You can whip up these gluten-free vanilla donuts in 30 minutes with one bowl—no mixer required! With a light, tender crumb and delicious vanilla flavor, these donuts are one of our all-time favorite treats.
I especially love making these gluten-free donuts for birthday mornings! They’re delicious anytime! Keep reading for all the tips and tricks you need to make perfect and versatile gluten-free donuts.
Did you know you can bake delicious homemade, gluten-free donuts any day of the week? It’s true!
This GF baked donut recipe is one you’ll turn to again and again. It’s quick, easy, made from simple ingredients, and comes together in one bowl. You don’t need a mixer, and the whole recipe can be made in about 30 minutes.
(PS – you also might like these fried gluten-free donuts, gluten-free pumpkin donuts with brown sugar glaze or these gluten-free apple cider donuts!)
I love making this gluten-free baked donut recipe for my kids’ birthdays, parties, days off of school, and holidays. It’s an ideal gluten-free recipe when you need to accommodate food allergies or kids with Celiac’s disease.
Best of all, you can customize the frosting/icing and toppings any way you’d like. If you want to be a super fun parent, you can even create a “donut bar” and let kids add their own toppings, like a rich chocolate glaze, coconut sugar, etc.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Light and tender crumb
- Easy recipe (takes about 30 mins!)
- Can be customized
- Great for birthdays, weekends, or holidays
- Easily made dairy-free!
For more breakfast favorites, you also might like these recipes for gluten-free pancakes, gluten-free waffles and gluten-free scones.
You also might like these recipes for gluten-free banana bread, gluten-free muffins, and gluten-free pound cake.
Want coffee with your donuts? You also might like these articles on is coffee gluten-free and Starbucks gluten-free.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this gluten free donuts recipe:
- Gluten-free flour: I like to use a high quality gluten-free 1:1 baking flour like King Arthur Flour in my baked goods. It’s important to use a high-quality gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum for best results.
- Milk of choice: Any milk will work in this recipe, including whole milk, skim milk, oat milk, or soy milk. I like to use unsweetened almond milk!
- Sugar: Granulated white sugar is essential to any donut batter! I use and recommend Domino sugar.
- Oil: Any kind of oil will work for this recipe. I usually use vegetable oil or coconut oil.
- Apple cider vinegar: Apple cider vinegar helps the donuts to rise and lightens the crumb.
- Baking powder: Baking powder helps the batter rise and produce a light crumb.
- Nutmeg: I love the unique spice a bit of nutmeg adds to this recipe. Everyone will be wondering what makes them extra delicious!
- Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar is mixed with milk and vanilla to make a delicious icing.
- Vanilla: Vanilla adds flavor to the donut icing. You could also use almond extract, coconut extract, etc.
How to Make Gluten-Free Baked Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Lightly grease two 6-cavity donut pans with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk until evenly combined.
- Pour the thick donut batter into a large Ziplock bag or piping bag. Cut a 1-inch hole in the corner of the bag and pipe the donut batter into the prepared doughnut pan.
- Bake the gluten-free doughnuts for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a cooling rack. Let the homemade donuts cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before glazing.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. You want the glaze to be thick enough that it coats the donut without running off the top/sides too quickly. Adjust the glaze with more powdered sugar to thicken it or more milk to thin as desired.
- Dip the gluten free doughnuts in the vanilla glaze or sugar coating and top with sprinkles (if using.) Enjoy your homemade gluten free donuts!
Baked Donut Variations
Feel free to get creative with the donut frosting/icing and toppings with this gluten-free baked donut recipe. You could make a variety of vanilla donuts, chocolate donuts, strawberry donuts, etc!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Almond Joy donuts: Chocolate glaze flavored with almond extract, coconut shreds, and sliced almonds.
- Coconut donuts: Icing flavored with coconut extract and coconut shreds.
- Lemon donuts: Icing flavored with lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Orange donuts: Icing flavored with orange juice and orange zest.
- Strawberry donuts: Glaze flavored with strawberry jam.
- Apple cider donuts: Dip the donuts in apple cider when hot, then roll in cinnamon sugar.
- Cinnamon sugar donuts: Roll donuts in cinnamon sugar mixture when hot.
- Chocolate donuts: Chocolate glaze or frosting.
- Maple donuts: Frosting flavored with maple extract.
- Powdered sugar donuts: Roll donuts in powdered sugar when hot.
- Colored donuts: Add your favorite food coloring to the glaze, then add sprinkles.
- Raspberry donuts: Icing flavored with raspberry jam.
Storage Instructions
These donuts taste best the day they are made. (And they will probably disappear quickly, anyway!) But if you’d like to save the leftovers, be sure to store them in an airtight container.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- I highly recommend these Wilton non-stick donut pans—they work amazingly well!
- I find it easiest to use a large Ziplock bag to pipe the batter into the donut pan.
- Preheating the oven to 425 degrees is key. The hot oven helps the donuts to rise and create an extra-light, fluffy crumb.
More Gluten-Free Recipes
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you try these gluten-free baked donuts, be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
Gluten-Free Baked Cake Donuts
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free 1:1 baking flour 240 grams
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar 133 grams
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
- ½ cup oil
For the Glaze:
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar 195 grams
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- sprinkles for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Lightly grease two 6-cavity donut pans with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk until evenly combined.
- Pour the donut batter into a large ziploc bag. Cut a 1-inch hole in the corner of the bag and pipe the donut batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake the donuts for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a cooling rack. Let the donuts cool for 15 minutes before glazing.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. You want the glaze to be thick enough that it coats the donut without running off the top/sides too quickly. Adjust the glaze with more powdered sugar to thicken it or more milk to thin as desired.
- Dip the donuts in the glaze and top with sprinkles if using. Enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten-free flour: I like to use a high quality gluten-free 1:1 baking flour like King Arthur Flour in my baked goods. It’s important to use a high-quality gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum for best results.
- Milk of choice: Any milk will work in this recipe, including whole milk, skim milk, oat milk, or soy milk. I like to use unsweetened almond milk!
- Oil: Any kind of oil will work for this recipe. I usually use vegetable oil or coconut oil.
- I highly recommend these Wilton non-stick donut pans—they work amazingly well!
- I find it easiest to use a large Ziplock bag to pipe the batter into the donut pan.
- Preheating the oven to 425 degrees is key. The hot oven helps the donuts to rise and create an extra-light, fluffy crumb.
Hi- Would Allulose instead of granulated sugar work?
Hi Ivette, we don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes so we haven’t tried allulose before. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
I also would like to know if a sugar substitue would work.
Our donuts absorbed all of our frosting . What did we do wrong?
We’re sorry you had this experience! This usually happens if the donuts are too warm to glaze. It can also occur if the donuts are overbaked or the glaze is too thin. We hope your next batch goes much better!
My donuts rose higher than the pan so they looked more like a muffin on one side. If there a way to avoid this?
Hi Ann, thank you for your question! The donuts will typically puff up like that if the pans are overfilled. It can also help to level the batter in the pan so they don’t rise unevenly. We hope you still enjoyed the flavor!
If I wanted to make the donuts chocolate instead of vanilla how much cocoa powder would you add ?
Hi Laurie, thank you for your interest! We haven’t tried to turn these into chocolate donuts before. We usually just add a chocolate glaze for a simpler chocolatey treat! To make the batter chocolate, you’d need to adjust the other dry ingredients, especially flour, to account for the dry/absorbent cocoa powder addition. You may even need to add a little more liquid. We’d suggest starting small with 1/4 – 1/2 cup of cocoa powder.
Great recipe. Light and fluffy. I substituted cinnamon for nutmeg. They just don’t keep for more than 2 days. I have not tried to freeze so that may be an option
We’re so pleased to hear you enjoyed the donut recipe, Therese! Yes, we recommend serving them the day they are made as they do not store for long. Freezing can impact the texture unfortunately. Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. Happy baking!
Another amazing recipe! I made these last night and the results were simply delicious! So true about the crumb – I used Caputo GF flour . My only complaint is that it made one batch of 12-14 mini donuts . I filled the cavities pretty full. I’ll be making these on repeat and doubling the recipe! A great alternative to the endless mix-in muffins. Your book and recipes are my go to GF baking . Thank you !
Hi there! These are amazing! Huge hit. The bottoms of my donuts are pretty dark and the tops light. Taste and texture are unaffected. I greased one pan and didn’t the other. Equally dark. Tried the lower time. Same. Looking at pictures to see if that’s just part of baked donuts…noticed your iced parts are darker…do you turn them upside down and ice the bottoms? Any tips appreciated!
Hi Tami, we’re so glad you loved the recipe! That color imbalance tends to happen with baked donuts because the bottoms are in contact with the metal pans whereas the tops don’t come in direct contact with the heated pans. Darker pans will cause darker browning than the lighter pans. You can dip either side into the glaze, depending on which color you would prefer to leave showing. Happy baking!
Do you use the King Arthur GF bread flour?
Hi Jenifer, this recipe uses King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure flour. We hope you enjoy the donuts!
This is a new favorite! I would definitely recommend this to anyone. The donuts came out fluffy and perfect. This is a win for the gluten free community!
Yay! We’re so glad this recipe has become a new favorite! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us, Jaida.
Do you have a chocolate glaze recipe? Thank you !
Hi Laura, you can adjust the vanilla glaze in this recipe to make a chocolate glaze. Start by adding 3 Tbsp of cocoa powder. You can add more if desiring a richer chocolate flavor or add another tablespoon of milk if it needs to be thinned out more. We hope you enjoy the donuts!
These are delicious! I dipped some in cinnamon sugar & the rest in melted chocolate chips with a little coconut oil & topped with sprinkles. Just need an answer to my previous post about whether they will be okay tomorrow night & if they can be frozen.
Hi Joy, we’re so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Those toppings sounds delicious! These donuts are best the day they are made. If stored in an airtight container, they will keep for 1-2 days at room temperature. Refrigerating or freezing these donuts will most likely impact the texture, causing a harder, drier donut.
I’m making these today for tomorrow night. If I store them in an airtight container, will they be okay? Also, can they be frozen?
Hi Joy, these donuts are best the day they are made. If stored in an airtight container, they will keep for 1-2 days at room temperature. Refrigerating or freezing these donuts will most likely impact the texture, causing a harder, drier donut. We hope this helps and you enjoy the recipe!
Love it. My friends want it too . Thanks.
Hi Pat, we’re so happy to hear you and your friends loved the donuts so much! Thank you for sharing your positive feedback with us!
This was a great recipe! I made it with/without the glaze and I was wondering if there are other alternatives for the topping.
Hi Meghry, thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We’re so glad you enjoyed the donuts! You can customize the toppings a lot of different ways, such as: chocolate glaze, cinnamon sugar, cake frosting, powdered sugar, etc. Within the post we have a list of baked donut variations that will help. Happy baking!
I don’t have a donut pan. Could I use a muffin pan?
Hi Dee, we haven’t tried this recipe in a muffin pan, but other readers have shared success making them in mini muffin pans to make donut holes. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
These were very easy to make and delicious! Thank you!
Yay! We’re so glad you loved the recipe, Brian! Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. Happy baking!
Hi! What is the serving portion for the nutrition facts?
Hi Christina, the nutrition facts are for 1 donut (1 serving) if the batter is used to make 12 donuts. We hope this helps and you enjoy the recipe!
My family loved these! I’m the only one whose GF but they all raved about these. The recipe is quick and easy too. Thanks for a real winner 🙂
Yay! We’re so happy to hear the recipe was such a hit with the whole family, Jessica! Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience with us!