These 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.
There is a 24-hour bakery in London where we used to go to after a long night out. We'd stock up on bagels for breakfast and munch on a donut or two on the way home. Saturday night wouldn't have been the same without it!
These days, I'm more likely to be found on my sofa than partying, and in bed before midnight. A good night's sleep is sacred in midlife. But donuts. I missed them!
It was time for a healthy sugar free donuts recipe.
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.
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 in the US. This recipe also works with super-fine almond flour.
- Butter: Should be 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 The main reason why baked goods don't rise is out-of-date baking powder.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.
1.) Melt the butter in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour 100g, ground almonds work as well
- â…“ 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.Â
- 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.Â
- 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.
Laima
I am going to be trying this recipe out for Thanksgiving this week-end. However, I have a mini donut iron that bakes 7 donuts at a time. In your recipe you indicate to let them cool before removing them from pans. But, if I wait that length of time, it will take forever for me to make several batches, as I believe I will want to make about 5 batches perhaps 6, so I can freeze one or two of them. What method would you suggest for allowing them to cool without breaking them to bits? Thanks! Your recipes and tips are terrific! I've got all your recipe books and am in the throes of trying some of them out.
Katrin Nürnberger
I think you can probably put the mould in the fridge to speed up the process. After a few minutes, see if you can release them without issue.
Toni
Sorry, but the use of the word "throes" made me laugh! Trying out recipes should be fun, not painful, especially these great recipes!!
Zoë
Hi! I am allergic to almonds. Can I make it with hazelnut or flaxseed flour?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hazelnut flour or seed flours such as a blend of sunflower seed and sesame seed flour can ba used as a 1:1 substitute to almond flour. Using flaxseed would change the taste and texture a lot and I don't recommend it for this recipe.
Carol
Could you make in a mini cupcake mould?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, of course. You may have to change the oven time.
Jschex
Such a light texture! These were easy and delicious
Donna
Delicious.. rolled in sugar and lots of Cinnamon.
So simple to make, even my hubby likes them.
Lynne Gray
Love your recipes, thank you so much for sending them to me, they all are fabulous.
Cathy
Very nice and were quite filling!
Anna Gossett
HI! I am enjoying your website! I am wondering if you have many recipes without eggs? Or if you have used flax eggs instead with any recipes? Is there a way I can search your site for egg free recipes? Thank you!
Katrin Nürnberger
There is no function to search for egg free recipes currently. All my cakes contain egg, except for recipes that don't need any such as keto truffles or keto peanut butter cups. You could try to replace the eggs with flax eggs - I would love to hear how it turns out!
Liz Johnson
I picked up a teeny tiny donut maker (baby cake 4 donut) and made about 40 donuts with it! While it was a total pain in the rear cooking 4 tablespoons of batter at a time, it was so worth the hassle! These are delicious! I had 6 of them with organic peanut butter on top with a cup of coffee for lunch, fantastic! I will freeze these individually, throw in a bag and let thaw on the counter whenever I need a treat or something that isn't just meat, eggs, salads, etc. I think next time I'm going to skip the sweetener and add teensy cubed cheese, chives & teensy cubed ham with some spices. These are slightly eggy, which I like, I am guessing (after cooking keto and for type one diabetic son for over 6 years) that you could reduce the eggs to 2 and add 1/4 cup of whey protein powder or egg white protein powder and get less egg taste - but I like them exactly as written. Thank you so much!
Kay
These are so good! Reminds me of the packet mix French tea cake that used to be available in Australia and that I used to make and my family loved. I rolled them in mix of monk fruit sweetener and cinnamon. Warmed them in the microwave for 10 seconds, so good, and just like freshly made donuts. Made 10 in my moulds and I'm not planning on sharing! Thank you for sharing all your recipes Katrin, I really appreciate them.