Fluffy, tender, and spiced to perfection, these Keto Pumpkin Donuts will delight your tastebuds! These easy baked donuts are brushed with butter and dipped in a cinnamon “sugar” coating for a delicious fall treat.
Pumpkin spice lovers, are you with me? Because it is time to make the donuts!
I whipped up these Keto Pumpkin Donuts recently and was delighted by both the flavor and the texture. They have all the cozy goodness of a donut from Starbucks or Dunkin, with a mere fraction of the carbs.
They are just the thing to satisfy that pumpkin spice craving! You also can’t go wrong with my Keto Pumpkin Muffins.
Why you will love this recipe
Nothing quite satisfies like biting into a cinnamon “sugar” encrusted donut. Especially when that donut doesn’t actually contain any sugar and won’t blow your healthy diet.
Pumpkin spice has its own particular delights. If you love that flavor, you’re always looking for new ways to enjoy it. These Keto Pumpkin Donuts are the perfect marriage of the two.
They’re also take only about 35 minutes to make from start to finish. And they have a wonderfully fluffy, light texture. With less than 4g of carbs per serving, you can enjoy them for a quick breakfast or an easy snack whenever you want.
Ingredients you need
- Pumpkin puree: Look for pure pumpkin, and make sure you aren’t buying pumpkin pie filling.
- Brown sugar replacement: Brown sugar replacements like Swerve give these keto pumpkin donuts a richer, more authentic flavor. But regular granulated sweetener will work as well. Please see the Expert Tips section for more info.
- Almond flour: Use a finely ground almond flour for better texture. This recipe won’t work with coconut flour but you can use sunflower seed flour for a nut-free version. Make sure to add a tablespoon of lemon juice to offset the green reaction.
- Protein powder: Adding whey protein powder makes the donuts lighter and fluffier, as well as helping them hold their shape. You can use egg white protein if you prefer.
- Pumpkin pie spice: I usually use a spice mix, but you can also make it yourself with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little bit of cloves.
- Granular sweetener: An erythritol based sweetener works best for the coating. See the expert tips section for more information.
- Cinnamon: A little added cinnamon in the coating adds wonderful flavor.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, butter, vanilla extract, baking powder, salt.
Step by Step Directions
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, butter, sweetener, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
2. Add the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt and stir until well mixed. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick but easily scoopable consistency. It should be like a thick cake batter.
3. Spoon the batter into 10 wells of a greased donut pan, filling the wells about ¾ full. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 350ºF, or until the tops are just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool in the pan 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the sweetener and spice mix.
6. Brush the donuts with the melted butter on both sides, then dip into the sweetener mixture. You can also simply sprinkle the sweetener mixture overtop the donuts.
Expert Tips
The amount of water you add depends on a number of factors, including how thick your pumpkin puree is. Some are very wet and thin and you may not even need any additional water at all. You want the batter to be like a thick cake batter. It shouldn’t be so thin that you can easily pour it into the pan.
Ground cinnamon can be overpowering at times. So I used both cinnamon and some pumpkin spice mix in the coating, so the cinnamon didn’t overpower the other spices.
Make sure to grease your donut pan very well and don’t let them sit too long after baking – more than 30 minutes and they can begin to stick to the pan again. Gently loosen each donut with a knife and flip them out onto a wire rack.
No donut pan? Make them into muffins! You should get about 8 muffins from this recipe.
Sweetener Options
You can sweeten the donuts with whatever sweetener you like best, although I do think a brown sugar replacement gives them more flavor. Do keep in mind that using allulose will cause the donuts to brown a little faster so keep your eye on them.
For the coating, I found that an erythritol sweetener worked best. I tried a few with allulose and while it looked great at the beginning, the coating softened and became wet when they were stored overnight. They were still delicious, though!
You could always make the donuts and dip in the coating just prior to serving. That would work nicely as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pumpkin is an acceptable ingredient on keto. When used in baked goods, pumpkin adds flavor and moisture without adding a lot of carbs. A half cup of pumpkin puree has about 10g of carbs and 3g of fiber. But this is usually spread out over a number of servings and adds minimal carbs to the final product.
Conventional pumpkin donut recipes can have upwards of 35g of carb per serving. Yikes! But these keto friendly donuts have only 5.9g of carbs and 2.5g of fiber. So they have 3.4g net carbs per donut.
Store these donuts in a covered container on your counter for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze the donuts for several months.
More delicious pumpkin recipes
- Keto Pumpkin Pancakes
- Easy Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Cream Pie
- Keto Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Breakfast Bars
Keto Pumpkin Donuts Recipe
Equipment
- 1 donut pan (metal works best)
Ingredients
Donuts
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 6 tablespoon butter melted
- ⅓ cup Swerve Brown
- 2 large eggs room temperature.
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ¾ cups almond flour
- ⅓ cup unflavored whey protein powder or egg white protein powder
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 to 4 tablespoon water
Coating
- ⅓ cup granulated sweetener
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease 10 wells of a non-stick donut pan. If yours only holds 6 like mine, you may need to work in batches.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, butter, sweetener, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Add the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt and stir until well mixed. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a thick but easily scoopable consistency. It should be like a thick cake batter.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling the donut wells about ¾ full. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are just firm to the touch.
- Remove and let cool in the pan 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Coating
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together the sweetener, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Brush the donuts with the melted butter on both sides, then dip into the sweetener mixture.
- You can also simply sprinkle the sweetener mixture overtop the donuts.
Nancy says
I, too, will give you accolades and much appreciation 👏🏻👏🏻 for your time and talent creating such great recipes and videos! These’d are delicious plain, sugared or iced I believe! I just purchased the Dash multi treat maker with plates for bite-size muffins, mini donuts and mini waffles…the donuts came out perfect and the muffins are fantabulous, tho could you give a gram weight to your regular donut so I can determine equiv for the mini size? I’m thinking maybe 3 mini to 1 regular size. Thanks again!
Carolyn says
Thanks!
Lynn D says
Oh my!!! These are absolutely amazing! They satisfied an intense desire for pumpkin during the holiday season without sabotaging my diet! Thank you for all your research in making some of the most tender and flavorful creations!!
Christie Jenkins says
I have made many of your other recipes with success, but every one of your doughnut recipes I try doesn’t turn out. Don’t get me wrong; they taste great, but they stick to the pan (even though it’s supposedly a nonstick pan and I grease it well to boot). I am asking for a new doughnut pan for Christmas because I’m pretty sure it’s the pan and not your recipe. I’ve never had a problem with any of your recipes turning out except the doughnuts, so the pan seems to be the common denominator. Hopefully after Christmas, I can come back and follow up with how this recipe works with a different doughnut pan.
With that said, the “pumpkin doughnut crumbles” with a dollop of whipped cream (made with powdered monkfruit sweetener) sprinkled with a spoonful of the cinnamon-sugar coating is delicious. I 100% recommend. I’m giving it 5 stars for sure. If I were more ambitious, I think an entire recipe of these doughnuts layered with whipped cream would also make a good small trifle for Thanksgiving day (maybe add a layer of some of your caramel sauce?). And one day, presumably after Christmas, hopefully I’ll get some perfect doughnuts out of this recipe too.
Carolyn says
Sadly it is probably the donut pan. I’ve had any number of them over the years and they all lose their non-sickness relatively quickly EXCEPT for the USA pan. I highly recommend it! I’ve had mine now for 5 or 6 years and it works like a dream.
Corie G says
These are a delight – nice flavour. I am wondering-the donut is cakey which is nice but if I prefer the donut to be more firm similar to a cake donut. do you know what might happen if I increased the protein powder from 1/3c to 1/2 c – would that create a more firm donut? Would the egg white powder make it more firm? I usually use the protein powder in all your recipes instead of egg white powder…just wondering. Thanks, love your recipes. I’ve now lost 70lbs on keto! and now maintaining. So thankful for all your recipe guidance!
Carolyn says
You are certainly welcome to experiment!
Cathy says
Fabulous! My first-ever keto bake (just recently found your site). Surprisingly light and fluffy.
Carolyn says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Maggie says
Delish! Just like every other recipe!
Deb says
So good!! I filled 9 silicone donut molds and air fried at 350 degrees for around 8 minutes. Moist and delicious! Thank you!
Ramona says
do you have to add the whey protein powder or egg white powder?
Carolyn says
Please read the blog post! 🙂
Dawn says
Will this recipe work in a donut maker instead of baking them?
Carolyn says
I am sorry, I don’t know. I don’t own one.
Grammy says
These are absolutely delicious, light and airy with a wonderful pumpkin taste!!!
Marcelle says
Made these last year and I am getting ready to make them again and just like last year, the pumpkin pie spice is listed in the ingredients for the donuts, but NOT in the instructions! Please fix this so I don’t mess up again! 😁
Laura Goddard says
I have been dreaming of something pumpkin. Your recipes never disappoint. This was no exception. I only had silicone donut pans and ended up adding some additional time to the baking. The donuts were perfect. I made a maple glaze for the topping and it was good. Thank you for all your delicious recipes.
David says
Can I fry these in Avocado or Olive Oil to get that crispy texture?
Carolyn says
Sounds like you will need to experiment! 🙂
Tracy R says
Delicious and easy to make anytime of the year
JoAnn M Oswald says
Ok – I’m kind of new to keto baking and donut making- although I invested in donut pans awhile back. Saw this recipe and just tried them this morning & these came out surprising good. My hubby loves pumpkin pancakes -so these had to be worth a shot!!!
They are very delicate though and the first two I tried to dip in the butter fell apart. So I got smart & brushed the melted butter on them and sprinkled the cinnamon sugar on top- and was able to lift them with a spatula onto a plate in tact.
Great flavor – very tender but still hard to actually pick up to eat – but hey – a fork definitely works to get these little jewels into your mouth. ENJOY!!!
Carolyn says
Did you let them cool completely? All baked goods are delicate when they are still warm.
Mikel says
If I use a silicone donut pan for any of your donut recipes does that affect how they turn out? Do I need to make any adjustments to the time or temperature? Silicone is all I have but these recipes look so good! Thanks.
Carolyn says
It’s always going to affect how they turn out since it bakes very differently. But I can’t guide you because I don’t use silicone donut pans. You will need to keep your eye on them.
Sami says
These are very delicious. My donuts turned out very very moist. Are they supposed to be like that?
Carolyn says
They should have the consistency of regular cake donuts. Your pumpkin puree may have been more wet or you may not have cooked them quite long enough. Did you use silicone molds, by chance?
Sami says
Hi, no I never cook with silicone, I may not of cooked them long enough. They were great though with coffee. Going to make a big batch here for lunches and tea.
Could you please recommend what baking rake I should be baking these on, the lowest one or the middle rack? thank-you Caroline
,
Carolyn says
Rack? Unless specified, always the middle!
Sami says
Rack, yes.lol thank-you.
Rebecca Parker says
Carolyn I am so sorry I meant to type in keto pecan pie muffins. sorry. busy day.
Carolyn says
Thanks!
Rebecca Parker says
I made your keto pumpkin donuts today they are absolutely fantastic the donuts are light and airy but but still cakey, how do you do that? I tried your keto pumpkin pie muffins yesterday. my sister-in-law explained with a mouthful, “my mouth is in heaven”. my brother and I both agreed. what a wonderful taste of pumpkin pie in your mouth with without all the carbs. thank you so much.
Maggie says
I made a batch of these on Saturday. They only lasted four days! We loved them! It’s time to make more! Thanks for another great recipe!