These chocolate protein donuts are so soft and cakey, plus they not satisfy your sweet tooth but they're packed with protein to keep you FULL all morning!
Now, I'm totally a fan of regular donuts, too, don't get me wrong. I mean, NOTHING takes place of a fresh, hot donut from the little shoppe down the street or a cider mill. But, on the daily? My bod feels a little bit better when it's got some whole grains and protein. So, the solution? These chocolate protein donuts! Another bonus for these protein doughnuts is that you can make them at home yourself... so no need to get in your car... or put on pants. HA!
Why I Love Baked Protein Donuts
Honest, I made donuts on the weekly! I'll either make these chocolate protein donuts or my whole wheat donuts (be sure to checkout that recipe, too!) I love to make these protein donuts (or do you spell it protein doughnuts?!) to have something quick to grab and go in the morning. I have been working out mid-morning so I want something easy to grab that gives my body some fuel (carbs!) for some pre-workout nutrition. Plus, my hubs loves them. And I love him. So, I made donuts. HA!
How To Make Protein Donuts
This protein donut recipe couldn't be easier to make! Here is what you'll need to do:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a donut pan with non-stick spray.
- In a medium sized bowl combine protein powder, flour, baking powder, cinnamon & salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer combine egg, butter, sugar milk and vanilla.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture to your egg mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Fill your prepared donut pan with your donut batter and bake for ~10 minutes.
- Donuts are done when they’re golden brown and a toothpick when inserted comes out clean.
- Allow donuts to cool fully before adding glaze, frosting or powdered sugar. Or, top with some of my fave 2 ingredient no added sugar blueberry jam!
Protein Donut Recipe FAQs
What flours can I use?
I like to use whole wheat flour for a little extra nutrition punch, but regular all-purpose or gluten free flours work well, to!
Can I use a different flavor protein?
Totally! Honestly, I usually just use whatever I have on hand! I've used cookies n cream before, too! I do like Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey, personally. But you can also use a plant based one! If you don't want them chocolate at all simply leave out the cocoa powder, too.
How do I store these protein donuts?
I store them right on the counter in a container or bag for 5-7 days!
Can I make these into cinnamon sugar or powdered donuts?
YAAAS! Simply roll slightly warm donuts in a cinnamon sugar mixture or powdered sugar. And voila, you've got cinnamon sugar or protein donuts!
I hope you love this chocolate protein donuts recipe as much as I do! Be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe if you do! It means the world to me and I love hearing from you!
Chocolate Protein Donuts
Soft, cakey, and packed with protein! These chocolate protein donuts will kick off your morning in a delicious way and help keep you full until lunch time!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup chocolate protein powder
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, protein powder, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer combine egg, sugar, milk, butter and vanilla.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until combined.
- Fill your prepared donut pan with your donut batter. This should make ~7 donuts.
- Bake for ~10-12 minutes or until donuts are golden brown and a toothpick when inserted comes out clean.
- Allow donuts to cool fully before if you deciding to frost, glaze, or rolling in powdered sugar.
- Enjoy!
Notes
May sub all-purpose flour or gluten free flour in place of whole wheat flour.
Store in an air tight container for 5-7 days. I'd recommend not frosting them if storing them. You can prepare the frosting or glaze and add it just before eating. This will prevent them from getting too soggy.
To fill your donut plan without making a mess you can put your batter into a ziplock sandwich bag (or bigger size) and snip off the corner and pipe in the batter.
Protein Powder Notes: I use Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey, personally. Every protein powder tends to cause the batter to have a little bit of a different consistency, plant based ones I find that I need to add more liquid. If this happens to you just add an extra splash of liquid.You can really use any flavor protein. Chocolate will. give you the most chocolate-y flavor, obviously. However, I've used vanilla before and the cocoa powder still gives it a good chocolate taste!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 163Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 206mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 9g
XOXO
-Colleen
This blog post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link, I may receive a commission. All opinions are my own, and all brands featured represent what I personally like and support. This blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program where I earn advertising fees by linking to amazon.com.
Want more recipes like this? You might like these:
Heather
Two things... can you use almond milk in place of dairy, and what could I do if I don't have a doughnut pan?
Colleen
Hey! Yes you can use almond milk- it might alter the texture slightly since there is no fat in it, but it should still work =] I'd recommend using am muffin tin if you don't have a donut pan! You'll need to keep an eye on the time and will likely need to cook them longer but keep an eye on them!
Jenny
I love these donuts! I used the rich chocolate protein powder by nuzest and 1/2 whole wheat 1/2 white flour, then top with homemade almond buttercream. I also just divided it into 6 cuz I didn't want to dirty my second donut pan and that worked fine. The batter was too thick for me to pipe so I just rolled it into balls and then pushed a hole in the middle and popped it in the pan. They were so freaking good! And so satisfying too! I didn't think they would fill me up cuz they are so little but after just one I was content. And I definately didnt expect them to taste so good since they are "healthy," but they were such a croud pleaser. Thanks for the recipe Colleen!
Colleen
Thanks so much for those sweet words, Jenny! I'm so glad you loved them! This recipe is a total favorite of mine!
Julia
I could barely stir the dough, using the 1/3 cup of milk. Using a 1/2 cup of milk yielded the same number of donuts, still yummy and was SO much easier to put in the pan. I also used slightly less sugar. Still yummy.
Colleen
So glad they were yummy! The protein powder you use can really impact how thick it gets. I use optimum nutrition gold standard whey!