These rich and chocolatey baked healthy breakfast donuts are a delicious choice for breakfast or snack, with NO eggs or dairy!
Love Dunkin Donuts, but want to be healthy at the same time?
Then these homemade baked chocolate donuts are the perfect option for you.
With over 6 grams of protein and just 130 calories each, the light and fluffy donut recipe will immediately satisfy any chocolate craving in a healthy way.
No refined sugar, no yeast, and no frying required.
Also try these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate donuts for breakfast were a huge treat when I was growing up.
Every so often, my mom would pick up a variety box of Entenmann’s cake donuts at the grocery store, and I’d quickly devour all of the chocolate ones, leaving the buttermilk and powdered donuts for everyone else.
Even as a child, I was all about the chocolate for breakfast.
And unlike many packaged breakfast pastries you can find at the store, these healthy donuts are made up of whole grains, fiber, antioxidant rich cocoa powder, and fruit for added sweetness instead of extra sugar.
Want more chocolate for breakfast? Make Chocolate Overnight Oats
How to make the breakfast donuts
Start by greasing a donut pan, or a mini muffin pan if it’s all you have.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix the water, vinegar, oil or nut butter, banana, and sweetener. Then stir in the flour, cocoa, optional protein powder, salt, and baking powder.
Stir until just evenly combined, because over-stirring baked goods can result in overly tough or chewy final results.
Bake the chocolate donuts on the oven’s center rack for 8 minutes or until soft and fluffy. Then let them cool before going around the sides with a knife and popping out of the pan. Frost or glaze as desired.
The recipe was adapted from my Vegan Chocolate Cake
Chocolate donut frosting
To glaze the batch of donuts in the photos, I simply melted two ounces of dark chocolate. Either chocolate chips or broken-up chocolate bars work.
It’s not required, but I like to then stir the melted chocolate with two teaspoons of oil (or pure maple syrup for an oil free option) because this will yield a thinner and much smoother chocolate sauce that makes dipping easier.
For the peanut butter version, I used a spoon to swirl the top of each donut with softened peanut butter that had been mixed with a tiny bit of oil to thin it out (maple syrup could also be used for this).
If you’d prefer, the donuts can also be topped with almond butter, powdered sugar, mashed banana, Healthy Nutella, or your favorite chocolate donut glaze. They can also be eaten plain and unfrosted, as a fun alternative to a breakfast muffin.
A note about fat free donuts: I did try a version of the recipe with an equal amount of additional banana in place of the oil. Some of my taste testers loved them, while others hated them. So please feel free to make this substitution, at your own risk.
Above, watch the chocolate breakfast donut recipe video
Healthy Chocolate Breakfast Donuts
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup white, spelt, or oat flour
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp additional cocoa powder, or chocolate protein powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup mashed banana (for banana-free, try these Vegan Donuts)
- 1/4 cup oil, or 1/3 cup nut butter of choice (see note above for fat free)
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/2 tbsp white or cider vinegar
- Optional 2 oz melted chocolate (I like to combine it with 2 tsp oil or pure maple syrup for a thinner sauce that makes dipping easier)
Instructions
- Grease a donut pan or a mini muffin pan. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Whisk wet ingredients (except melted chocolate) in a mixing bowl. Stir in dry ingredients until evenly mixed (don't over-mix). Bake on the oven's center rack for 8 minutes or until donuts are cooked through and fluffy. Let cool at least 5 minutes before going around the sides with a knife and removing from the pan. If desired, dip in the melted chocolate or frost with your favorite donut glaze recipe. View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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More Healthy Chocolate Ideas
Hannah says
What is your favorite protein powder to use?
CCK Media Team says
We are big fans of Laird in general: https://amzn.to/3DP76i0
Dk says
Just made these and they were amazing. I didn’t have chocolate protein powder so used Vega vanilla and they were perfect.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for trying them 🙂
Kay says
I personally can not do any sort of vinegar. Is there anything else I could do in exchange or could I leave it out?
CCK Media Team says
We haven’t tried anything else so honestly can’t say. You might be able to sub lemon juice (if your reason for avoiding vinegar isn’t related to its acid content). Be sure to report back if you try!
Celeste Lamosse says
For a baked donut, pretty good. I found I had to bake them them about 12-14 minutes, 8 minutes left them soft and gooey. The only thing I personally found really negative, was the banana flavor was overpowering. If chocolate-banana is your bag, go for it, but nope, the banana didn’t work for me. I wonder if applesauce, or something a bit more neutral could be substituted? I will play around with this and find a substitution I like.
CCK Media Team says
Hi Celeste, you might just prefer the banana-free version! https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/vegan-donuts-recipes/
Mom K says
Delicious! Had for breakfast today 🙂
Paula says
We turned them into a mocha version by adding espresso, making the donuts even more breakfast appropriate. They were great!
Ashley Dahman says
These have so yummy yummy!!! If I glaze them, do they need to go in the fridge? Or can they be covered and on the counter? 🙂 I wondered bc there is no dairy in them.
Thanks! I also tried a light maple brown butter glaze on them, which was yummy even though this one isn’t as healthy of a glaze 😉
Lauren says
Really good! I drizzled chocolate and added a few sprinkles.
L.A. says
It says in the recipe that you can grease a donut mold or a mini muffin pan. Does anyone have experience making these into muffins?….I don’t have a doughnut maker right now…
Any feedback would be great!
Marianna says
Second time we make these donuts and definately gonna make them again and again!My 4 year old daughter is mad about them,so am I! Before I first try them I thought oh,another boring healthiish recipe. But not at all!Did’t have protein powder so I put 2 more tbspns of cocoa powder. So yummy!