Baked Apple Cider Donuts
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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.
Nothing says fall like warm baked apple cider donuts. Isaac and I love apple picking at Carter Mountain each year, and we always grab a donut while we are there.
This lighter, baked version brings that orchard vibe home with real apple cider, cozy spices and a cinnamon sugar finish. They come out soft and cakey with big apple flavor, and you do not need any frying to get that classic taste.
Why I Love These Donuts
When I set out to make a lighter apple cider donut, this is the version that checked every box and still tastes like a treat.
- Make ahead friendly: They stay soft the next day and freeze well. Warm one for a few seconds and it tastes freshly baked.
- Nourishing ingredients: Whole wheat pastry flour, coconut sugar and applesauce replace the usual white flour, brown sugar and lots of butter. A little Greek yogurt keeps the crumb soft and tender.
- Simple bake: Mix the batter, spoon or pipe it into a donut pan and bake. They are ready in about 10 to 12 minutes with no frying required.
- Warm cinnamon sugar finish: Coat the donuts while they are still warm so the sugar sticks and you get that classic orchard vibe.
Ingredients Needed
- 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 grocery stores carry it as well.
- unsweetened apple sauce – any kind works great. 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.
- 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 – a light brush of melted coconut oil or butter, then organic cane sugar and cinnamon for the classic finish.
Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
Substitutions
- Flour swap: 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.
- Yogurt: I’ve only tested this recipe with Greek yogurt, but readers have had success swapping in non-dairy yogurt. If you want to try it, my favorite brand is Culina coconut yogurt. A few readers have also used sour cream and said it worked well.
How to Make Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Once you have your materials, you’re ready to get started and to be honest, making baked donuts is really similar to making muffins.
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Step 2: In another bowl, whisk the apple cider, applesauce, coconut sugar, yogurt, oil and egg until smooth.
Step 3: Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined.
Step 4: Pipe or spoon the batter into greased donut pans and bake at 350°F for 6–8 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Step 5: Let cool for 2 minutes, then brush each donut with melted coconut oil.
Step 6: Dip brushed donuts in the cinnamon sugar mixture until fully coated, then enjoy warm.
Tips for the Best Donuts
- Piping the batter: A large icing piping tip makes filling the donut pan neat and easy, but it’s not required. You can also spoon the batter in and shake the pan gently to even it out.
- Let them rest: Give the donuts 5 minutes to cool in the pan before removing so they don’t break apart.
- No 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.
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
- Chocolate Frosted Baked Donuts (Entenmann’s Copycat)
- Protein Donuts
- Coconut Crunch Donuts (Hostess Copycat)
- Pumpkin Spice Donuts
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy 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.
Video
Notes
- Donut pan needed: To get that classic donut shape you will need a donut pan. They are inexpensive and easy to find. I recommend the Wilton non-stick pans which you can grab online for less than $15.
- Storage: These donuts taste best the day they are baked, but you can keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
- Make ahead: If you want to prep ahead for brunch or the holidays, bake the donuts the day before and store them plain. Coat them in cinnamon sugar right before serving so they stay fresh and perfectly coated.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
Absolutely delicious and the vegan modifications worked great!
Yay! That makes me happy to hear, Claire. Thanks for trying these donuts. I appreciate it. 🙂
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!
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
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!
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.
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. 🙂
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.
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. 🙂
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.
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. 🙂