What do you do when you’re craving donuts but you know your body needs some protein? You make these keto protein donuts, of course!
I recently published an article on the advantages of a higher protein keto diet, along with a number of low carb high protein recipes. Most of us find it pretty easy to get protein at lunch and dinner. But breakfast and snacks can be harder to figure out.
So I am working on a series of higher protein keto snack recipes. I already published some delicious protein muffins and now I am adding protein donuts to the list. Because who doesn’t want a tender, sweet donut that actually gives you energy and doesn’t cause a sugar crash?
I know I can’t be the only one!
What readers are saying…
“Just made these! They are delicious! Semi-sweet, moist and sturdy. Love this recipe!” — Christie
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Fun indulgence: Treats like keto donuts fill a void left by cutting out carbs and sugar.
- Easy to make: You can easily make this sweet breakfast or snack before the rest of your family is even awake!
- Sweet and tender: These keto have a cake-like texture, but are sturdy enough to hold together.
- Creamy frosting: A little vanilla frosting and some sugar-free sprinkles gives them plenty of visual appeal.
- Low carb, high protein: 12 grams of protein and only 3.2g net carbs!
Ingredient Notes
- Greek yogurt: Whole milk Greek yogurt works well in keto baked goods to provide moisture and tenderness. You could also use sour cream.
- Almond flour: I used almond flour for these donuts and I have yet to experiment with coconut flour in a protein recipe like this. So at this time, I can’t recommend a nut-free substitute except for sunflower seed flour.
- Whey protein: I recommend getting a whey protein isolate, as it contains more protein and has fewer carbs than many whey powders. You can also use egg white protein.
- Sweetener: You will need a granular sweetener for the donuts and a powdered sweetener for the frosting.
- Cream cheese: I like to use a little cream cheese in my keto frosting recipes to give it more structure without having to use tons of powdered sweetener.
- Butter and oil: I specify avocado oil for the donuts, but you can use melted butter. Just make sure that if your eggs and yogurt are cold, you whisk the butter in quickly so it doesn’t clump up. You will need butter for the frosting as well.
- Vanilla: While I made vanilla donuts, you are certainly not limited to that. You could have a lot of fun with flavors here, like lemon donuts, caramel donuts, etc. Just switch up the extracts as you see fit!
- Keto Sprinkles: You can make your own sugar free sprinkles, or you can purchase pre-made sprinkles online.
- Kitchen Staples: Eggs, baking powder, heavy cream, salt.
How to Make Keto Protein Donuts
- Prepare the batter: Whisk together the the yogurt, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the dry ingredients whisk until smooth. Add just enough water until you have a thick but pourable consistency.
- Bake the donuts: Divide the batter between 8 greased wells of a donut pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 350ºF, until the tops are just firm to the touch.
- Prepare the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter together until very smooth, then beat in the powdered sweetener. Beat in the cream and vanilla extract.
- Frost and decorate: Spread over the tops of the cooled donuts. Sprinkle with sugar-free sprinkles, if desired.
Tips for Success
Donut pans don’t come in standard sizes and some are bigger than others. So you may get 7 donuts or you may get 9 donuts. It’s hard to say! If you don’t have a donut pan, you can bake them as muffins. You should get at least 7 or 8.
If you prefer, you can skip the frosting and make a lighter glaze or dust them in powdered sweetener. I personally feel that they need a little something to jazz them up a bit.
Protein Options: This recipe uses whey protein isolate, but you do have other options. Egg white protein should work well, and some plant-based protein powders may as well. But they won’t necessarily have as high a protein content. I don’t recommend collagen here, as it will make them gummy.
Sweetener Options: While you can use your preferred sweetener, I recommend an erythritol based sweetener for the donuts. Sweeteners that contain allulose can cause them to darken very quickly and become almost burnt. If you choose to use it, lower the oven temperature to 325ºF and keep a close eye on them.
The frosting simply requires a powdered sweetener of any variety.
More Keto Donut Recipes To Love!
Keto Protein Donuts Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1/2 cup (100 g) Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp avocado oil, (or melted butter… not hot)
- 1 1/2 tsp (1.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (112 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (54 g) unflavored whey protein powder, (protein isolate preferred)
- 1/2 cup (91 g) granular sweetener , erythritol recommended
- 1 1/2 tsp (1.5 tsp) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 2 to 4 tbsp (2 tbsp) water
Frosting
- 2 ounces (56.7 g) cream cheese, well softened
- 2 tbsp butter, well softened
- 1/4 cup (45.5 g) powdered sweetener
- 2 to 3 tbsp (2 tbsp) heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- keto sprinkles, if desired
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease 8 wells of a donut pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the the yogurt, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Add the almond flour, whey protein, sweetener, baking powder, and salt and whisk until smooth. Add just enough water until you have a thick but pourable consistency.
- Divide the batter between the wells of the donut pan, filling to about three quarters full. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the tops are just firm to the touch. Let cool in the pan.
Frosting
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until very smooth. Beat in the powdered sweetener.
- Beat in the cream until you have a spreadable consistency, then beat in the vanilla extract. Spread over the tops of the cooled donuts.
- Sprinkle with sugar-free sprinkles, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
The main ingredients in these vanilla protein muffins are almond flour, whey protein powder, Greek yogurt, eggs, and sweetener. They do not contain any added sugars and have 12g of protein per serving.
Many protein donut recipes are quite high in carb because they contain wheat flour and added sugar. But these keto protein muffins have only 4.7g of carbs and 1.5g of fiber, so they have a net carb count of 3.2g.
You can easily make the donuts in advance and freeze them unfrosted, then frost them when you plan to serve. You can freeze the frosted donuts as well, but you will want to flash freeze them first. Lay them out on a baking sheet in a single layer until frozen solid. This way, the frosting won’t smear when you place them in an airtight container.
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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wonderful, but they stick in my donut pans! I have nonstick, and I oiled them… Any suggestions. I will make them again. The hubby likes them too!
Honestly, it’s the pan. The only really good donut pan I’ve ever had is from US Pan, truly non-stick (and non-toxic). One tip, however, is to only let them cool for about 10 minutes. I’ve noticed that things like this tend to begin to re-stick as they cool.
Hi, What dairy free substitute could I use instead of yoghurt – dairy is not my friend at the moment.
Sounds like you need to experiment.
These are exceptionally good, thank you. I used what I had, vanilla protein powder with a little removed and replaced with a couple of teaspoons of unflavoured collagen. I used monk fruit sweetener, a little less and rolled them while hot in a little more mixed with cinnamon, I put a sprinkle of cinnamon in batter too.
Is the 248 cal count including the frosting? If yes, what is the calorie count without?
It includes the frosting. You will need to calculate the amounts yourself if you plan on leaving it off.
OK, wow not the response or tone I was expecting.
Noted and I will take the time to do it myself.
I did make these and have to say this is the best homemade donut I have ever had or made. Tastes just like the store-bought vanilla cake doughnut that I have been missing from my diet for quite some time.
There really isn’t any tone – sorry if it comes across the way but I was just stating fact. I just include all ingredients listed in the recipe and it takes time to re-calculate. With all the online nutritional calculators, it’s more expedient for you to do it for yourself.
I made these with coconut flour and they turned out great. I did have to add more water to make it pourable.
These are great! The only thing I did different was I used a flavored Greek yogurt so the donuts taste like berry. it was all I had and it worked! Can’t wait to make more donuts! Thank you
These were very tasty! I ended up not using any water as my batter was already thin and 10 donuts instead of 6. I did have to cook a lot longer than the 15 minutes though. Good with and without frosting.
As mentioned before, fiber content is very important to me along with keto ingredients. Please, give us the choice of adding fiber to these recipes to provide at least 3 g of fiber per serving.
Sorry, but “adding fiber” will mess with the consistency. I have plenty of high fiber recipes but I don’t intend to mess up already tested and perfected recipes.
These amazing gifted keto bloggers are not are not here to do our work for us. They are a gift. Perhaps you could offer to hire Caroline $500 a month to be a specialized consultant for you!
Totally agree with you! Got to love the comments and the do everything for me attitude! Keep doing what you do, Carolyn!
Just made these! They are delicious! Semi-sweet, moist and sturdy. Love this recipe!
I love these! I used the full 4T of water, and ended up with batter that was eminently pourable. Not only did I get 12 (!) donuts, I got 10 mini-muffins as well! I used orange extract instead of vanilla, and made a chocolate orange frosting by swapping out the vanilla for orange, and reducing the Swerve confectioner’s by 2T for 2T of cocoa powder. (I like my chocolate on the bittersweet side. 🙂 )
These were great! I skipped the frosting and topped most of them with cinnamon “sugar” instead. My spouse enjoyed them naked. A recipe made 12 donuts.
Fab healthy great ! Love this scrolled thru 8 other recipes found this site joined too !