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Baked pumpkin spice donuts are the ultimate fall treat. Soft, moist, and packed with warm pumpkin spice flavors, these baked pumpkin donuts are perfect for breakfast, a cozy snack, or even paired with your favorite pumpkin spice latte made with this pumpkin spice latte syrup!
Quick Look: Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
- 🍩 What it is: Baked pumpkin donuts in a large donut pan, brushed with butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar.
- ⭐ Why it works: Made in a large enough silicone donut mold to create those donut shop looking donuts even when baked.
- 💛 Why you’ll love it: Baked, not fried. One bowl, a piping bag, no oil to heat or throw out.
- ⚠️ What to watch for: Stir only until combined. Overmixed batter bakes dense instead of fluffy.
- 🍳 Pan notes: The large donut pan is what makes them look like the photos. A mini pan works, just bake less.
- ❄️ Make ahead: Best the same day. To keep them, store uncoated and add the cinnamon sugar before serving.
Let’s Chit Chat!
Nothing makes me happier than the smell of fresh homemade pumpkin donuts. We start making them as soon as September hits, usually with an apple crisp macchiato in hand.
They’re baked, not fried, so they come together fast and store well for grab-and-go breakfasts. Just use a large donut pan to get the full size donuts you see in the photos.
Why you need to make this recipe!
- Super easy fall breakfast or snack.
- Packed with cozy pumpkin flavors and warm spice.
- A great way to use up leftover pumpkin puree, right alongside my pumpkin cream cheese muffins and easy pumpkin bread.
- One-bowl, make-ahead recipe.
- Baked, not fried, for easier clean up and a slightly healthier twist!
Ingredients
- Flour- Perfect for fluffy donuts. You can also use 1:1 gluten-free flour.
- Pumpkin pie spice– Gives these baked pumpkin donuts that classic fall flavor. If you want to make your own pumpkin pie spice, here is the recipe.
- Cinnamon- For coating the donuts. Optional: Use pumpkin pie spice instead.
- Baking powder- Leavening agent.
- Salt- Balances out the sweetness.
- Pumpkin purée– Make sure you use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Olive oil or canola oil- Adds extra richness.
- Butter- Melted for moisture and flavor.
- Vanilla extract- Adds depth.
- Egg- At room temperature.
- Brown & granulated sugar- For the batter and cinnamon-sugar coating.
How to make pumpkin spice donuts
- Preheat oven and grease your donut pan. Mix pumpkin puree, brown sugar, granulated sugar, olive oil, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until combined.
- Fold in dry ingredients (all purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt) into the wet ingredients until smooth.
- Pipe batter into donut pan using a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the tip cut off. Bake until lightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool slightly before brushing with melted butter and coating in cinnamon-sugar.
- Serve with your favorite drink, I personally love this with the Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew.
Pro tip: Using a piping bag ensures clean, even donuts every time
You can also ice your donuts with:
- Maple glaze or something similar to what I did with my homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls.
- Brown Butter frosting
- Vanilla Icing
- Chocolate icing
Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts FAQs
Best enjoyed same day. Store in an airtight container without cinnamon-sugar coating for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Yes! Freeze cooled donuts in an air tight container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or on the countertop for a few hours. Freeze without toppings for best results.
Absolutely! Make sure the donuts are completely cooled before icing. Try maple, vanilla, or even a chocolate glaze for fun variations!
Baked pumpkin donuts are lighter than the fried versions and include nutrient-rich pumpkin (yay fiber!), but these are still a treat since they use a good amount of sugar and fat as well.
I haven’t tried making these vegan, but they can definitely work! Replace the butter with plant-based butter, eggs with flax eggs or apple sauce instead.
You have to use the right donut pan that I used! It’s a lot bigger than the traditional mini donut pans you would find in stores.
Other Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
If you tried this Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you it goes in the comments! I love hearing from you!
Pumpkin Spice Donut Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1&1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 egg at room temperature
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
for the coating
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup butter melted
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 350F then lightly grease the large donut pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, olive oil, butter, vanilla, egg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar and whisk until smooth.1&1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 egg, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and sea salt. Stir the mixture just until combined. Do not overmix.2 cup all purpose flour, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- Place the batter in a piping bag or a plastic bag over a cup and transfer the donut mixture to the bag. If using the plastic bag method, snip off one of the corners and "pipe" the batter into the prepared donut pan. This recipe should make 8 large donuts.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until a knife of a toothpick inserted in comes out clean. Let the donuts cool for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
The coating
- For the coating, stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow container.3/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon
- When the donuts are completely cool, melt the butter and brush each donut with the melted butter. Making sure to get every corner of it. One by one dip the donuts in the cinnamon sugar to coat them.1/4 cup butter
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent recipe! I have made it two times.
Thank you so much Pam!
Am I the only one who had to look up “AP flour”?
I can’t wait to try these!
Fixing that on the recipe card so it’s easier to understand immediately! Can’t wait for you to try it 🙂
The metric conversion for the pumpkin is way off. 1.35kg is like 5.7 cups of pumpkin.
Any tips for a 12-hole mini donut pan?
You can make the same recipe but bake them for slightly less! Make sure to grease the pan really well to avoid having them stick to it!
I’ve made these, but it’s been a while. They are delicious! How many oz in each if batch makes 8? I make smaller donuts and I’m trying to calculate how many I will get out of a single batch.
So glad you’ve come back to make them again Each large donut comes out to around 3–3.5 ounces. Hope that helps!
These sound delicious. Do you think I could use yams or sweet potatoes? Thanks
Yams and sweet potatoes are slightly denser and less watery than pumpkin so the donuts will have a slightly different texture but they should still be delicious with the substitution! To not mess anything up, just swap out the ingredients 1:1.
Is the nutritional list for one donut?
Yes it is 🙂