My sugar free donuts taste just like the real thing, just without all the sugar and carbs! They are deliciously moist and pillowy-soft, with a hint of vanilla and rolled in granulated sweetener.
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On a scale of one to ten, donuts score at least a 14. You put a plate of these beauties on a table, and within minutes it'll be empty, guaranteed.
I've never been a fan of Krispy Kreme - they are just too sweet and fake-tasting. But before I started my low carb diet, I did love a proper bakery donut. Especially when they were fresh out of the oven, still warm and deliciously soft.
These days, I prefer eating low carb so bakery donuts are off the menu. But, I missed them so much!
It was time for a healthy sugar free donuts recipe.
The Secret To Moist, Soft Diabetic Donuts
I used my sugar free lemon mug cake recipe as a starting point. This cake is ultra moist, which I absolutely love. It uses almond flour, which has a gently sweet taste and mimics the texture of wheat flour very well.
I increased the amount of butter in the recipe to make my low carb donuts pillowy-soft and rich at the same time, just like real donuts should be.
And of course, I used a sugar free sweetener so the Type 2 diabetics in my family can eat them without spiking their insulin.
Seriously, they are so good, it's hard to believe they're only 1g net carbs a piece!
Shall I show you how easy the recipe is?
Ingredients
Here are the ingedients you'll need for keto donuts:
- Almond Flour: I use ground almonds in most of my recipes. This is the same as regular almond flour. This recipe also works with super-fine almond flour.
- Butter: Should be unsalted and melted.
- Cream: Adding heavy cream makes the donuts moist and delicious. It is my secret ingredient.
- Eggs: I used 4 medium eggs. Alternatively, use 3 large eggs.
- Sweetener: I like allulose in this recipe, or erythritol monk fruit sweetener blends.
- Baking Powder and Vanilla Extract
Tip: Check that your baking powder is fresh. The main reason why baked goods don't rise is out-of-date baking powder. You can check whether it's active by putting a pinch in warm water. It should bubble and fizz.
Instructions
This section contains step by step instructions and photos that show how to make the recipe.
Scroll down to the recipe card for ingredient amounts, the detailed method, nutrition info and a recipe video.
1.) In a bowl using an electric mixer or with a food processor, blend the butter, cream and granulated sweetener until smooth.
2.) Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the mixture and blend until combined.
3.) Then add the almond flour and baking powder and blend until you have a smooth batter.
4.) Spoon the batter into a well-greased donut pan. I greased mine with melted butter.
5.) Bake the donuts for 15 minutes or until golden on top. Then remove them from the oven and let them cool fully.
Only once they are at room temperature, carefully release the donuts from the pan.
6.) Roll in a bowl with granulated sweetener and enjoy!
Which sweetener should I choose?
I like to use either pure erythritol or an erythritol blend with either monkfruit or stevia.
You could also use xylitol - some people find it has less of a cooling taste than erythritol. Xylitol is higher in carbs, so do take this into consideration if you need to. Also, when purchasing xylitol, look for a brand that extracts it from birch trees and not from GMO corn.
A third option is allulose. It tastes surprisingly similar to sugar. It's available on Amazon in the US. In Europe, the UK and elsewhere you can get allulose from iherb.
Use A Mini Donut Pan
As I find almond flour is rather filling - this is because it's actually got nutritional value and contains plenty of healthy fats, I decided to use a silicone mini donut pan as opposed to a regular size pan.
Silicone pans are a godsend for low carb bakers, because they are pliable and you can release your baked goods much easier. Grain-free flours such as almond flour or coconut flour do not contain gluten, which means they are more fragile.
OTHER PAN OPTIONS
- You can use a larger mould if that's what you have at home and make 6-7 full size sugar free donuts. Simply increase the oven time by 5-8 minutes. Cover the top with aluminium foil if they start browning too much.
- Don't have a donut pan? You can use a regular muffin pan as well! Fill it only half way and bake 15 minutes.
- One of my readers even used this sugar free donuts recipe to make waffles.
KATRIN'S TIP: Whether you are using a silicone or a non-stick pan - make sure you grease it REALLY WELL. I used butter, but you could use another oil such as coconut oil. Don't miss this step!
Don't Overfill The Mould
In my first attempt, some of my donuts did not have a hole in the middle because I overfilled the mould. I ran a knife around the centre to get my hole "back".
If you DO end up with hole-less donuts, why not make the best of it. Simply fill the inside of the donut with sugar free raspberry jam or lemon curd. 🙂
To achieve donuts WITH a hole, check out how much I filled my pan in the video and on the step-by-step image.
How Many Eggs
I used 4 medium eggs in my recipe. If your eggs are large, 3 are enough.
Check the consistency of your batter and compare it to mine in the video. As a rule of thumb, if your batter is too runny, just add another 1-2 tablespoon of almond flour.
See the picture below how lovely and moist they are on the inside!
How To Make Dairy-Free Donuts?
It's possible to make this recipe dairy free by replacing the butter with coconut oil and the cream with coconut cream.
Recipe Variations
How about adding 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter for cinnamon donuts?
Or, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and the zest of 1 lemon to make lemon donuts.
Like everything chocolate? Try my keto doughnuts, which have a chocolate crumb and a chocolate glaze.
Coating Ideas
I decided to go for a "sugar donut", because that's my favourite type. Obviously, I did not use real sugar, but granulated erythritol.
A brown sugar substitute would also be lovely here. Or, add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to the bowl to make cinnamon "sugar".
If you prefer a glaze, mix 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 tablespoon heavy cream and 2 tablespoons powdered sweetener with a couple of drops of vanilla extract. Let the mix cool until it starts to firm up. Then, pour it over the donuts.
You can also melt dark or sugar-free chocolate with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil for a chocolate glaze! If using dark chocolate, go for a variety with 85%-90% cocoa solids.
Featured Reader Review
"Made three flavor of this recipe today. Amazingly perfect! Vanilla with vanilla glaze, lemon with a lemon glaze and chocolate with a chocolate glaze - I am keto but the rest of my family is diabetic so I used monk fruit sweetener and extracts for flavor.
Thank you, everyone was happy with tonight's dessert." (Alberta)
Storage
Store these donuts in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-6 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
More Sugar Free Desserts
- Keto Madeleines20 Minutes
- Chocolate Yogurt (Like Pudding!)5 Minutes
- Keto Peanut Butter Fudge45 Minutes
- Fail-safe Keto Coconut Cream Pie2 Hours 50 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Sugar Free Donuts
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour 100g, ground almonds work as well
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter 75g, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sweetener 50g
- 4 eggs medium, or 3 large
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream 30ml
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- ¼ cup granulated sweetener 50g, to roll the donuts in. Option to add ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit. Brush the inside of the silicone donut pan with melted butter or grease with cooking spray.
- Blend the melted butter, cream and sweetener in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer or in a food processor until smooth.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and blend until combined. Then, add the almond flour and baking powder. Continue blending until a smooth batter forms.
- Spoon the batter into the well-greased donut pan. Take care not to overfill the donut moulds. The batter will rise as it bakes.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove the donuts from the oven and let them cool completely before removing them from the pan.
- Put granulated sweetener in a small, shallow bowl. Option to add cinnamon and stir to combine. Press each donut into the sweetener to coat on both sides.
Dee
Yum! Yum! Yum!
I don’t normally do Keto, gf or vegan friendly, BUT this recipe for the donuts massive hit. My work colleague was craving donuts but can’t have much sugar due to being pregnant.
I sub out the butter and the cream for coconut oil and coconut milk.
And this recipe works in my doughnut maker
Thank you for sharing your recipe Katrin.
Dee, from Australia
Bill Massengill
I'm not sure what you mean by double/heavy cream? Our local markets only sell whipping cream or heavy cream. Can you explain as I would really like to try these.
Katrin Nürnberger
It's heavy cream I'm talking about. Here in the UK we call it double cream.
Gina
THE BEST EVER!!!!! I put my batter in a bag and clipped the corner and squeezed it into the donut pan. I also added a little dark chocolate baking coco to the glaze. These reminded me of crullers in taste and texture. My husband and I had no restraint on eating these. Making again rel soon.
Tina
Looking to try this...any thoughts on adding vanilla casein protein powder?
Katrin Nürnberger
You can definitely try this, and reduce the almond flour accordingly to stick to the same wet/dry ratio.
Anne
can you use an egg replacement in this recipe ? need to be dairy free & egg free
Katrin Nürnberger
You would have to experiment and see if it works. This would probably change the texture.
Carolyn Stoker
How would coconut flour work? I as m assuming only 1/3 to 1/2 cup? I have a hard time getting almond flour but coconuts flour is easy to get.
Katrin Nürnberger
I would use 1/3 cup of coconut flour and probably also a little xanthan gum - 1/4 tsp.
Carolyn Stoker
Thanks I am going to try that today.
Hasni
Delicious...as good as the real doughnut when you need to satisfy the sugar cravings...cant wait to try the chocolate ones
Penny Hutchinson
Hi Katrin...I'm your "non-baker" from the USA's "deep South!" (so deep in the Delta that only me and one other person vote Democrat!! :)) The only "bread" I believed was edible for breakfast was white bread toast and buttermilk biscuits! But now, with your help, I'm into things like these almond flour donuts! (I used chocolate glaze on them that I just happened to have leftover from a batch of your Almond Flour Biscuits), and add to those... your bagels!! Now...running out of mozzarella cheese is a total tragedy! They are now my M-F morning breakfast, and the donuts my weekend treat! Both SO SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS!! Thank you! 🙂
Andrea
Is the sweetener that you used 1:1 to regular sugar? I really want to try this recipe but I just bought a bunch of brown sugar stevia blend And I wanna be sure a make the right conversion. Also, how similar is the taste to a regular donut? My husband is diabetic and one thing that he misses so much is donuts Thank you and lots of love!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Andrea, I used a 1:1 sugar replacement. They taste not EXACTLY like donuts because I'm using almond flour and not wheat. But they taste very, very good and moist and people like them 🙂 It always depends a lot on the sweetener you use and if you like the taste. Lakanto and So Nourished and also Sukrin have very little aftertaste.
Karen
I have regular or tapioca flour - can i use tapioca instead of almond flour?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Karen, I have never tried tapioca flour, so you'd need to check if it's a 1:1 substitution. As for the regular flour, normally a 1:1 sub works. Start with using a little less though because the almond flour I used in this recipe is coarser and wheat flour is very fine. It will probably absorb more liquid. Try to get your dough to the same consistency as shown in the video. It's all about the right wet/dry ratio.