These gluten-free pumpkin donuts are soft and rolled in powdered sugar while still warm. Pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice give them real fall flavor without needing frosting or a glaze. You’ll need a donut pan, but beyond that it’s a simple batter you can have in the oven in about 12 minutes.
Pumpkin puree does double duty here, adding moisture and flavor without needing eggs. Regular or vegan butter both work, so it fits a few different diets without changing the result.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (in the blue bag). It already has xanthan gum mixed in.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – Store-bought works fine or you can use my homemade pumpkin pie spice if you want more control over the cinnamon-to-clove ratio.
- Pumpkin puree – Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling already has sugar and spices added, which throws off the recipe.
- Butter – Regular or vegan both work here, just make sure it’s melted and cooled slightly before mixing.
Any milk works here
I used unsweetened almond milk originally, but regular milk, gluten-free oat milk, or whatever dairy or non-dairy milk you have on hand works the same way.
What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree
You’ll only use 1/2 cup pumpkin puree in this recipe, so you’ll have some extra. If you want to bake with the extra, my gluten-free pumpkin snickerdoodles use about the same amount. For something a little fancier, pumpkin creme brulee turns the rest into a custard dessert. Or keep it breakfast-focused with my gluten-free pumpkin spice pancakes, which uses a little less puree than the other two.
Recipe FAQs
I’ve only tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour in the blue bag. Other brands can behave differently, especially without xanthan gum already mixed in, so results may vary if you swap it out.
You can, but I prefer powdered sugar for these. It’s a classic donut finish and it’s simple. If you want a glaze instead, a simple powdered sugar and milk glaze would work in its place.
Expert Tips
Storage Instructions
Storing: These are best the day they’re made. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Hold off on the powdered sugar until right before serving. It soaks into the donut over time.
Freezing: Freeze the plain, uncoated donuts in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature, then roll in powdered sugar right before serving.
Reheating: Warm a donut in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften it back up before coating or serving.
Serving Suggestions
Sausage sweet potato hash on the side gives you something savory next to all that sweetness. Gluten-free crustless mini quiches work well here too. They’re individually portioned, so they’re easy to set out next to the donuts without pulling out extra plates.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Donuts
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (210 g) gluten-free flour blend - use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour in the blue bag
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ cup (57 g) butter - (regular or vegan), melted and cooled
- ½ cup (120 g) pure pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup (80 g) milk - dairy or non-dairy
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar - for coating the donuts
**Use the toggle button above to turn the instruction photos on and off!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a donut pan with cooking spray.
- Wis together 1½ cups (210 g) gluten-free flour blend, ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted ¼ cup (57 g) butter, ½ cup (120 g) pure pumpkin puree, ⅓ cup (80 g) milk, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Piper, spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan, filling each well to the top.
- Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the donut comes out clean.
- Let the donuts cool in the pan for a minute or two, then transfer to a wire rack.
- Add ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar to a shallow bowl or plate. Roll each donut in the powdered sugar while still warm.
Video
Notes
- Flour: I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour in the blue bag, which already has xanthan gum mixed in. Weigh it with a food scale for the most accurate results. I provided measurements in grams for your convenience.
- Puree: Use pure pumpkin puree, not pie filling. Pie filling has added sugar and spices that will throw off the recipe.
- Milk: any dairy or non-dairy milk works here. I’ve tested the recipe with both unsweetened almond milk and regular whole milk.
Do you know that your recipe calls for 1 + 1/2 cups of gf flour? There’s no way that is correct. I wasted a lot of precious ingredients with this recipe.
Hi Carol, It is in fact correct. It’s one cup plus another half cup. I’ve tested the recipe 5 times and made it countless times since then. Can you share what went wrong when you tried the recipe so I can help you? Did you make any substitutions from the recipe as written? Thanks.
It worked for me 🙂
So glad it worked for you Nicole! Thanks for sharing! <3
Thanks for sharing! I love that it’s vegan and gluten free. Do you use this blend for any other recipes?
Do you know if the recipe works the same with regular flour?
Hi Jessica! Yes, it will work with regular flour! Enjoy!
Can you use wheat four instead of gluten free flour?
Hi Sue, One of our readers successfully tried it with regular all-purpose flour with the same quantities. Hope that helps!!
I can’t find 1:1 gf flour blend (I live in rural Australia). Would this work with a regular all purpose gf flour? The brand I use is white wings.
Hi Christina, I haven’t tried White Wings GF flour before, but it should work as long as it’s a flour blend that is meant to work in a 1-to-1 swap with regular flour. Hope this helps!
Made these for Thanksgiving. Hubby said he could eat the batter by itself, it was that good. Thanks for posting a great recipe!
Thanks Tammy! So glad you and your family enjoyed them!
I just made these for the first time and they are so delicious. I used regular butter and flour because that’s what I had on hand. Also, I don’t have a donut pan so I made these into muffins instead. I just had to cook a few minutes longer. They taste incredible and are so moist! I topped with a little homemade whipped cream. This would be a great recipe for kids to do since it’s so simple.
So glad you enjoyed these Brooke! I’m also very glad to know that it works well with regular butter and flour! The whipped cream on top sounds amazing!
Delicious! We loved them. Thank you for a perfect gluten free vegan recipe ?
I used regular flour, they turned out super yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Also, first comment is a total grouch, don’t let the negs get you down! 🙂
Does the recipe work with other non-dairy milks? Like soy milk? Thanks!! 🙂
Hi Zoe, I haven’t tried it but it should work with other non-dairy milks just fine.
Could you make the batter the day before and just bake in the morning?
Hi Rachel, I wouldn’t suggest it. The leaveners begin to react right away when mixed so I’d suggest making the batter right before baking.
Can I swap the apple cider vinegar for something else ?
You can use white vinegar as a replacement! Vinegar is necessary to help the donuts rise.
These are amazing! I’ve made them twice this week.
So glad you enjoyed these, Katie!
Megan! I made these into muffins and they were amazing! I froze them after cooling completely. Perfection! Making them again this morning.
Thanks, Kellie!! What a great idea to make them muffins! Totally doing that very soon!
Can the butter be replaced with oil?
Hi Christina, Yes – you can swap the vegan butter for oil. Go for an oil that doesn’t have a strong flavor for this recipe.. so canola, vegetable or sunflower oil would be my choice. Hope this helps!
I needed to bake for the full time, and used Young Living EO’s instead of spices! Great recipe!
Thanks, Maureen! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Are the donuts supposed to be doughy in the middle or bread like?
Hi Lindsey, The donuts should be cakey in the middle. If it’s doughy – they need more time baking.
Do you think I could substitute the vegan butter for extra virgin olive oil? I am very eager to try this for my vegan best friend. Thank you.
Hi Arianna, You can use oil (same amount) in place of the vegan butter. I’ve tested it with vegetable oil and it does work, so the extra virgin olive oil should work just fine here!
What could I do if I don’t have a donut pan 😭
Hi Marisa! I haven’t tried this myself, but I’ve seen people use a regular size muffin tin if you have one of those. Spray the muffin tin with cooking spray or grease it with oil. Bunch up some aluminum foil into a ball and place it in the center of each muffin well. Then, pipe the batter around the ball so that it forms a hole in the center. I’d say piping the batter would be easier than spooning it so that the ball doesn’t move around – you can just place the batter in a large ziploc bag and then cut off the tip. Another version I’ve seen is very similar with the aluminum foil ball but they also line the whole muffin well with aluminum foil – you can check out this article to see how they did it https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-to-make-doughnuts-without-a-doughnut-pan/ Hope this helps and you get some baked pumpkin donuts in the near future 🙂
These are fantastic! I have tried so many pumpkin donut recipes over the years and none have been edible. And these are so easy! One flour. One bowl. I made two changes to the original recipe: I use avocado oil instead of coconut and I bake these in a standard muffin pan with paper liners for 17 minutes. Thank you sooooo much! I can’t stop making these 🙂