Peanut Butter Banana Protein Donuts

These Peanut Butter Banana Protein Donuts are soft, cakey and fluffy, made with almond flour and buckwheat flour, sweetened with banana and topped with a thick chocolate peanut butter glaze. They're gluten-free and dairy-free, with a vegan version included in the recipe too. These donuts are baked, not fried, and include very little refined sugar. I use vanilla plant-based protein powder, which adds a little sweet flavor, but you can use your favorite plant-based protein powder!

This post was originally published in January 2019 and has been updated with some new text, photos and helpful tips for readers. The recipe remains the same. 

Ingredients and substitutions

• Protein powder: Vanilla protein powder adds a hint of sweetness to these donuts as well as some extra protein. It's just a quarter of a cup, so it doesn't add an overpowering taste of protein powder. I use plant-based protein powder that's gluten-free and vegan. This recipe hasn't been tested with whey protein or unflavored protein powder.
• Nut butter: I used natural smooth peanut butter as I didn't want peanuts in the donuts, and I wanted the glaze to be smooth. If you use crunchy peanut butter, it will change the texture. The recipe hasn't been tested with shelf stable peanut butter, however, other natural nut butters such as almond butter, will work in this recipe.
• Almond flour: This is just finely ground blanched almonds that have the skins removed. I always have a large bag on hand for grain-free and gluten-free baking. It also adds moisture and protein to baked goods.
• Banana: Just a cup of mashed banana adds sweetness and moisture, without an overpowering flavor. Make sure your bananas are overripe as they will be sweeter and easier to mash. If you want to ripen bananas quickly, just bake them on a sheet pan at 300F for 20 minutes, or until the outer banana peel turns black.

How to make protein donuts

• Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients.
• Step 2: In a separate medium-sized bowl, add your mashed banana, peanut butter, honey, almond milk and egg, and whisk together until well combined.
• Step 3: Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until well incorporated. The batter will be thick.
• Step 4: Spoon batter into a greased 12-cavity mini donut pan and bake on 350F for 14-16 minutes.

• Steps 5 and 6: Let donuts cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Step 7 (see below): Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in the microwave and stir until smooth. Dip the top of each donut into the chocolate glaze and let any excess drip off before returning to the wire rack. Top with chopped peanuts or sprinkles.

Recipe variations

• Vegan: Replace the honey with maple syrup and use a flax egg instead of an egg. (See photo below of vegan donuts with sprinkles). 
• Almond butter: Just replace the natural peanut butter in the donuts and glaze with natural almond butter.
• Oat flour: Replace the buckwheat flour with whole-grain oat flour. You can buy it, or just blitz some oats in a food processor or blender until they're the consistency of flour. 
• Coconut flour: Omit the buckwheat flour, and use ¼ cup of coconut flour, increase the almond flour to ¾ cup and use two eggs instead of one. 

Frequently asked questions

Additional recipe tips and substitutions

• The almond flour and buckwheat flour are naturally gluten-free, so to keep these donuts gluten-free, use certified gluten-free protein powder. 
• To keep these donuts dairy-free, make sure the protein powder and dark chocolate chips are dairy-free.
• This recipe makes 12 mini-donuts that are about 3-inches in diameter. If you only have a 6-cavity pan that makes larger donuts, just increase the baking time.

More protein donut recipes

• Pumpkin Donuts with pure pumpkin, pecans and chocolate drizzle.
• Gingerbread Donuts with molasses, warming spices and dark chocolate glaze.
• Carrot Cake Donuts with walnuts, white chocolate and toasted coconut.

If you make this recipe, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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Peanut Butter Banana Protein Donuts

Protein Donuts are soft, cakey and fluffy, sweetened with banana and topped with a thick chocolate peanut butter glaze. They're also gluten-free and dairy-free!

5 from 27 votes

Print Pin

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 donuts

Author: Leanne

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup almond flour
• ▢ ½ cup buckwheat flour
• ▢ ¼ cup vanilla protein powder, (dairy-free, gluten-free)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 cup mashed banana, about 2 large overripe bananas
• ▢ ¾ cup natural smooth peanut butter, divided
• ▢ ¼ cup honey
• ▢ ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
• ▢ 1 large egg, room temperature
• ▢ ½ cup dark chocolate chips, (dairy-free)
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped raw peanuts

Instructions

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• Pre-heat oven to 350F and grease a 12-cavity mini donut pan.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, buckwheat flour, protein powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
• In a separate medium-sized bowl, add the mashed banana, ½ cup peanut butter, honey, almond milk and egg, and whisk together until well combined.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until well incorporated. The batter will be thick.
• Spoon batter into the prepared donut pan and bake for 14-16 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into a donut comes out clean.
• Let donuts cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Add chocolate chips and remaining peanut butter to a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for two 30-second intervals, stirring in between. Once heated, stir until the mixture is smooth.
• Dip the top of each donut into the chocolate peanut butter glaze and let any excess glaze drip off before returning to the wire rack. Sprinkle on the chopped peanuts.
• Transfer donuts to an airtight container and refrigerate until chocolate is set. Store in the refrigerator and enjoy within 6-7 days.

Notes

1. This recipe makes 12 mini-donuts that are about 3-inches in diameter. You can use a 6-cavity pan that makes larger donuts, just increase the baking time by a few minutes.
2. For a vegan version, replace the honey with maple syrup and use a flax egg instead of an egg.
3. To make these donuts with almond butter, just replace the peanut butter in the donuts and the glaze with almond butter.
4. For an oat flour version, replace the buckwheat flour with whole-grain oat flour.
5. To make these donuts with coconut flour, omit the buckwheat flour, and use ¼ cup of coconut flour, increase the almond flour to ¾ cup and use two eggs instead of one.

Nutrition Facts per Serving

Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 222mg | Potassium: 279mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 36IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 1mg

Disclaimer

Nutrition information is an estimate only and will vary depending on the substitutions made and the brands used.

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