Healthy Baked Chocolate Donuts with Peanut Butter Glaze

Light, yet decadent baked chocolate donuts with a peanut butter glaze that are quick & easy to make and naturally gluten free and vegan, with a Paleo option! Tastes like a Reese’s cup in donut form, only lighter!

If there’s anything that’s stuck around from my childhood, it’s chocolate and peanut butter (okay, and Disney, and my love for the Offspring and Nirvana…and the movie, Rush Hour– Chris Tucker is my hero).

Basically, these baked chocolate donuts with peanut butter glaze taste like a childhood dream come true.

Deliciously rich with chocolate decadence, yet light and fluffy, and coated in a gooey peanut buttery sweet glaze that will have you speechless.

These chocolate baked donuts are almost dangerously easy to make, and they just so happen to be naturally gluten free and vegan. Yep! You’d never know! Even my non-gluten free eaters were skeptical that these donuts were truly sans gluten.

I mean, do these look like gluten free donuts?

Not to mention, dairy free, egg free, and refined sugar free…but first, let’s get you tasting these healthy chocolate donuts before you make any judgment 😉 Because I promise these aren’t too good to be true!

How to make healthy baked donuts

Honestly, I think making baked donuts is so much easier (and less messy) than the traditional route! Nothing wrong with it, but hey, I’m doing a lot of cooking, and so one less thing for me to clean is…well, one less thing!

Making this baked chocolate donut recipe is a breeze.

Really, it’s just combining the dry ingredients first, adding in the wet ingredients, and baking!

But before you dive right into this healthy chocolate donut recipe, let’s first go over what you’ll need. What I love about this recipe is that again, it’s very customizable! If there’s a flour you don’t have or like, it’s very easy to swap it out!

For these healthy baked donuts, you’ll need:

• Cassava flour (swap in all-purpose or your favorite 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour)
• Cacao powder
• Coconut sugar (or regular cane sugar)
• Unsweetened applesauce
• Coconut milk with apple cider vinegar
• Melted vegan butter or olive oil (or coconut oil, or avocado oil!)
• Peanut butter
• Maple syrup

That’s it! And what’s shocking is that you’d really never know that these chocolate donuts are actually naturally vegan and gluten free. Most vegan gluten free donuts, you definitely can tell, but one of my very picky taste testers was in disbelief!

I just love when that happens haha!

Easy Peanut Butter Glaze

Now, what’s better than chocolate donuts are chocolate donuts with a peanut butter glaze. So let’s get to making the glaze!

This part is just so simple, you’ll laugh. When your donuts are all cool, simply mix together the peanut butter, melted vegan butter or olive oil, and maple syrup together, anddddd there ya have it!

Now, just dip the baked chocolate donuts into the glaze and place onto a plate. Sprinkle with a few chocolate chips if you so desire and…

Final step is to devour because you won’t be able to resist! 😉

Tips & Tricks for Donuts

• Pipe the batter into the donut pan. You don’t necessarily have to do this, but it’s certainly easier, and I personally think it yields a much cleaner and smoother looking donut! Plus less mess for you to clean up 🙂 Now, you don’t have to have a fancy piping bag for this…in fact, I just use a ziplock bag, snip a corner off of it, and go!
• You can use whichever flours works for your needs! Whether you’re Paleo, gluten free, or just looking for a healthier recipe, cassava flour works as great as all-purpose flour. Same goes for your favorite 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour blend!
• Use cacao powder, not cocoa powder. This makes all the difference. Not only is cacao powder less processed, but it also yields a richer taste, which makes a huge difference when making a healthy chocolate donut recipe that doesn’t taste healthy in the slightest!
• You can use either smooth or crunchy peanut butter! I prefer smooth for that glazed glossy look, but you can also use crunchy peanut butter if that floats your boat!
• Want to go completely Paleo? These donuts are designed to naturally be vegan gluten free donuts, and without the glaze, they’re completely Paleo. However, if you want to have a Paleo glaze as well, swap in coconut butter or almond butter in place of the peanut butter!

I hope you love these healthier baked chocolate donuts as much as I do! The peanut butter glaze just makes all the difference 🙂

If you give these donuts a go, let me know in the comments section here! And as always, I just love seeing your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there so I can reshare them!

Happy baking and peanut butter glazing!

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