This Low-Carb Chocolate Donuts recipe is my first one here on the blog. My boys and their friends go gaga for this low-carb dessert and once you try it you will too!
Low-Carb Chocolate Donuts Recipe with Coconut Flour
Thankfully, this is another super easy low-carb recipe, with only 7 ingredients total. All you need to whip these up is coconut flour, cacao powder, salt, baking soda, eggs, coconut oil, and maple syrup. To make it simply dump the ingredients into a food processor, throw the mixture in the doughnut pans, bake it, and bam! You’ve got gluten-free, grain-free low-carb donuts.
Nut-Free Low-Carb Donuts
My husband said this nut-free Paleo dessert tasted like an Entenmann’s cake style doughnut. My boys simply scarfed them down. They love my low-carb treats and are total suckers for anything with sprinkles. I tested this doughnut recipe with both coconut oil and palm shortening and found that coconut oil was far superior in this recipe. When I tested the donuts with palm shortening it was a challenge to get them out of the pan and their texture was too dry.
Low-Carb Chocolate Donuts
Ingredients
Donuts
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
Topping
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon palm shortening
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse together coconut flour, cacao powder, salt, and baking soda
- Pulse in eggs, coconut oil, and maple syrup until thoroughly combined
- Fill each well of a donut mold half way full of batter
- Bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes
- Remove doughnuts from pan and place on a cooling rack
- Use a paring knife to cut hole in center of each doughnut
- In a saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening
- Drizzle doughnut with chocolate glaze
- Cool and serve
Equipment
Creating and Testing a Low-Carb Nut-Free Donut Recipe
As with all of my recipes, I tested this one several times. Each time I test something, I make a very minor change, so that I can investigate how this single change impacts the recipe overall. For one of my test batches, I played with the amount of batter needed to make each doughnut. From that test, I can tell you a couple of things. First, do not fill up the donut wells in your donut mold all the way. Fill the wells around halfway with batter, and spread the batter evenly in each well. This batter will rise and the wells will be full when you are done baking. You’ll have perfect homemade doughnuts.
How to Make Low-Carb Donuts
I use two silicon doughnut molds for this Low-Carb Chocolate Donut recipe which yields eight donuts. I also use these molds to make my Paleo Bagel recipe. The metal molds (which are unfortunately non-stick) do not work very well and everything I’ve baked in them is a total mess to remove. These donuts, however, pop right out of the silicone molds.
Low-Carb Donuts for Kids with Sprinkles
You can eat these adorable low-carb donuts with or without the glaze. For the boys, I add India Tree sprinkles which make these an incredibly festive treat. If you use sprinkles (Let’s Do Organic is an even healthier brand, though not as colorful) be sure to let your glaze cool for 10 minutes or so prior to applying sprinkles, otherwise they will melt down into the glaze.
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Keto Dessert Recipe with Erythritol
If you’re looking for recipes for a very low-carb diet (VLCD) check out my Keto Diet Recipes page. If you’re in need of a keto dessert, you’ll want to make my Keto Brownies recipe sweetened with erythritol! Although I can’t eat erythritol because it’s made with corn and is a sugar alcohol that I can’t digest, I created my Keto Brownies recipe for my readers and I hope you all enjoy it!
This post is an oldie but goodie from the archives. I first published this recipe in February 2015.
Telkom University says
Love these donuts! They’ve been a staple for me and now my kids for a while! Is there nutritional information available for these?
Elana says
Telekom, for more on that go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/nutrition-information/
Have a lovely day!
Elana
Rachel says
Can this be fried instead of baked? Thanks.
Elana says
Rachael, I haven’t tried that but guessing no.
Nina says
Thanks for explaining the details behind how you make the recipe. Not just what you do, but why you choose your equipment! It’s so helpful.
Elana says
Nina, thanks so much for your kind words! Makes it all worth it :-)
Jessica Reyes says
I looked up the India Tree sprinkles that you put on the donuts and the ingredients say that they are made with corn starch Unfortunately my son can’t have anything with corn.
Do you know of any sprinkles that don’t have corn starch? It’s so hard to find.
Elana says
Jessica, so sorry, I don’t.
Rachel says
Let’s Do Organic Confetti isn’t made using cornstarch.
Elana says
SF, thanks so much for your comment, I haven’t tried that :-)
SF says
For someone sensitive to coconut oil, could you substitute butter? Or does that wreck the recipe?
They sound amazing!
Thanks!
Heather says
Just made these for a fun Passover treat…they will be regular staples now! You made two girls (one w food allergies, one along for the ride) very happy as we wrap up yet another pandemic Passover ;)
Elana says
Heather, what a great treat for Passover! Glad your girls are happy with it :-)
Stephanie Beale says
Love these donuts! They’ve been a staple for me and now my kids for a while! Is there nutritional information available for these? Like calories and carbs?
Thank you for so many wonderful recipes!
Elana says
Stephanie, for more om that go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/nutrition-information/
Have a lovely day!
Elana