Fluffy homemade pumpkin donuts are so quick and easy to make from scratch! These flavorful baked pumpkin donuts are loaded with sweet pumpkin flavor and cozy fall spices, with a generous coating of crunchy cinnamon sugar.
The Best Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Looking for the best recipe to kickstart the fall season? Make these incredible homemade pumpkin donuts! Moist, fluffy, and filled with cozy fall spices and real pumpkin puree, these donuts are the most requested fall treat in my house. If you love the idea of making donuts with the ease of baking pumpkin bread, I don’t doubt that you’ll love these easy baked pumpkin donuts. This recipe is everything we love about fall, wrapped up in a delicious baked dessert!
Why You’ll Love This Easy Pumpkin Donut Recipe
- Perfect flavor and texture. These pumpkin donuts are cake-like, fluffy, and very moist. There’s also no shortage of pumpkin flavor or fall spices in this recipe. Win!
- Easy. If you can mix up a cake batter, you can make these donuts. This recipe uses a donut tin, so you can bake them in the oven without the hassle of frying the donuts in hot oil.
- Classic fall treat. Homemade apple cider donuts and pumpkin donuts are delicious year-round, but there’s something extra special about munching on them when the weather is cooling and the leaves are falling.
Key Ingredients
Below is a quick overview of some of the key ingredients in this pumpkin donut recipe. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredient list.
- Vegetable Oil and Melted Butter – I use mostly oil for a moist and tender crumb and a little bit of butter for richness.
- Pumpkin Puree – Make sure you’re using 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. They are different!
- Sugar – This recipe uses mostly brown sugar with a bit of granulated sugar, which helps add moisture and gives the donuts nice caramelization.
- Spices – A combination of pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg gives these pumpkin donuts the perfect fall flavor.
How to Make Pumpkin Donuts
All it takes to make these pumpkin donuts from scratch is whisking up the batter and pouring it into a donut pan. After baking, you’ll dip the donuts in butter and roll them in crunchy cinnamon sugar. Let’s get started:
- Combine the wet ingredients. Beat an egg until fluffy, then add oil, butter, milk, and vanilla. Mix to combine, and add in the pumpkin puree.
- Add the dry ingredients. Next, beat both sugars into the batter. Afterward, mix in the remaining dry ingredients, until just combined.
- Grease and fill the pan. Coat your donut pan generously with cooking spray, and fill each well with batter. You’ll use about 1/4 cup of batter for each donut.
- Bake. Bake the donuts at 350ºF for about 10 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the center of a donut comes out clean. Give the donuts a few minutes to cool in the pan before inverting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Coat with cinnamon sugar. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon for the coating. Once cooled, brush each donut with melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar.
Is It Better to Bake or Fry Pumpkin Donuts?
Fried donuts are delicious, don’t get a girl wrong. But I love the fact that these baked pumpkin donuts come out totally light and fluffy without the excess oil that comes with deep frying them. Baked donuts are less messy, lower in calories, and the texture is soft and tender. You can’t beat it!
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Donuts
Who knew baking donuts at home could be this easy? If you can’t wait to get started on these fluffy pumpkin donuts, here are some extra tips to keep in mind:
- Grease the pan well. This makes it so much easier to get the donuts out of the pan once they’re done baking.
- Don’t over-mix. Only mix the batter until the dry and wet ingredients are just combined. An over-mixed batter can yield dry, dense donuts.
- Cool completely. Make sure the pumpkin donuts are completely cooled before adding the sugar coating. Dipping warm donuts in butter sounds delicious, but it actually makes the donuts more delicate and easier to fall apart.
- Use another topping. The cinnamon sugar coating is delicious, but feel free to use another topping like my brown butter maple glaze. You can also take some flavor inspiration from my pumpkin cream cheese bread and frost your donuts with sweet cream cheese frosting.
- Make pumpkin donut holes. Feel free to swap the donut pan out for a donut hole pan. Keep in mind donut holes will bake more quickly!
- Make muffins instead. No donut pan? No problem. This pumpkin donut batter makes wonderful muffins (it is based on my pumpkin muffin recipe, after all). Simply bake the batter in an unlined standard muffin tin. You can roll the baked pumpkin muffins in cinnamon sugar and all. Keep in mind that muffins take longer to bake than donuts, so add time as needed until a toothpick comes out clean.
How to Store Pumpkin Donuts
- To Store. Pumpkin donuts are best served within 1-2 days of when they’re made. If you make them ahead, I recommend leaving off the cinnamon sugar coating and storing them in an airtight container at room temperature until you’re ready to coat and serve.
- Freezer. You can also store the baked, uncoated donuts in the freezer for up to 1 month. When you’re ready to serve, thaw the frozen donuts in the fridge, then coat them in sugar and serve.
More Fall Baking Ideas
Pumpkin Donuts
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 10 donuts
- Category: Donut
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
Fluffy pumpkin donuts are so quick and easy to make from scratch! These flavorful homemade donuts are loaded with sweet pumpkin flavor and cozy fall spices, rolled in crunchy cinnamon sugar.
Ingredients
For the Donuts
- 2 tablespoons (28g) butter, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (165g) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (48g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (118ml) vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) milk at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (122g) pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon (4g) baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- pinch of nutmeg
For the Coating
- 1/4 cup (56g) butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (48g) granulated sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons (15-22g) ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Beat the egg for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Next add the oil and sugars, beating until well incorporated. Next add the butter, milk, vanilla and pumpkin puree and beat together until well combined.
- Combine the dry ingredients and sift, then add to the wet ingredients and mix until the flour is incorporated. Use a spatula to mix the batter, ensuring all ingredients are well combined.
- Generously spray your donut pan with cooking spray. Fill each cavity with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the donut, if the toothpick comes out clean, the donuts are done. Cool for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack.
- Once cooled, brush the donuts with melted butter and then roll them in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar until well coated.
Notes
- Make ahead and storage suggestions: Keep stored in an airtight container in a cool and dry place. These will stay moist for a few days, but it’s best when served within 2 days of preparing. After 2 days, the coating gets too soft, so if you make them ahead of time, store them in an airtight container and add the cinnamon sugar coating the day you plan to serve them.
- To freeze pumpkin donuts, cool them completely, and freeze them without the coating in an airtight container. Thaw to room temperature and then add the cinnamon and sugar coating.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 donut
- Calories: 301
- Sugar: 24g
- Sodium: 257mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Protein: 2.7g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
This is the most amazingly delicious pumpkin doughnut! It has such a tender crumb. I only put the cinnamon sugar on one side while still warm. No need for the butter. I could not just eat one! 👏🏻
I have the same problem Marie! I can’t wait to eat them LOL! I am so glad you gave these a try!
Hi
I made these baked pumpkin donuts and they were melt in your mouth delicious!
I really like the idea of baking them instead of frying wish I don’t do.
I made them last year around Christmas and they were a big hit. I ran out of them in no time.
There is a baking contest here in my apartment building and I plan on making them for the contest😊
Amazing Wanda, this is so awesome, and let me know how the baking contest goes!
These are Dangerous! The best donut I’ve ever had. So easy and got to use my pampered chef donut pan! It says they freeze well but I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that!!!
Yeeeees Lynn! I totally agree! Thank you!
Recipe generates a thin batter that doesn’t rise as a cake donut too well. 10 to 15 minutes to bake required. Okay result. Not as good as other pumpkin spice donuts. Easy to do.
Hi Clint, my batter was not thin, quite the opposite. Sounds like something maybe didn’t go right on your end, especially if they did not rise. This produced the results I’d expect from the donut pan and other recipes I’ve made
Made these twice in one weekend! They are amazing, flavorful, moist, and addicting. We put the leftover pumpkin in our coffees. The donuts stayed moist even after being refrigerated whereas most desserts tend to dry out. This will be a repeat experience. Thank you!!!!!
Twice in one weekend? What a dream! I am so glad you enjoyed these!
These donuts were very good! Easy to make and the grandkids loved them!
Amazing Roxie! Thank you so much!!
These donuts are delicious. My husband absolutely loves them, that’s high praise because he’s a chocoholic.
I love that so much!! Thank you Janet!
These look out of this world delicious. I must make soon
Did you use a pastry bag to fill your donut pans and if so, what size decorating tip did you use?
Thank You 4 sharing your great recipes.
Hi Colleen, I do use a pastry bag and just cut the tip off. A ziploc bag also works, and sometimes I just use a measuring cup and then a knife to spread it.
We normally go to a local farm market to purchase what we thought were the best pumpkin donuts….we no longer need to go!! These are AMAZING!!!! Super simple and delicious! Thank you for this recipe!
Wow wow wow!! Thank you Sandy!!
Thank you for sharing this recipe and putting it in grams!!! It was absolutely delicious and I will be making this soon again per family’s request. I reduced the brown sugar to 150 g and granulated sugar to 38 g. Still soooo amazing! Can’t wait to try your other recipes. 🙂
So happy to hear that Cat! This is a house favorite!
I am so thankful for a BAKED doughnut recipe! Your pictures and words make me anxious to go to the grocery store to buy pumpkin and a doughnut pan!
You will love it Jeannette!
Such a great recipe! It was easy and a huge hit with the family! Best baked donuts I’ve made!
Yes!! Thank you so much Jordan, our family loves these too, and I am so happy yours did as well!
A+++++
DELICIOUS . I used Einkorn flour and a little less sugar in the donut batter and they were wonderful.
Thank you for posting this yummy recipe
Thank you o much!!! I have never heard of Einkorn flour before, so glad it worked out for you!
Tried and true! Amazingly delicious!
I baked these doughnuts today and my family loved them! They will definitely be on my dessert table for Thanksgiving.
That’s amazing Nina!! Thank you so much!
Delicious! Easy to make…will make again!
Yes Maria! I am so glad you enjoyed these! We are obsessed in my house!
Everyone at work LOVED them! Super moist snd delicious!
AMAZING Cheryl thank you!
These taste great!
I used silicone trays to bake mine. I am not sure if that impacted the bake time, because I filled 12 wells and it still took at least 15 minutes for them to fully bake.
Hi Shanon, yes silicone trays may take longer or the oven wasn’t fully preheated? But if you baked them until the toothpick was clean, they you should be good to go!
Absolutely love these donuts easy and delicious!!!! just love your recipes
Awesome Lois! I am so glad someone else loves them as much as me- HAH!