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 20 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)
- Zero Calorie Sweetener
- Coconut sugar (if you prefer this over a zero calorie sweetener)
- My favorite salt
- No added aluminum baking powder
- Microwave donut pan
Ingredients
¼ cup powdered peanut butter or powdered almond butter (see below for alternatives)
¼ cup oat flour
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg yolk or 1 tbsp egg whites (needed for texture and to prevent falling apart)
1 TBSP sweetener of choice (use ¼ cup applesauce instead of ⅓ if you use honey or maple syrup)
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 – 1 tsp sweetener and ¼ tsp cinnamon (I don’t recommend coconut sugar for the topping; it just doesn’t have the same effect.)
½ tsp melted butter (light or regular)
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 great 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 (adjust depending on the size of your donut pan.)
- Bake for about 15 minutes (about 2 minutes if using the microwave) 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 cinnamon sugar topping: Mix extra sweetener and cinnamon. Lightly brush warm donuts with butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top, pressing lightly.
- Let cool for a couple of minutes and enjoy!
Makes 3 donuts (1 serving).
Possible Ingredient Swaps
- The peanut flavor is overpowered by the cinnamon in this recipe, but if you prefer, you can try protein powder in place of the powdered peanut butter. Results vary by brand/type. I tested it with one scoop of whey protein and didn’t love the texture, but you can absolutely try a protein powder you love! Powdered almond butter works great as well, although it is lower in protein than powdered peanut butter.
- 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.
