I was never that much of a donut person growing up. I knew plenty of people who were obsessed with them, but I could take them or leave them. That is until I invested in a donut pan and started making my own keto donuts. My kids love them and I have so much fun playing with ingredients and flavors. It is a wonderful outlet for my baking creativity.
Believe me when I say that these glazed Keto Lemon Donuts are as delicious as they are pretty!
In my many years of experimenting with keto baking, I have found that coconut flour is excellent for making donuts. People are often intimidated by baking with coconut flour, because it doesn’t behave like any other ingredient on the planet. But with a little coaxing, the results can be light, fluffy, and ultra-tender.
My Keto Chocolate Donuts are coconut flour-based, and readers rave about them. So I knew it was just the thing for whipping up some delicious low carb lemon donuts too.
What readers are saying…
“I made these this weekend and we LOVED them. I also took them to work for my non keto co-workers and they had no idea they weren’t “real donuts”. I am a huge fan now! Thanks so much for all you do.” — Tammy
Why You Will Love These Keto Lemon Donuts
- Great texture: They are so delightfully tender and fluffy!
- Bright, tangy flavor: All that wonderful fresh lemon flavor shines through.
- Easy to make: They are ready to go in about 30 minutes.
- Nut-free: No almond flour or any nut meals, so they are perfect for people with nut sensitivities.
- Keto-friendly: No gluten, grains, or sugars!
Ingredient Notes
- Coconut flour: Different brands can vary quite a bit in absorbency so I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill. It is always very reliable and consistent.
- Protein powder: As with other baked goods like keto muffins, a little protein powder helps the donuts rise nicely and hold their shape. Whey or egg white work best in this recipe.
- Sweetener: You will need a granular sweetener for the donuts and a powdered sweetener for the glaze. See the Tips section for more details about sweeteners.
- Lemon: This recipe uses both lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Lemon extract: A little lemon extract helps boost the bright flavor.
- Heavy cream: I used some heavy cream in the glaze to make it thick and rich.
- Kitchen staples: Butter, eggs, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt.
How to Make Keto Lemon Donuts
- Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together the coconut flour, protein powder, sweetener, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the eggs, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and the extracts. Add water as needed.
- Bake the donuts: Divide the batter among the wells of the donut pan and bake until the donuts are set and firm to the touch.
- Let them cool: Remove and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze: Whisk together the sweetener, cream, and lemon juice. Dip the donuts or drizzle overtop.
- Serve and enjoy!
Carolyn’s Keto Baking Tips
There is no standardization in donut pans and the size of the wells can vary a lot. I have a good pan from USA Pan that is non-stick and non-toxic that I love. It makes 6 good-sized donuts, so I highly recommend it!
No matter what pan you use, grease it well. I also recommend loosening the donuts from the pan after about 10 minutes of cooling. I find that they start to stick again if you leave them too long. I use a thin-bladed silicone spatula to loosen them.
I don’t specify an exact amount of water because it depends so much on the coconut flour. You may need more or less depending on what brand you use. Add just a few teaspoons at a time, stirring until you have a batter that is thick but easily scooped into the donut pan.
Sweetener Options
The sweetener you choose to use will affect the outcome of the donuts. For the donuts themselves, I highly recommend an erythritol-based sweetener. Anything with allulose will make them brown too quickly, and they will be too soft and fragile. If you prefer not to use erythritol, try sweetening them with pure stevia or monk fruit extract.
The glaze requires a powdered sweetener, but both allulose and erythritol work. I used a combination of both.
Keto Lemon Donuts Recipe
Ingredients
Donuts
- 7 tbsp coconut flour
- 3 tbsp granular sweetener, erythritol recommended
- 2 tbsp unflavored whey protein powder, or egg white protein powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- 2 tsp lemon, zest
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Water as needed
Glaze
- 1/4 cup powdered sweetener
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease 6 wells of a donut pan very well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir in the eggs, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon extract and vanilla extract until well combined. If the batter is very thick, add water a little bit at a time to thin it out a bit.
- Divide the batter among the wells of the donut pan. Bake about 15 minutes, until the donuts are set and firm to the touch. Remove and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sweetener, heavy cream, and enough lemon juice to achieve a drizzling consistency. Dip the donuts in the glaze or drizzle overtop.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
As a pre-diabetic myself, I would not recommend eating a conventional donut. However, you can make delicious low carb donuts at home that won’t raise your blood sugar. I have many wonderful recipes, so be sure to check them out!
You absolutely can! Try using egg white protein and avocado oil in the donuts, and replace the heavy cream in the glaze with coconut cream.
This keto lemon donut recipe has 6.2g of carbs and 3g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.2g net carbs per donut.
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 don’t have a doughnut pan, do you think a muffin tin or small loaf pan would work the same?
Thanks!
PS I am David’s coworker who he got hooked on your cookbook!
Glad you like the cookbook! Yes, this works just fine as muffins.
Hi Carolyn… I own all of your cookbooks and have eaten tons of your recipes. Thank you for all you do. I have no idea why people say the things they do. I took a wine class a long time ago and the winemaker told me, “If you do not like it, simply say it isn’t exactly to my taste.” She explained that 1-3 years go into a barrel of wine, 1-3 years of sweat, tears and hard work. Saying you hate it, or that it was gross, is both untrue and heartbreaking… it just wasn’t to your taste. I’ve stuck too that. While all of your recipes are to my taste, perhaps others need to hear this. I bought a donut pan just to try this recipe… they are baking as I write this… and then they will sit on the counter next to your chocolate ganache cheesecake! I’m sure both will be to my taste! Thanks for all you do, I could not do keto without you.
Thanks, Teresa! I know that the flour things can be an issue because of allergies but sometimes I just have to say “I made it this way and that’s how you have to do it…you may need to find a different recipe if this one doesn’t suit you!”
Hi Carolyn. I made your Lemon Poppyseed Donuts exactly as you wrote…and they were DELICIOUS!!!! Thank you for all you do and so many great recipes
I’m excited to try this recipe! I don’t have a donut pan, do you think these would make good muffins?
Yep,you can use a donut pan. It will probably make more like 6 to 8 muffins.
I made these into muffins today and they were amazing! I’ll definitely be making these again. Thank you for the awesome recipe 🙂
I appreciate the fact that you go to so much work to develop recipes. And I understand your frustration with people asking if they can modify the recipe in some way. I spent many years as a teacher. BUT there might be a legitimate reason for asking. I do not live in the United State. I live in a small town in Mexico where many ingredients you use are not available. I have never asked to modify a recipe but I might if I could not find the ingredients you use. For example, in the case of the Lemon Poppyseed Donuts, ghee is not available where I live. The only way I could get it would be to order it from the United States, pay the horrendous shipping cost, and hope it would make it out of Customs for delivery to my post office box. Since I know that you specifically used ghee rather than melted butter, I don’t know if there would be a problem if I substituted melted butter. I would assume you would know. I don’t want to make something with an ingredient that you already know won’t work in a particular recipe. If I were to ask you, a simple “yes” or “no” answer would suffice. I’m sorry if that’s a problem for you. I certainly don’t mean it to be. I’m just trying to learn. I can’t be the only person who lives abroad and wants to follow a low-carb diet and has difficulty obtaining the ingredients you use. And I rather suppose that there are other people who simply cannot afford to buy some of the ingredients used since they generally cost more than non-low-carb products. Maybe the person asking only has a little bit of flour left and would like to know if they could mix the remainder of their almond flour with the remainder of their coconut flour. Doing so without asking might ruin the whole recipe and and that could be very costly for some people. I’m just learning to cook low-carb and so I really appreciate all the people who ask if they can substitute, etc. It helps me tremendously. For example, I don’t know enough about how the various flours differ in recipes and I would be throwing a lot of food away experimenting. I always hope to learn from others that have knowledge I don’t. For that reason I turn to your web site. I hope you keep up the good work.
Karen, I think you misunderstood the intention of the post. Many people who ask me these things, I am happy to help because it’s necessary. But sometimes it’s simply because THEY prefer it another way and wish I’d done it that way. and they make that very clear.
Carolyn,
Sharing your talent and creativity in this food blog is beyond a simple compliment.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 three years ago (LADA) at the age of 44. I can’t tell you how incredibly scared I was of myself, my future, and of food. I found your masterful and inspiring food blog soon after diagnosis and I have never looked back. You single-handedly armed me with the culinary knowledge to move forward in this new way of life. I can’t express in any simple terms how thankful I am to you and the hard work you put forth.
On another point, I too have read comments where people ask for substitutes due to this or that ingredient (or worse, complain about them). I think your knowledge and expertise shine through in all your blog posts and recipes to a point that they look to you for expert advice. Perhaps in this way it is a compliment. Then again, it may just be laziness on their part! I can’t get my palate around recipes made exclusively with coconut flour (it’s a texture thing), yet I have learned that I can cut it with almond flour and I’ve yet to make a total disaster out of it! I’m certainly not going to put that on you!
The point in saying this is that you inspire others to think “outside of the box” – the food world (specifically the inside isles of the grocery store) has conditioned us to have quick, easy premade solutions for meals. I think many have come to expect it. Cooking for ourselves in a thoughtful and healthful way is sadly a lost art among many people.
Hands down, you are awesome and I am better for it. Thank you!
Oh I don’t mind helping people adapt recipes at all. It’s just that no matter WHAT I do, I always get someone asking me how they can change it 🙂
So many people don’t bother reading the actual blog post, where the answers to many of their questions can often be found. (How long before someone asks here, “Can I sub almond flour?”) Another favorite: “I hated this recipe! I didn’t have almonds so I used capers, and I didn’t have baking powder so I used baking soda, and it was awful! One star!” Thank you for soldiering on: multitudes are grateful. I’ve got EKK, Easy Keto Dinners and have pre-ordered your book coming out in July. (Tell your publisher that! The whole purchasing spree came about because of the Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup. Best I’ve ever made.) I always follow your recipes exactly the first time, then tweek them if I’m so inspired. For instance, next time I make Kentucky Butter Cake, I’ll try adding poppy seeds or maybe dried, unsweetened cranberries. Blogging can seem thankless: We’re here to say thank you.
Capers for almonds would be pretty interesting! I’d love to see that… And wow to the ordering spree. Thank you so so much!
Carolyn,
My husband and I began our low carb lifestyle last June and when I found your blog, pins, and website I was thrilled! This lifestyle and way of cooking was completely new to me and I had no clue what to cook/bake or how to do this lifestyle successfully. You have done all of the hard work for me – how can I ever thank you?!? I have made so many of your recipes and EVERY SINGLE ONE has been delicious – you are my “go-to”, guaranteed recipe resource. I’ve never left a comment here before, but I do feel that I’m long overdue to tell you just how much I appreciate all you do and thank you for freely sharing your recipes and your knowledge! I always look forward to the email recipe and invariably end up saving it to try later in the week. I do follow your recipes and recommendations to the letter the first time I make them; my reasoning is that you have already done the research, trial-and-error, and hard work for me so why wouldn’t I take advantage of that?? So…thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for sharing your hard work with me and all of your readers! My husband has lost 30 pounds, lowered his triglyceride levels to a very healthy number, and I have lost 18 stubborn pounds while we’ve both had great results on our cholesterol levels. Honestly, couldn’t have done it without you!
Thank you so much, Joni!
Carolyn, First I want to say that I love your recipes and food blog. I will also say that I have to alter some of your recipes due to the many health issues that I have (gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, soy-free, sugar-free). But I am able to use the base of your recipe and usually can make it work for me. For instance, I would have to sub out the Ghee for Butter flavored coconut oil in this recipe as the small amount of casein in the ghee still bothers me. The brand Pure Indian Foods Cultured Ghee is certified to only be 2.5ppm casein, but I just have to leave it along altogether. But, for the most part I can substitute for those ingredients that I cannot have. Again, thank you for all the work and time that you put in to provide delicious recipes for us all to enjoy.
Of course, I am always happy when people adapt for their own needs and preferences.
“Because I wanted to.” The End. You GO. =)) I always make your recipes, ‘as is’ because I KNOW whatever it is, will be AWEsome. Agree with others — please don’t change a thing. You Rock. (BTW – making these tonight. Because I WANT TO.) Hahaha.
i love your recipes. you’re right to just ignore the nay-sayers. thank you for sharing your recipes! ☺❤
Spring can’t seem to make up it’s mind that it wants to get here, let alone stay (and they are forecasting snow here in NJ AGAIN this weekend!) Since the weather in the northeast so is disgusting today I decided to make it a “Carolyn Ketchum Cooking Day” (try saying that 3 times fast!) I made these donuts and the house smelled WONDERFUL! I cannot believe how incredibly moist they are! While they were cooling on the rack, I whipped up another batch of your amazing Garlic Parmesan Knots. Now I am starting on some Ham and Cheese Scones with ham left over from Easter. Can’t think of a better way to spend a miserable weather day! Thank you for so many amazing recipes!!
I feel so badly for you food bloggers at times. I mean, really, you all spend lots of time, money, and effort to create recipes that you hope someone will love and you share them with us. I have said this before (and I think on your site) that it just annoys the crap out of me when I see comments such as, “We think eating unicorn meat is unethical, what can we sub instead?” or “We find rainbows too expensive but love the taste, what would be a good sub?”. Either do your own research or move to the next recipe.
I will be honest, I typically roll my eyes when I see a recipe that calls for “cage free eggs” or “grass fed, hugged to death ground beef” (I don’t roll my eyes so hard when someone who hugs their cows to death is the sponsor of the recipe, though). We, presumably, are all adults and can make decisions for ourselves and our families. I don’t need to ask if I can use a regular egg or beef from the local grocery store.
I am too sarcastic to have a food blog. Thank you for all you do.
Carolyn I LOVE & appreciate your recipes, this site, your cookbook (which I have) FB page and your courage / hard work & time you spend in the kitchen perfecting each recipe so you can share it with us. Keep doing what you are doing because you are def doing a lot right!
THANK YOU for bringing us SO MANY delicious low carb recipes! I discovered your site thru the ‘Lazy Keto For Women” FB page, after a member posted your low carb cheesecakes saying how delish they are. Well I have been a fan of your recipes ever since, then ordered your cookbook and have made several recipes from it. In fact your recipes are mentioned in my Keto group many times, so know your recipes are loved by many doing lazy Keto. LOL
So many would rather complain vs thinking for themselves and experiment if they want to use a different ingredient…..I have done this a few times myself when I needed to.
I do love me some Keri Gold butter, but am open to trying Ghee. I remember my ex boss from India, she had a lil container of Ghee in the fridge, said her family always uses Ghee vs butter.
Looking forward to baking Lemon Poppyseed donuts! I do luv lemon lemon everything!
YOU are the creator! I don’t mess with what God has created why would I complain about what you have created for us? Most of us LOVE what you conjure…and can only recommend that you close your eyes, take another bite of whatever you have just made and refuse to read any further negativity! We LOVE what you do…. for us! 😀
Oh my! What a compliment. <3
I’m excited to try this recipe. I’m fairly new to THM and really appreciate all of the work that goes into creating these recipes. Thanks for sharing and putting yourself out there.