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
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
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.
Milly says
Just made them in a mini electric donut maker with my 11 yr old niece and they came out great! A quick and easy snack! Thank You Elana!
Joni says
Do you [or anyone] have the nutritional info for these scrumptious looking donuts? Thanks!!
Deborah says
This is what I came up with:
¼ c coconut flour- 120 cal
¼ c cacao powder- 80 cal
4 eggs- 280 cal
½ c coconut oil- 960
3 T Maple syrup- 56
Total- not counting topping- 1496
Then divide according to how many donuts you get.
Elana, is this about right?
KM says
Just made these for brekkie today and they are delicious. I used a metal pan and a thin layer of coconut oil and they popped right out. Thanks again, Elana, for again giving me some yummy treats to love.
BEV says
can I use muffin pan and then cut out center
monika says
why wouldn’t you be able to?
kevnkoi says
I just ran out of coconut oil, but will be getting some tomorrow and these might have to be the first thing I make with it.
Michelle says
These look really great! FYI – I have the metal non-stick donut pans & they work perfect when you apply a thin layer of coconut oil to the well before filling with dough. I do it all the time with other paleo donuts and never have a problem so I don’t think it will affect the outcome of the recipe. Thanks, Elana, for always coming up with such great recipes. Your site was the first one I ever used when I changed my eating almost 5 years ago & I am still using it today:)
Arlene says
If you use the chocolate zucchini bread recipe you can use the metal donut pans and they work great
Shaina says
I can’t wait to make these! I’m excited about the no nuts feature! But… Your recipe says it makes 8, and the link for the silicone tray only holds 6… I would like them to turn out perfect, like yours (since you’ve done all the testing for us)! I don’t want the wells to be too big, is the link you provided the same pan you used (same size wells)? Thank you for sharing all of your amazing recipes, they have helped my family of 5 so much!!
Elana Amsterdam says
Shaina,
Yes, that is the correct tray; you can either use 2 silicone donut trays (that’s what I do as it’s super handy to have more than one tray for bagels, etc.) or bake the donuts in 2 separate batches, i.e, first bake the 6 donuts and then the remaining 2. Thanks for your question :-)
Elana
Jenine Pontillo says
Do you have a donut recipe using almond flour? I’ve tried so many recipes with coconut flour and I really hated the outcome. They were always so “eggy”.
Shari from NC says
Our family really likes Honeyville Farms’ Almond Flour Apple Cider Donuts. You can find the recipe from Honeyville Farms main website under Blog, then search on the Honeyville site for donut. I make the recipe less sweet by substituting 1 Tbsp maple syrup with 3 Tbsp water for the ¼ cup maple syrup.
The donuts are delicious topped with sun butter. And greasing the metal donut pans with palm shortening (per the instructions) facilitates the donuts popping out easily.
Elana, I’d love to hear what variations you develop. Thanks for so joyously sharing your inventions!
Blessings,
Shari
Jenine says
Thank you Shari, I will give that a try
Kathryn says
Hi Jenine, I made them on the weekend and just did a straight substitution for almond flour which worked fabulously! I also swapped the coconut oil for melted grass fed butter. I have no problem with dairy but I’m allergic to coconut! They worked really well! Hope that helps!
Kathryn
Jenine says
Thanks Kathryn, I’ll try the sustitute.
Iveta says
Hi Kathryn, how do you know that you are allergic to coconut? I’m allergic to it when i put it on my skin, but I eat it frequently in shakes and I cook and bake with it too, but I would like to know what are the signs when you are allergic to it internally. Thank you for your answer. Iveta
Chrissy says
I think the link to the silicon molds is taking us to non-stick bakeware? Is that right?
Sarah in CA says
Same here.
Chrissy says
I should have also said thanks for the recipe too!!! I can’t wait to make these!
Elana says
Link is fixed!
Dani says
Very good :) These are like brownie donuts…. I like these covered in the chocolate with chopped walnuts on top :) Although these fall a little bit-not bad…These are VERY good though ;)
Elana says
Dani, thanks for letting me know these donuts are very good!