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Healthier Homemade Donuts

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Make rich, chocolatey, homemade donuts right in your own kitchen! These donuts are baked, not fried, and even include a surprise ingredient to make them a more balanced treat. 

homemade chocolate donuts

Care for a cakey, delicious chocolate donut? Made in your own kitchen? Without all the processed frying oils, and minus cups and cups of sugar? (Yes, this offer just keeps getting better and better.)

When we make treats like these homemade donuts at home, we get to enjoy fresher flavors and better nutrition– so important to us when we’re feeding our kids!

These chocolatey homemade donuts taste sweet and indulgent, and are topped with a thick, rich glaze made from two simple ingredients. Try them the next time you’re looking for a lightened-up dessert.

homemade chocolate donuts on cooling rack

What Makes These Homemade Donuts Healthier?

Store-bought donuts lose nutrition points in a few major ways. First, they’re loaded with sugar. Second, their macro-nutrient profile is strongly skewed towards simple carbohydrates and processed oils.

These yummy homemade donuts win back both those points. We wanted to sweetened them naturally, so we chose honey; you’ll find no refined sugar whatsoever in the batter. (Yes, the glaze includes dark chocolate chips, and they do contain sugar. We’re human.)

We also included chocolate protein powder, and cut way down on the oil in these donuts, to balance the macro-nutrients a bit better. Balancing fats, carbs, and proteins helps kids–and us–stay satisfied longer and prevent crazy blood sugar spikes. (You know how your kids act in the middle of a sugar-rush? Then you’ll be motivated to prevent it.)

While these homemade donuts are still absolutely a treat food, they’re a healthier alternative to store-bought donuts for kids who love donuts. Have a bite!

homemade chocolate donut with bite taken out

How to Make Homemade Donuts

To cook up donuts in the signature shape, you’ll of course need to start with a donut pan. We love silicone because it’s so easy to pop the donuts right out. You can buy a cute pair of silicone donut pans here.

Mix up the batter like you would for a cake: dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another, then fold them together. When you’re filling the molds, make sure you only fill the batter 2/3 of the way up the mold, to account for rising in the oven.

A couple tip about glazing the donuts: after your donuts come out of the oven,  let them cool completely before you add the glaze. Then chill them to set the glaze, but not for too long.  You’ll want to take them out of the fridge and eat them at room temperature.

homemade chocolate donuts on a white platter

For chocolate-obsessed kids, try these healthy treats too:

Double Chocolate Banana Cake

Magic Chocolate Milk

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3.6 from 70 votes

Healthy Homemade Donuts

Make rich, chocolatey, homemade donuts right in your own kitchen! These donuts are baked, not fried, and even include a surprise ingredient to make them a more balanced treat. 

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 1 donut
Calories: 211kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, vanilla
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 1/3 cup chocolate protein powder
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips, semisweet
  • 1 tablespoon oil, avocado

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray donut pan with cooking spray.
  • In a medium bowl, add the egg, almond milk, Greek yogurt, honey, and vanilla. Whisk to fully combine.
  • In a separate bowl, mix flour, protein powder, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix together then add to wet ingredients. Stir together until fully combined. Scoop out by 2-3 tablespoons full, into the donut mold. This should fill each mold 2/3 full.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  • Mix chocolate chips with avocado oil in a microwave safe dish. Heat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring each time. Once it is smooth, dip the top of each donut into he glaze and allow the excess to drip off.
  • Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden the glaze.

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 173mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 18g
Keyword : Healthy Homemade Donuts

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Healthier Chocolate Donuts | Healthy Ideas and Recipes for Kids

Natalie Monson

I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.

Learn More about Natalie

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12 Comments

Hi Jessica, the yogurt in this recipe is important for the texture of the dough. I can’t think of a suitable substitute, though you could definitely try with a non-dairy yogurt.

I want to make these over the weekend. Can you share what kind/type/brand of protein powder you use or what to look for in selecting one?

Hi Brittany! I haven’t tried it myself, but I think you could substitute other types of wheat flour in this recipe and still have the donuts turn out.

Wow! Your homemade donuts are really very delicious and healthy too. Thanks for sharing your recipe here.

Hi Caroline, I haven’t tried this myself, but I think you could leave out the protein powder and perhaps add a touch more cake flour to make up for the volume. If you try it, please let us know how it turns out!

Hi! I substituted the protein powder with almond flour and the donuts turned out great! GREAT RECIPE! Thank you for your amazing blog!