These easy baked Gluten-Free Pumpkin Donut Holes are a sweet and delicious bite of the season! This recipe is full of real pumpkin, warming spices, and coated in cinnamon sugar! These healthy doughnut holes are vegan, allergy-free, and made without oil! They're a great breakfast treat or dessert that kids and adults will love!
What's better than pumpkin doughnuts? Donut holes! You won't be able to keep your hands from grabbing these light, fluffy, poppable pumpkin donut holes! A healthy bite of pumpkin coated in cinnamon sugar and completely gluten-free, vegan, and allergy-free! You can have them for breakfast, as a snack, or a perfect little dessert to end out a cozy night in!
Simple Ingredients You Need
Luckily you don't need anything fancy for these gluten-free donut holes!
- Gluten-Free Baking Flour
- Baking Powder
- Pumpkin Pie Spice, plus EXTRA Cinnamon
- Light Brown Sugar Sweetener
- Granulated Sweetener
- Flax Egg
- PUMPKIN Puree
- Vanilla Extract
- Non-Dairy Milk
- Vegan/Allergy-Free Butter
These healthy pumpkin doughnut bites are:
- Gluten-Free
- Vegan
- Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
- Sugar-Free & Oil-Free
- Kid-Friendly
Baked in a Donut Hole Pan
I used a Wilton Doughnut Hole Pan. It is a 20-count pan so there is an extra amount of dough that you can use for a quick second batch to make this a 24-28 count recipe. Now, if you don't have a donut hole pan (or don't' want to buy one...but you should!) you can make these in a mini muffin pan. They won't have a complete round hole shape, but once they are coating in the cinnamon sugar, you can't really tell!
I have not used a mini electric cake pop maker, but I assume it would work the same if you followed the cooking instructions provided by your device!
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
I have a few hacks to share to make the coating process super easy and efficient! You'll need an extra granulated sweetener and cinnamon for the coating and a large plastic container with a lid or use a plastic or paper bag. I found using a container much easier for this process.
- Let the donut holes cool just enough that you can pop them out of your pan without burning your fingers.
- Add them to your container of choice.
- Give them a quick spray of non-stick cooking oil.
- Add the sweetener and cinnamon to the container.
- Seal everything up tight.
- Shake, baby, shake...until the holes are thoroughly coated!
Giving them a quick spray with the cooking spray is the best way to get the cinnamon sugar to stick to the outside of the donut holes, even if they cool off too fast!
How and When to Eat
These pumpkin doughnut holes are best eaten right away and while they are still warm! They only take about 14 minutes to bake, so they can be whipped up in a flash and enjoyed quickly! Adding the cinnamon sugar to the outside of a warm donut hole means that leaving them to get cold will leave you with soggy bites of pumpkin donuts!
That's why these make a perfect healthy seasonal treat to enjoy with family at breakfast or friends for a pumpkin spice dessert!
Why Are They Called Donut Holes?
Everyone's burning question, but the only reason they are called donut holes is that they are the missing piece in the center of a doughnut! They were the cut-out center dough. Just like Dunkin' Munchkins, they are the most kid-friendly "doughnut" out there, but 100% fun to eat no matter your age! When I was growing up, the employees at the Dunkin Donuts down the road from where I lived would, would always give me a few free Munchkins whenever we stopped in (which was weekly), haha!
Baked Gluten-Free Pumpkin Doughnut Hole Recipe
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Donut Holes (Vegan, Allergy-Free)
These easy baked Gluten-Free Pumpkin Donut Holes are a sweet and delicious bite of the season! This recipe is full of real pumpkin, warming spices, and coated in cinnamon sugar! These healthy doughnut holes are vegan, allergy-free, and made without oil! They're a great breakfast treat or dessert that kids and adults will love!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 14 Minutes
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 24 Donut Holes 1x
- Category: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Gluten-Free Baking Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Powder
- ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar Sweetener (use your preferred light brown sugar)
- 3 TB Granulated Sweetener (use your preferred granulated sugar)
- 1 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- ½ Tsp Cinnamon
- 1 Cup Pure Pumpkin Puree
- 1 Flax Egg (1 TB Milled Flax Seed + 2 TB Water)
- 5 TB Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk
- 1 TB Melted Vegan/Allergy-Free Butter or Natural Flavored Oil
- ½ Tsp Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon Sugar Coating:
- ½ Cup Granulated Sweetener (use your preferred granulated sugar)
- 1 TB Cinnamon
- Cooking Spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flax and water for the flax egg and set aside to gel.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, sweeteners, and spices. Whisk together to combine.
- Now add the pumpkin, flax egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix together to form a smooth, thick batter.
- Grease a doughnut hole pan and scoop 1 heaping tablespoon (about 1.5 TB) of batter into each mold. Use your fingers to round out the tops as much as possible.
- Bake the donut holes for 13-15 minutes. Halfway through, you can smooth the tops more, using your finger, if you want a more defined sphere shape.
- Remove the baked donut holes from the oven, let cool for a minute or two, before transferring them to a container to coat.
- Lightly spray the warm donut holes with cooking spray before adding the cinnamon sugar coating. Tightly close your container (or bag) and shake the donut holes to allow the cinnamon sugar to fully coat the donuts.
- Remove and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5 Donut Holes
Keywords: doughnuts, donuts, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, cinnamon sugar, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin doughnuts, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, allergy-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free, peanut-free, coconut-free, corn-free, sesame-free, kid-friendly, sugar-free
You can't end pumpkin season without a few of these poppable, pumpkin spice, and everything nice doughnut holes! And of course, licking the cinnamon sugar off your fingers at the end is 100% acceptable! Simple, quick, and easy, they're fun for the whole family, so what are you waiting for? Let's get baking!
More Delicious Doughnut Recipes To Try:
- Cinnamon Glazed Pumpkin Doughnuts
- Cinnamon Sweet Potato Doughnuts
- Mini Powdered Doughnuts
- Chocolate-Covered Mini Doughnuts
- Apple Cider Doughnuts
So tell me:
+ Who else was a Dunkin' (Donuts) Munchkin lover?
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Rebecca
What a delicious idea for a recipe, I have some pumpkin puree frozen from October so know what I'll be making with it now
★★★★★
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
That's great, enjoy.
Kate
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I was looking for something of that style and texture. 🙂
★★★★★
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
A perfect sweet cakey donut hole!
Stephanie
You had me with pumpkin + donut holes! These sound absolutely phenomenal and I've been craving baking a sweet treat sometime soon. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Donut holes will always put a smile on your face!
Jimmy Clare
what a great looking recipe that I should try over the holiday break in college
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
So fun and easy to make!