These might just be the best keto donuts ever! Sweet cinnamon scented donuts feature a rich brown butter glaze. So good, you’d never believe they are low carb and sugar-free.
Prize winning keto donuts? Okay, I confess, it’s more like keto recipe battle winning.
If you’ve ever seen the fun and hilarious High Falutin’ Low Carb on YouTube, you know what I am talking about. He takes two similar low carb recipes and tries them both out, on camera. He’s an absolute hoot to watch so I highly recommend seeking him out. It’s all done with good humor and good grace.
I am thrilled to say that he declared these keto donuts the winners. The look on his face as he takes a bite says it all!
If chocolate is more your style, make sure you check out my Keto Chocolate Donuts too!
Why you will love these donuts
Truth be told, I was never a donut fanatic. If someone brought them into school or work, I might have half of one. I always preferred muffins or scones.
Maybe that’s why I like keto donuts so much, as they really are just muffins baked in a donut pan. But you can have so much fun playing with flavors and frostings, and making your old favorites with far fewer carbs.
Brown butter is insanely delicious and it can totally transform your recipes from pretty good to absolutely outstanding. It’s great in sweet and savory recipes, everything from Brown Butter Chicken to my famous keto blondies.
It makes the perfect glaze for these keto donuts too. Delicious and sweet, with hints of caramel, it takes them to a whole new level.
Reader reviews
“Made these this morning for my family. So yummy! They were a hit with everyone, even my non-low carb kids. My husband and I were pleasantly pleased. Lol Will definitely make again!! I love browned butter so I knew I had to make the glaze as well. Thank you!” — Karin Owens
“May I please have the option to rate this at TEN STARS??? Omigosh, perfection! I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of a wee bit more cinnamon (I think I’m addicted to cinnamon lol), and I wouldn’t change a single thing. Sweet and tender and spicy (kind of like my fiancé, who can’t wait to sample a donut!), and something I’ve been missing since having to eliminate carbs. Thank you for yet another AMAZING recipe!!” — Wendy
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: This keto donut recipe is made with almond flour. If you would like to use a different flour, please check out the Expert Tips section where I address this in more detail.
- Sweetener: You will need a granulated sweetener for the donuts and a powdered sweetener for the glaze. I find that erythritol sweeteners like Swerve work best for both parts of the recipe. Please read the Expert Tips section for more sweetener options.
- Protein powder: In the absence of gluten, another dry protein helps baked goods rise and hold their shape. It’s what sets my keto muffins and cakes apart from the rest, as it gives them a lighter, fluffier consistency. You can also use egg white protein or vegan protein, but don’t use collagen protein.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon makes the donut super delicious, but you can just do vanilla if you prefer.
- Butter: This is the star of the show in this recipe so choose a high quality unsalted butter.
- Liquid: You can use almond milk, water, or a mix of cream and water.
- Heavy whipping cream: You will need to thin out the glaze with a bit of heavy cream.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder and salt.
Step-by-step directions
1. Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, Swerve, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Stir in the wet ingredients: Stir in the eggs, melted butter, almond milk, and vanilla extract until well combined.
3. Bake the donuts: Fill the wells of a greased standard donut pan about two thirds full. Bake at 325ºF for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool at least 15 minutes, then gently loosen and flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Brown the butter: Melt the butter in small skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter is browned and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool about 10 minutes.
5. Make the glaze: Place the powdered sweetener in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the browned butter until well combined. The mixture will be quite thick. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the cream at a time until a spreadable consistency is achieved. Stir in the vanilla extract.
6. Glaze the donuts: Spread glaze on cooled donuts and let set, about 20 minutes.
Expert tips
The baking pan
Choose a good donut pan. I’ve gone through quite a few donut pans in my day and they never seem to last long more than a year or two. Then I purchased the USA Donut Pan and it’s been going strong for 6 years now. It’s incredibly non-stick and your keto donuts will practically fall right out of them.
Yes, it is pricier than most, but you are paying for durability so you save money in the end. The coating is non-toxic so you don’t need to worry about that either!
You can also simply use a muffin pan and turn these into delicious muffins.
Keto flour options
This particular recipe uses almond flour, but you do have other options. Remember, though, you can’t simply swap coconut flour for almond flour and expect good results. They bake VERY differently. Please read my tutorials on baking with almond flour and baking with coconut flour for more information.
You can make a different donut as the base here, however. Try my Keto Samoa Donuts and add a little cinnamon to the mixture. Then use the brown butter glaze from this recipe. You can either cut the donut recipe in half or increase the glaze to make it work.
Sweetener options
I think both the donuts and the glaze turn out best with erythritol based sweeteners, but you can certainly try other options. Do keep in mind that allulose will make the donuts brown very quickly on the outside so keep your eye on them.
The glaze needs a powdered sweetener for the correct consistency. Swerve Confectioners works best, in my opinion. Powdered allulose or BochaSweet may make the glaze a little thinner so hold back the cream until you see how it comes out. You may need to add additional sweetener to thicken it.
Be patient and let the brown butter cool properly before adding it to the glaze. Otherwise the sweetener can clump badly and cause the glaze to separate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conventional donuts are high in carbs, fat, and sugars so they are not keto friendly. But baked donuts are super easy to make at home with a donut pan. And you can easily make them with almond flour or coconut flour for a healthier, low carb treat.
People with diabetes need to be very careful about how many carbs and sugars they consume. But choosing low carb or keto recipes can allow diabetics to indulge in treats that don’t spike their blood sugar. So this recipe could easily be considered diabetes friendly. I find that they don’t raise my blood sugar at all.
These keto donuts have 6.8g of carbs and 3.2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.6g net carbs per donut.
More healthy donut recipes
Vanilla Protein Donuts
With 12g of protein, these delicious protein donuts make a fabulous keto snack. Tender and sweet, these baked vanilla donuts are easy to make and fun to eat!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts
Tender keto chocolate donuts with a sweet sugar-free peanut butter glaze. These chocolate peanut butter donuts are an easy and fun breakfast treat!
Keto Donuts Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 1/2 cups (158 g) almond flour
- 6 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tbsp vanilla whey protein powder
- 1 1/2 tsp (1.5 tsp) baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (62.5 g) almond milk, (can sub half cream and half water)
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) vanilla extract
Glaze
- 3 tbsp butter
- 7 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 to 2 tbsp (1 tbsp) heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) vanilla extract
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and grease 8 wells of a donut pan (If your pan only holds 6, you can make muffins with the remaining batter or work in batches).
- In a large bowl, whisk together teh almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the eggs, melted butter, almond milk, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Fill the donut pan wells approximately 2/3 full and bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until the donuts are lightly browned and just firm to the touch. Let cool in the pan 15 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze
- Melt the butter in small skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter is browned and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool about 10 minutes.
- Place the powdered sweetener in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the browned butter until well combined. The mixture will be quite thick. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the cream at a time until a spreadable consistency is achieved. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Spread glaze on cooled donuts and let set, about 20 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I have never used Whey Protein Powder before. Are they all about the same, or is there something particular I should look for?
Look for things without a lot of sweetener or added carbs.
I made these using baking blend. Had to add water cause consistency was really dry. Have you tried these with baking blend?
I think you must have made some error if they were really dry. Baking blend would make them far dryer than almond flour.
I made these and they were absolutely amazing. I used low carb chocolate Isopure protein because it’s my favourite, but the chocolate didn’t pull through, which is fine. I also used sugar free cinnamon sugar syrup (the Torani kind) in lieu of the vanilla. For the frosting, something about 7tbs of Swerve makes me think it’s too sweet. I used 3tbs Swerve powered, 3tlbs browned butter, and about 1.5tbs cream cheese to add thickness, and a splash of cream to get the spreading consistency i needed, and again a touch of the Sugar Free Cinnamon torani which complements the browned butter! I have a feeling these are going to disappear! They are amazing!
Made these last night, with xylitol though, there are a couple of stores I still need to try to find Swerve, they were amazing. But when I put them in My Fitness Pal, they came out to 13 net carbs with my ingredients, I guess 9 when I subtract the sugar alcohol.
Amazing! Followed recipe mostly to a tee but used the Babycakes donut maker (also dipped some of them into your ganache recipe!) they are what dreams are made of!! Love your recipes! Thanks so much!
I made these today and oh, they are so wonderful. My husband had to ask if these were something that I could eat too. He didn’t know, and couldn’t tell, they were low carb. Do they need to be refrigerated?
I love it when I hear that. Thanks, Becky!
This recipe is fabulous! The perfect combination for Fall or anytime. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. We really loved it.
The Brown Butter Glaze is the icing on the cake! 🙂
What’s the batter consistency when it’s done? I did something wrong.
Pretty thick (thicker than traditional batters) but still scoopable and spreadable.
Mine was somehow crumbly, not batter at all.
Yes, something went very wrong here. What kind of almond flour did you use?
Hi Carolyn, I can’t wait to make these! I think I may try substituting maple extract for vanilla in the glaze as I love maple donuts. I’ve been wondering if these along with other recipes such as your coconut raspberry muffins,coffee cake, etc. could be frozen? I’m not sure how the swerve freezes up. Thanks again,I’m going to give you credit for being able to stick to my low carb,no sugar lifestyle and continue with my passion for baking! Thank you a million times over!!!
Have had these pinned forever and finally took the time to make them this morning. The donuts, alone, are pleasantly and surprisingly good. I have way too many fails with almond flour recipes being moist. The icing – not so much. Too much of the cooling aftertaste for me. However, not all is lost. I have cream cheese sitting out and plan on mixing that brown butter icing, couple tablespoons at a time, into the cream cheese. I hope to salvage the brown butter concept.
Did you use Swerve or a different erythritol?
Hi Carolyn. Could I use a bit of Bob’s red mill gf flour or peanut flour in place of the protein powder? Protein powders give me violent migraines, I think from the soy lecithin generally used as a preservative. Thanks!
Sure, or if you can find powdered egg white, that would work too.
Wow! I didn’t know something “healthy” could taste this FABULOUS!!!!! And the aroma as they were baking was an appetizer like no other. My husband LOVED them. He said they’re better then what you buy then added, “they’re better then home made”….. which of course tickled my funny bone because they ARE home made. Makes me feel like a Kitchen Queen to be able to offer these to my husband and growing boys. I bought 2 donut pans and can see they will be put to good use. THANK-YOU for the inspiration and the FABULOUS recipe. Thank-you even more for doing “what you do” and blazing the way for us others who are looking into low carbing and gluten free, taking out the hard part, and handing us these golden recipes on a silver platter! May you be RICHLY BLESSED. If you decided to publish cookbooks I’d love the opportunity to purchase one! Happy Thursday to you 🙂
What about sour cream donuts? That is my fav……..
I’ve never heard of them. Do you have a link to a recipe that I could make over?
Sure! Here is one: http://www.completelydelicious.com/2012/01/old-fashioned-sour-cream-doughnuts.html
Saw a version at whole foods the other day and I was so sad not to have one!
Carolyn, you make Diabetes Delicious!
Well, I try! 🙂
Can these be made without protein powder?
I am allergic 2 almonds, is there another flour I can use?
Are you allergic to all tree nuts?
Carolyn – I finally got around to making these. I LOVE THESE!!!! The donut flavor, with the added vanilla whey protein, is by far better than coconut flour donuts I have made in the past. The browned butter glaze, wowee!! I tasted it before putting on the donuts, to see if it was good, double WOW! It reminds me so much of caramel that I came back to read the post and sure enough you said it tasted like caramel. I was so anxious to try the donut (even though it wasn’t completely cooled) so I put some glaze on it. Normally, I don’t like glazed donuts, or glazed anything. But this version is awesome! Now, I went back to the kitchen to add the rest of the glaze to the other 7 donuts that are completely cooled now. So, here I am waiting for another 20 minutes (glaze is starting to thicken, oh yes) for the glaze to set and will have a second donut. I am so happy I decided to try these this morning. I’m assuming I could store these (whatever is left of them) in an airtight container, but do I refrigerate them? Forget about freezing them, they will never make it to that stage.
I think you could have them on the counter for a day or two, probably no more than that. Glad you like them so much!