Unbelievably soft, incredibly tasty and just 0.5g net carb a pop! Whether you glaze them up or roll them in cinnamon ‘sugar’, these are *the* tastiest gluten free and keto donut holes you’ll ever make- guaranteed!
Gluten Free & Keto Donut Holes
Baked (Or Fried!)
I truly believe my original keto donuts are one of the closest recipes on the site to the real deal (and most of you agree!). I repeat, they’re just sooo unbelievably soft, totally airy and tender… all in all, next level delicious guys!
But, I also know many of you have had problems with the original recipe deflating post bake. Reading through the comments is a combination of “these are the best keto donuts ever” and “can’t believe how close they taste to actual donuts!”… to “mine deflated and I want to kill you…!” (literally lol!).
So over the past couple months I’ve been testing out the recipe (and ‘messing it up’ on purpose!) to see where some of you guys could’ve gone wrong and make it fool-proof with more tips and tricks. Be sure to check out the section on ‘top tips for success’ for the full deets!
Oh! And you can also pretty much do your topping of choice. I love a good glaze, but brushing them with melted butter and sprinkling with cinnamon ‘sugar’ is also sooo delicious too… and I’m fairly certain a raspberry jam filling is going to be bonkers here too!
The Method
The batter for these keto donut holes is essentially a choux pastry (used to make anything from eclairs to gougeres). But this is just a fancy way of saying that you first boil together water with sugar, butter (or coconut oil) and salt. Adding in the flour and cooking it until it forms into a ball. And step three, mixing in the eggs off the stove. I also add a bit of baking powder at the end for extra rise!
Now, when you mix in the eggs the dough will be very stiff, and given that we’re also adding in baking powder, the job is best done with a hand-mixer here. The final dough should be very elastic (courtesy of the eggs and xanthan gum).
For the shaping you’ll need a pastry bag (disposable ones are terrific) or simply use a thick plastic bag. You don’t need a tip here!
Now, you can either do them ‘free form’ on a baking mat (or parchment paper!) or actually procure a donut hole pan. Just keep in mind that if you do them on a baking tray the bottoms will be flat (obviously right?!).
Top Tips For Success!!
As many of you seasoned bakers know, choux pastry is light, absolutely delicious and honestly very easy… but it is a bit finicky and known to deflate under certain circumstances, so be sure to check out these tips!
- The most common reason for deflating choux pastry is excess liquid. This can come in the form of too large eggs (just try using 2 rather than 3!), be sure you’re cooking your dough long enough that it actually forms into a ball (see video), and make sure your oven is calibrated to the correct temperature (or just get a cheap oven thermometer- like most pros do anyways!).
- You also want to be sure your dough is below 125°F/52°C before beating in the eggs. It can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your room temperature. Otherwise you could be curdling your first egg (or two), leading to a lack of structure = deflating donuts.
- Allow your final choux dough to come to room temperature before transferring to a piping bag. I’ve come to realize this is a very important step to keep your donut (holes) from deflating post bake; the donuts will rise a bit less but hold their shape great.
- And last, but not least, be gentle! Refrain from opening your oven for the first 20 minutes… and if possible don’t open it at all! Definitely be careful to not slam your oven door (I know mine has a tendency to do that), and be gentle when taking them out of the oven. Don’t have your A/C blasting, keep doors closed, etc… i.e. ensure there are no drafts!
What to do if yours deflate?! Turn them into French toast (for real!). During my latest experiments to see what was causing the pastry to deflate, I ended up with a lot of ‘mistakes’… and it turns out that they make the most delicious French toast bites ever (and you’ll come back raving about it either way lol!).
The Flours
I like a mixture of super fine almond flour (Anthony’s is awesome) and coconut flour (again Anthony’s, best taste and texture by a mile!). Add a touch of psyllium husk powder and xanthan gum, and we’re golden.
Borrowed from molecular cooking, xanthan gum is the binding agent which makes your toothpaste jelly-like (and your cream cheese, well cream cheese-like). And it’s also the most common gluten-replacer in gluten free baking. And there’s absolutely no skipping it here!
In all honesty, no substituting anything here. You really do need the full combo of grain free flours to get the choux just right.
The Sweetener
This choux pastry to make the donut holes is very lightly sweetened (and fairly bland solo), think just a couple tablespoons. But this is really to accommodate for the glaze or topping of choice.
So to sweeten the keto choux pastry itself you can use anything from erythritol (Lakanto is my fav here), allulose and xylitol (non-corn though to avoid tummy troubles!) . So you’ve got options!
And if just grain free, coconut sugar is your best bet here. And of course, raw sugar works great too.
If you’re opting for the glaze, which comes highly suggested, you can use any of the sweeteners from above- but they must be powdered.
So get your blender out, make sure it’s completely dry, and process your sweetener of choice until powdered. Just make sure you wait a few moments for the dust to settle before opening the blender or food processor.
Or you can always grab a bag of Powdered Lakanto (just keep in mind its twice as sweet).
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 🐕
Looking for more recipes with our keto choux pastry?! Be sure to check out my legit fried churros, chocolate donuts and (extra fluffy!!) waffles!
And… the video story!
(1/2g net carb!) Baked Keto Donut Holes
Ingredients
For the keto donut holes
- 64 g almond flour
- 28 g coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk very finely ground
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 240 ml water
- 57 g grass-fed unsalted butter or coconut oil/ghee
- 3 tablespoons erythritol or xylitol*
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered erythritol or powdered sweetener
- 1 teaspoon heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- water as needed (about 1 tablespoon)
For the cinnamon 'sugar' coating
Special equipment
- pastry bag or plastic bag
- donut hole pan optional
Instructions
- See recipe video for guidance!
- Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C. Grease and flour (with coconut flour) a donut hole pan. Alternatively, line a baking tray with parchment paper or a baking mat (see reference pictures in post).
- Whisk together in a medium bowl almond flour, coconut flour, psyllium husk and xanthan gum. Set aside.
- Heat up water, butter, sweetener and salt in medium pot (or Dutch oven) until it just begins to simmer. Lower heat to low and add in flour mixture, mixing constantly to incorporate. Continue to cook and stir until the dough pulls away from the pan and forms into a ball, 1-3 minutes.
- Transfer dough back to the bowl and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. The dough should still be warm, but not hot enough to scramble the eggs. And if you have an instant thermometer, temperature should be below 125°F/52°C.
- Add in one egg at a time, mixing with an electric mixer at medium/high speed until fully incorporated (if using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment). Be sure to mix the dough for 2 minutes after adding in the last egg; the final texture should be very elastic. Mix in vanilla extract and baking powder. .
- Allow the dough to rest until it comes to room temperature (about 15-20 minutes). I've come to realize this is a very important step to keep your donut (holes) from deflating post bake; the donuts will rise a bit less but hold their shape.
- Spoon dough into a piping bag or plastic bag (no tip needed). Cut out bottom of piping bag 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) wide. Pipe out dough onto donut hole pan, or onto prepared parchment paper. Wet your finger tip slightly and smooth out the top (for a more even rise).
- Bake for 15 minutes at 425°F/220°C, lower temperature to 350°F/180°C and continue to bake for 17-20 minutes until deep golden. Do not open your oven door before the first 20 minutes (or at all if possible!), as choux pastry is notoriously sensitive to drafts. Allow to rest in pan for 10 minutes before removing.
For the glaze (or coating!)
- Sift powdered sweetener onto a bowl. Whisk in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and water (a teaspoon at a time!) until desired consistency is reached. The glaze should be thick, but pourable (I like to use my fingertip here to test for thickness!).
- Alternatively, feel free to brush with melted butter and roll in the cinnamon 'sugar'.
- These are best enjoyed still warm and freshly glazed, but they keep quite well for a day or two stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- The most common reason for deflating choux pastry is excess liquid. This can come in the form of too large eggs (just try using 2 rather than 3!), be sure you're cooking your dough long enough that it actually forms into a ball (see video), and make sure your oven is calibrated to the correct temperature (or just get a cheap oven thermometer- like most pros do anyways!).
- You also want to be sure your dough is below 125°F/52°C before beating in the eggs. It can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your room temperature. Otherwise you could be curdling your first egg (or two), leading to a lack of structure = deflating donuts.
- Allow your final choux dough to come to room temperature before transferring to a piping bag. I've come to realize this is a very important step to keep your donut (holes) from deflating post bake; the donuts will rise a bit less but hold their shape great.
- And last, but not least, be gentle! Refrain from opening your oven for the first 20 minutes... and if possible don't open it at all! Definitely be careful to not slam your oven door (I know mine has a tendency to do that), and be gentle when taking them out of the oven. Don't have your A/C blasting, keep doors closed, etc... i.e. ensure there are no drafts!
I really want to try this but My daughter is allergic to almonds. Can I just use coconut flour? How much do I substitute? Thanks.
You can’t sub coconut for almond flour (or any other flour, for that matter). Coconut flour behaves completely different than most other flours. If you want a really good, non-nut sub for almond flour, try tigernut flour (tigernuts are actually tubers). It subs 1-1.
These turned out perfect. I rarely find a recipe that turns out looking just like the picture and also tastes amazing. These donuts taste just like donuts. Thank you!
I think you can use ground sunflower seeds (1:1 ratio) if you don’t mind the greyish greenish colour 🙂
These were amazing!!!! Wonderful instructions laid out and easy to make. Thank you so much for making this recipe free.
I made it but it was a little slimy from the egg. Is there something that I did wrong?
It seems like the cooking times are off. The color was almost “deep golden” after the first 20 min on 425 degrees. After 17 min at 350 they were inedible. Any suggestions for figuring out when they are done, if these times are too long?
When I went to make these I realized I was out of coconut flour, so I substituted an equal amount of unflavored whey protein powder. They came out fabulous AND it brought down the carb count!!
Hi Paola,
Thank you for doing all the hard work you do to give us so many delicious recipes!
Like all of your other recipes, this one sounds amazing. I’m going to give it a try this morning.
I had to start by checking the timing to be sure I have enough of that before I start. ;-).
I think the timing needs to be corrected. It doesn’t quite add up.
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 35 MINUTES
RESTING TIME: 15 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 40 MINUTES
Genius! Srumptious! Never thought I’d eat a dessert that was actually light again. Thank you. Heeding the warning about two much liquid, I used two eggs & it came out perfectly. Eagerly waiting for an éclair recipe.
You’ve done it again Paola! These are amazing! I’ve been following you since my husband has been on the keto lifestyle for a year. Every single recipe I’ve tried has been the best! It all started with your carrot cake cupcakes!
You say to view the video, but I can’t seem to find one on the page. Even the link at the top “Jump to Video” just takes you to the place in the recipe, but it isn’t a link. You should make sure that when you refer to seeing a video that you make that a link to the video.
Hello, I would like to know what type of mold you use to get round donuts! Do you have the silicone mold? Does it have a silicone lid or not? Thank you!
Hi Paola,
Can you please check the video as I can’t seem to get it working. It doesn’t show. I have tried 3 different browsers. I am looking forward to making these beauties!!
Seems the issue was with my adblocker. Unfortunately the video wants all the ads to be shown to see it
AMAZING!!!! My teen son who hates keto and blahs everything w/o trying LOVES them so does my T1D daughter. Followed recipe exactly and they came out fluffy. Thank you!!!!
Hi!
Thank you for your impressive and thoughtful recipe posts!
Looking forward to make these asap.. just a question to clarify; when it comes to turning off the oven and letting them rest. Do you mean outside of the oven? Or leave them in to settle undisturbed?
Is there something I can sub for psyllium husk? I hate to purchase a ton when I just need a wee bit to try the recipe.
I was also debating whether to sub it with ground chia seeds but decided to get the psyllium husk since I didn’t want to risk not successfully finishing the recipe. I got mine in capsules in the health/wellness aisle at target for under $5. Hope that helps!
I just did this with golden flaxseed meal that I ground to oblivion in a coffee grinder because I didn’t have any psyllium (#quarantinebaking). I did have to cook the dough longer before adding the eggs (probably 5-6 minutes total) and used slightly less egg, but they came out super puffy and incredible!
Curious if anyone has tried in an electric donut hole maker. Also, would this make a good regular style donut? Of course when my new BabyCakes treat maker comes in I’ll be sure to try and report back 😉
These are fantastic! My husband has been on keto for more than two years and I’ve made a lot of keto desserts for him and experimented with a lot of different recipes. These are easily some of the best keto pastries I’ve ever made. They’re so light and fluffy that even my husband noticed their texture and was surprised (normally he eats anything I make and tells me it’s delicious, this time he actually went “wow, so fluffy” as soon as he bit into one)! They’re not too difficult to make either, so I’ll definitely be making these again! Thank you for the recipe!
Just tried this recipe and did not deviate from it. Wasnt wild about them. The glaze is super sweet
Please check that your sweetener isn’t 2:1 to sugar. Otherwise your keto taste buds maybe adapted and you just need to add less sweetener to your glaze- sweeten to taste sorta thing 😉 xo!
Could I please ask when using a kitchen aide stand mixer you say use paddle attachment to mix. I only have the whisk and dough hook. The dough hook works really well making keto bagels. I don’t have a hand mixer. Thank you for all your wonderful hard work
Kind regards JOAN 🤗
I’d just not say that the person that criticised the carb count on your recipe was very unkind to you! I have not tried to make them yet but have read all the reviews and it’s apparent to me that they are amazing donut holes that everybody adores so I think it’s pretty poor of someone to put you down especially when you go to so much trouble to get recipes here free to people who are seeking an and alternative Keto friendly food that is delicious and sweet like we all missed went on Keto. I’m certainly going to try your recipes and I thank you for going to all the trouble of even trying to mess them up to see where people are going wrong! To me that is an amazing and unselfish acts to help us people get the delicious recipes we are looking for completely free. I’d like to thank you for all your hard work and effort‘s and I am sure when I try the recipes I will agree with the other readers how delicious they are so please keep them coming as I would really appreciate trying then as I’m new to this. I’m just sorry you were hurt by those comments that were very unnecessary and keep up the good work because you’re doing a great job and never let people put you down because it’s really them who are the ones that have the problem not you. Thank you again and I look forward to trying all your recipes. Joan🤗
I have been low carb for many years and have tried many cookbooks, read many blogs and tried many recipes. Some a success and some not. Some time ago, I stumbled on one of your recipes, found my way to your site and boy am I happy I did! When I use your recipes I have had the most success ever!!! I appreciate all your efforts, all the info you provide us, and I for one (if many I’m sure) am loving all the recipes you pass on to us! Thank you, thank you Paola!!!
Loved these, made for a picnic for tomorrow, and was really dubious about how they’d come out (I’m new to low-carb baking 🙈). But they are delicious, I’m having to try really hard to not eat them all before tomorrow when hopefully they’ll still be nice, although I’m sure nothing beats fresh from the oven.
Mine have come out at the same calorie count as yours but my carb count is higher (2.5 per donut) but as you’ve said in a response to a previous commenter that’s probably the sugar alchohol, as I said I’m new to all this so finding my way.
Will definitely be making these again!
Thank you!
Omg! These are amazeballs!! I made them today and “air fried” half the batch and put the other 1/2 in the oven. They were both DELICIOUS! But the air fried ones were puffier and didn’t deflate any! I will be making the waffles tomorrow! Your recipes are amazing! I have both ebooks and I swear I am your biggest fan. Keep the recipes coming! Thanks
WAIT WHAAAAT?!!! I feel like its finally time for me to get an air fryer lol! Thanks so much for reporting back (and for your support!) it honestly means the world 🙂
Same temp and times for the air fryer!?
Please do tell!!! I want to know too!
I have an air fryer oven and it only goes to 400 but other than that—I did the same time and then exactly like the recipe. Make sure you change rack positions about halfway thru if you have an oven, because the top ones get browner faster. Again, thanks for the FANTASTIC recipes. 🙂
I attempted these yesterday. We live in Phoenix and yesterday was extremely hot so of course we had the ac in overdrive. First off, thank you Paola for sharing this with all of us! I followed the instructions to a T and when adding one egg at a time I noticed my dough was still a little wet. I knew if I tried to make donut holes it would not have kept its shape. Thankfully o have a silicone donut pan and took a chance and used my dough for donuts instead. I used the same cooking time and temps while I whipped up the glaze. They turned out soft and delicious and were an absolute hit with my family (my brother in law inhaled 3 donuts ☺️). Any advice on the dough besides reducing the eggs? Thank you!
Hola Paola!
Suggestion: Add 2 teaspoons of Speculoos spices blend. OH DEAR! SOOO GOOD
These holes came out AMAZING although the donuts didn’t go that well. But to be fair, the cinnamon sugar fixes everything xd
Thanks again for these amazing recipes <3
I made these with the same EXACT ingredients and using a very well known commercial business nutritional label app, this does not come out to .5 net carbs. It comes out to 2.5 net carbs each donut hole. Why such a discrepancy? This is not the first of your recipes to come out like this. It is very troublesome for those who are trying to stay within macros when the information is not accurate-how are we to know?
Hi Diane! Please refrain from ‘hinting’ anything shady of this sort- clearly not appreciated, particularly when all the content is free for you guys and I do my absolute best!
We also use a professional app (and even then things can go wrong, see the pad Thai!). But our choux batter has been around for a while and the nutritional info has been verified by plenty of readers.
Most likely scenario? You’re counting in the sugar alcohol as regular carbs.
Xo and take that attitude somewhere else pls! The internet is big enough that if you don’t like the vibe here, you can simply browse elsewhere 😉
Wow! kind of shocking you would respond to a concerned reader in such a way. I’ve never seen anything like your curt response.
Hi Mara!! She was clearly hinting that I do dodgy math and I’m not transparent with carb counts at gnom-gnom… that’s really not appreciated (obviously!) when I bend over backwards to create content that truly works for you guys for free 😉
Plenty of you get different carb counts and we discuss them (ALL the time!), it’s the hinting of dishonesty which is not cool xo!
And seriously, anyone who needs to keep track of macros but can’t be bothered to educate themselves on what to count and what not to count or to do their own tallying doesn’t really have any right to complain.
Changes in ingredient amounts, substitutions, and tweaks can all change the macros of the final result. Get a macro tracking app of some sort if you don’t already have one and plug things in for yourself.
Paola does her best, but we’re all ultimately responsible for knowing what we’re putting in our own mouths. The insinuation that she’s somehow being dishonest with us is right out of line.
Thank you Andra 🥰
Bob’s red mill almond flour net carb is 4. Kirkland almond flour net carb is 2. So based on what Paola got as a net carb is correct based on the brand she used. So if you are not sure of the net carbs in your ingredients, just use an app to figure it out. I use an app to calculate cause I know we’re not all using the exact brands.
Thanks Paola for this recipe. Will be trying this tomorrow. I just hope it’s not eggy in taste. So tired of eggy things, it gets me nauseous now 😞
Make sure when you are baking with eggs you bring the eggs to room temperature! It helps with the eggy taste!
Paola, you are a queen! Can’t wait to try this. Do you see a problem with me using a small disher/ scoop to portion the donut holes? Seems like it would give a more consistent size when not using a donut pan.
Do you think it’s possible to create keto French crullers? Sour cream old fashioned donuts? If you can’t tell, I’m crazy about donuts lolol
PAOLA THESE ARE UNBELIEVABLE YOU’RE A GENIUS!!! I only wished I had doubled the batch because the kids gobbled them up in seconds! Absolutely no one questioned they weren’t real donuts 🙂 THANK YOU!
Emily no way how awesome to hear!!! I always say this, but kiddo approval is everything 😅 (my assistant has a little one and I’m always like…. “did he like it? 😬🤣!”)
I’m not the only person here who wishes you videotaped all your “mistakes” and published it to YouTube!
DEAD!! 🤣 we’ve actually been talking about doing a video with all the bloopers (the behind the scenes can get pretty ridiculous!) BUT I think we might need to use your idea for future ‘how (not!) tos’ lol
Hi, and thank you for the fantastic recipes. I recently made your churros and they were awesome🙌🏼. Do you think these could be made in an electric cake pop maker?
Can one use freshly ground flax seed instead of psyllium?
Yes, but just a heads up that they do come out fluffier and softer with psyllium (so an imperfect sub!) xo!
Have you experimented with frying them? I’ve been craving deep fried donut holes for weeks.
I swear that these taste quite like fried donuts even though they’re baked (fluffy soft texture!)… BUT you can also definitely fry them Jen! Check out the keto churros post for more details (those use one less egg and have some added cheese for crispness) xo!!
Can’t wait to try these! I’m going to get that pan just so they look as authentic as your pictures show. Amazing!!! 😍
I’m impressed by how the glaze dried. That must’ve taken quite a while.
They took aaaages! I also forgot to add in the post that the glaze dries only if you use Erythritol (or at least I didn’t wait long enough with allulose 😅!).
I hope you enjoy Lisa!! Xo!
Thank you for the awesome recipes. Do you think these could me made in an electric cake pop maker?
I’ve got that one bookmarked too. Haha I LOVE your recipes. You’re always my first stop to check for a recipe when I have a craving. Thanks for all you do to give us so many great recipes.
Can these be frozen and larer sefrosted?