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.
Sheila armlin says
I bake this as a cake, love it. Yesterday was my birthday and this was my birthday cake. It’s moist, soft. And delicious. Love the few ingredients in all your recipes. Wishing health and joy to you!
Elana says
Sheila, happy birthday! So glad you made this healthy treat for you :-)
Nicole says
I love your site and want to thank you for sharing all of your helpful information and recipes! I noticed this recipe makes 8 donuts. The link for the donut mold opens to the large size mold, which makes 6 donuts. (The medium sized mold in that brand makes 8 donuts.) I just want to make sure before I order the molds, is this recipe for the large size or the medium size donut mold? Thank you! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Elana says
Nicole, thanks for your comment! You can either buy 2 of the large size silicone donut molds, or bake the batter in 2 batches, 6 in one and 2 in the other. I personally, bought 2 of the large size molds :-)
Mandi says
Do these donuts have a strong coconut flavor ? My family has never liked baked goods when I use coconut flour and oil do you have any suggestions for other options?
Elana says
Mandi, to me these donuts do not taste coconuty at all but everyone’s different :-)
Donna Kilpatrick says
I’m looking to get a donut pan, what kind do you use? I don’t want a nonstick and I was not sure about the silicone?? Thank you Donna
Elana says
Donna, thanks for your comment! I link to all of the equipment I use in the highlighted text that’s in the instructions portion of the recipe :-)
Donna Kilpatrick says
Thank you! I was getting so confused finding only the non-stick pans and reading that the Silicon should not be heated above 300, but yours is food grade. Could not find these in my search. Thank you so much! Donna
Elana says
Donna, you’re welcome!
Dolores Beccar says
Elana, you are so kind with every body!! the time you take to answer every comment really touches my heart… I was looking for an email address or other way to contact you, so I´ll leave a message here even when is not related to the recipe (amazing, by the way!!)
Have you seen this?
http://www.ageofautism.com/2018/08/new-study-aluminium-in-brain-tissue-in-multiple-sclerosis.html
I thought of you the moment I saw it…
thank you, thank you, for sharing with others your expertise!
sincerely
Elana says
Dolores, thanks so much for thinking of me! I’m tested often for all kinds of toxins often. Here is a post I wrote on MS that may be of interest to you:
https://elanaspantry.com/new-approaches-to-neurological-conditions/
I’m so grateful to be on this healing journey with you!
Elana
Holly says
How did you discover/ confirm you could not digest alcohol sugars? Thanks!
Elana says
Holly, I tried xylitol made from pure birch bark and could not digest it, experiencing bloating, etc. :-)
Micki says
What I love about your recipes is that they are not only delicious, but also simple, fast, easy, and delivers great results. (And you use food processor which I so prefer over mixer!) These donuts weren’t an exception. They were wildly popular among my gf son, and my friends. Thank you for yet another great recipe.
Elana says
Micki, thanks for letting me know these donuts were wildly popular!!!
jess says
could you pour this into the mini molds you’ve used for other recipes?
Elana says
Jess, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Isa says
Merci beauciup Elana.Je tente cet apres midi chez nous en France.mais est-ce que je peux faire à la farine d’amande? Ma farine de coco ne tient pas a la cuisson et s’effrite.
Elana says
Isa, for more on that please go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-baking/
Enjoy!
Elana
Michelle says
Oh, my goodness! I need to buy one of these donut molds already. You have too many delicious looking recipes for me to try!
Elana says
Michelle, thanks so much! I hope you love these donuts as much as we do :-)