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!
Hi!!
These look great!! could you use a mini muffin pan?
Thanks!!!
Absolutely Patti!
These donut holes are awesome! I had to substitute flours because I’m allergic to almonds and coconut. I used hazelnut instead of the almond flour and buckwheat instead of the coconut flour. I’m also allergic to chicken eggs so I used 2 duck eggs. Other than that I followed your directions exactly. They turned out beautifully! Light, airy, chewy and delicious! I think I will be making these a lot!!
How would you make chocolate glazed donut holes? Thx
These look incredible!!!
I noticed up at the top of the recipe you said fried! Do you think you could put them in a deep frier? Or would it completely mess them up? 😭
It should work Mel (but I haven’t tried!), so can’t give you exact directions. Air fryers are literally small convection ovens, I’m just not sure about exact timing. Do report back if you decide to experiment! xo!
How many carbs should I add to the .5 to figure in the glaze?
Hi, thank you so much for these. I used to crave donuts so much post keto. Now I can indulge in these babies Aaand still be in ketosis is just remarkable! I followed all the tips and details, only difference is I used an electric baker. I bought it especially for these recipes. I made the larger donuts and those came out great as well. My husband and kids ate them right up. My husband was like, “Are you sure these are keto?” You’re amazing!
This recipe is Amazing! You are more Amazing! Thank you for going before us to perfect these recipes! These donut holes are delicious! I’ve made them twice now anD perfect every time!