These Peanut Butter Banana Donuts have a dark chocolate glaze topped with a drizzle of peanut butter! They’re baked instead of fried, and they are gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and vegan, making them way healthier than your average donut.
It’s donut time!!! But first: I have a little confession to make. Not to rain on the donut parade or anything….but donuts aren’t really my favorite thing.
They definitely used to be though. When I was a kid, I was a firm believer in junk food. My parents divorced when I was four, and let’s just say my dad didn’t exactly feed my sister and I the healthiest of foods, opting to buy us pretty much whatever we wanted from the grocery store. It usually ended with a lot of candy (like, two of those big Red Vines containers at a time) and Smart Ones frozen dinners.
One day, on a mission to get me to eat anything healthy, my dad inquired about my favorite nut, presumably hoping to get a little protein in me. My serious six year old response after a moment of deep thought? “Donuts!!!”
But of course. The only nut of choice for a sugar-loving 6 year old. I had a particular favorite though, from the donut shop down the street. It was HUUUGE, like definitely bigger than my child-sized head…in fact, it’s probably bigger than my current-sized head. I would usually opt for the chocolate glazed, and end up with more of it on my face than in my mouth. Oh, childhood.
Maybe it was binging on those huge donuts for so many years, but somewhere along the way, I stopped being a big fan. Most days, I’ll pick a croissant or muffin over a donut, craving something a little less sweet and less deep-fried for my breakfast pastry.
Baked donuts, though? They’re starting to change my tune. I have a few donut recipes on the site – like these majorly swoon-worthy Pumpkin Baked Donuts that are FILLED WITH DULCE DE LECHE and the cutest little baked chocolate donuts you ever did see. So, when I spotted my donut pan and mini donut pan hiding in my pile of pans, I decided it was time to rekindle my love of donuts – but a little healthier this time.
Bananas and peanut butter are one of my favorite combos in the food world (mostly because peanut butter has my heart), and so it seemed only natural to make peanut butter banana donuts! Bonus: they’re also gluten-free and vegan and have NO refined sugars.
The banana does a wonderful job of replacing the moisture and binding power an egg would typically bring to a recipe, similarly to how it does in my favorite vegan blueberry muffins. It also adds some sweetness, so you only need a couple tablespoons of maple syrup to make these sweet enough. Honey can also be used, if you’re not worried about keeping these vegan.
Coconut flour is the flour of choice here because it plays really nicely with the loads of peanut butter used, and you just need a little bit to tighten up the batter. Unfortunately, since coconut flour is so uniquely absorbent, it’s the only flour I’d recommend using in this recipe.
I baked some of the donuts in my bigger donut pan and they were totally good, but I definitely preferred the ones baked in the mini donut pan…mostly because the glaze:donut ratio was on point. The glaze is super simple – just a little dark chocolate melted with some coconut oil, and the peanut butter drizzle is just peanut butter and coconut oil. The coconut oil helps the chocolate and peanut butter set into a glaze at cooler temps.
The mini donuts were also easier to dip and deal with, which is also a bonus. And they’re mini, so they’re automatically cuter. Win win win! Time to get some peanut butter banana donuts in your mouth – happy baking, my friends!
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Peanut Butter Banana Donuts with Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze (Gluten Free + Vegan)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 large donuts 1x
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup coconut oil (melted)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 large banana (mashed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (192g) creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons (24g) coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
For the glaze
- 3 oz. dark chocolate (either chunks or chips (make sure it’s dairy-free to keep vegan))
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil (divided)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a donut pan or mini donut pan with coconut oil.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the coconut oil, maple syrup, banana, vanilla extract, and creamy peanut butter and whisk until smooth. Add in the coconut flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until completely combined. Let the batter sit for a minute or two to let the coconut flour absorb.
- Spoon the batter into a zipper bag. Snip the corner and pipe the batter into the donut molds in the prepared pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 10-12 minutes for large donuts, or 5 minutes for the mini donuts. Let cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
- For the chocolate glaze, combine the dark chocolate and 1 teaspoon coconut oil in a small microwavable bowl, large enough to dip the donuts in. Heat in 20 second increments, stirring between each, until completely smooth and melted. Carefully dip the smooth side of the donut into the chocolate and remove from the chocolate using two forks – be very careful they don’t crumble! Place on a cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath to catch drips.
- For the peanut butter drizzle, melt together the peanut butter and 1 teaspoon coconut oil in a microwaveable bowl for about 30 seconds or until the oil is melted. Whisk together and then scrape the peanut butter into a small zipper bag. Snip the corner and drizzle over the chocolate glazed donuts. Let stand for at least 30 minutes to let the chocolate and peanut butter set.
- These taste best the day they are made. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
If you are without a donut pan and don’t want to buy one for these, use a mini muffin pan instead!
Recipe adapted from RachLmansfield‘s Almond Butter Cup Donuts
- Category: Dessert
Craving more peanut butter banana goodness? Check out these recipes:
natalia20041989 says
They look absolutely amazing, I love homemade donuts:)
Kelly | Maverick Baking says
These look soooo good AND they’re vegan! I need to get me a doughnut pan!
Rachel says
Yes you do! Thanks so much, Kelly.
Rosie says
Wow these look amazing, and so impressed with the ingredients list too!
Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious says
Peanut butter donuts? Oh yes, please! I’ll trade you some of my chickpea donuts for these!
Rachel says
Sounds like a good deal to me! ;)
marcie says
The best donuts for me are baked because I feel so much better about eating them! These look delicious with the peanut butter, chocolate, AND banana! Everyone in my house would love these. :)
Rachel says
Baked is definitely better – because you can have two! Haha :D thanks, Marcie!
Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven says
That certainly sounds like something my 6-year old sister would say too! Too funny and I love it. ;) ALMOST as much as I love these donuts. I mean, that GLAZE and the fact that they’re healthified?? So down for these!!
Rachel says
Haha, thanks Sarah!!
Ann Pierce says
The most perfect combo! These look divine. And I think they would be perfect with coffee !
Rachel says
They definitely would be! Thanks, Ann.
Laurel Cornwell says
Hi Rachel! These look amazing. I am always on the hunt for recipes that use coconut flour! I have a huge stash in my pantry, but never quite know what to do with it. Thanks for the recipe :)
Rachel says
Thanks so much – I hope you love them, Laurel! A little bit of coconut flour goes a loooong way, so I definitely know what you mean, haha.
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
These donuts are GORGEOUS-I lovelovelooooove ’em!
SK says
Oh wow!! I made these and as usual with Rachel’s recipes, they are absolutely fantastic!! My boyfriend and father, who both complain about anything ‘healthy’, loved these and were genuinely shocked that they did :) These are amazing when warm but I noticed they crumbled very easily. After sitting in the fridge for a few hours, the texture firmed up and they can be easily held and eaten that way. The flavor is also wonderful even when cold! There is none of that gross after-taste you get when eating store bought or chain donuts, because there are no disgusting chemical ingredients in these. Make these donuts, they are easy and so worth it!! Thank you again Rachel!
Rachel says
I’m so happy to hear you and your family all loved the donuts, SK! Thanks for your kind words and sharing your experience with me. :)
Sara says
Donuts are so fun!! And of course you couldn’t have gone with a better flavor combo. These look absolutely amazing. I bought a donut pan last year and I’ve used it like crazy ever since!
Kate says
Holy Moly those look amazing!!
Danielle Smith says
Can I use regular flour instead of coconut?
Rachel says
Hi Danielle, unfortunately coconut flour is super unique because it’s much more absorbent than other flours, and no other flour performs the same way. You can’t substitute any other flour in this recipe and have it work the same way. Thankfully…coconut flour is pretty cheap and a little bit goes a LONG way. I’d say it’s worth the investment :)
Laura says
These look amazing! I can’t wait to try them! Do you, or can you, use natural peanut butter?
Rachel says
Hi Laura – I always use 100% natural peanut butter.
Elizabeth says
Hi Rachel, stumbled upon your recipe and tried making it. Wound up getting it out of the oven but every time I tried to take the donuts out of the pan, they would break or crumble, they didn’t stay together at all. I followed the instructions and ingredients exactly, would you have anything in mind that went wrong?
Rachel says
Hi Elizabeth, sorry you’re having trouble! The donuts are fairly fragile, but they shouldn’t be falling apart so much – did you make sure the pan was well-greased? They also need to be completely cool before taking them out, or they’ll definitely fall apart. Hope they’re still tasty, sorry for your troubles!
Kristine says
My dough ended up separating like crazy when I put it in the bag to pipe it into the pan. There was oil squirting out all over the place! I wonder if it’s because my peanut butter is the kind that needs refrigerated or the oil will separate? It was a mess! It also meant I couldn’t pipe it in one circle, which meant they fell apart easily because they had breaks in the circle, too. Second batch I did press it into the pan after piping it in, which meant they were more dense and flat, but they held together better without the big cracks. Loved the idea but it definitely didn’t work!
★★★
Rachel says
Hi Kristine, did you make sure your peanut butter was super smooth and not too oily? The batter definitely shouldn’t have been separated to begin with – it sounds like it was too oily for some reason. If you used the super oily peanut butter that wasn’t adequately stirred, that could’ve caused the problem. Not sure what you mean by the batter “breaking” either – was it because of the oil too? Let me know if there are any questions I can help answer – without having all the info or being in the kitchen with you, it’s hard for me to know what went wrong.
Keira says
I am so excited that I found a recipe using coconut flour!
I made these today and they are delicious. The inside of the donut is still a little raw, but it isn’t unpleasant. I baked them for at least 12 minutes (mini donut pan). I used a crunchy peanut butter, and I’ll try them again with a smooth and see if that makes any difference to the texture. Also, my banana wasn’t over-ripe – i just couldn’t wait a few days to try this recipe – and the banana flavour is overpowered by the peanuts.
★★★★
Rachel says
Hi Keira, glad you’re enjoying them! Having a ripe banana definitely makes the banana flavor come through more and makes a pretty big difference.