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
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 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.
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.
How to make gluten free lemon donuts
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- 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.
- Scoop the batter into a zip lock bag and snip the bottom corner with scissors.
- Squeeze batter evenly into prepared donut pan, filling no more than half full.
- 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.
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!
Gluten-Free Lemon Donuts
Full of fresh lemon flavor these homemade baked Gluten-Free Lemon Donuts are tender, refreshing and simple to make.
Ingredients
For the donut:
- 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ 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
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 6-cup donut pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- 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.
- Scoop the batter into a zip lock bag and snip the bottom corner with scissors.
- Squeeze batter evenly into prepared donut pan, filling no more than half full.
- 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.
- For Glaze: Whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth.
- 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:
6Serving Size:
1 donutAmount Per Serving: Calories: 322Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 287mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 1gSugar: 36gProtein: 4g
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
Tag @glutenfreepalate on Instagram and hashtag it #glutenfreepalatebaker so we can see all the deliciousness!
Christina
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.
chrystal
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
Gail
Hello Christina,
Food chemistry question: Will you explain why one would use gluten free all purpose vs 1:1? After making the delicious lemon donuts, I thought I had all the ingredients for your pumpkin donuts, then read they require 1:1. Why are they different? What happens when one is substituted for the other?
Thank you
chrystal
Hi Gail,
A lot of my readers have had poor results with the all purpose flour. It could be a chemical reaction with the chickpea flour, or it could be that the chickpea flour is rancid already (this has happened to me). For this reason, I test my recipes with the 1-to-1. Some people still use the all purpose with good results, some report back that the baked goods shrank down and became rubbery. My pumpkin donuts are one that don't work well with the all purpose. If you had good results with the lemon donut using the all purpose, you can certainly give the pumpkin donuts a try with that blend.
Best,
Chrystal
Gail
Love at first bite. We needed a gluten free, yeast free, low glycemic index donut recipe due to food intolerances. In an effort to eliminate as much sugar as possible, a banana was substituted for the egg, and no sugar was added since the banana is sweet. Drizzled the icing as well. The kids loved them and wanted them again the next day. We added a few blueberries the second day and they turned out delicious despite the changes. Of course the kids wanted them again a 3rd day. Thank you so much for this recipe, it was easy to make and delicious.
chrystal
Hi Gail,
Thank you so much for stopping back by to let me know. I am glad everyone loved them.
Best,
Chrystal
Lisa
Hi Chrystal,
Thanks for this recipe. I want to make a double batch. Do you think I would need to add to the baking time if I put two donut pans in the oven at the same time? Or, would you suggest baking one pan before the other?
Thanks again!
Wendy Stoltz
Hi Lisa,
Yes, if you are making a double batch of gluten-free donuts and baking two pans in the oven at the same time, you will likely need to add some additional baking time. This is because the oven will be more crowded with two pans, which can affect air circulation and heat distribution.
Gabrielle
Couple questions:
- Can I use oat flour for this?
- can I sub in maple syrup for the sugar?
Thanks!
Wendy Stoltz
Hi Gabrielle,
You can use oat flour, but you would need to recipe test it with a few reiterations, as oat flour affects the texture and flavor of the donuts. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid or leavening agents used in the recipe to compensate for the differences in the gluten-free flour. Oat flour may result in a denser or more crumbly texture in baked goods. Let us know if you give it a try.
Regarding subbing the maple syrup for sugar, you can do it, but you may need to adjust the amount of liquid. The reason is that maple syrup adds additional liquid, whereas sugar doesn't.