Grain Free Chocolate Donuts Recipe - Simply So Healthy (2024)

This easy recipe makes Low Carb Chocolate Donuts that are keto friendly and grain-free, but still tender and tasty. They make the perfect chocolate treat for people on low-carb or gluten free diets. I may be biased, but I think this may be the best keto chocolate donut recipe on the web.

(I’m updating this post to add additional information and process photos. This post was originally published on June 27th, 2017.)

The recipe for our Keto-Friendly, Low Carb Chocolate Donuts

I love chocolate! I mean, I really love chocolate! One of the best things about chocolate, other than the addictive taste, of course, is that it is loaded with antioxidants. It also packs a healthy punch of magnesium.

What is better than plain chocolate? Chocolate donuts, of course! These donuts have rich chocolate flavor and a spongy texture. I love having some in the fridge for a grab-and-go breakfast or snack. Because these donuts travel well, I almost always make them before I go on a road trip. It’s hard to find low-carb snacks on the road, so I pile these in a tin and take them along in a cooler.

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Does it make sense to purchase a donut pan?

One thing that kept me from making donuts for so long is that they require a special pan. I hesitated to purchase donut pans, partly because I thought the donuts would seem fake-like a cupcake masquerading as a donut.

I also have limited storage in my kitchen, so I like everything in my kitchen to have more than one purpose. Donut pans, well, they are only good for making donuts. Finally, an intense longing for chocolate donuts changed my mind and I purchased a two pack of these pans.

I don’t regret the purchase one bit. The donuts look beautiful on both sides-like a, well, a donut. The donut pans found a home among my versatile cookie sheets and I find I use them frequently. Since I developed this recipe, I make these donuts at least once a week. They are fast, easy and tasty–perfect for even weekday mornings! Who knows, maybe I’ll find an additional use for the donut pans. Bagels, anyone?

How to serve keto friendly, Low Carb Chocolate Donuts

While these donuts can be served by themselves, I like to jazz them up a bit. I like to glaze them with my low carb hot fudge sauce. You just can’t beat chocolate drizzled over chocolate.

If you want to make them even more decadent, you can add some shredded coconut or chocolate chips over the fudge goodness.

If you prefer a contrasting glaze, you might want to check out this sugar free glaze from Foodaciously.Another option for a topping is myOrange Scented Low-Carb Glaze. This glaze is a dairy-free/Paleo option.

If you’re short on time, but still want to add a special touch, a dusting of powdered sweetener is the way to go. To do this, simply put a bit of powdered sweetener in a fine mesh strainer and sprinkle a dusting of sweet snow over top. A tea strainer works great for this.

What sweetener should I use for these keto-friendly chocolate donuts?

I have tested this recipe with two sweeteners, a granulated sweetener made with erythritol and stevia. This sweetener is twice as sweet as sugar and is called Pyure stevia blend. This is the sweetener I used when developing the recipe and it works quite well. I found the donuts to be nicely sweetened and had no issues with baking them.

I also tested this recipe using allulose. This sweetener is fairly new, but has clean taste and no aftertaste. It is actually less sweet than sugar, so when I used the allulose, I doubled the amount that I used when I used Pyure.

When I used allulose, the batter for the donuts was a bit more runny and the donuts rose more in the oven. They did not overflow the pan, but they did cover part of the center of the donuts, giving them a smaller donut hole.

The final low carb chocolate donut made with allulose was a slightly less sweet donut, with a very tender crumb. The crumb is so tender, in fact, that if you use allulose in this recipe, you will want to allow the donuts to cool at least 15-20 minutes before removing from the pan. I used a plastic spoon to loosen them without damaging the coating on the pan.

I have not tried other sweeteners with this recipe yet. If you decide to try a sweetener that has the same sweetness as sugar, you will need to use more of it (twice the amount of the Pyure baking blend) to get the same sweetness level.

The increased amount of sweetener may change the consistency–especially if it is an erythritol-based sweetener. Erythritol is not as soluble as table sugar or allulose and if large amounts of it are used in a baking recipe, it may result in a baked good with a “gritty” texture.

Final words about our Keto-Friendly Chocolate Donuts

These chocolate donuts are an easy way to bring chocolate to the breakfast table. They also make an easy snack and can be made ahead and frozen. Enjoy!

Annissa