These gluten free banana donuts are baked in the oven and topped with a simple coconut cream icing. They're made with cassava flour and almond butter, sweetened with maple syrup and have a soft, tender texture. This healthy banana donut recipe is gluten free, egg free, yeast free, paleo and vegan friendly.
After making my vegan chocolate donuts, I quickly decided that banana donuts needed to happen. And these gluten free banana donuts were everything I imagined them to be!
They're moist and tender with a mildly sweet banana flavor and creamy vanilla icing. These donuts hold together well, but are completely gluten free and egg free!
I made three batches in one week and no one in the family was complaining. In fact, my kids were all fighting over the last donut. Needless to say, this is 100% a kid-approved donut recipe!
Why You'll Love these Banana Donuts
- Perfect Texture: moist, soft and tender
- Made with Wholesome Ingredients: like cassava flour, almond butter and ripe bananas
- Baked, not Fried: to make these donuts a healthier alternative.
- Yeast Free: no need to let the batter rest and rise.
- Mildly Sweet: not overly sweet, but still a delicious treat.
- Hold together well : easy to remove from the pan and not crumbly.
- Paleo and Vegan Friendly: no eggs, no grains, no dairy, free from many common allergens
Ingredients
These paleo banana donuts are made with cassava flour and almond butter, creating a grain free and gluten free batter. They are sweetened with banana and a little maple syrup for just the right amount of sweetness.
The donuts are topped with a vanilla icing made with coconut cream. However, feel free to swap this icing for any of your favorite flavors.
The full recipe can be found in the recipe card below, but here's a list of what you need:
Banana Donuts
- ripe bananas - yellow bananas with many brown/black speckles
- almond butter - preferably just dry roasted almonds. You can swap this ingredient for another nut/seed butter like cashew butter or sunbutter.
- almond milk - or any type of milk.
- maple syrup - to add a little more sweetness and flavor to the donuts. Don't worry - you don't need much!
- apple cider vinegar - to help with the rise and fluffy texture of the donuts.
- vanilla extract - for flavor
- cassava flour - a great grain free flour option that's both paleo and vegan friendly. The best swap would be a gluten free flour blend (measured by weight).
- baking soda - for the rise and to get that fluffy texture.
- cinnamon - adds a delicious flavor that compliments the banana.
- salt - to enhance all the flavors.
Coconut Cream Icing
- coconut cream - the dairy free base for this icing.
- maple syrup - for a little sweetness.
- tapioca starch - to help with texture.
How to Make Gluten Free Banana Donuts
This is a super easy donut recipe! You'll need two mixing bowls, a whisk and spatula, a greased donut pan and the required ingredients. Here's how to make them:
- First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a donut pan with oil and set aside.
- Combine the dry donut ingredients in a large bowl and the wet ingredients in another.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir with a spatula until well combined.
- Scoop the batter into your greased donut pan. Place the donuts in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
- After baking, let the donuts cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool on a wire cooling rack.
- Once the donuts have cooled to room temperature, make the frosting. Combine all frosting ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Frost the donuts.
Storage
These donuts are incredibly moist and tender, meaning they must be kept in the fridge. Place the donuts in an air-tight container in the fridge, up to one week. You can also freeze them up to a month if necessary (but they're best fresh).
Tip: Cassava flour is very dense and how you measure it can result in a very different texture for your baked goods. For best results, measure the cassava flour by weight. I like to use a small kitchen scale when baking. Not only is it more accurate, but there's less mess involved since you don't have to clean any measuring cups.
FAQ
These banana donuts have only been tested with cassava flour. A gluten free flour blend (like Bob's Red Mill) may work as a 1:1 substitute by weight, but I have not tried this swap myself. If you do, let me know how it turns out in the comments below.
If the icing is too runny, add more tapioca starch to it. You can also add in powdered sugar to make the frosting sweeter. Make sure to use just the cream from a can of full fat coconut milk when making the icing.
The apple cider vinegar helps to donuts to rise when baking, creating a fluffier texture. You can omit this ingredient if necessary, or swap it with lemon juice.
More Gluten Free Donut Recipes
Enjoy!
Print
Gluten Free Banana Donuts (No Egg, No Yeast)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 7 donuts
Description
This gluten free banana donuts recipe is made with cassava flour and almond butter, sweetened with maple syrup and baked in a silicone donut pan. These healthy donuts are egg free, yeast free, paleo and vegan friendly.
Ingredients
Donuts
- ½ cup mashed banana (125g)
- ½ cup almond butter (unsweetened, salted)
- ½ cup almond milk (unsweetened)
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup cassava flour (72g) spooned & leveled
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt
Icing
- ¼ cup coconut cream
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1-2 Tbsp tapioca flour
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients. This includes the mashed banana, almond butter, almond milk, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and vanilla.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. This includes the cassava flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Stir with a spatula until well combined. The batter is some-what thick and goopy.
- Spoon the batter into a silicone donut pan, nearly to the top (making 7 donuts). Place the donut pan on a baking sheet.
- Place the donuts in the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.
- Remove donuts from oven, cool in pan for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire cooling rack to room temperature.
Icing
- Combine all icing ingredients in a small bowl (just slightly larger than the donuts). Whisk until smooth, adding more tapioca flour as needed.
- Dip the cooled donuts in the icing, covering the entire top half of the donuts. OR, spread the icing over the donuts.
- Add desired toppings such as shredded coconut, cinnamon, bee pollen, naturally colored sprinkles, chopped nuts...
Notes
For best results, measure ingredient by weight (when given).
Donuts best stored in a sealed, air-tight container in the fridge up to one week.
Chanel Osborne
these are SO SO GOOD! Don’t skip the icing!
Hanna Baroncelli
I made these and they were excellent, I just changed the icing to a non dairy vegan paleo “ cream cheese substitute “,
as I wanted to cut down on the carbs in the tapioca flour and maple syrup. ( I am type 2 diabetic). Thank you they were delicious 😋
Katie
That icing sounds wonderful! So glad you liked the donuts 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review!
Marianne
We made the recipe just as it is written and it turned out delicious! Absolutely wonderful! We will be making these again!
Katie
I'm so glad you liked them! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Fendi
Could I substitute Cassava flour with a different flour?
Katie
I haven't tried a substitute, but it's possible that a gluten free blend or all purpose flour would work instead.
Lola
Can I sub cassava flour for coconut?
Katie
No, they have very different baking properties and cannot be subbed for one another.