Moist, soft, and cake-like, these Apple Cinnamon Protein Donuts are perfect for fall but delicious any time of year (or any time of day)! They come out around 19 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber, and around 300 calories, all without any wheat flour or protein powder! Plus you get three whole donuts per serving, a perfect nutritious breakfast or post-workout treat.
The protein in this recipe comes mostly from powdered peanut butter, which is cost-effective, versatile, and gives a nice, tender texture in baked goods. And don’t worry: the peanut flavor is subtle and masked by the cinnamon and apple in this recipe. However, if you can’t do peanuts, I have included some possible recipe swaps below the directions.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Low calorie
- High protein
- No protein powder
- Gluten-free
- Simple ingredients
For more easy breakfast recipes, try my Easy Single Serving Crepes or my Chocolate Breakfast Pudding!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from any purchases made, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and love!
Products used in this recipe:
- PB Fit Powdered Peanut Butter
- PB Fit Powdered Almond Butter
- Oat Flour
- Another oat flour option (Amazon prices fluctuate, but this one is a great value as well)
- Granulated sweetener
- My favorite salt
- No added aluminum baking powder
- Microwave donut pan
Ingredients
¼ cup powdered peanut butter or powdered almond butter
¼ cup oat flour
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg yolk (or 1 extra TBSP applesauce)
1 TBSP granulated sweetener of choice
¼ tsp baking powder
¼-½ tsp ground cinnamon ( or just eyeball it)
Pinch of salt
Splash of vanilla extract or flavoring
For Topping:
Extra ½ tsp sweetener and ½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a donut pan with nonstick cooking spray (I used a silicone pan, standard donut size, but you could use a mini donut pan and just make more donuts. This can also work in the microwave if you have a microwave-safe donut pan like this.)
- In a large cereal or small mixing bowl, thoroughly combine all ingredients except the extra sweetener and cinnamon for the topping.
- Spoon equal amounts of batter into 3 cavities of the donut pan.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until the donuts spring back lightly when touched. You should be able to wiggle them out of the pan and onto a plate right out of the oven. Set aside.
- For optional cinnamon sugar topping: Mix extra sweetener and cinnamon on a plate. Lightly brush warm donuts with butter or oil and press into the cinnamon sugar mixture. You can scrape any remaining sugar from the plate onto the donuts and press in.
- Let cool for a couple of minutes and enjoy!
Makes 3 donuts (1 serving).
Possible Ingredient Swaps
- You can try protein powder in place of the powdered peanut butter, but results vary by brand/type. I tested it with one scoop of whey protein and didn’t love the flavor, but you can absolutely try a protein powder with a flavor you love! Powdered almond butter works great as well.
- Or, replace the powdered peanut butter with 4 extra TBSP oat flour (8 total), and swap the applesauce for ⅓ cup greek yogurt or blended cottage cheese.
- You could also leave out the powdered peanut butter, use 8 total TBSP oat flour instead of 4, and add one serving of collagen peptides for extra protein.
