Baked Banana Donuts are made with warm spices and sweet, ripe bananas and dipped in dark chocolate ganache! These banana donuts are baked, not fried. They’re an easy brunch or afternoon snack recipe for anyday of the week!
Tender, moist banana donuts made right in the oven and featuring hints of warm cinnamon and nutmeg and sweet banana flavor. These banana donuts are so flavorful they’ll make you glad some of your bananas have ripened on you!
If you have even more bananas leftover, definitely make my all time favorite banana bread recipe!
For more yummy donut recipes, try my Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake Donuts and Lemon Blueberry Cake Donuts!
Why We Love This Recipe
- They’re super easy to make! The batter is similar to but easier than a cake batter. No mixer is required and they bake up much faster. Also, unlike yeast doughnuts, no rising time is required.
- There’s almost no mess to clean up. Since these are baked, not fried, there’s no messy oil to clean up or deal with.
- They’re a little bit healthier. No oil not only makes them less messy, but also a little bit healthier.
Substitutions & Variations
- Butter: I prefer melted butter for the flavor. Vegetable or canola oil is an easy swap for the butter.
- Milk: Lots of substitution options here including buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream.
- Nutmeg: I like the hint of nutmeg with the cinnamon. If you don’t have nutmeg, you can increase the amount of cinnamon to take its place.
- Dark chocolate chips: Swap in chopped dark chocolate or chopped semi sweet chocolate. Semi sweet chocolate chips can also be used.
Instructions
- PREPARE THE DONUT PANS: Grease the donut pans well and set aside.
- WHISK TO COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
- COMBINE THE WET INGREDIENTS: In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg, whisk together the egg and sugar til smooth and combined. Add the vanilla, milk or yogurt, mashed bananas and melted butter. Whisk this wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir til just combined. The batter will be pretty thick.
- FILL THE DONUT MOLDS: Use a piping bag or zip lock bag or spoon to fill the dough into the donut molds between 2/3 and 3/4 full.
- BAKE AND COOL: Bake donuts 8-10 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing.
- MAKE THE GANACHE: Make the ganache while the donuts are baking or cooling.
- DECORATE THE DONUTS: Dunk the donuts in the ganache or spoon/drizzle it over the cooled donuts.
EASY DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE
I can attest to the fact that these donuts are delicious plain! That said, everything is more delicious with a chocolate glaze. This glaze is super simple and very similar to the rich, sweet ganache is from my Boston cream pie cupcake recipe. The only difference was that I used dark chocolate chips instead of semi sweet and I added a little vanilla and a pinch of salt.
To make the ganache, or chocolate glaze, simply pour hot heavy cream over a bowl of chocolate chips. Let it sit for three minutes then stir til smooth. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
Expert Tips
For best results, use a donut pan. Donut pans are basically molds with holes in the middle which give your batter a donut shape.
My donut pans make six donuts, so I have two pans. Having two makes it easier to bake the whole batch at the same time!
Use a fork, electric mixer, whisk, or potato masher to mash the banana.
Donuts are freshest and most flavorful the day they’re made. If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
Overripe bananas are best for baking. They will have brownish-black peels or brown spots on them. If they look too ripe to eat, they are perfect for baking.
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Banana Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup brown sugar light or dark
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled, or vegetable oil
- 3 ½ tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas 2-3 medium bananas
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE
- ½ cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
FOR THE DONUTS
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease donut pans well with butter (preferable- for flavor) or nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg and sugar til smooth and combined. Whisk in the vanilla, milk, mashed bananas and melted butter.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Use a piping bag or zip lock bag or spoon to fill the dough into the donut molds between 2/3 and 3/4 full.
- Bake 8-10 minutes until toothpick comes out dry or edges are lightly browned. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes then remove from pan and let donuts cool completely on wire rack.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE
- Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan on low heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil then pour over the chocolate chips. Do not stir.
- Allow to sit for 2 minutes then stir till smooth. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Allow to cool slightly before using.
TO DECORATE THE DONUTS
- Dip the cooled donuts in the glaze or drizzle the glaze over top. Set the donuts glaze side up on a cooling rack set over a sheet of parchment or wax paper to catch any drips. Allow glaze to set or enjoy right away!
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
Angela
Do you think I could substitute a flax egg to make these vegan friendly?
Natalie
Hi Angela! I haven’t baked with flax eggs and haven’t tried any substitutes with these, so unfortunately can’t say how these would be. Please let me know if you try it! Have a great day. -Natalie