Learn how to make the best baked pumpkin donuts with this easy recipe. They are a fun fall treat that makes a great breakfast or snack! You will need a donut pan to make these pumpkin donuts since they are baked, not fried. Or make pumpkin donut holes using a mini muffin pan! You can coat them in cinnamon sugar or glaze them if you prefer.
The beauty of baked pumpkin donuts is that you don't have to deep fry them, which can be a messy, though rewarding, endeavour. These easy donuts are made from a simple pumpkin cake batter, lightly spiced, then baked in donut pans.
If you love to bake with pumpkin, order your copy of the e-book All About Pumpkin so you can showcase this star ingredient!
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What You Will Need To Make Pumpkin Donuts
These pumpkin donuts are cake donuts, so they are made from a batter, similar to pumpkin cakes or pumpkin muffins. Here's what you will need to make them:
- all-purpose flour is needed to give structure to the batter so that the donuts bake nicely and are light.
- baking powder, not baking soda. Remember, baking powder is a complete chemical leavener.
- salt, specifically Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt is a fine salt that isn't too salty. The salt is needed to balance out the sugar and bring out the flavours in these donuts. If using table salt, add half the amount
- pumpkin spice mix or a mixture of spices, store-bought spice mix, or a homemade blend will work here
- pumpkin purée, either canned or homemade
- sugar, either granulated sugar or brown sugar works in this recipe, but I like to use both since brown sugar will add a little flavour. The sugar is very important to achieve the right texture, so don't cut back on it
- eggs help emulsify the ingredients together but also help the donuts bake lighter
- neutral tasting oil, like canola oil, is used to create tender donuts that aren't so dry-tasting. You will need extra to brush the pans with
- milk is needed to smooth out the batter. Too much milk makes these donuts too wet and heavy. The percentage of milk fat isn't so important here
Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Sweet potato: If you don't want to use pumpkin purée, you can try mashed sweet potato instead (the same amount) to make sweet potato donuts!
- Cardamom and other spices: Feel free to play around with the spices in the donuts. For example, cardamom works well in them! Anise would also be really interesting.
- Butter: For ease and convenience, the pumpkin donut batter is made with canola oil. You can replace this with melted butter to create a more flavourful pumpkin donut.
Remember, whenever you make changes, you may have to test and adjust your recipe though the substitutions and changes listed above will likely work.
Special Equipment
To bake donuts, obviously you will need a donut pan (I have two Nordic Ware pans you can find on Amazon). If you don't have donut pans, don't worry: you could bake these in mini muffin pans to make pumpkin donut holes (keep scrolling for the details, but they are basically pumpkin donut muffins)!
Filling donut pans can be tricky. I like to transfer the batter to a large piping bag without a piping tip. Cut the tip of the bag to create a large opening (about 1 centimetre or ¼-1/2 inch). This makes it easier to fill the donut pan cleanly without spilling too much.
Baking Pumpkin Donuts
Step 1-Whisk the wet ingredients in a medium bowl (image 1) until well and evenly mixed with no lumps (image 2). In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (image 3), then pour the wet over the dry and stir to combine (image 4). I like to use a Danish dough whisk to make muffin and donut batters.
Step 2-Once you have a thick batter (image 5), set it aside to prepare the donut pans. Brush them with a thin coating of oil (image 6) and then pipe the pumpkin donut batter into the prepared pan (image 7).
Step 3-Once your donut pans are evenly filled (image 8), you bake them until set (image 9). Use a cake tester to make sure they're baked through.
To finish baked donuts, you have several options:
- Toss them in cinnamon sugar when they are still hot so that the sugar adheres to the donuts
- Brush them with melted butter when they've cooled off, then toss in cinnamon sugar to coat
- Glaze them when they've cooled off with a simple powdered sugar and milk glaze.
Personally, I like to let them cool and brush them with melted butter before coating in sugar. I find the melted butter gives these extra flavour.
Making Pumpkin Donut Holes
If you don't have a donut pan, you can make pumpkin donut holes instead using a mini muffin pan!
To make pumpkin donut holes, brush the cavities of your mini muffin pan(s) with canola oil, then use a ¾ oz scoop to divide the batter among them. Don't overfill them. I divide the batter between 18 mini muffin pan cups. Bake them until set. Use a cake tester to double check they are baked inside. Brush the pumpkin donut holes with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Storage
The trouble with baked donuts is that they are best eaten within a day or two, especially if you've coated them in sugar. The sugar is hygroscopic and will draw moisture, liquefying and creating a wet coating on the donuts that isn't very appealing.
For longer storage, I suggest coating only the donuts you plan to eat right away in sugar. Store the rest in an airtight container and coat them in sugar when you want to eat them.
Still, just like pumpkin muffins, these are best eaten within a few days.
More Pumpkin Recipes
If you love fall baking, check out these other great pumpkin baking recipes!
If you tried this recipe for the best baked pumpkin donuts (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Ingredients
- 250 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 5 mL baking powder
- 5 mL ground cinnamon
- 2.5 mL ground ginger
- 1.25 mL ground nutmeg
- 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 0.625 mL ground allspice
- 0.625 mL ground cloves
- 2 large egg(s)
- 240 grams pumpkin purée canned or strained homemade pumpkin purée
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 100 grams light brown sugar
- 78 mL canola oil or any neutral-tasting oil
- 60 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
- 58 grams unsalted butter melted
- 100 grams cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175 °C). Brush the cavities of two donut pans with canola oil (I used this one from Amazon). Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, allspice, and cloves. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated and brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and milk.
- Pour the wet. ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk or fold to combine. Don't over mix.
- Fill a piping bag with the batter, and pipe it into each of the molds to fill it about half-way. to two-thirds full.
- Bake the donuts until a cake tester inserted into one comes out clean (about 12-14 minutes).
- Immediately invert them onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Otherwise they may stick a little.
- When donuts are warm, toss in cinnamon sugar OR if they've cooled off, then brush outside of donuts with melted sugar and toss in cinnamon sugar.
Notes
- This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
- You will need a donut pan to make baked pumpkin donuts. If you don't have one, make pumpkin donut holes in mini muffin pans-you will get approximately 18 donut holes, and they take approximately 16 minutes to bake.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.
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