Baked Apple Cider Donuts
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Published Sep 04, 2019, Updated Aug 19, 2023
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The perfect fall treat, these healthier baked apple cider donuts are made with whole wheat pastry flour, coconut sugar, Greek yogurt, and coconut oil.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of fall I immediately think of apple picking. It’s something Isaac and I enjoy doing every year around September. There are a couple of orchards relatively close to Richmond, but the one we usually go to is called Carter Mountain. It’s just outside of Charlottesville and they have the best apple cider donuts. They’re particularly delicious when you get them fresh and they’re still warm!
I decided to try my hand at making homemade baked donuts. And of course, in true EBF fashion, I worked to make them a bit healthier using real food ingredients like whole wheat pastry flour, applesauce, coconut sugar, coconut oil and Greek yogurt. A major upgrade from the traditional recipe that uses melted butter and brown sugar.
How to Make Donuts at Home
First things first, to make baked donuts you’re going to need a donut pan. Luckily, they’re really inexpensive! You can get a set of 2 non-stick, six cavity Wilton donut pans on Amazon for less than $15.
It can also be handy to have a large icing piping tip for adding the donut batter into the pan, but it’s not 100% necessary. You can always spoon the batter into the pan and then shake it to make sure the batter is even.
Once you have your materials, you’re ready to get started and to be honest, making baked donuts is really similar to making muffins.
Ingredients in Healthy Apple Cider Donuts
Apple Cider Donuts
- unfiltered apple cider – no, I don’t mean ACV, I mean apple cider! I prefer getting mine from a local orchard but a lot of local grocery stores carry it as well.
- unsweetened apple sauce – any kind works great and you can use cinnamon unsweetened apple sauce for more cinnamon flavor. I like to use my recipe for homemade applesauce.
- whole-wheat pastry flour – more fiber, protein, and other nutrients than traditional white flour. I prefer using Bob’s Red Mill Whole-Wheat Pastry Flour.
- baking powder and baking soda – your leavening agents.
- cinnamon – the perfect spice to use with apple flavors.
- sea salt – brings all of the delicious flavors together!
- coconut sugar – the less-processed upgrade for granulated sugar or brown sugar.
- Greek yogurt – the yogurt adds protein and moisture to these donuts! My favorite brand of dairy yogurt is Fage 5% Greek yogurt or Stonyfield whole milk Greek yogurt.
- coconut oil – the perfect sub for butter.
- egg – a binding ingredient, plus a little protein boost.
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- coconut oil – again, the perfect sub for butter. You can certainly butter if you prefer!
- organic cane sugar – the sugar topping is what makes an apple cider donut so delicious!
- cinnamon – adding cinnamon to the sugar topping makes these the ultimate fall treat.
Substitutions and Tips
- yogurt – I’ve only tested this recipe with Greek yogurt, but you could try with your favorite non-dairy yogurt instead to make these dairy-free or vegan. Others have tried it and said it worked great! I love Culina coconut yogurt.
- eggs – I haven’t tried this recipe with flaxseed eggs, but it could work well as a replacement binding ingredient to make these egg-free or vegan. Let me know if you try it! To make a flaxseed egg, mix 1 Tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons of water and let sit for a few minutes to create a gel-like consistency.
- sugar – This recipe calls for coconut sugar for the donuts, and regular cane sugar for the sugar coating. You could certainly use coconut sugar for the sugar coating as well!
- whole wheat pastry flour – You can always just use all-purpose flour if that’s what you have on hand! You can also sub in 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour to make these donuts gluten-free. I always recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF baking blend.
- donut pan – If you don’t have a donut pan, you can try making muffins instead! Someone else tried this and said they turned out perfectly. You’ll just need to double the cook time.
How to Make Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Prep – Preheat your oven to 350°F. Then, prepare your two (6-cavity) donut pans by spraying with cooking spray.
Combine ingredients – Mix your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt) together in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients (the apple cider, apple sauce, sugar, yogurt, oil, and egg) until combined. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir until everything is mixed together.
Pipe batter – Pipe or spoon the batter evenly into the 12 cavities.
Bake – Bake in a preheated oven for 6-8 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. While baking, mix together ingredients for your cinnamon sugar topping.
Cool and coat – When finished baking, let donuts cool for about 2 minutes in the pan before inverting the donuts onto a wire rack too continue cooling. Brush each donut with coconut oil on both sides and dip into a cinnamon sugar topping to coat.
Storing and Reheating Donuts
They’re best served fresh, but you can store leftovers in an air-tight container for 2-3 days. I like to reheat them in the toaster oven so they get nice and crispy!
Popular Donut Recipes
- Baked Almond Flour Donuts
- No-Bake Blueberry Muffin Donut Holes
- Healthy Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes
- Chocolate Frosted Baked Donuts (Entenmann’s Copycat)
- Protein Donuts
- Coconut Crunch Donuts (Hostess Copycat)
- Pumpkin Spice Donuts
More Apple Recipes You’ll Love
- Apple Pancakes
- Baked Apples
- Apple Dutch Baby
- Apple Crisp
- Apple Granola Bars
- Apple Butter
- Raw Mini Apple Pies
- Apple Muffins
- Vegan Apple Bread
- Apple Yogurt Muffins
- Apple Cake
- Dutch Apple Pie
Be sure to check out all of my apple recipes as well as the full collection of dessert recipes here on EBF!
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Ingredients
- ½ cup apple cider, not vinegar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 ¾ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 egg
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 1 Tablespoon melted coconut oil
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- ½ Tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir until combined.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together apple cider, apple sauce, sugar, yogurt, oil and egg until combined.
- Add wet mixture to flour mixture, and stir until just combined.
- Spray two (6-cavity) donut pans with cooking spray. Spoon or pipe batter evenly into the 12 cavities.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until donuts spring back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan for 2 minutes. Invert donuts onto a wire rack.
- While donuts are baking, mix together sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
- Brush each donut with coconut oil on both sides and dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Repeat until all donuts are coated.
- Best enjoyed immediately but can be stored in an air-tight container for 2-3 days and reheated in the microwave or toaster oven.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These look delicious! Have you tried substituting gluten-free baking flour at all? Or a mix of almond/coconut flour? I would love to see if I can make these gluten-free. Thanks!
Hi SommerAnn. I haven’t experimented with different flours yet, but I would love to try to make them gluten-free. I’ll keep you posted. 🙂
Can you use other types of flour?
Hi Lauren. I haven’t tried the donuts with any other type of flour. What type of flour were you hoping to use?
I am doing WW. is there a way that you could include WW points in your information? It all sounds so good but I can’t eat it!
You can eat it! Just put the ingredients in the WW recipe builder! It’s super easy to use.
These look amazing, there is nothing better than cider donuts in the fall!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Super easy! I also did them like a muffin and added chopped apple and sunflower seeds. Super good!
Hi Sherri! Thank you for sharing, that variation sounds delicious! And thank you so much for coming back to comment (and leaving the star rating) for this recipe. It means the world to me!
Delicious! I baked mine in a muffin tin since I didn’t have a doughnut pan.
Oh, yay! I love hearing that they turned out well in a muffin tin too. Thanks for sharing and thank you for coming back to leave a comment (and the star rating) as well. I really appreciate it.
I reduced the water in the apple cider; from a cup to half a cup and add pieces of apple and 1 teaspoon of all spices. The consistency was fluffy and moist, so I didn’t have to add coconut oil to sprinkle it with sugar. 😋use the cake pop to “bake” them. The recipe yielded 40 donut Hole.
Oh I love that you turned these into donut holes!! Great idea!
I don’t have a donut pan so this great! Was cooking time the same?
Delicious, I made a vegan version with egg replacer and more apple sauce to replace the yogurt and they turned out great!
Hi Marie, I’m so happy to hear that you were able to make these donuts vegan! Using extra applesauce as a replacement for the yogurt was a great idea. Thank you so much for coming back to leave a comment (and star rating). It means the world to me!
Delicious! More donut recipes please!
Hi Kim, I am so glad you’re loving this recipe! I’m sure more donut recipes will be coming soon. 🙂 Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it!
Having a hard time finding unfiltered apple cider… Would regular apple cider work just as well?
Thanks! Excited to try.
Regular apple cider will 100% work. Thanks for asking. 🙂
Light, fluffy, easy to make. And very, very yummy! Couldn’t find pastry flour; so, substituted half all purpose flour and half cake flour. Worked out well.
Oh yay, I’m so glad that the half AP flour and half cake flour worked for you! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment + star rating, Karin. I so appreciate it! <3
Can I substitute canola oil for the coconut oil
It should be just fine, but I haven’t tested this recipe with anything besides coconut oil so I’m not 100% sure it’ll turn out the same.
These are delicious. Had to go 10 mins, but didn’t bake them on convection the first time. I wonder about adding a scope or two of my snickerdoodle protein powder would work if I took a little of the whole wheat pastry flour out. Delicate balance.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Erika – I am so glad these turned out great for you. If you were to add some protein powder, just be careful of the batter consistency because some protein powders tend to absorb more liquid and it could make the donuts a bit dryer. Thanks for your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!
My girlfriends and I made these for a girls game night. They were easy to make & so delicious. Being able to eat them warm was the best! Great recipe for fall!
Yay!! I’m so glad these donuts were a hit! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment and star rating, I so appreciate it! <3
Hey… I want it to ask what do you recommend to replace all the coconut ingredients with, because I am allergic to coconut and I love fall recipes and apples and pumpkins but I can’t use products from coconut. Thank you!! 😊
For this recipe I would swap the coconut oil for butter!
Made with flax egg and cashew yogurt – turned out perfect! Had to bake the full 8 minutes. Thanks for the great recipe.
So glad this recipe turned out for you, Angela! Thanks for sharing the subs you made. 🙂
We absolutely loved these! They taste awesome and the non-healthy eaters in my house did not suspect they were health-ified. I halved the recipe because I only have one donut pan. I also used a sugar/stevia baking blend to further reduce sugar. I brushed the donuts with melted butter instead of coconut oil prior to the cinnamon sugar coating. I will definitely be making them again!
Yay!! So glad these donuts were a hit! Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating, Christy. I so appreciate it. <3
From upstairs I heard the “WOW!!!” and knew these donuts were a mega-hit. With GF 1:1 baking mix! Husb had three donuts today & I had fun making donuts for the first time. Thanks so much for such a scrumptious, easy treat! Donuts are FUN!
Ahh I love hearing that!! So glad these donuts were a hit. As always, I appreciate you coming back to leave a comment + star rating, Jennifer. <3
Would it work to use gluten free flour instead of whole wheat?
Thanks!
Hey Erin – these should be fine if you subbed in gluten-free 1:1 flour. Let me know how they turn out if you try them!
Can you Make these with Regular yogurt vs greek ? The Greek yogurt gives bagels and all that butter taste .
Hey Jenifer – You can definitely use another type of yogurt if you prefer.
These are amazing and so easy to make! I made several batches – all with dairy free yogurt and some with a gluten free all purpose flour and all batches turned out wonderfully!
Oh my goodness!!! You’ve done it again! Made a family staple, turned it healthy but also made sure it tastes delicious. Not easy to do! Those are the types of recipes we loooove. Thank you
Ahh yay, I’m so pumped these donuts were a hit with your family! Thanks for making these and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it, Jessica. 🙂
These are AMAZING! I used all purpose flour and they came out delicious! So easy too! Highly recommend
Yay! So glad these donuts turned out for you, Hannah! Thanks for sharing what sub you made on the flour. It’s super helpful for other readers, so I appreciate it. 🙂
I doubled the recipe and baked it in a honeycomb pull apart pan. The cake turned out better than I expected especially because I substituted sugar with monk fruit sugar and used only half of the amount called for. The family loved it. Thank you
Oh yay!! So glad this turned out for you, Sana! Thanks for sharing the subs you made and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. It’s super helpful for other readers, so I appreciate it.
I made these over the weekend!! They are absolutely amazing!! Such a treat!
Yay! So glad you loved these donuts, Katherine. Thanks so much for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. 🙂
Hello – i really want to try and make these but I am lactose intolerant and was curious what you would sub out the Greek yogurt for?
Thanks!
Hey Heather – you can use a dairy-free yogurt.
These are so good! I used regular whole wheat flour and made them vegan with a flax egg and homemade soy yogurt. I baked them for 10 minutes, and they turned out light and fluffy and delicious!
Yay!! So glad these donuts turned out for you, Jess. Thanks for sharing the subs you made and for leaving a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. 🙂
Not super “apple-ly”….any tips to make taste come through more?
Otherwise delicious!
Did you change anything about the recipe? They’re definitely supposed to be more apple cider tasting versus just apple.
Do you think these could be made with coconut milk yogurt? We’re dairy free and I do not keep greek yogurt on hand. <3
Yes, that should work just fine! 🙂 Let me know how these turn out for you if you end up making them!
These turned out wonderfully. I have a silicon doughnut make six at a time and it made 12. I did need to bake them 16 minutes rather then 8. For those who like to know if subs work–it did for me and I used fage nonfat Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup homemade unsweetened applesauce that I increased to 1/2 cup and I skipped the oil altogether. I used swerve sugar replacement. I did use Pensey regular sugar and cinnamon mix on top and light Brummel and brown Yogurt spread melted. We loved them and will make them again. Nice Fall treat. And they look like your picture as they came out
So glad these donuts turned out for you! Thanks so much for coming back to share the subs you made and for leaving a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. <3
Wow these are so good! And so easy to make. So light and fluffy, incredibly moist and the cinnamon sugar is the perfect finish. So worth buying donut pans because this recipe will become a family tradition now every Fall. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed these donuts, Danielle! Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it!
Absolutely delicious and the vegan modifications worked great!
Yay! That makes me happy to hear, Claire. Thanks for trying these donuts. I appreciate it. 🙂
Did you try it with a gluten free flour ???
Hey Julie – I haven’t, but others have tried using a gluten-free all-purpose flour and said the donuts turned out just fine! Let me know if you end up trying them.
These were delicious, light and flavoursome, although I couldn’t taste the cider much. I think the cider made them very airy though.
I used vegetable oil instead of coconut oil and fat free Greek yogurt instead of plain Greek yogurt.
It made 9 doughnuts instead of twelve, but they were quite large.
Made this recipe a few times and used pumpkin spice apple cider. Love these donuts. Although my donuts tend to get moist once I store them. Any tricks on how to keep them ‘cakey’ where the sugar coating doesn’t eventually melt into the donuts?
Hey Tracy – So glad you’re loving these donuts! How are you storing them – in the fridge or at room temp and what type of container are you storing them in?
Hi sorry I didn’t see your reply to my first inquiry so please disregard my second one today. I am storing the donuts in a Tupperware container which has an air vent in the lid.
No worries, Tracy!! Glad you’re loving the donuts. 🙂
I absolutely loved these! I did swap coconut sugar for maple syrup and I simmered the apple cider to make it more flavorful, but these were incredible!!!
So glad you loved these donuts, Tiffany. I’m glad they turned out with coconut sugar instead of maple syrup. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review, I appreciate it. 🙂
Tracy,
How much maple syrup did you swap for the coconut sugar?
I made these donuts using pumpkin spice apple cider and they came out amazing. The only problem I have is storing them they tend to get very moist or wet and the sugar coating on the outside absorbs into the donut I can’t seem to keep them stored dry unless I leave them on the counter uncovered. Any suggestions?
They may not look perfect but they are perfectly delicious! I used gluten free 1.1 flour and they turned out great!
Thanks Brittany for another great recipe. My family thinks I’m a rock star in the kitchen.
Ahh love it!! I’m so glad these donuts were a hit with the fam, Linda. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
Could you make these in mini electric donuts maker?
Hi Charisse! I would assume so, but I haven’t tried it! Let me know if you try it!
These are amazing healthy donuts!!
Very easy to make too!
Woo!! So glad you loved these donuts, Janet. I appreciate you coming back to leave a review. 🙂
So good!!! My kids and husband enjoyed these right out of the oven!
So glad these were a hit!! Thanks for the review, Lisa. I appreciate it!
My mom introduced me to these donuts over the winter holidays, and I was obsessed! I made them for some friends a few weeks ago, and they absolutely loved them as well. I actually forgot the apple cider, so I just used water and they still turned out great. One of the easiest (and yet still delicious) donut recipes ever!
One of my friends was actually curious as to whether it would be possible to make a very similar gluten-free chocolate donut?
So glad you love these donuts, Cassidy! I’m sure it would be possible, I just haven’t tested a gluten-free version of these donuts. Maybe use gluten-free all-purpose flour mixed with cocoa powder? Let me know how they turn out if you guys test them!!
Can i freeze the donuts?
I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure they’d freeze just fine! Let me know if you try it.
Delicious! I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten free 1 to 1 flour. Will definitely make again.
Yay!! So happy to hear these donuts were a hit, Angie! Thanks so much for the review and star rating. I really appreciate it!
Love these donuts! Very easy to make. I had to cook for 18 minutes. I followed the recipe as is but I used a 9 donut silicone mold which may be why. Anyway…still great just had to wait longer to try them 😃
They came out a good texture but I’m disappointed because to me they don’t taste anything like apple cider
Oh no! So sorry to hear that! Did you change anything about the recipe?
Made these donuts with my grandsons. Cut back the sugar in the batter and used an apple cider that was called “Apple Pie Cider” that already had cinnamon in the cider so didn’t add what the recipe called for. Moist and delicious and the boys loved painting on the butter and dipping in the sugar!!
Yay! So thrilled to hear these apple cider donuts were a hit, Mary Pat! Thanks for making them and coming back to leave a review. It means so much to me!
I made this recipe using the flax egg and it worked out just fine. The flavor was so great and the texture actually worked out! I also made the recipe with Bob’s red mill as well as Almond flower. 1 and 1/2 cups of Bob’s Red Mill and 1/4 cup of Almond flower. It gave it a great moisture and fluff.
Thanks for another great recipe!
Happy to hear these apple cider donuts were a success, Sierra! Thanks for trying them out and coming back to leave a review. I rally appreciate it!
Made these with the grandsons and they loved them! I used an Apple cider called Apple Pie Cider that had cloves and cinnamon so didn’t add as much as the recipe called for. They were moist and delicious. Great recipe!! Thanks!!
Woo!! Glad to hear these apple cider donuts were a hit, Mary! Thanks so much for the review. I really appreciate it!
Made these this morning! So so tasty! Really could taste the apple cider which was so yummy!
Oh yay! So glad you made them, Anna! And thank you for coming back to leave a comment!! You’re the best.
So yummy! Love the healthier versions of treats like this one! We used leftover apple cider from Thanksgiving , came out perfect
Woo!! So pumped to hear these donuts were a hit, Jocelyn! Thanks for the review :).
I’ve made these before following the recipe exactly and love them! Currently out of yogurt and wondering if sour cream would be a good substitute or vanilla Greek yogurt?
I am so happy to hear that you are loving this recipe, Dana. Yes, you could use the vanilla greek yogurt, it might add more of a vanilla flavor since that is the flavor of the yogurt you have, but it should still be delicious. Enjoy!
This is a winner- my whole family loves them. Even my husband who is not easy to please. I’ve made lots of swaps depending on what I have on hand. I’ve used sour cream instead of yogurt. Vegetable oil for the donuts, butter for the coating instead of coconut oil. And I use regular sugar. They turned out great each time! Will be making again for sure!
WOO! I am so excited to hear that this recipe was a hit for your whole family, Lindsey. Thank you for sharing your substitutions. They sound like it worked out great. I appreciate you coming back to share your review + star rating, it means so much to me.
Can I used banana purée instead of the applesauce ?!!😅😅😊
Hi Maria – I am not sure, I think it would change the flavor of the donuts. Let me know if you give this recipe a try and how it turns out for you!
this is my second time to use this recipe, the previous attempt I chopped some apples and they didn’t soften. so this time I (using measurements from recipe )melted butter, combined the brown sugar, cinnamon, and some finally chopped sour apple (about 1/4 -1/2 cup) into a pan on simmer about 5 minutes until apples soften. then combine the dry and other wet ingredients, and gentle folded carmalized apples in to batter. omg they came out really good. I wish I could add a picture.
Ahh this is seriously the best, Janicelynn! I am so glad you gave these another try and they turned out great for you. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!