Soft, light, fluffy, baked banana bread flavored donuts are dipped into a rich chocolate-y ganache and sprinkled with nuts and coconut chips for a scrumptious, but healthier, start to your day. My daughter and I went a little crazy over these donuts. Can you blame us?

While I wouldn’t go so far as to say these scrumptious donuts are a “beauty food” that you should eat every day, they are much more nutritious than your average doughnut and lacking in the usual beauty offenders (oil, sugar, dairy). What they are not lacking in is flavor, and they make such a yummy breakfast, snack, or treat. I fully believe in having a fun treat every now and then, and who doesn’t love a chocolate-dipped donut?

These babies are baked, not fried, and contain no oil. They’re also gluten-free, and use a combination of oat flour and potato starch for a light, fluffy, cake-like texture that won’t make your tummy feel stuffed and heavy. I kept the added sweeteners to a minimum, relying on extremely ripe bananas for most of the sweetness. Of course they are vegan, and also nut-free, if you leave off the optional nuts for topping. You can make your own chocolate topping using just maple syrup, raw cacao, and coconut oil, if you don’t want to use dairy-free chocolate chips. They are quite tasty plain, but I must say, the chocolate ganache takes them to a whole new level!

If you’re looking for a healthier treat that’s easy to take on the go, and won’t weigh you down, give you a tummy ache, or lead to the dreaded sugar crash, these baked Banana Bread Donuts are for you.

Banana Bread Donuts with Chocolate Glaze (vegan, gluten-free, oil-free)

makes 6

Ingredients:

Dry:

• 1 cup oat flour (I blend my own in my blender, using rolled oats, use certified gf if needed)
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1 Tbsp ground golden flaxseed
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp psyllium husk powder (or you may sub 1/4 tsp xantham gum) or leave out but it may affect texture
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Wet:

• 1 + 1/2 very ripe/black bananas (about 3/4 cup) mashed very well
• 1/4 cup almond milk or other plant milk
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp coconut sugar (optional, I added for flavor and a touch more sweetness)

optional: handful of walnuts or mini dairy free chocolate chips

Make the donuts:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease your donut pan with a little bit of coconut or avocado oil.
2. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour wet into dry and combine. Fold in optional nuts or chocolate chips.
3. Spoon batter into donut wells, smoothing the tops. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, but check after about 12. Remove when they are firm to the touch and just golden. You can also do the toothpick test to test, toothpick will come out clean when donuts are done.
4. Let the donuts cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Make the chocolate ganache/glaze:

Combine 3/4 cup of dairy free chocolate chips with 1/4 cup of almond milk (or other plant milk) in a double boiler. I just fill a medium pot with a few inches of water and place a much smaller pot inside of it*. Melt them together, stirring often. Then dip the tops of the donuts into the chocolate, swirling them around. Lay on cooling rack and sprinkle on nuts, coconut shreds, vegan sprinkles, etc.

*Make sure there is plenty of wiggle room, you do not want it to be tightly fit inside of the larger pot, as pressure could build, which is dangerous.