These baked banana donuts are so soft and pair perfectly with your morning cup of coffee! Top them off with my classic glaze or enjoy them plain.
It's no secret that I am a HUGE fan of cakey baked donuts. They're definitely up there as one of my all-time favorite things to bake, for a few reasons -- but primarily because it's so easy to come up with fun and different variations.
And because everyone loves banana bread, I thought banana donuts would be a great addition to my growing collection of gluten free donut recipes.
The whole process is super straightforward, and it will take you no time at all. If you don't have donut pans, I really love these particular pans. I bet you'd get way more use out of them than you'd think!
I love the idea of whipping these donuts up for an Easter brunch, so I added a pretty pastel glaze and a bit of a speckled look reminiscent of Easter egg candy (my favorite). The pastel glaze and splatter on top could not be easier, and I'm talking you through it below.
Why You'll Love These Donuts...
- This recipe is SO so easy. I think the whole process (not including bake time) will take you 20 minutes, if that.
- We're stirring everything up by hand, so no need to pull out your electric mixer for this recipe.
- These banana donuts are just as delicious plain as they are with the glaze, so if you're short on time, you can skip it. I guarantee these will still be a hit!
What You'll Need...
How To Make Banana Donuts From Scratch...
To make my gluten free banana donuts, start by whisking together the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the rest of your ingredients. Add the dry mixture into your wet mixture and stir until combined. And that's really all there is to it! Told you this was an easy one.
Scoop your batter into a couple of greased donut pans. Some people prefer to pipe their donut batter into the pans but, in all honesty, I find it easier to just use a spoon. Bake on 350ºF for about 12 minutes, and be sure to allow the donuts to cool completely before attempting to remove from the pan.
How To Decorate Donuts For Easter...
To make the glaze, all you need to do is mix the powdered sugar with whole milk until you have the right consistency. I recommend adding the milk gradually, one tablespoon at a time, and monitoring what that does to the glaze.
This way, you're not accidentally going too far and thinning it out too much (but if that does happen, add a spoonful of powdered sugar to thicken it back up again).
If you are planning to do a few different colors, divide the glaze up into separate bowls. To achieve this pastel color, I use a toothpick to grab just a tiny bit of gel food coloring. Less is more here, and you can always add more if the color is too light after giving it a good stir.
Dip your cooled donuts into the glaze, and place onto a clean plate. Repeat for all donuts. Then, to add that speckled Easter egg effect, you'll want to stir up some cocoa powder with vanilla extract in a small bowl.
Use a clean brush to splatter the mixture onto your glazed donuts. I'll admit, this might take a little bit of practice so I'd recommend trying this out on a piece of parchment paper or napkin until you get the hang of it.
There's not really a right or wrong way to do this, really! Speckled eggs are never perfect (and you can see my donuts aren't, either) and that's what makes these fun.
The glaze will set pretty quickly, so feel free to serve these donuts up right away. To store, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, or up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Can I Make These Donuts Dairy Free?
I haven't tested it, but to make these donuts dairy-free and completely vegan, you should be able to use your favorite non-dairy butter, milk, and yogurt. Soy milk tends to be the closest to whole milk in terms of consistency.
Did you make my baked banana donuts? Leave me a comment below or tag me on Instagram @justastastyblog and #justastastyblog!
For More Gluten Free Donut Recipes, Check Out My...
Baked Banana Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (222g) gluten free flour blend
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (112g) Greek yogurt room temperature
- ¼ cup (60ml) milk room temperature
- 3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large banana mashed
For the glaze:
- 1 ½ cups (180g) powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons whole milk
- gel food coloring optional
For the speckled effect:
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease donut pans and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, yogurt, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract, and mashed banana. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Spoon or pipe the batter into prepared donut pans. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Allow donuts to cool in the pan before removing and glazing.
To make the glaze:
- Stir together the powdered sugar and milk. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk (one tablespoon at a time). Stir in gel food coloring, if using.
- Gently dip each donut into the glaze. Allow glaze to set before serving.
To achieve the speckled effect:
- Stir the vanilla extract and cocoa powder together in a small bowl. Use a clean pastry brush to dip into the mixture, then flick onto donuts to achieve the speckled effect.
Cherise says
Great recipe. It was simple, quick, and easy to follow. I subbed the Greek yogurt with sour cream since I had some leftover in the fridge, and they turned out wonderful; they were moist and they had a rich, yet delicate banana flavor. I look forward to trying more of Taleen's recipes!
Taleen Benson says
Thanks so much, Cherise! Glad you enjoyed this recipe.
G says
These are amazing!
I also used sour cream since I had it in my fridge.
This was my first go at gluten free donuts since we found out two of our family are GF. My kids said these are the best donuts they have ever eaten. And they have memories of conventional donuts from Tim hortons. Yay!
Great recipe.
Taleen Benson says
Thanks so much! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed these and glad that the sour cream and oat milk worked out.
Giselle says
Oh - also! I used oat milk! It’s what I had.