Calling all doughnut lovers! Craving a “healthy-ish” doughnut recipe? These Baked Chocolate Chip Banana Doughnuts are full of flavor with way less saturated fat and fewer calories than traditional doughnuts. They’re also gluten-free and vegan-perfect for anyone following a special diet!
Raise your hand if you agree that grey, overcast Sunday mornings are perfect for doughnut baking! That and extra ripe bananas that need a little TLC. Oh, and two hungry teenagers plus one hungry mama. Me!!!
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As a result, I’ve done very little baking recently. As in none. Nada. Zilch. So, I was excited to have some free time this past Sunday morning and decided to bake these tasty chocolate chip banana doughnuts. I’m happy I did!
Can doughnuts be healthy?
Let’s call them “healthy-ish,” shall we?! With more fiber and fewer calories, these baked doughnuts are a formidable opponent to traditional fried doughnuts. As a bonus, coconut flour provides extra moistness plus a healthy boost of fiber. And, baking these banana doughnuts cuts saturated fat by over 50%.
Are doughnuts vegan?
Most donuts contain milk, egg, butter, or a combination of the 3. And, while I’m a fan of traditional doughnuts, these gluten-free, vegan baked banana doughnuts are just as delicious and suitable for anyone avoiding dairy or eggs.
Banana Doughnuts Ingredients & Ingredient Swaps
- Extra ripe bananas.
- Non-dairy milk (i.e., soy milk). Or almond/macadamia/pea/flax milk or dairy milk.
- High-oleic expeller pressed sunflower oil. Or, swap with virgin coconut oil (will increase saturated fat content), macadamia nut oil, or any oil of choice.
- Maple syrup & vanilla extract. If you’re cutting way back on sugar, you might try these with Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener or Swerve sweetener. If you try this, LMK how they turn out!
- All-purpose gluten-free flour blend and coconut flour. I used up some cup4cup multi-purpose gluten-free flour I had on hand. Use your favorite GF flour blend or try my 3-Ingredient Gluten-Free flour blend. The coconut flour adds additional flavor and moistness, but feel free to swap it with extra all-purpose GF flour.
- Cinnamon, baking powder, salt. Cardamom or ginger would be tasty in these healthy banana doughnuts too!
- Chocolate Chips. I used bittersweet vegan chocolate chips. Lakanto Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips would be delicious too! You can also skip the chocolate chips and stir in nuts or blueberries instead. Yum!
- Powder sugar (optional). I topped my doughnuts off with a glaze made from Swerve powdered sugar and water. You can skip this step, but glazed doughnuts are pretty darn fun-don’t you think?!
How to Make Banana Doughnuts
- Mash bananas.
- Add wet ingredients (milk, oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract) to mashed bananas and combine well with a hand mixer or spoon.
- Add dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt) to the banana mixture and mix well to combine.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Grease doughnut pan, carefully spoon batter into pan and bake.
- Allow cooling before topping with optional glaze. Enjoy!!!
Tips & Comments
My banana doughnuts were a little undercooked on the inside, but that didn’t stop Big Tex from eating 3 in one sitting. He swears he only ate 1 ½, so either he’s lying or the dogs ate the other 1 ½. LOL!!!
Anyways, because these doughnuts are egg-free, you can absolutely enjoy them a little undercooked (SiSi and I loved them too!) But, if you prefer a more well-cooked doughnut, cover them with aluminum foil after 15 minutes so they don’t get too brown and continue baking as needed.
Also, I used all-purpose gluten-free flour with xanthan gum, which gave my banana doughnuts a bit of a chewy texture. If you prefer a cakier doughnut texture, omit the xanthan gum. My 3-ingredient all-purpose flour blend would work well in this recipe.
FYI-Most doughnut pans, like my Wilton Doughnut Pan, can make 6 doughnuts. This recipe makes 8-9 doughnuts, so use two pans, or bake the extra batter in oven-proof baking cups as I did.
Craving more gluten-free, vegan, baked doughnuts? Try my yummy Homemade Spiced Apple Cider Doughnuts!
Healthy Banana Doughnuts with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- Cooking spray, neutral tasting (i.e., avocado oil)
- 2 large bananas, ripe
- 1/3 cup organic soy milk
- 3 tablespoons expeller pressed high oleic sunflower oil
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- Swerve powder sugar, optional
- Water, optional
Instructions
- Mash bananas with a potato masher or fork in a mixing bowl.
- Add milk, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to mashed bananas. Combine well with a spoon, fork, or hand mixer.
- Add flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to wet ingredients. Combine well with a spoon, fork, or hand mixer.
- Stir chocolate chips into banana doughnut mixture.
- Grease a doughnut pan with cooking spray. Carefully spoon batter into pan. bake in
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Notes
- Use any plant-based milk or dairy milk if desired.
- Swap sunflower oil with coconut oil (adds saturated fat), macadamia oil, or any vegetable oil of choice.
- For a lower sugar doughnut, use Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener or Swerve sweetener.
- Use any gluten-free flour blend. Don’t have coconut flour? Add extra all-purpose GF flour.
- Cardamom or ginger can be used in place of cinnamon.
- Try Lakanto Sugar Free Chocolate Chips or swap chocolate chips with nuts or blueberries.
- My doughnuts were a little undercooked (but tasty!). If you prefer a more well-cooked doughnut, cover them with aluminum foil after 15 minutes so they don’t get too brown and continue baking as needed.
- I used all-purpose gluten-free flour with xanthan gum, which gave my banana doughnuts a bit of a chewy texture. If you prefer a cakier doughnut texture, use GF flour without xanthan gum.
- Most doughnut pans, like my Wilton Doughnut Pan, can make 6 doughnuts. This recipe makes 8-9 doughnuts, so use two pans, or bake the extra batter in oven-proof baking cups as I did.
