You can put applesauce to delicious use in these easy Baked Apple Donuts. They’re a fun treat to share with the kids AND a healthy breakfast to serve all year long…with or without the cinnamon-sugar topping. Think Apple Cider Donuts that you can make quickly right at home!
There’s something about baking in a donut pan that really can turn basic ingredients into something super special. I love making these Apple Donuts since they are easy, are made with mostly ingredients I tend to have in the house, and totally thrill the kids.
And while these aren’t super sweet donut-shop-style donuts, they have delicious apple cinnamon flavor and are fun to serve for breakfast or snack. You can top with a little cinnamon-sugar so they taste and look more like Apple Cider Donuts too.
TIP: The easiest way to make homemade donuts is to use a donut pan. This eliminates the need for messy frying and it ensures that classic shape the kids expect.
(You may also like Pumpkin Baked Donuts, Baked Chocolate Donuts, Baked Donuts, and my Donut Muffins as more ideas donut ideas.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
The baked apple donut recipe batter mixes up in one bowl in just a few minutes and they take about 15 minutes to bake, so you can have these ready to serve in under 30 minutes. You’ll need:
- Whole-wheat flour: I like this hearty flour here as it helps the baked donuts hold their shape.
- Applesauce: You can use store-bought or homemade applesauce.
- Melted butter: I use unsalted butter in my baking so I can control the added salt.
- Milk: Whole milk or any nondairy milk will work similarly.
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Maple syrup: You can sub in honey if you prefer, though avoid it for babies under age 1.
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
TIP: You can make these dairy-free by using a neutral oil like canola and nondairy plain unsweetened milk.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the easy method involved in making this baked apple donut recipe. Scroll down to the end of the post for the full recipe.
- Preheat the oven and grease a standard donut pan with nonstick spray. Gently stir all ingredients together.
- Divide batter among the donut pan.
- Fill each donut hole to the brim.
- Bake until lightly golden brown around the edges and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly. Let cool in pan for about 2 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Serve warm.
TIP: Be sure to spray the pan well with nonstick spray, including around and on top of the hole, to ensure that they come out of the pan easily.
Frequently Asked Questions
They do if you add the optional cinnamon-sugar on top! (Though they aren’t quite as sweet as the ones you’d buy.)
If you don’t have a donut pan, you can bake these in a mini muffin tin, filling to the edge, and baking at the same temperature and timing.
They are really yummy warm out of the oven, though you can store them at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
To add a simple cinnamon-sugar topping—which is of course optional—simply brush each donut with a small amount of melted butter, then invert and rub in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. This is an easy step that plays up the Apple Cider Donut flavors.
product we love
Wilton Donut Pan
This pan bakes even, perfect donuts every time.
How to Store
You can store the baked and cooled apple donuts in an airtight container, once cooled, and reheat for about 10 seconds before serving for up to 3 days after.
Best Tips for Success
- These baked apple donuts are really yummy served warm out of the oven.
- We love them with a brush of melted butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar.
- Use smooth applesauce for a consistency close to cake donuts. (Chunky applesauce will have chunks of apples which the kids may or may not mind!)
- Gluten-free: Use a 1:1 style gluten-free flour blend.
- Dairy-free: Use a neutral oil like canola and nondairy plain unsweetened milk.
- Make a little sweeter by adding 1 tablespoon sugar to the batter.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback if you try this recipe, so please comment below to share if you try these for your kids!
Baked Apple Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons butter (melted and slightly cooled)
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon-Sugar Topping (optional
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter (melted and slightly cooled)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease a standard donut pan with nonstick spray.
- Add the egg, milk, butter, applesauce, vanilla, and maple syrup to a medium bowl. Stir well to combine. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and spoon into prepared donut pan, filling each full. (You'll use a heaping ¼ cup batter in each.)
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly.
- Let cool in pan for about 2 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
- Optional Cinnamon-Sugar Topping: Add the cinnamon and sugar to a bowl and stir to combine. Brush the top of each donut with a little butter. Invert the donut and rub gently into the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Equipment
Notes
- These are best eaten on the day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat briefly before serving after the first day if desired.
- If you don’t have a donut pan, you can bake these in a mini muffin tin, filling to the edge, and baking at the same temperature and timing.
- Gluten-free: Use a 1:1 style GF flour blend.
- Dairy-free: Use a neutral oil like canola and nondairy plain unsweetened milk.
- Use smooth applesauce for a consistency close to cake donuts. (Chunky applesauce will have chunks of apples which the kids may or may not mind!)
- To make the batter a little sweeter, add 1 tablespoon sugar.
Nutrition
This post was first published September 2017.
I made this for my 2 year old toddler yesterday, and I got to say it is sooo delicious. It is even great after a night in the fridge, that I feel I need to leave this review here. More donut recipes please, and did I mention it is made with whole wheat flour!?
Can I use something to substitute the egg?
Didn’t have whole wheat flour and used all purpose instead. The batter turned out liquid, not as thick as in the picture. The result – the batter remained wet on the inside after baking them 27 min and weren’t spongy and dry… The baking powder was fresh. Though the taste is fine.
Yes, that is not surprising as whole wheat flour and all purpose flour do not bake the same way. To substitute in all purpose flour here, you would either need to add more flour or reduce the liquid.
These are so yummy! And more importantly, my toddler loves them 🙂 will definitely be making again, they have not lasted very long lol
Can I substitute shredded apple for the apple sauce? We have a lot of apples at our house right now (yay apple picking season!)
Yes, I think so, but you might need a splash of milk if the batter is very thick. Enjoy!
I made these for my daughter who has many allergies. They were so delicious that we devoured them asap. I subbed the egg for flax seed egg, the butter for coconut oil and did oat milk with GF 1:1 flour.
Gluten free flour question. I know there is all purpose GF that can be substituted. But how would buckwheat work? Does it count as 1:1?
It doesn’t count as a 1:1, that means a gluten free all purpose mix that is formulated to be a replacement for wheat flour. Buckwheat can often be used in place of whole wheat flour, but almost always you need to reduce the amount slightly or add more liquid since it is a thirstier flour (the baked goods may turn out dry if you don’t adjust)
These are soo good! My whole family loved them. I didn’t have apple sauce so I used some of the snack packets the kids had with banana, butternut squash, oatmeal and raisins in them and they still slapped. Thank you!
Just made these for breakfast with toddler this morning. Delicious! So happy it is very low in sugar too. Thank you for sharing!
Can I bake these in the air fryer? Thanks!
You probably can but I haven’t tested them that way so I can’t say for sure what the timing or temp needs to be.
Can these be made in an electric donut maker ? Do they freeze well?
I would think so and yes they can be frozen once they are cooled fully
I made these this morning and I’ve already eaten 2.5 of them lol. I did add the extra tbsp of sugar and I used a pumpkin spice flavored applesauce. I also did 50% white flour and 50% whole wheat. They turned out delicious – slightly chewy texture which I enjoyed and a healthier breakfast treat than traditional donuts. I think I will make these again.
Love how easy is to make and my daughter love them!
Freezeable?
Yes!
If we freeze should we defrost then heat up? And does freezing with the sugar on top fine?
How long would you bake in oven when using a mini donut pan?
I think about 10 minutes.
Like all of your recipes, my boys inhaled these! My picky eater survives on your muffin, and now donut, recipes! So so good!
Hi,
Is it fine if we make these donuts in tefL snack collection donuts maker instead of oven? Or is it strictly for oven ?
Thanks
Reema
I haven’t tested them that way but I don’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work. Enjoy!
These are the easiest donuts. My toddler goes through phases where she will only eat baked goods that are donut shaped, so these are a hit!
I often replace the applesauce with mashed overripe bananas. Toddler usually puts a few chocolate or peanut butter chips in them (she just sprinkles them right over the batter on the pan and I poke them in gently before baking).
Has anyone tried substituting kodiak cake mix for the flour?
Hello, can i substitute Yogurt for apple sauce? I dont have applesauce at home. Thank you!
I think that would work, though you’ll lose some of the flavor and sweetness.
Would substituting regular flour for the whole wheat flour make a big difference? Maybe I should keep it on hand but I just don’t…
Thanks so much for your help and all the recipes!! They’re always so great 🙂
I think I’d add 2 extra tbsp of the ap flour to make sure they aren’t too moist in the middle. Let me know how it goes and you’re so welcome!
I’m not sure what I did wrong or whether I should have baked it for longer but the the consistency of the doughnut seemed abit like dense and not fluffy. I used mini muffin trays and baked it for about 18mins. It was browning around the edges and stick came out clean. Does the recipe need bicarb?
There is baking powder in the recipe. Did you add that?
Yes, I added the baking powder.
I made these today and they were absolutely delicious! My oldest daughter doesn’t like cinnamon, so they weren’t her favourite, but my youngest daughter devoured a whole one of these in minutes! I am going to try the chocolate mint ones next!
These are so good! I puréed some fresh apple we just picked and made them as muffins and the whole fam loved them! I added cinn & sugar for the adults and left plain for 1 yr old and she loved them! Thank you for the yummy and easy recipe!
I am so glad to hear that!
How long would the bake time be in a mini donut pan?
I would guess 10-12 minutes in a mini donut pan.
Such an easy recipe to make and so delicious! I have made them twice now using a muffin tin, I just let them cook a minute or 2 longer.
What else can be used to substitute the maple syrup besides honey? Brown sugar alone? We don’t use maple syrup or honey very often so I’m always left with bottles of it sitting around when I bake!
So delicious! I used half white and half wheat flour.
I’m so glad to hear it!
Hey how important is whole milk? I only have 2% but I really want to try these, I just got myself a donut pan at Target specifically because you posted this lolololol! I’m hoping for a bright future of homemade baked donuts!
2% will work just fine! Enjoy them!!
Can I use the applesauce and add some small chopped fresh apple too? Or will that mess with the moisture too much?
Yes, I bet you could, I just wouldn’t add too much and try to dice the apple pieces pretty small.
Came out incredibly fluffy! I dipped them in melted butter then cinnamon sugar, very good, will do again.
Please help me figure out what I’m doing wrong- I tried making these twice and I can’t really get them out of my donut pans. I sprayed them before I made the donuts. I used a little spatula to get the edges loose (not around the center though), and when they finally came out, they were in crumb-pieces and not an in-tact donut. They seem great and I wish mine looked great too. We will eat them in the morning so I don’t know about taste yet. Thank you!!
I’m really not sure other than being sure to spray them more and be sure to coat the center of each round? I use classic Pam, which is usually very reliable for helping things to not stick.
Ooh, I might not have sprayed the middle enough. I used Pam too. Thank you! One more question too- I used almond flour, do you think that affected it? They were kind of sad looking and the consistency was strange. I know almond flour is a 1:1 ratio though so I thought that would be fine. The taste was AWESOME by the way 🙂 🙂
Ah, it’s the almond flour. It is actually not a good substitute for regular flour as it absorbs liquid in a completely different way. I’m glad they taste good though!
That’s definitely good to know, thanks! It’s a bummer though- if I wanted to use a more wholesome alternative to regular or whole wheat flour, do you know if coconut flour would absorb it better than almond? I appreciate your insights. And yes they were fantastic, definitely making again!
Coconut would likely turn out way too dry if you didn’t make any other adjustment. Neither almond or coconut flours are good for swapping in 1:1 for regular flours since they work really differently. I haven’t experimented with this recipe with them so I’m not sure exactly how it might work. Let me know if you figure something out though!
I absolutely will, thanks again! I follow you on Instagram and love your content and so many of your recipes 🙂
I’m so glad!
SHOOT, I wish I had read the comments before baking! I did almond flour and omg what a raw mess. Going to try again with regular unhealthy flour. 🙂
Yeah, almond flour is not a good straight substitute for wheat flour in most baking recipes. (And with the rest of the mix of ingredients, these are plenty nutritious. No need to worry about the flour!)
I was wondering what else to add to this recipe. Can I increase the maple syrup? The feedback I got is that they are bland.
You could add a tablespoon or two of sugar, additional cinnamon, a pinch of salt…
I use a homemade spiced applesauce and they come out very tasty!
What would be the best way to make these egg-free?
I haven’t tried this so I can’t say for sure, but I would omit the egg, add 1/4 cup additional milk and add 1 teaspoon baking soda (in addition to the powder). That is usually a great alternative. Let me know if you try it!
Hi! Love your recipes! Was just wondering if you meant to add the “or” after the amount of whole wheat flour in the list of ingredients??
Oh sorry, I meant to reference that you can do oat flour with flaxseed as an option. Will fix that, thanks!
Can you make this in a mini donut maker like the baby cakes do it maker?
Can you freeze them?
Yes. Let them cool fully and freeze in airtight freezer bags with as much air removed as possible. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temp or in the fridge or very briefly in the microwave.
This is probably obvious, but I’m a newb, lol – sweetened or unsweetened applesauce?
I use unsweetened but either will work!
Thank you!
Can the maple syrup be substituted with honey? If so, would it be the same measurement ?
Yes, the same!