Honestly, donuts are one of the best foods life has to offer. Whether you’re looking for a full-fat recipe you can use to break in your new deep fryer or some health-conscious instructions for making a baked alternative, you’ve come to the right place. In this list of gluten-free donut recipes, there’s something for everyone.
Although working with gluten-free dough can be challenging if you’ve only dealt with wheat-based recipes in the past, there’s a steep learning curve once you get used to the way gluten-free flours work. With the right set of ingredients and a little bit of tender loving care, you can be a donut-making master in no time. Bakeries everywhere, you better watch out!
And don’t stop at donuts. We’ve got a ton of gluten free pizza dough recipes (original from FoodForNet), and gluten free dessert recipes (roundups) to browse as well.
Gluten-Free Donut Recipes
Plain Donuts with a Glaze
Sugar-Glazed Doughnuts
For donuts that are light and fluffy, start by making your own gluten-free pastry flour consisting of white rice flour, tapioca flour, cornstarch, millet and powdered milk.
You’ll join this flour blend with yeast and psyllium husk, which acts as a binding agent. The finished dough can be rolled out, deep fried and dunked in a sweet vanilla glaze.
Raised Syrup-Glazed Doughnuts
If you thought your days of eating raised donuts ended with the start of your gluten-free diet, think again. Featuring all-purpose Better Batter–a pre-mixed blend of rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, potato flour, xanthan gum and pectin, this yeast-based recipe produces a raised dough you can shape with a donut cutter and deep fry.
While the donuts are cooling, coat them in a sugar-and-syrup glaze for irresistible results.
No-Fail Chocolate-Glazed Donuts
These pipeable deep-fried donuts are springy and soft like a good yeast product should be. The recipe calls for equal parts white rice flour, tapioca flour and cornstarch as well as some ground chia seeds, which act like a gum in helping give the dough elasticity and structure.
According to your preferences, you can finish the donuts off by coating them with your favorite glaze or even just rolling them in powdered sugar.
“Better than Krispy Kreme” Doughnuts with a Vanilla Almond Glaze
Making use of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, xanthan gum and yeast, this recipe is great when you want a rolled-out dough that can be thrown in hot oil for soft and fluffy results. If you like a vanilla almond glaze, combine vanilla extract, almond extract, powdered sugar and water.
Yeast-Free Creamer-Glazed Doughnut Holes
When you’re in a hurry for piping hot donuts, waiting around for your dough to rise can be a big buzzkill. This recipe calls for gluten-free pancake mix and brown sugar to give you a sweet bready base to work with. After frying the donut holes, drizzle on a decadent glaze using powdered sugar and your favorite sweet coffee creamer.
Chocolate Donuts
Related: gluten free chocolate cake recipes
Pamela’s Chocolate Doughnuts
For a rich chocolate donut you can top with frosting, powdered sugar or the alternative of your choice, this deep-fry recipe is ideal. You’ll make use of high quality cocoa powder, yeast and a Pamela’s Gluten-Free Bread Mix, which contains a clever blend of sorghum flour, tapioca flour, white rice flour, sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, millet flour, rice bran and xanthan gum.
Triple Chocolate Donuts
Calling for cocoa powder, chocolate chips and chocolate icing, these indulgent donuts are a chocolate lover’s dream come true. The baked goodies feature a combination of gluten-free oat flour, sweet rice flour and coconut flour for frosted donuts that satisfy your sweet tooth without getting wheat involved.
Chocolate-Glazed Chocolate Donut Holes
What’s better than a chocolate donut hole? Obviously, a chocolate donut hole covered in a chocolate glaze. This delightful recipe calls for gluten-free bread flour, which you can make yourself by combining modified tapioca starch and whey protein isolate with a blend of white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, potato flour, xanthan gum and pectin.
Once you’ve acquired all the necessary ingredients, perhaps the trickiest part of cooking is simply resisting the urge to devour the entire batch of deep-fried goodness by yourself.
Red Velvet Doughnuts
Topped with a cream cheese glaze, these red velvet donuts are divine. The recipe calls for brown rice flour, tapioca starch and xanthan gum as well as cocoa powder and red gel color to deliver buttermilk-infused treats that will make you proud of your gluten-free way of life.
Vegan Mint Chocolate Mini Donuts
If you never tire of the sophisticated pairing of mint and chocolate, you need to bake these allergen-free donuts as soon as possible. The recipe makes use of gluten-free oat flour, rice flour, potato starch, flax meal, flax milk and coconut oil in addition to the guests of honor: cocoa powder and mint extract.
As long as you use dairy-free chocolate chips when making the glaze, you can confidently serve your yummy creations to a vegan audience.
Spiced Donuts
Apple Cider Doughnuts
Determined to make an allergen-friendly donut taste good enough for everyone to enjoy, Kathryn created this recipe using a gluten-free all-purpose baking mix, quick-rise yeast, apple pie spice, ground cinnamon and vanilla. You pipe the batter into a donut pan and bake until your sweets are golden brown. Then, you dip each donut halfway into an apple cider glaze.
Cinnamon-Spiced Donuts
Cooked in a hot tub of coconut oil and rolled in a bed of cinnamon and sugar, these sweet doughy rings will make all your troubles go away. The recipe makes use of a homemade all-purpose flour blend consisting of white rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch and nonfat milk powder, which delivers the ideal donut texture: crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts
Coated with cinnamon and sugar, these scrumptious cake donuts are filled with pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and a gluten-free multi-purpose flour from King Arthur. The add-in of xanthan gum enhances the dough’s elasticity for a baked treat that’s sure to please a crowd.
Sugared Gingerbread Donuts
These gingerbread cake donuts may be free of gluten, dairy and grains, but that doesn’t mean they lack anything in the pizzazz department. Fine-ground blanched almond flour provides the base and cinnamon, ginger, allspice, blackstrap molasses and vanilla bring on the flavor.
If you don’t have an electric donut maker on hand, you can simply use your oven to bake the batter. For a sweet coating, you can combine coconut oil, maple sugar and cinnamon or just drizzle on some honey.
Paleo Carrot Cake Donuts
Don’t we all need more carrot cake in our lives? Baked inside a donut pan, this dough features coconut flour and all-star spices like nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Of course, you can throw in some walnuts and raisins in addition to your carrot shreds for a nutrient-packed treat that deserves a coconut cream frosting.
Fruit Donuts
Strawberry Donut Cakes
Using blanched almond flour, diced strawberries and some lemon juice, you can get strawberry donut cakes that are out of this world. These baked treats have a fluffy texture and an amazing flavor, particularly when topped with the accompanying recipe for homemade strawberry coconut glaze. All we have to say is yum!
Maple-Glazed Banana Donuts
Put your overripe bananas to good use with this delicious recipe. The combo of brown rice flour, cornstarch and xanthan gum makes the oven-baked donut great while the grouping of maple syrup, powdered sugar and vanilla extract produces a droolworthy glaze you have to try for yourself.
Lemon Blueberry Doughnut Holes
When you pulse granulated sugar and the zest of a lemon, you get a little taste of heaven. Of course, when you combine this lemon sugar with dried blueberries and a blend of brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch and xanthan gum, you get an even bigger taste of heaven.
After you deep fry the dough, you can keep life simple yet sweet by tossing the donuts in plain granulated sugar.
Wholesome Coconut Donuts
A coconut glaze and toasted coconut flakes go on top of this baked good while the donut batter itself contains coconut milk, coconut palm sugar and coconut oil. To make this tropical masterpiece gluten free, use superfine brown rice flour and tapioca starch.
Peach Buttermilk-Glazed Donuts
With peaches, peach nectar, buttermilk, five-spice powder and a gluten-free flour blend from King Arthur, you can have an amazing batch of donuts straight from the oven. For the peach glaze that goes on top, use reduced peach nectar, buttermilk and powdered sugar.
Filled Donuts
Vanilla Cream Doughnuts
If you’re looking for a crunchy exterior, fluffy insides and a sweet creamy middle, this deep-fry recipe is for you. Yeast and Manini’s Multi-Purpose Flour–containing millet flour, tapioca flour, teff flour, sorghum flour, amaranth flour, corn starch, cane sugar, xanthan gum and sea salt–help you create the perfect dough.
For the filling, use heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, egg yolks and vanilla extract.
Jam-Stuffed Brioche Doughnuts
A good wheat-free jelly donut is hard to come by, which makes this recipe all the more impressive. Using white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, cornstarch, gluten-free oat flour, brown rice flour, xanthan gum, psyllium husk powder and yeast, you get a raised dough that’s perfect for frying.
Toss your cooked donuts in powdered sugar and then use a pastry bag to pipe your favorite sweet jam into the center of your fried goods. If desired, you can make your own jam using Italian prune plums, light brown sugar, Saigon cinnamon and fresh lemon juice.
Boston Cream Doughnuts
With gluten-free oat flour, sweet rice flour and almond meal as your base, you can make an easy Boston cream donut. Slice the baked good in half before layering a vanilla cream in the center and a chocolate ganache on top. For best results, eat the sweet sandwich right away.
Candy-Filled Chocolate Cake Doughnuts
Putting your favorite sweets to work such as Hershey’s Kisses or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, this recipe for candy-filled donuts turns fantasy into reality.
The dough’s base contains potato starch, potato flour, tapioca flour, sweet rice flour, guar gum and cocoa powder while the post-fry coating consists of sugar and cocoa powder.
Of course, if you also want to drizzle homemade salted butter caramel sauce over your stuffed donuts, we won’t judge.
Custard-Filled Donut Holes
Follow these directions to bake your own custard ahead of time so it can chill overnight. Then, use white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch and xanthan gum to create a delicious deep-fried dough. After the donut holes have cooled, use a piping bag to inject custard into each goodie and then dust with confectioner’s sugar.
John Wilmer
oh god makes me feel so hungry 🙁