These double chocolate protein donuts are deliciously chocolatey with a soft cakey texture coated in a rich chocolate glaze. They're made with your favorite chocolate protein powder and each donut has 13 grams of protein. Healthy and decadent - the best of both worlds!
Table of Contents
The Best Protein Donuts
This homemade chocolate protein donut recipe is a fantastic way to get your protein fix for the day and curb your sugar cravings at the same time.
They taste just like classic chocolate cake donuts, but are sugar free and packed with protein. In fact, as I mentioned just a second ago, there's actually 13 grams of protein in each one of 'em! As a result, these protein donuts will keep you fuller for longer and leave you perfectly satisfied without the sugar crash.
So, if you're tired of boring old protein shakes, this recipe is a great way to switch it up to hit your protein goals.
Oh, and if you are tired of protein shakes, and haven't tried this Oreo protein shake you've got to, stat. The shake with one of these chocolate donuts is a dream of a breakfast or a fantastic pre or post-workout meal. For dessert, you can have the donuts with my vanilla protein ice cream.
Anyway, the best things about this donut recipe with whey protein is the fact that you can make a whole batch of 'em in under 30 minutes. The recipe is super simple, too - just combine everything in a bowl, transfer to the donut pan, and bake!
Honestly, it's one of the easiest donut recipes you can make, protein or not. It's about as simple as making this 1-minute chocolate protein mug cake.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make these chocolate protein donuts:
- Milk- I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
- Eggs
- Unsweetened applesauce- to keep them lower in calories.
- Vanilla extract
- Granular swerve- you can also use Lakanto's monkfruit sweetener.
- All-purpose flour- necessary for the best texture.
- Chocolate protein powder- whey protein powder and plant based protein powder both work great. You can also switch it up and use vanilla protein powder, peanut butter protein powder, or any flavored protein powder you want.
- Baking soda
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
And to make the chocolate frosting to coat them with:
- Chocolate protein powder
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Granular swerve
- Water
By the way, I actually use a lot of these ingredients to make my protein brownies and low calorie hot chocolate. So, if you're looking for some other decadent protein dessert recipes, you'll definitely want to check those out!
How To Make Protein Donuts
Step 1: Making The Donut Batter
First, preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Then, take out a large bowl and start combining the wet ingredients for the donuts. This would be your milk of choice, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
Now, once they're well combined, mix in your dry ingredients - the sugar substitute, flour, protein powder, baking soda, and unsweetened cocoa powder. Then, give everything a stir until you have a smooth batter.
Step 2: Baking The Donuts
Ok, so now you'll want to fill your silicone donut mold or donut pan with the donut batter. That said, if you aren't using a silicone - or non-stick pan - grease the insides with non-stick cooking spray or melted butter first. Also, if you don't have a donut pan, you can use a muffin tin!
Anyway, now you'll want to slide your filled donut pan into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. Your donuts are done when you can stick a toothpick into the center, and it comes out clean when pulled out.
Step 3: Frosting The Donuts
So, while the donuts are baking, you'll want to make the chocolate frosting to finish off the donuts.
In a small bowl, combine the chocolate protein powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, and sugar substitute and mix everything together until smooth.
Then, let the donuts cool to room temperature and top the cooled donuts with frosting. And if you're feeling extra, you can top them off with some rainbow or chocolate sprinkles. Enjoy!
How To Store These Protein Donuts
I love making a double batch and eating these throughout the week for breakfast or a late-night treat. So don't worry about making too many! If you have leftover donuts, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and you can also keep them at room temperature for up to 2 days. To store them, just place a piece of parchment paper between each donut before stacking them to prevent the frosting from sticking.
How To Freeze These Donuts
Now, these donuts last even longer, up to 2 months, if you put them in the freezer.
If you want to freeze them, place them on a lined tray and let them chill in the freezer until the frosting hardens. Then, store them in a freezer bag with a piece of parchment paper between each donut.
You can also store them without frosting (in this case, skip the pre-freezing step) and add frosting once you've defrosted the donuts. To defrost them, keep them in the refrigerator overnight and let them come to room temperature on the counter, or warm them up in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
More Protein Recipes
If you liked these protein donuts, I have a ton of protein recipes on the blog that you have to try next!
Check out these high protein recipes:
- Peanut butter protein cookies
- Protein Wendy's Frosty
- Protein blueberry muffins
- Protein waffles
- Protein pudding
- Protein oatmeal
- Protein overnight oats
- Protein french toast
- Weight gainer shake
By the way, if you're looking for other donut recipes with whey protein powder, you have to check out these pumpkin donuts too. They're so, so good.
Protein Donuts (Rich and Chocolatey)
These double chocolate protein donuts are deliciously chocolatey with a soft cakey texture coated in a rich chocolate glaze. They're made with your favorite chocolate protein powder and each donut has 13 grams of protein. Healthy and decadent - the best of both worlds!
Ingredients
Donuts:
- ⅓ Cup milk of choice
- 2 Eggs
- ½ Cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ⅓ Cup sugar substitute
- ¾ Cup flour
- 1 ½ Scoops Chocolate Protein Powder
- ½ tsp. Baking soda
- ⅓ Cup unsweetened cocoa
Frosting:
- 1 Scoop Chocolate Protein Powder
- ⅓ Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp. sugar substitute
- water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180°C).
- Combine the wet ingredients for the donuts in a bowl.
- Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients. Mix well.
- Fill a donut silicone mold with the mixture and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
- Mix all the frosting ingredients in a bowl and top the donuts with it.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 donutAmount Per Serving: Calories: 174Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 4gSugar: 0gProtein: 13g
Nichole says
Oh my good these donuts are awesome!
Lynnita says
Can this recipe be used to make cupcakes? If so, how many?
The Diet Chef says
Definitely...I think you'll end up with around 7-8 muffins.