Healthy Protein Donuts

Is it a coincidence that Global Running Day AND National Donut Day fall on the same spot on the calendar? I think not! Its been a while since I've whipped up some healthy donuts, so I decided to take a crack at a new (and simple) recipe for this special foodie day!

Simple Donut Batter = Endless Topping Possibilities!

I decided to make a very easy donut batter to give me the ability to top the little rounds of goodness in a variety of ways, something my son was super excited to help with ("Mommy, can I eat that pile of sprinkles" was uttered at least half a dozen times lol). It calls for just 6 ingredients, and makes a total of 3 donuts (one of each flavor for our family)!

The donut batter calls for just 6 ingredients (the olive oil is not shown)

Protein Donut Batter:

First Preheat your oven to 350F

Next, for the donut batter you will need:

1 1/4 cups Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes Mix (also sold at Costco and most grocery stores)
1/3 cup Lakanto Golden Sweetener (this is non-glycemic sweetener made from Monkfruit that has a 1:1 ratio replacing regular sugar! It has no glycemic effect so its a great alternative for diabetics and those looking to cut refined sugars from their diet!) You can get it on Amazon here.
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs (fresh from our backyard chickens :)
1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond milk
​2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine all wet ingredients with the Lakanto in a large mixing bowl, then fold in the Kodiak Cakes mix with a spatula just until incorporated!

Let the batter rest for a minute, which is when you can prep your donut mold/pan. I love using my silicone donut mold by Keliwa, I place it on top of a regular baking sheet for ease of pulling it in and out of the oven!

Batter is made, now to get these babies baking!

In your lightly greased pan/mold (I used propellant free avocado oil spray from Costco), dollop about 3 heaping tablespoons of batter, just until each mold is about 1/2 full.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes (may day a minute or two based on your oven, just be sure to check them for doneness with a toothpick). When the toothpick comes out clean, remove from the oven allow to cool for a few minutes before carefully popping your donuts from their molds onto a cooling rack with parchment paper underneath (this will save a lot of clean-up when the time comes to glaze and add toppings to  these little wheels of awesome)!

A simple batter calls for a "blank slate" glaze so you can customize the flavors you want!

I wanted to get some variety for the donuts, so using a "blank slate" for the glaze that could be swapped for different flavor combinations was the way to go!

​I ended up doing three total (Strawberry Sprinkle,  Chocolate Chip Drizzle and Peanut Butter Dream), but there are so many other options, you could adapt this to any combination your mind can fathom (Blueberry Cheesecake sounds amazing in hindsight)!

Simple Donut Glaze Base:

2 tbsp Madagascar Vanilla Bean Ghee (you could certainly use regular butter or coconut oil)
1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/3 cup powdered sugar 
Pinch Salt

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk together on medium low heat. When combined, divide evenly between 2-3 ramekins depending on how many flavors youre going for!

For each ramekin, I added 1 1/2 teaspoons of the powdered ingredients, mixed until smooth, then set up my toppings for the "assembly line".

3 Delicious Flavor Combos

Strawberry Sprinkle (1 1/2 Tbsp Phormula-1 Natural Protein, 2 tsp India Tree Natural Sprinkles)

Chocolate Chip Drizzle (1 1/2 Tbsp Cacao Powder, 2 tsp Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips)

Peanut Butter Dream (1 1/2 tbsp PBFit (this thickened up more than I thought so I did have to add a splash of additional almond milk to thin it out!) 1 tbsp (about 1/8th of a bar)Level-1 PB Lovers Protein bar chopped into small chunks)


Spread about 2 tbsp of your desired glaze over the fully cooled donuts (don't put this on when they are still warm because it will run straight off!) and top with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips and protein bar chunks (or whatever combinations you choose!)

Donut forget your parchment paper under the cooling rack! So much easier to clean up!

These came out so good, not overpoweringly sweet, and soft, moist cake-style donuts that weren't dense or heavy.

Once the glaze sets for about a minute, they are ready to eat!! We dove right in and had to sample them all, my son is ALWAYS a willing recipe tester lol...he gave them two-thumbs-up, so that's a win in my book!

The only down-side to making these for National Donut Day? Cleaning up lol! Thankfully the dishwasher will pick up some of the job.

Dishes are my absolute WORST enemy as a recipe blogger...but grateful to have this problem anyway!

---

Calories and Macros:

This recipe made 9 total donuts, and I split the glaze evenly across as well for easier tracking!

Donuts (without glaze/toppings): 100 Calories 4.9F 15.7C 5.3P

Simple Glaze (feel free to customize with your own combinations as desired!) 35 Calories 2.4F 3.4C 0.1P

Additional Toppings ranged from 2-8 calories per donut, I didn't go crazy with them, but if you do be sure to calculate accordingly as needed to stick with your plan!

*If you glaze and top these all at once, I recommend storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for freshness! Otherwise, eat right away with people you love!*

I hope you enjoy these, not just for National Donut Day, but any time you're looking for a healthy donut swap!

Looking for more healthy recipes? Check out some of my favorites here! I also made some "no-bake" Donut holes last year, they are delish too :)

If you need help with making healthier choices, I'm here to help! Take your free nutrition assessment today and we will work together to make better lifestyle choices!