I had a craving for a donut this morning, and I decided to make it happen. These keto pumpkin spice donuts took me precisely 30 minutes from start to baked. They take about 30 minutes to cool down, so if you’re keeping track, that’s a single hour from donut thinking to donut face-stuffing.
Soft and tender, coated in cinnamon “sugar” and flavored with all the best warm spices autumn has to offer – guaranteed to please your tastebuds.
Small batch low carb pumpkin spice muffins
You can’t make these keto pumpkin spice donuts wrong. Seriously the recipe is very forgiving and very adaptable. Don’t like ginger, leave it out, don’t like nutmeg leave it out, and so on. You can create a spice blend if that’s your thing, but I included my all-time favorite pumpkin pie spice blend both below that you can use for all your fall baking.
The recipe will make six keto pumpkin spice donuts that will last for days in the fridge but also store well in the freezer.
If you love all things pumpkin filled with warm spices, you should check out these recipes too!
- Our very popular low carb Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Cheesecake Stuffed Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Spice Muffins
- Low Carb Traditional Pumpkin Pie
What sweeteners Work best in this recipe?
I used granular allulose in this recipe because that’s been my go-to lately. I like it for its lack of aftertaste.
With that said, go ahead and use your favorite granular sweetener in this recipe. Monk fruit, erythritol xylitol, swerve, they will all work perfectly well
Liquid sweeteners will not work as well because they will throw off the liquid to dry ingredient ratio and I don’t recommend them.
For the cinnamon “sugar” coating, I recommend granular allulose because it gives the donuts an authentic cinnamon “sugar” taste. But you can use your favorite granular sweetener here too, but allulose does give that sweet sugar taste without any cooling or aftertaste. Xylitol would also work very well in the coating; just remember that xylitol is poisonous to dogs and cats.
Answers about Sweeteners, Low Carb Baking Tips, and General FAQ
For more detailed information about must-have baking tools and answers about sugar replacements, you can check out these FAQ pages.
We also have a handy sweetener replacement chart you can download for free!
Our FAQ Pages have answers to your biggest low carb baking questions including:
Tips for Baking With Almond Flour
Tips for Baking with Coconut Flour
Guides for Allulose, Monk Fruit, and Erythritol.
Substitutes for Xanthan Gum.
Notes and Tips about the keto pumpkin spice donut Batter
You don’t even need a mixer for this recipe. But there are a few tips to ensure that the batter turns out perfect every single time.
- Be sure to sift all your dry ingredients together very well to remove any lumps. Sifting also lightens the batter a touch, adding to the texture of the crumb.
- For the liquid ingredients, be sure to use room temperature eggs. When we use melted butter and add cold eggs from the fridge, the batter tends to seize up. The cold eggs harden the butter.
- If you forgot to remove your eggs from the fridge prior to making your recipe, I have a quick and easy trick for you. When you start prepping your ingredients, place your eggs in a bowl covered with hot tap water, and allow them to sit. By the time you’re ready for the eggs, they will be warmed up enough for the batter.
- Be sure to grease your donut pan well. I made a few batches of these before I was happy with the final result, and I had them stick more than once. I found the spray worked best, but if I used butter or coconut oil, I had to make sure every single bit of the donut pan was covered.
- And lastly, 15 minutes into baking, lightly place a piece tin foil over the donuts. Almond flour tends to over brown, and once over browned, it takes on a slightly bitter flavor. To prevent this, add the tin foil 15 minutes into baking, and your donuts will turn out perfectly.
Don’t Skip the Xanthan Gum, Or uSe a substitute.
Xanthan gum is the stuff that binds this recipe together. You may think that 1/4 tsp won’t make that much of a different but it does. Xanthan gum adds structure and stabilty. Without it the donuts will be incredibly soft and will fall apart.
An easy pumpkin spice mix
In the recipe card, I added the exact amount of spices required for this recipe. But if you already do not have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can make yourself a larger batch and have it on hand.
I usually whip up a half a cup at a time and store it in a small 125 ml spice jar. It has all the right warm spicy flavors in the correct ratios (personal opinion)
- 1/3 cup cinnamon
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp ground cloves
In this recipe you will use 2 1/8 tsp of pumpkin spice blend.
Storage and serving suggestions, Yes they Freeze quite well!
You can store these ket pumpkin spice donuts in the fridge, or even keep them out on the counter for a few days covered. Served from the refrigerator, they are firm, very old fashioned donut-like. Room temperature they are a bit softer and more tender—your choice.
You can also store them in the freezer, and they do hold up quite well. I’d skip the cinnamon sugar if you freeze the donuts. You can add the topping when you pull them from the freezer and after they defrost.
Can’t get enough donuts? Check out our other low carb and sugar free donut recipes:
Keto Pumkin Spice Donuts
Tender baked donuts with pumpkin and warm autumn spices coated in a sugar-free sweet cinnamon coating. These go great with a hot cup of coffee on a cool fall morning.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Donut Batter
- 1 1/4 cup fine ground almond flour
- 1/3 cup granular allulose ((see blog post notes for recommended replacements)
- 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1/3 cup granular allulose ((see blog post notes for recommended replacements)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Keto Pumpkin Spice Donut Batter
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease and prepare a donut pan.
- In a medium-size bowl, sift almond flour, allulose baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and ground cloves. Set aside.
- In a separate medium-size bowl, add the room temperature eggs, vanilla, melted butter, and pumpkin puree and blend until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix only until combined. Do not over mix.
- Place batter into a large pastry bag with a large opening (no tip required) and pipe the batter evenly into the donut pan cavities.
- Give the pan a few gentle taps off the countertop to release any bubbles and to even out the batter.
- You can go back with the back of a spoon to even out the batter if you need to.
- Bake for 15 minutes in a 350F oven and then gently place a loose piece of tin foil over the donuts to prevent over-browning.
- Bake for another 5-7 minutes or until the donuts are golden brown and cooked all the way through. Use a toothpick to test doneness.
- Cool the donuts in the donut pan for at least 30 minutes before removing. The donuts will be quite tender before they are completely cooled and may break if pulled from the pan too early.
Cinnamon "Sugar" Topping
- Place the cinnamon and granular allulose in a flat bottomed pan, or large plate and blend well.
- Gently place the donuts into the pile of cinnamon "sugar" and use a spoon to coat the donuts with topping.
Notes
- In this recipe Xanthan gum is optional. The donuts turn out fine without it but the final texture is better if you include it.
- Use room temperature eggs in this recipe to prevent the butter from seizing.
- Be sure to grease your donut pan very very well.
- Don't skip the tin foil step in the baking instructions. Almond flour has a tendency to over brown, to avoid this use the tin foil trick.
- If your donut pan is on the thin side, or if using silicone, place them on a cookie sheet before placing it into the oven. This helps to prevent over-browning from the bottom.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 238Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 345mgCarbohydrates: 7gNet Carbohydrates: 3gFiber: 4gSugar: 2gProtein: 7g
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs (and sugar alcohols) are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fibre.
