This no-fuss gluten-free pumpkin donut recipe is one of my favorite fall recipes of all time. The donuts are baked soft and topped with a delicious maple syrup glaze. The recipe is completely dairy-free too! This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
If you’re a donut fanatic like me, you’re going to love these delicious cake donuts. They’re packed with nutrient-dense pumpkin puree and flavored with cinnamon and pumpkin spice. They just scream fall is here!
The pumpkin puree gives these donuts their classic orange hue and intensely moist texture. And the sweet maple syrup glaze adds sweetness and beauty to this classic fall recipe.
If you love a cakey and spongy treat, then you’ll love these gluten-free pumpkin donuts. And best of all, they are easy to make and hard to mess up.
Step #1: Make Your Donut Batter
To make your pumpkin donut batter, gather the following ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups (222 grams) Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups (340 grams) pumpkin puree
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) vegetable oil (I used avocado oil)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
Combine the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk the dry mixture together and set it aside.
In a second large bowl, add the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk together until well combined. Add the brown and granulated sugar and mix until smooth.
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix well with a spatula until smooth. The batter will have a bright orange hue.
This recipe makes 12 donuts, so you’ll need two six-cavity donut pans to make this recipe. Spray the donut pans with cooking spray and set them aside.
Add the donut batter to a piping bag or zip-top bag. Cut a small slit at the bottom of the bag, and pipe the batter into each donut cavity. You’ll have enough to fill all 12 cavities, so fill them up!
Step #2: Bake the Donuts
Place the donuts in a preheated 375º F oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the donuts comes out clean. Allow the donuts to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to fully cool.
Step #3: Glaze the Donuts
Once the donuts are cool, after about one hour, it’s time to glaze them. Combine the following ingredients in a large bowl and mix together until smooth:
- 2 cups (160 gram) confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional)
- 8-10 tbsp maple syrup
You want to have a smooth consistency that isn’t too thick or too thin. If it’s too thick, it will be difficult to fully cover the donuts. If it’s too thin, the glaze will be too watery.
Before glazing the donuts, place a piece of parchment paper underneath the wire rack. This will catch the glaze that drips off of the donuts.
Now dip the top of each donut into the glaze and allow some of the glaze to drip off before then placing each donut (glaze-side up) back onto the wire rack. Repeat until all the donuts are covered in the maple glaze.
Step #4: Decorate the Donuts (Optional)
You can top the donuts with crushed nuts (of choice) or chocolate chips. You could also sprinkle a little cinnamon on top. All these toppings are totally optional but they do make your pumpkin donuts look pretty.
Be sure to add any toppings right away, before the glaze sets in place. You’ll want to work quickly as the glaze sets fast!
Allow the glaze to set on the donuts for about 30 minutes to one hour before handling. Then enjoy these flavorful pumpkin-spiced donuts.
Why We Love Gluten-Free Pumpkin Donuts
We love these donuts for so many reasons!
Feels like Fall: These donuts are bursting with all the classic flavors of fall including pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and maple syrup.
Intensely Moist: These gluten-free pumpkin donuts are insanely moist thanks to a huge infusion of pumpkin puree. And just look at the gorgeous orange hue? This picture has not been retouched; this is the actual color of the donuts.
Unbeatable Texture: If you’ve been gluten-free long enough, you crave that cakey, soft texture and these donuts deliver the exact texture you miss minus the gluten. I dare to say that you won’t even know the gluten is missing!
Easy to Make: Who doesn’t love an easy recipe? Everything comes together fast and bakes up quickly.
Pumpkin: While these donuts are far from healthy, they do contain pumpkin, which is packed with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber as well as immune-boosting and cancer-fighting properties.
FAQs and Substitutions
Below are answers to some of your most pressing questions about these gluten-free pumpkin donuts:
Storing the Donuts: Store the donuts in a zip-top bag in your fridge. The glaze will melt and incorporate into your donut if you don’t keep the donuts cool.
Egg-Free Version: I have not tested this recipe without eggs.
Dairy-Free Version: I recently updated this recipe to make it totally dairy free. If you add chocolate chips on top, (see Step #4) be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips.
No Donut Pan: I highly recommend investing in two donut pans to make this recipe, which you can repurpose when you make these delicious chocolate glazed donuts, and these 5-ingredient gluten-free bagels. If you’re going to stick to the gluten-free diet for the long haul, a donut pan is an essential kitchen tool.
Alternative Flours: I’ve only tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour (in the blue bag). It includes xanthan gum. You can swap the flour for another gluten-free flour blend. If the blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum, add 1/4 tsp to your dry ingredients. You cannot use almond flour to make this recipe because almond flour isn’t a one-to-one substitute for any flour.
Pumpkin Puree: Make sure you use pumpkin puree, which is unsweetened. Do not use canned pumpkin pie filling.
Other Recipes
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Glazed Donuts
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Squares
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread (Dairy Free)
- Where to Find Gluten-Free Pumpkin Beer
- Who Sells Gluten-Free Donuts?
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Donuts
Equipment
- 2 6-cavity donut pans
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour 222 grams
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree 340 grams
- 3 eggs large
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used avocado oil) 100 grams
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup brown sugar 100 grams
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 grams
Glaze
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar 160 grams
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice optional
- 8-10 tbsp maple syrup
Topping(s)
- 1/2 cup crushed nuts of choice optional – see notes for alternatives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º F and spray two 6-cavity donut pans with cooking spray. Set the pans aside.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk the ingredients together and set them aside.
- In a second large bowl, add the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk together until well combined. Add the brown and granulated sugar and mix until smooth.
- Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix well with a spatula until smooth.
- Add the donut batter to a piping bag or zip-top bag. Cut a small slit at the bottom of the bag, and pipe the batter into each donut cavity near to the top. You'll have enough to fill all 12 cavities.
- Place the donuts into the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the donuts comes out clean. Allow the donuts to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to fully cool. The donuts should be fully cooled before glazing.
Glaze
- Place a piece of parchment paper underneath the wire rack. The paper will catch the glaze that drips off the donuts.
- Combine the glaze ingredients in a large bowl and mix together until smooth.
- Dip one side of each donut into the glaze, then place each donut on the wire rack glaze-side up. Repeat until all donuts are covered in the maple glaze.
- Optional: Top the donuts with crushed nuts (of choice). Be sure to add the toppings right away, before the glaze sets in place.
- Allow the glaze to set on the donuts for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before handling and enjoying.
My first time attempting GF donuts and they came out so well! Made them exactly as written with Bob’s 1-to-1. Delicious and a perfect fall treat.
Oh my! I ordered donut pans, used the same flour and followed the directions as indicated. These turned out so moist and good. Like “regular” soft donuts. Next time I think I’ll add more cinnamon, cloves and ginger to get a more spice flavoring. That’s just my preference. Thank you for this delicious and super easy recipe!
These are so yummy! I couldn’t find a donut pan, so I made 30 mini-muffins instead. Be sure to fill each cup fully, but not overflowing, then bake for about 18 minutes. I put a strusel topping on half and did the maple glaze for half and I seriously can’t decide which I prefer. The texture of these is absolutely amazing and such a treat!
First time making donuts & it’s very easy! This recipe is delicious! I made it with flax eggs instead. It turned out great, just didn’t rise as much & were a bit dense but that’s to be expected. Thanks for the great donut recipe!