These Peanut Butter Donuts are easy vegan donuts packed with 23 grams of proteins. They are healthy treats for breakfast with a fluffy, soft texture. Plus, they can be baked or air-fried, and they are so easy to make with just 4 ingredients.
I have a true love for easy, healthier donut recipes like my 2-ingredient donuts made with yogurt, my sweet potato donuts, or the baked vegan blueberry donuts. But today, I wanted to create something high-protein, similar to my protein donuts, but without using a donut pan.
So I grabbed a box of my favorite powdered peanut butter and experimented with self-rising flour and a bit of plant-based yogurt to see how I could create fluffy, soft, air fryer protein donuts. The result is fantastic, and the dough is pretty simple to put together.
Side note, before succeeding with this new recipe, I also failed to use natural peanut butter instead of powdered peanut butter. I don’t recommend you try swapping one ingredient for the other. The natural peanut butter is too high in fat and makes the dough tough, similar to my vegan scone recipe.
Why You Will Love These Donuts
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free
- 3 ingredients
- High-protein
- No donut pan needed
Ingredients and Tips
- Powdered Peanut Butter – This is your main ingredient here. It’s the key ingredient to add a peanut butter flavor to the dough and glaze. It also guarantees a high-protein donut that is fluffy and not packed or dense. Pro tip: try a flavored powdered peanut butter like cookie dough, birthday cake, or salted caramel to create a range of donut flavors. I am using an Australian brand called Macro Mike, similar to PB2, but with a slightly different composition. It means that depending on the brand you choose, the ratio of wet to dry ingredients may vary a little.
- Self-Rising Flour – This is my favorite ingredient to make easy donuts. Make your batch by stirring 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 2 teaspoons of baking powder. I didn’t try using all-purpose gluten-free flour in this recipe, and therefore, I can’t guarantee this works. Don’t use almond flour or coconut flour. They don’t work in this recipe.
- Yogurt of Choice – I used plain plant-based yogurt, sometimes cashew yogurt or coconut yogurt. Any plain Greek yogurt works.
Optional Ingredients
For flavors, you can add:
- A pinch of salt
- A teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips
For the glaze, I used powdered peanut butter and a splash of almond milk.
How To Make Peanut Butter Donuts
- In a large bowl, whisk powdered peanut butter and self-rising flour until both ingredients are evenly combined.
- Add yogurt, and stir with a rubber spatula until it looks crumbly and pieces of dough form.
- Now oil your hands and start kneading, squeezing the dough to combine the ingredients into dough balls. It is sticky and messy, but that’s normal. Sprinkle a bit of flour on your hands and rub them together to unstick the dough from your finger, but don’t over-add flour to the dough or it won’t make fluffy donuts.
- Instead, add a bit of melted coconut oil or avocado oil on top of the dough ball, rub, and knead it. The oil makes the dough soft, elastic, less sticky, but still moist.
- Wash your hands and oil them generously again to work the dough.
- Divide the dough into 4 small portions. Oil the outside of each piece and roll it into a small ball.
- Press your thumb in the center of the dough to form a donut hole.
- Place each donut on an air fryer basket lined with oiled parchment paper. Make sure the donuts are not touching each other, as they will expand in the air fryer.
- Air fry the donuts at 390°F (200°C) for 15 minutes while flipping halfway.
Glazing The Donuts
Let the donuts cool down on a cooling rack at room temperature. They look like little bread on the outside, but the inside should be soft, moist, and fluffy.
In a small bowl, whisk the powdered peanut butter and almond milk until a glossy, lightly thick glaze forms.
Dip the top of the donut in the glaze, twist to coat evenly, and release on a plate.
You can also add a chocolate glaze on top. Chocolate and peanut butter go very well together. To make it, use my vegan ganache recipe. It firms up well in the fridge but stays glassy and won’t crackle.
Storage Instructions
Store the peanut butter donuts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The glaze dries and crackles with time and that’s normal.
Expert Tips
- Don’t add too much flour when working the dough. This dough is sticky, but your secret weapon is oil to prevent the dough from sticking and to become elastic. When the dough becomes sticky, oil hands, spray oil on the dough, and knead.
- Don’t use natural peanut butter the dough won’t form.
- Adjust the dough, adding a bit more yogurt if too dry. Some powdered peanut butter contain added gums and dry the dough out more than others. The extra yogurt will fix that.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it won’t work. You can only use powdered nut butter, like powdered almond butter or powdered peanut butter.
I didn’t bake my donuts, but I am pretty sure you can place the donuts on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake the donuts in an oven preheated to 400°F (200°C) for 15 to 18 minutes until dry on the outside.
More Healthy Donut Recipes
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Peanut Butter Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup Self-Rising Flour - (note 1)
- ½ cup Powdered Peanut Butter - fill without overpacking the cup, sweep out excess
- 1 cup Dairy-Free Yogurt - (note 2)
Peanut Butter Icing
- ½ cup Powdered Peanut Butter
- 2-3 tablespoons Almond Milk
To work the dough
- 2-3 teaspoons Oil
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk self-rising flour and powdered peanut butter.
- Stir in yogurt using a rubber spatula. When the mixture looks crumbly and gets difficult to stir, grease your hands generously with oil (coconut oil or light olive oil) to knead the dough. It's very sticky, and it's normal. Squeeze and knead until you manage to form a rough ball of dough. You can add more flour if it is too sticky, but don't saturate the dough with flour. This dough should stay a bit sticky, and you should control the stickiness by oiling your hands and the dough a little, not by adding more flour. If it is too dry, add more yogurt and knead in.
- Wash your hands and oil them again. Lightly spray oil on the dough ball, and knead and fold the dough again 2-3 times. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 4 even portions.
- Roll each portion into a ball and use your thumb to press in the center and form the donut hole – make it large. It shrinks a lot in the air fryer.
- Cover the air fryer basket with a piece of parchment paper and spray a bit of cooking oil on it to prevent the donuts from sticking.
- Place each donut on the paper, making sure the donuts don't touch each other as they expand in the air fryer.
- Air fry for 12 minutes at 350°F (180°C) or until they puff, and they get dry and hard outside.
- Cool down on a cooling rack before glazing.
- In a small bowl, stir powdered peanut butter and almond milk until glossy and lightly thick.
- Dip the top of each cooled donut in the icing and twist to cover evenly.
- Place each donut on a plate and pop it in the fridge for an hour to set the icing.
Can you bake in oven instead?
Yes, you can! Same temperature, but it might take about 20 minutes. Use the toothpick method to check the baking!
Can you use sunflower seed powder flour?
I have to admit that I don’t know if it would work, sorry! I’m not experienced enough with sunflower seed flour!
I love peanut butter so these totally made my day. And the following day.
They are definitely on the denser side for donuts, but the taste is awesome.