in Northern California with some of my local friends. We carpooled down from Sacramento for the two-hour drive, and we all reserved rooms at the same hotels that were connected to the convention center.  

After the first full day of sitting in on speaker sessions and wandering around the Expo Hall, we walked a few blocks away to a reputable restaurant for dinner. Although the entrées tasted fantastic, full of flavor and herbs and spices, almost none of us polished off our entire plate…
 

 
Because we passed by a fancy gourmet donut shop on our way over, and we all wanted to save room for dessert!

As soon as we pulled open the front door, this donut store immediately stood out compared the traditional mom-and-pop or Krispy Kreme shops located near our houses back home. Their glass display shelves were full of indulgent, over-the-top flavors with clever names!
 

 
♡ Kookie Monsters… Cake-style donuts topped with vanilla glaze, huge Oreo chunks, blue icing drizzle, and showered with powdered sugar.
♡ Cereal Killers… Cake-style donuts topped with vanilla glaze, Cap’n Crunch Berries cereal, and red icing drizzle.
♡ Mellow Submarines… Old-fashioned donuts topped with vanilla glaze, Rice Krispie cereal, and chocolate drizzle.

Plus plenty of other delicious options that almost seemed tame in comparison… Like S’mores, Elvis, German Chocolate Cake, and Rocky Road.

Just about everyone in our group of bloggers ended up choosing a different flavor, and we gladly cut them up to share around the table so we could each sample all of the sweet treats. But… They definitely counted as dessert—not breakfast food!
 

 
I haven’t yet been back to that incredible donut store, but once I bought my donut pans for baking, I haven’t felt the urge to… Because I can make completely guilt-free donuts at home, like these Healthy Banana Donuts with Chocolate Glaze!

Although not nearly as creative as the donut store’s flavor names, these healthier homemade donuts are just as flavorful and baked (not fried!). Plus they contain no eggs, refined flour or sugar, which means no post-breakfast sugar crashes! And with just 41 calories each… I never feel bad reaching for a second or third! 😉
 

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY BAKED BANANA DONUTS

So let’s talk about how to make these healthy banana donuts!

You’ll start with white whole wheat flour (like this… or gluten-free if you prefer!) and a tiny bit of cinnamon and nutmeg. When I first started baking donuts at home, I came across a recipe that included nutmeg because it made the baked versions taste closer to the traditional cake-style fried donuts. I don’t know how that spice magic works, but it’s totally true!
 

 
Then you’ll need very ripe bananas! See the ones in my photo above? That’s the minimum amount of brown spots I recommend! I actually prefer mine riper than that, where they look more brown than yellow. Those extra ripe bananas contain more natural sweetness, which makes your baked banana goodies taste better!
 

 
The bananas actually play four roles in these donuts! (1) Flavor {pretty obvious!}… (2) Egg replacer {aka the batter is perfectly safe to taste test!}… (3) Provide lots of moisture {which means you only need ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil!}… (4) Natural sweetness {which is why the riper ones are better—they’re sweeter than their pure yellow friends!}.

To help boost the sweetness in your donuts, you’ll also use one of my favorite ingredients, liquid stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing artificial or refined (aka it’s clean-eating friendly!). This is the kind I use because I love its sweet flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste, like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
 

 
Of course, you can’t make donuts without donut pans! These are the donut pans that I own. Because I love them so much, I actually bought four of them! Since they’re silicone, they’re a bit flimsy, so I just set them on a cookie sheet before sliding them into the oven. Super simple—and the donuts easily pop out of the pan and always look so cute!
 

 
Now for the glaze! It’s even easier to make than the donuts. Just mix together cocoa powder (like this!), milk, vanilla extract, and a little more liquid stevia (like this!). That’s it!

When dipping donuts in the glaze, I actually invert them! So the side that was touching the donut pan is the side I dip into the glaze. It usually looks a smoother and nicer than the side that was facing up in the oven!
 

 
You can leave them plain, like I did… Or add sprinkles… Or chocolate chips… Or shredded coconut… Or crushed peanuts… The sky’s the limit! 😉

And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy banana donuts with chocolate glaze!

Healthy Banana Donuts with Chocolate Glaze

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 28 mini donuts

These baked donuts taste incredible — and I actually prefer them to the traditional fried ones! They’re deliciously sweet, thanks to the banana, and the rich dark chocolate glaze is the perfect flavor combination. Leftover donuts will keep for at least 5 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

4.88 from 8 votes

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Ingredients 

FOR THE DONUTS

• 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ tsp liquid stevia
• 1 cup (260g) mashed banana (about 2 large ripe bananas – see Notes!)
• ¾ cup (180mL) unsweetened cashew milk

FOR THE GLAZE

• ¼ cup (20g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
• 3 ½ tbsp (52mL) unsweetened cashew milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• scant ¼ tsp liquid stevia (or adjusted to taste)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 28 mini donut cups with nonstick cooking spray.
• To prepare the donuts, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, vanilla extract, and liquid stevia. Stir in the mashed banana. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 4 equal parts.)
• Transfer the batter to a large zip-topped plastic bag, and cut off one corner. Pipe the batter into the prepared donut cups. Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch. Cool in the donut pan for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Just before serving, prepare the glaze by stirring together the cocoa powder, milk, vanilla extract, and liquid stevia. Dip each donut into the glaze, and place back onto the wire racks or a plate to let the glaze set.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s very important to measure the flour and cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!). Too much flour will dry out the donut batter. Too much cocoa powder will make the glaze taste bitter instead of rich and dark (like 72% dark chocolate).

 

IMPORTANT BANANA NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: For the best results, use the ripest, darkest, and spottiest bananas you have! The ones that are purely brown are ideal. They have a stronger and sweeter banana flavor than pure yellow bananas.

 

Measure the bananas by cups or grams, not by “two large bananas.” Not all “large” bananas are the same size!

 

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.

 

LIQUID STEVIA NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! It’s one of my favorite sweeteners, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too. (I buy it online here because that's the cheapest price I've found!)

 

If you prefer not to use the liquid stevia in the donut batter, substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150mL) pure maple syrup, honey, or agave AND reduce the cashew milk to 2 tablespoons (30mL) in the batter.

 

If you prefer not to use the liquid stevia in the glaze, substitute 2 tablespoons (30mL) pure maple syrup, honey, or agave AND reduce the cashew milk to 1 ½ tablespoons (22mL).

 

MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted in place of the unsweetened cashew milk.

 

GLUTEN FREE OPTION: For the gluten free flour, I recommend the following: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten free flour blends (I like this one by Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.

 

DONUT PANS NOTE: These are the donut pans that I use! They’re made of silicone and a little flimsy, so I just set them on top of a large cookie sheet to bake.

 

GLAZING TIP: When dipping in the glaze, I put the glaze on the side of the donut that was touching the donut pan (so the donuts' bottoms!). It’s typically smoother than the top side, so the glaze looks a little prettier!

 

HOW TO MAKE STANDARD SIZED DONUTS: If you prefer, this recipe will yield 12 standard sized donuts. The baking temperature remains the same. Begin checking on them after about 18 minutes. The donuts will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops feel firm to the touch.

 

HOW TO MAKE IN MUFFIN PANS: Don’t own a mini or standard-sized donut pan? Not to worry! You can use mini muffin pans (you’ll get 28 mini muffins) or a standard-sized muffin pan (you’ll get 12 muffins).

 

{gluten free, egg free, dairy free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low sugar}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
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