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Gluten-Free Lemon Donuts

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Full of fresh lemon flavor these homemade baked Gluten-Free Lemon Donuts are tender, refreshing and simple to make. The lemon zest in the glaze brings this lemon donut to the level of ultimate satisfaction.

If you love lemon treats you’ll want to make my Gluten Free Lemon Cupcakes. My Gluten Free Lemon Bars are also a reader favorite.

gluten free lemon donuts on a wire rack

Gluten Free Lemon Donuts

We’ve talked about how my family enjoys donuts on Fridays right?

We love to celebrate getting through the week with a tasty, tender, sweet gluten-free donut. I actually thought about making a donut recipe every week, but then I figured I would run out of ideas by week twelve.

I am sure there are a hundred donut types, and all deserve to be explored, but one donut recipe a week is a bit much.

Maybe once a month? Would that be too much? That’s only twelve donut recipes a year. That might work, so I’ll have to think on it. I don’t want to put you into a donut comma.

gluten free lemon donuts on a white plate

Gluten Free Lemon Donuts Recipe

But don’t these gluten free lemon donuts look tasty? My girls loved the soft donuts topped with a lemony glaze that was bursting with citrus.

They asked if they could have a second and I sadly had to tell them that you (my readers) probably wanted photos to go with the recipe – so they had to wait.

Of course as soon as I was done taking a couple of delicious up-close photos, I let them dig ino these gluten free lemon donuts. My youngest took a bite out of the one above. She said, “Mom, don’t you need a shot showing the inside? I will gladly bite into a donut for you.”

How sweet that she was thinking of you right? Haha, you and I both know she was cleverly working her way into a bite.

gluten free lemon donut on a wire cooling rack

Donuts are one of the easiest recipes to make. There are usually less than ten ingredients, one bowl, and one donut pan – unless you double the batch. The recipe is similar to a cake recipe, using similar ingredients.

Most donuts bake up in less than twelve minutes. If you are making a friend donut, they are cooked in under ten minutes. I am a baked donut kind of girl, myself but I have been known to make up a batch of fried donuts every once in a while.

a collage of six photos showing how to make gluten free lemon donuts

How to make gluten free lemon donuts

  1. In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  2. Add in the egg, milk, oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix together just until combined. The batter will be thick; do not over mix.
  3. Scoop the batter into a zip lock bag and snip the bottom corner with scissors.
  4. Squeeze batter evenly into prepared donut pan, filling no more than half full.
  5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for five minutes and then flip over onto a cooling rack to cool completely before icing them.

For the ingredient quantities and baking times please see the recipe below.

gluten free donuts pinterest pin collage

If you insist on a fried donut you’ll want to make my gluten free fried donut holes. They are chocolate donut holes fried to perfection then dipped in a sweet glaze.

I do really think you guys are going to swoon over these Gluten-Free Lemon Donuts. They are so simple to make, and they melt in your mouth.

If you don’t have any lemons on hand you could still whip up a batch of these Gingerbread Donuts or Vanilla Birthday Cake Donuts. Looking for more donuts? Type “donuts” in the search bar above and you will find a variety of delicious gluten-free donuts.

If you make these donuts please stop back by and leave a comment letting me know what you thought!

Yield: 6

Gluten-Free Lemon Donuts

Gluten-Free Lemon Donuts

Full of fresh lemon flavor these homemade baked Gluten-Free Lemon Donuts are tender, refreshing and simple to make.

Prep Time 19 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 34 minutes

Ingredients

For the donut:

  • 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup milk (or dairy-free milk)
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

For the lemon glaze:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1-2 teaspoons milk (or dairy-free milk) for consistency

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 6-cup donut pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. Add in the egg, milk, oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix together just until combined. The batter will be thick; do not over mix.
  4. Scoop the batter into a zip lock bag and snip the bottom corner with scissors.
  5. Squeeze batter evenly into prepared donut pan, filling no more than half full.
  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
  7. Let cool for five minutes and then flip over onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
  8. For Glaze: Whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth.
  9. Dip the top of the doughnuts into the glaze and place on a lined baking sheet.

Notes

  • Dairy-free option: You can use dairy-free milk to make these dairy-free.
  • Use fresh lemon juice for best results.
  • You can use your oil of choice in this recipe. We like to use canola oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 donut
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 322Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 287mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 1gSugar: 36gProtein: 4g
© Chrystal Carver
Cuisine: American / Category: Breakfast
gluten free donuts pinterest pin collage

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. These look so fluffy and delicious! I can’t have citrus but Jesse loveees orange and lemon baked goods so I’ll have to make these for him!

    Reply

  8. My kids are lemon freaks (they eat them like oranges) so they’re going to love these donuts!

    Reply

  10. I’ve been craving donuts lately… I’m taking these as a sign that I need to get myself a donut pan! Thanks for sharing them with us at Allergy Free Thursdays! I’m going to feature them at this week’s party. 🙂

    Reply

  11. My partner recently made me a lemon Victoria sponge which was amazing and I think I might ask him to try this, looks amazing and looking forward to trying it.

    Reply

  12. I accidentally added too much lemon zest…..best mistake ever! Loved these. My husband told me to quadruple the recipe next time!
    Thanks so much!

    Reply

  14. I was wondering what causes these lemon donuts to baked at 400 degrees and the chocolate cake ones are at 325 degrees? Thanks:)

    Reply

    • These donuts have lemon juice in them which reacts with the rising agent. It creates air bubbles quicker than a traditional donut recipe so you have to cook them quicker. Most donut recipes need to rise slowly when they cook, to get the right texture and hold the shape, so you cook it at a lower temperature for longer. I hope that helps 🙂

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  17. Is there A good substitute for coconut oil? I do not care for the taste. Ran out and bought some pans to make these today!!

    Reply

    • Hi Claire,
      I haven’t tried lime juice in these donuts. I know the acidity level is different, so it may effect them.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  19. I just tried this recipe with my daughter and although the donuts tasted delicious, they were squishy and not at all cake like. The batter was like a big gelatinous ball and was very difficult to mix, although we managed to get it into a bag to pipe into the mould. I don’t know what we did wrong. 🙁
    Needless to say- they disappeared quickly despite being the texture of a wet pancake.

    Reply

    • Hi Liz,
      I’m not sure. Did you use fresh lemon juice and not bottled juice? Bottled juice reacts weird in baked goods like donuts and cakes. Also, depending on your elevation, you may need to adjust the temperature time and let it bake longer.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  20. These are SO insanely good! I make them every couple months by popular demand 😉

    One question: I usually make them in my 6 donut pan but recently purchased a 12 mini donut pan. Do you think I could just halve the cooking time?

    Reply

    • Hi Claire,
      I’m so glad you like them 🙂 I would start with 3-4 less minutes and watch them from there.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  21. Have you tried baking with sweet rice flour? I had some gf mochi donuts at a coffee shop that were amazing and I’m looking for a recipe. I bought some of Bob’s Redmill sweet white rice flour hoping to make some. I’ve searched your site and can’t find anything about the flour. Thanks for any info you or your readers can provide.

    Reply

    • Hi Christina,
      I haven’t tried baking with sweet rice because I find that it absorbs liquid differently. It tends to suck it right up. I hope that helps.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

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