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.
theresa says
I just made these and they look and smell wonderful. Thanks. Going to enjoy one for breakfast if they last
Elana says
Theresa, that’s great!
Tony McKenna says
Can you supplement the
Maple syrup. I am on Candida diet?
Elana says
Hi Tony, I haven’t tried that, if you do please let us know how it goes. Here’s a link to my Candida Diet Recipes page that you might like:
https://elanaspantry.com/diets/candida/
Enjoy!
Elana
Lily says
Hi Elana
I made the donuts for the first time on the weekend and they were wolfed down by the hubby and kids – 2 thumbs up! I added a table spoon of maple syrup to the chocolate topping to add a little more sweetness and used dessicated coconut instead of the sprinkles. I also adjusted the recipe to make a non-chocolate flavoured version and thought you might like to test it out. I’ve kept the majority of the instructions are the same.
Donut
1/3 cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons almond flour
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 Medjool dates, pitted
4 large eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Topping
2/3 cup agave sugar (use more if you would like a thicker glaze)
Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
1. In a food processor, pulse together coconut flour, almond flour, salt, dates and baking soda until the date bits are miniscule.
2. Pulse in eggs, coconut oil, and maple syrup until thoroughly combined
3. Lightly grease the donut pan (I used coconut oil spray).
4. Fill each well of the donut pan half way full of batter (I use a measuring jug to do this so it’s easy)
5. Bake at 170°C/160°C Fan forced/350°F for 15 minutes.
6. Remove doughnuts from pan and place on a cooling rack
7. Use a knife to cut hole in centre of each doughnut if required
8. In a flat bottomed bowl (you can use others but I find this is the easiest), whisk the agave sugar and lemon juice until sugar has dissolved. If a little lumpy, strain it through a fine sieve.
9. Dip top of each donut in the glaze and rest on baking paper. Repeat.
10. Cool and serve
Barbara Ann says
I made the chocolate donuts today. They are pretty yummy, but of course with just 2 of us, we have some left. How best to store them? I put them into a sealed container and hope they’ll be OK. I just used the last of my palm shortening, so used coconut oil and chocolate chips for the glaze. Never will dry but sure is delicious!
Elana says
Hi Barbara Ann, we store them in a sealed container in the fridge. They last for 3-4 days that way :-)
Anna says
Hi Elana 1slty I love your recippe but please can you change the palm shortening to coconut oil. Works better, is better for us.. And MOST IMPORTANTLY it’s helping stop the deforestation and killing of the Ourangatans & their natural habitat of there homes in Indonesia :-(
When being Paleo we must have a concsicnce & do as much as we can to help all beings :-) Anna x
Roël McMahon says
Great recipe, thanks! Just wondering, does anyone else taste ‘silicone’ when using the silicone moulds or is that just me?
Kate says
Just made these today – wonderful!! I added a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon.
Nina says
We just made the donuts last night. They turned out great!
Elana says
Hi Nina, so glad you like the donuts!
Maria says
I made these with the ‘dreaded’ metal pan. I had a large pan with 6 sections so I just went for it. I decided to head your advice that they wouldn’t come out easily and buttered and floured the sections first with coconut flour. That seemed to help and they released with a little coaxing. I assume you could do the same with coconut oil if you don’t use butter. Thanks so much! Love your recipes.
Dorene says
Elana,
I saw your response to a comment that you use the large mold (6 donuts per mold), but the recipe says it makes 8.
I’m assuming I should buy two molds; should I fill the empty donut sections with anything (like water?) when I put them in the oven?
Thanks so much!
Elana says
Hi Dorene, thanks for your comment. I use 2 donut molds and I do not fill the empty molds with water –works just fine! Enjoy the donuts :-)