These gluten-free pumpkin donuts are paleo, grain-free and dairy-free. Can also be made as regular muffins and are coated in cinnamon sugar. With a video.
I haven’t been feeling the pumpkin love at all this year. I don’t know what happened but I’m just not excited about it.
I’ve been much more into apples and making this paleo apple crisp and these paleo apple muffins.
And it doesn’t help that we don’t have canned pumpkin in Germany. I either have to make homemade pumpkin puree, which I won’t do because moisture content varies too much and I never know how much liquid to drain, or buy imported canned pumpkin from the American section of a department store.
For about $4.50 a can. I typically make a recipe several times before posting it and spending $18 on just the pumpkin for one recipe? Eh. I’ll pass.
So for this recipe, I took a short-cut. I adapted my pumpkin spice latte Nutella muffins and made them into these gluten-free pumpkin donuts. Or actually donut holes. I didn’t have to go through my precious cans of pumpkin and y’all get a pumpkin recipe. It’s a win-win for everyone! :)
If you don’t have a mini muffin pan, these can be made as 16 regular-sized muffins. You can check out the directions in my paleo pumpkin muffins recipe. It doesn’t work quite as well in bread form. I tried! It rises nice and high and then kerplunks. It’s pretty sad.
I’ve seen a lot of recipes where you dip the donut holes in butter first before dipping them in the cinnamon sugar, but when I tried this, the donut holes sucked up so much butter and were so wet that I had to use a ton of sugar to get them properly rolled.
It tasted amazing so feel free to do that if you don’t mind a ton of extra sugar. :) I’m thinking it’s perhaps a grain-free thing. I never had that issue with whole wheat goodies!
I have two more cans of pumpkin left and am very carefully planning what to do with them! What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe? If you don’t already have a favorite, check out the reviews in the comments below – people seem to love this gluten-free pumpkin donuts recipe!
And I can highly recommend this paleo vegan pumpkin pie. I’m not vegan but this pie is even creamier and more delicious than a traditional pie! SO good. :D
Not into grain-free baking? Try these whole wheat cinnamon sugar baked donuts from Family Food on the Table! They look so plump and delicious.
Click here to view, comment or share the video on Facebook! Thank you. :)
Gluten-free Pumpkin Donuts (paleo, grain-free, dairy-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 30 donut holes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (66 grams) coconut flour
- 3/4 cup (75 grams) almond flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 3 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 7 tablespoons (98 grams) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) coconut sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the donut holes:
For the cinnamon sugar:
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line a mini muffin pan with 24 muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (coconut flour through salt).
- In a separate medium bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (eggs through vanilla).
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir just until combined.
- Pour the batter evenly into the muffin liners, filling each liner until almost completely full. You'll likely have enough batter for another six donut holes.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. These need to rest for at least an hour before serving, both because of taste and texture.
- When ready to serve, mix the cinnamon with the sugar in a small bowl. Remove the liners and roll the donut holes in the cinnamon sugar. As these donut holes are quite moist, the cinnamon sugar tends to liquify overnight, which is why it's recommended to roll the donuts in the sugar no more than 8 hours before serving.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
- For paleo, use coconut sugar and coconut oil.
- For dairy-free, use coconut oil.
Source: My post on My Baking Addiction – Gluten-free Pumpkin Donut Holes
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215 comments on “Gluten-free Pumpkin Donuts (paleo, grain-free, dairy-free)” — Add one!
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I used my “babycakes” cake pop cooker to make these so they’d come out just like little round donut holes and it worked great!
That’s great that they turned out well using the cake pop cooker! I would have never imagined that that’d work. :) Thanks for your comment!
Wondering if this could be used for pumpkin bread (loaf)?
I tried it once a long time ago but didn’t like it. It was oddly spongy.
I didn’t think sugar was Paleo.
Coconut sugar, which I call for, is paleo. :)
Hey there is possible to sub the maple syrup for something sugar free, as well as the brown sugar? I am doing a low carb keto diet. Thanks!
Hi! I haven’t much good luck with low-carb sweeteners so I have no idea. Sorry about that!
I just finished making these and ate 4 in one sitting. I’ve been trying to work hard at being paleo and eating clean but a girl needs her sweets!!! Keep recipes like these coming!!
Haha. Yeah, we do! ;) Thanks so much for your comment!
Holy moly these were so good!! I have 1 gluten free daughter who isn’t a fan of pumpkin (wait…what!?!) and she liked them. The other daughter who is not GF absolutely loved them. I, personally, could not stay away from them because they were just incredible. Thank you so much! This recipe is a keeper. 😊
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Aww, yay! I’m so happy that all you enjoyed them so much! Thanks for your comment and the hearts. :)
Hi… Is it possible to substitute regular flour for the specialty flours?
if you did so, it wouldn’t be low carb!
These are lower carb because of the flour but definitely not low-carb because of the 1/2 cup maple syrup. If you wanted to make them low-carb, you’d have to use a sub for the sweetener (but I unfortunately don’t know what it’d be – I’ve had a hard time with low-carb sweeteners!)
I would sub Nature’s Hollow sugar free maple syrup. Sorry, I left that out
Ah, okay! Thanks for the tip. :)
Hi there! No, the flours used here aren’t interchangeable with other flours. You could make my vegan pumpkin donut holes with whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour. They don’t call for any special ingredients. They just happen to be egg-free. :)
Do you think I could just roll these in a ball instead of a mini muffin dish? I don’t have a mini muffin dish :(! Looks amazing though and can’t wait to try!
It’s a batter and not a dough so you can’t roll it into a ball. You could bake them in a regular muffin pan, though! The commenter below you made them that way. I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
Just finished making these! I got 12 regular size muffins & 8 mini muffins from the batch of batter. Just tried my them & they are AMAZING!!
They were super easy to make too! Definitely printing the recipe as a keeper! 😁
That’s great! I’m happy to hear that they came out well and you’ll make them again in the future. Thanks for your comment! :)
Is it possible to make this recipe dairy free, but not gluten free? Would it still turn out the same?
You can’t sub wheat flour for gluten-free flours so that won’t work. You could try my whole wheat pumpkin donuts holes which are dairy-free. :)
Any luck using rice flour, that’s what I usually have on hand? Or partial with rice and another…
Unfortunately, nuts flours aren’t interchangeable with non-nut flours so I really don’t think rice flour would work. Sorry about that!
Because my husband is allergic to almonds I have used garbanzo flour in exchange for almond flour without any problems.
Oh, that’s interesting! Is it a 1 to 1 sub? Thanks for the tip!
could use this recipe as donuts instead of donut holes ? will it work the same? i have a donut pan so i was going to use that
I’m guessing so but I haven’t tried it so I’m not positive. You’d have to adjust the baking time (I have no idea how long they’ll take in a donut pan). Enjoy! :)
Loved these!My kids and my friend did also. Only trouble I had was the cooking time,took me over 20 minutes to get them fully cooked.They taste even better the next day!
I’m happy you all enjoyed them! And good tip on them tasting better the next day. I’ll have to not eat them all on the first day next time. ;) Thanks for your comment!
what’s the macro nutrition on these either per batch or per serving size?
I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. :)
Instead of using coconut and almond flour could I just use gluten free flour? And if I have the gluten free flour with the baking soda ingredient in it do I have to add extra baking soda?
That unfortunately won’t work. Almond flour and coconut flour aren’t interchangeable with gluten-free flour mixes. You could use a different type of nut flour for the almond flour but that’s the only sub that’d work (so you’d still need the coconut flour). Sorry about that!
These are awesome. The recipe was very easy,and I already had all the ingredients. I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. Thanks for sharing.
I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the donut holes and I hope you’ll enjoy the other recipes just as much! Thanks for your comment. :)
you have eggs in this recipe so it is not dairy-free! It sounded great until I saw the eggs and no substitution for the eggs in your notes.
Eggs are most definitely not dairy. :) (source)
I don’t eat Dairy….but I do eat eggs. Like she said eggs are definitely not dairy
Thanks for the back up. ;)
When was the last time you saw a cow lay an egg? :-/
Erin,
I put these in my electric donut hole maker, and they came out beautifully! I also dipped them in melted coconut oil instead of butter. They didn’t get soggy at all. Very delish!
That’s great to know that they work in an electric donut hole maker! And awesome that they didn’t get soggy. Soggy donuts certainly aren’t a fun way to start the day. ;) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
These are AMAZING! I’m relatively new to paleo and have been so disappointed by so many baked goods, but these really are fabulous. Even my non-paleo hubby requested I make them often :)
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that you and your husband enjoyed them. Paleo sweets can definitely be disappointing, so I feel your pain. ;) Thanks for your comment!
First of all, thank you to the person who actually made these donut holes and commented on the outcome.
Of all the comments, she was the only one who actually bothered to try them. I must say: I’m very aggravated when I go to recipe’s comments sections and read comments consisting of ‘I can’t wait to try these’ and ‘these look so good!’ Who cares what you think? Make the recipe, THEN comment!
I’m sorry you feel that way! This is a blog and not a recipe site like Allrecipes so I suppose that explains why there are comments other than reviews. The last seven comments were either questions about the recipe or comments from people who had made the recipe so I wouldn’t say that all the comments except the one before yours were so “useless.” :)
Made these in my cake pop machine this morning, myself and my 5 year old daughter enjoyed them! Very easy recipe too. We decided next time we’re going to make them apple cider flavored :)
Oh, yum! I love the apple cider flavor idea. I’ve got to try that. :) Thanks for the tip and for your feedback! I’m so happy you both liked them.
I have a nut allergy baby, can i sub all coconut flour for the almond flour?
I’m afraid that won’t work as coconut flour absorbs much more liquid than any other type of flour. Almond flour is really only interchangeable with other nut flours. I’m sorry about that!
Try this: http://www.paleoplan.com/2014/03-25/substitute-coconut-flour-almond-flour/
I have used this method and it works well.
This was very useful. Thanks for posting this link!
Hi! What is in the pumpkin pie spice mix? I’ll have to mix my own as we do not have it in Australia! Cheers! Lisa
Hello! I couldn’t find a recipe for pumpkin pie spice that could easily be scaled down to 3 1/2 teaspoons but I think this is close: 1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger + 3/8 teaspoon ground allspice + 3/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg. I hope you’ll enjoy them!
I didn’t fully read all the comments so you may have answered this can you substitute sweet potato for canned pumpkin?
I’ve never tried using sweet potato as a sub for canned pumpkin so I’m not really sure. Sorry about that!
Here in Holland people are getting used to eating pumpkin in savory dishes, sweet dishes are nog quit that common. I love pumpkin dishes, savory or sweet :-). We don’t have canned pumpkin puree in the regular supermarkets. Although there is an online American supermarket I make my own and keep it in the freezer.
Thank you so much for adding the weight in grams, saves a lot of trouble searching for the measurements.
Mine have become muffins because of the size of my muffin pan, they’re in the oven right now. The smell is delicious, can’t wait to taste them!
I’ve been in Germany for 6 1/2 years and it’s definitely getting more common here, too! But people are still confused when I offer them sweet pumpkin treats. I’m happy that someone other than I makes use of the gram measurements. :) I think it’s so much easier. I hope you enjoyed the muffins and thanks for your comment!
Mirna… zou je mij kunnen vertellen hoe je de puree heb gemaakt?? Dank je wel :-)
I love Dutch so much. :D It’s like a mix of German, Swedish and English – the three languages I can read / speak! So to answer your question, here are three ways you can make pumpkin puree. :)
Just made these. HOLY COW! So freaking delicious. Swapped out the maple syrup for agave with no issue. Also rolled them in to what I thought would be small more donut hole shapes, but they grew a bit more than I anticipated. SO delicious. Seriously. Heaven.
Yay! I’m so happy that you liked them so much. And good to know that agave works well! Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :)
Can you do a replacement for maple syrup like stevia?
The problem is that you’d need to add extra liquid to make up for the loss of liquid in maple syrup. After reading this, I’m guessing you’d need to add 1.5 tablespoons of liquid but it’s just a guess!
I always find it odd that not every country has canned pumpkin. It’s so delicious – everyone should have it :) These little donut holes look delicious and I of course LOVE the cinnamon sugar coating…yum!
Thanks! And I agree. It seems as though only the US and Canada have canned pumpkin. So strange! It’s so convenient. :)
One thing I’ve noticed being an American expat in Germany is that it is really only recently that pumpkin and certain squashes have come into fashion in German cuisine, so no, unfortunately for us immigrants, canned pumpkin is not a “thing” here, lol. Also, until a couple of years ago, sweet potatoes and yams were only available in African supermarkets here. Luckily for me as “southern soul food” lover, they’ve become commonplace now in standard German markets as more Germans learn to experiment with them a bit. Serving anything with pumpkin, squashes, and sweet potatoes, though, are still a VERY exotic proposition when serving to my German husband’s family, lol. I’m looking forward to trying this as my husband’s diet currently alternates between vegetarian and vegan.
I’ve been in Germany for 6 years and am very, very happy that sweet potatoes are finally readily available. Even in Lidl and Aldi! And Germans are still a bit confused when I give them pumpkin baked goods. They then tell me pumpkin is supposed to be used in savory dishes. Haha. They still have quite a way to come, it seems. ;)
First of all, yum!!! These look so good :) Second I know exactly what you mean about homemade pumpkin puree. I’d do it just for my own use but for blogging my recipe testing needs to be a little more accurate :) And the cost of some ingredients, ugh. The Canadian dollar use to be good enough I could buy things for cheaper in the states but not anymore I can only imagine in Germany its even more pricey for some things.
Yes! Exactly. I want things to be super exact when baking. Are you able to get everything in Canada? Or are there things you have to buy in the US? I’m curious. :)
Erin, I feel ya! Some of my recipes have such expensive ingredients that I either never post them (for lack of trial runs) or it takes me half a year to test and re-test haha. Now, these pumpkin donut holes look terrific! I think I’d skip the butter, too lol.
Right?! The people who use AP flour are so lucky. ;)
I love donut holes. We have a donut store/coffee shop here in Canada called Tim Hortons. They sell donut holes in every conceivable flavour, but call them Timbits. I went in one day to order one for my dog (she loves the plain ones) and said “I’ll take one plain donut hole please”. She was so confused and had no clue what I meant. Um, Timbits are donut holes. Funniest thing ever. There’s a whole generation of youngsters in Canada that have no clue Timbits are actually donut holes. Cracks me right up for some reason.
I dig them covered in cinnamon sugar. I make apple ones but I think hubs would like your pumpkin ones better.
Haha. I love that you order your dog donut holes. :D And that’s so funny that she had no idea what a donut hole was! Crazy.
These look delicious! I’ve been looking for a gluten-free pumpkin donut to share with my blog readers, so I’m excited to find this one. Sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing! :)
I love this grain free recipe for using pumpkin. It is my new favorite and I think you have outdone yourself. Love it!
Thanks so much! :)
Your cinnamon sugar pumpkin donuts have me licking my lips. That outside coating is making me crave these donut holes!
I’m so happy to hear that! :D
Holy buckets these look incredible! Would love to try them.
Haha. I’ve never heard holy buckets before but I like it! :D
When I was a kid, we would go to an annual fair in Vancouver and that is where I first fell in love with donut holes. These pumpkin ones are making me crave them all over again!
Funny that you mention Vancouver! That’d be my dream city to live in. That they have a fair with donut holes is another point for Vancouver. :D
these look incredible! I don’t know if id be able to stop myself from eating the whole batch!
Thanks! And I’m pretty sure they’d freeze well (just saying in case you’re like me and have portion-control issues ;))
I feel the same exact way, this year i am just not feeling the pumpkin.I am glad you pulled through & brought us this awesome recipe though:)
Haha. I’m happy I got over my feelings for pumpkin and made these, too! It was totally worth it. :)
I love these! I have to bust out my mimi muffin pan and whip these up. I love the ingredients to!
Thank you! I hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
Yay, I have a mini muffin pan so I can get going on these! The texture of these donut holes looks so moist and tender!
Woohoo! I hope you’ll love them. :)
So cute that you made donut holes in a mini muffin pan – great idea! Cinnamon-sugar muffins are my favorite on Christmas morning (yes, dipped in butter first)…but I may have to make this version instead this year. They look so tempting!
I hope you’ll get a chance to try them out! They’d be great for Christmas morning. :)
I have been thinking about these nonstop since I saw them earlier today! I need to make these! I’m not usually much of a baker, but this yumminess is calling my name! And I’m pretty sure I’d be mom of the year (well, day anyway) if I made these for the kids (and didn’t eat them all before they got home…did I just say that out loud? LOL).
Haha. I bet your kids would be so happy if you could save them just a few! ;) I hope you’ll all love them as much as I did!
I just got into the pumpkin kick yesterday. Made pancakes and they were so good. Now I want to pumpkin everything! And these donut holes look so good! Wish I had them right now!
Haha. I think you and I are the very last ones to get around to pumpkin. ;)
These look so yummy and so good for you! Can’t wait to try these out!
I hope you’ll enjoy them!
I would eat the entire batch of these!
Nothing wrong with that! ;)
We don’t have canned pumpkin in Australia either so i make my own by roasting pumpkin pieces. I find it removes more moisture than steaming or boiling the pumpkin pieces.
My favourite pumpkin recipe is Pumpkin Bread
I remember you saying that last year! It seems like it only exists in North America. So strange! Thanks for the tip. :)
I have a mini muffin pan and these are definitely happening in my kitchen soon! I also wasn’t feeling the pumpkin but it slowly grows on me each year :)
I hope you’ll enjoy them! :)
These sound delicious! Love the cinnamon sugar topping to finish it off in the best way possible!
Agreed! They’re yummy on their own but so much better with the cinnamon sugar. :)
These look amazing – and I never mind extra butter and sugar, haha!
It’s hard to resist! ;)
I need to try these for the ones that eat GF. Look delicious. I have never wanted to make anything and dip it in better then sugar. I just can’t handle the butter taste or greasy feeling in my mouth.
Haha. That’s good that you don’t like dipping stuff in sugar and butter. It’s certainly not a healthy habit. ;) And totally not necessary with these!