Drizzled with chocolate this dairy-free donut recipe is easy to whip up and great to have on hand! Made with vegan protein powder and naturally gluten-free, the vegan donuts bump up your daily protein intake by 9 grams per donut!
Wow, I just made this recipe and the homemade donuts are absolutely phenomenal! The combination of flavors is just perfect. I'll definitely be making it again soon! -Jeff
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ⏲️Ready In: 25 Minutes
- 👪Serves: 8
- 🍽 Calories and Protein: 325 kcals and 9 grams of protein
- 📋Main Ingredients: Ripe bananas, Gluten-free all purpose flour, almond flour, vegan vanilla protein powder and coconut oil.
- 📖 Dietary Notes: Dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan.
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: They’re soft, banana-sweetened, protein-packed donuts with a rich chocolate topping that feel indulgent but are made with wholesome ingredients.
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Soft, delicious, and protein-packed! This dairy-free protein donuts recipe is made with vegan protein powder to give you the fuel you need throughout the day.
Plus, the riper those bananas on your counter are, the better these dairy-free donuts will be! Stop thinking that boosting your protein intake needs to be done with just chicken and eggs. And instead, ENJOY what you eat with these chocolate-pipped, dairy-free protein donuts instead!
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💭Why You'll Love This Recipe
It's easy to make
contains protein to help slow the release of sugar
is allergy-friendly (dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo, vegan)
is kid-approved
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Gluten-Free Baking Flour: this is the base of the protein donut recipe and what binds everything together without having to create a “dough” to roll. Keep in mind that gluten-free baking flours are not all the same. Because they use a blend of grains, each one has a different markup. Some flours absorb lots, and some little. For this recipe, Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour was used.
- Almond flour: not to be confused with almond meal (learn the differences between almond meal and almond flour). This helps keep the protein donuts a little lighter than they would be otherwise while also giving them a dose of healthy fats.
- Bananas: used to give a bit of sweetness to the recipe but also to keep the texture from becoming too dense. Applesauce can work here if you don't have bananas.
- Vanilla protein powder: the protein powder you choose will make a difference to both the taste and the texture of the dairy-free donuts, so read the notes and choose wisely!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Which Protein To Use
This vegan donut recipe has been made with a variety of protein powders (learn more about Choosing The Best Vegan Protein Powder for your goals).
However, they taste best with Genuine Health’s Fermented Vegan Protein Powder (as do these glazed protein donuts).
This powder helps fuel your goals, recover and stay full.
Made with 20 grams of plant-based protein, this vegan protein is dairy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, and certified organic. It’s also been voted one of the best tasting vegan protein powders.
But best of all is that this dairy-free protein is fermented. This helps break down the “anti-nutrient” in grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes that often causes bloating.
This protein powder literally gives you the best of both worlds.
Expert Tips To Make It
The kind of protein powder you use will make a difference in the texture and the flavor of the vegan donuts. The same goes for these healthy protein donuts.
Genuine Health protein is not very sweet-tasting, others may be. Likewise, other powders may absorb more which would alter the texture. Note that a protein like Orgain will leave the vegan donut recipe lighter and less thick.
Whey protein powder does not tend to absorb liquid. If trying to substitute for whey protein, you may need to adjust the dry: wet ratio or bake longer.
The dairy-free donuts are extremely delicate right out of the oven, let them cool a few minutes and move very slowly when removing them (with a silicone spatula) from the pan.
Then, make sure to let them cool on a rack for a while before icing them. They "firm up".
The vegan donuts are best stored in the fridge but they do “firm up” a bit. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before eating.
A silicone mold works best for the vegan donuts. Make sure not to just use a mini muffin tin as the texture will be altered.
Dairy-Free Protein Donuts FAQs
Made from a blend of gluten-free flour and vanilla protein powder. Protein donuts are often sweetened naturally with bananas. The vegan donut recipe can use a variety of flavored protein powders but each one will absorb liquid slightly differently.
Each brand of protein will require a slightly different baking technique and is not a 1:1 replacement for flour. Whey protein blends into baked goods very well whereas vegan protein powder absorbs more liquid. How much liquid is absorbed will be based on the amount of pea protein in the powder.
You can use a mini donut pan to make bite-sized vegan donuts. However, make sure to really grease the donut pan and know that the donuts are delicate so let them cool a bit before removing.
More High Protein, Dairy-Free Recipes
If you tried this Protein Packed Dairy-Free Donut Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes!
Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Protein Donuts Recipe
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.25 cups all-purpose flour gluten-free
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 scoops vegan vanilla protein powder just over ½ a cup
- ½ cup Coconut Oil measured solid
- 2 very ripe bananas roughly ¾ cup
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ cup almond milk
- 2 teaspoons cane sugar
- Chocolate topping
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder
- 1 tablespoon cashew butter
- 1.5 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients.
- Melt the coconut oil. While melting, mash the bananas and mix in the vanilla and maple syrup. Add in the coconut oil and mix until smooth.
- Combine the oil mixture into the dry and stir until coated and somewhat sticky.
- Add in the almond milk and mix until combined. The mixture will be sticky and seem a bit dry.
- Using a spoon and a silicone spatula, portion the mixture out into a donut pan. You'll have to press the mixture down and smooth it out to get it to combine and hold together.
- Sprinkle the tops with the cane sugar.
- Bake for twelve minutes. Rotate the pan and bake another 4-6 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool for five minutes.
- Using a silicone spatula, carefully remove the donuts from the pan placing them on a cooling rack.
- While cooling, whisk together the chocolate topping until smooth.
- Place the mixture into a small baggie and cut the end off. Pipe the mixture onto the donuts.
- Eat while they're warm as they taste best and store in the fridge.
Notes
- The kind of protein you use will make a difference in the texture and the flavor of the vegan donuts (see notes in post)
- Genuine Health protein is not very sweet-tasting, others may be. Likewise, other powders may absorb more which would alter the texture.
- The donuts are extremely delicate right out of the oven, let them cool a few minutes and move very slowly when removing them (with a silicone spatula) from the pan.
- Then, make sure to let them cool on a rack for a while before icing them. They "firm up".
- If you don't have mashed bananas on hand, applesauce works really well to substitute!
- The vegan donuts are best stored in the fridge but they do become denser. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before eating.
- Lastly, make sure to use almond flour and not almond meal or the donuts will come out gritty.
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Jeff says
Wow, I just made this recipe and the homemade donuts are absolutely phenomenal! The combination of flavors is just perfect. I'll definitely be making it again soon!
fitasamamabear says
Donuts for the win!
Jenni says
Love these homemade donuts! They satisfy my cravings and taste great!
fitasamamabear says
Such a great way to boost protein too!
Wendy says
This is such a great way to start the day!
fitasamamabear says
Donuts for the win!
Allyssa says
Super loved this! This tasted so amazing! Thanks a lot for sharing this super easy to make recipe! Fam really loves it! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
fitasamamabear says
Haha donuts are always a hit!
Virjinia @ With Purpose and Kindness says
Hmm, I'll have to check out that protein powder. I don't use it very often but I do notice there's a difference in my food and my vegan friend when she cooks with protein powder. These donuts look absolutely delicious! I pinned this and plan on trying it soon!
fitasamamabear says
There's a huge difference in protein powders! Especially between vegan and whey (whey is normally sweeter). My best advice is trial and error which ones you like unfortunately 🙁 I have about three I like and stick with as I've had some horrid ones in my day lol
Kristen says
These look delicious!
I have to watch my protein powder servings too. Fortunately?? I get really gassy once I have more than my body likes per day so it naturally keeps me in check. Or, well, my family will keep me in check 😉
fitasamamabear says
Haha yes! I can get quite addicted to protein powder.. so easy! But it can have some "lovely" side effects 😛