Baked Banana Donuts with Brown Sugar Glaze

Banana donuts

We make a lot of muffins in my household and everyone loves them. I think the most popular recipe right now is triple chocolate banana muffins but pumpkin chocolate chip muffins run a close second. I almost always have a loaf of whole wheat banana bread around for snacking.

But a glazed donut? It’s kind of a treat, right? A donut seems more special than a muffin. Maybe it’s the hole in the center, or maybe it’s the “frosting”! (Be sure to try my chocolate donuts topped with chocolate ganache, too!)

Baked Banana Donuts

Not as greasy as bakery donuts. As you may have guessed, baked doughnuts aren’t as heavy as a deep-fried donuts. Homemade donuts are made with wholesome healthy ingredients from your own kitchen. The mashed bananas actually add a lot of natural sweetness although there is some added sugar, as well.

Easy to make! Because the doughnuts aren’t deep-fried, they are much easier to make. The batter is just like muffin batter and you bake the donuts exactly like muffins except instead of using a muffin tin, you use a special donut pan.

Customizable. If you’re a nut about nuts, please feel free to sprinkle chopped pecans or walnuts on the glaze.

Ingredient Notes

• Ripe Bananas: You’ll need about two medium-sized bananas. The riper they are, the sweeter they’ll taste. It’s perfectly fine if they have lots of brown speckles or are even completely brown. Do you have a couple “over-the-hill” bananas languishing on your counter right now? That’s a perfect reason to make donuts!
• Sugar: You’ll use three types of sugar in this recipe (don’t panic, it’s not a ton of sugar). The donuts themselves are made with ½ cup of granulated white sugar. The glaze contains both dark brown sugar for flavor and confectioner’s sugar for spreadability.
• Eggs: You’ll need a couple of large eggs.
• Butter: You’ll use butter for both the doughnuts and the glaze, 5 tablespoons total.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: If you want to change things up a bit, maple or bourbon extract are good, too.
• Flour, Baking Powder, Salt: This is pretty normal stuff in baked goods.
• Cinnamon: My kids love cinnamon; I think they would add it to pizza. A pinch of nutmeg is great, too.
• Whole Milk: You’ll need just a bit for the glaze, other types of milk work too.

How To Make Baked Donuts

Get ready. The process is much like making muffins. Turn on the oven to preheat. You’ll need a mixing bowl and measuring utensils.

Mix the wet ingredients. Begin by mashing a couple of bananas in a large bowl. I always use my pastry cutter to mash bananas but a fork or potato masher works fine, too. Stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter.

Add the dry ingredients. Measure out the flour by spooning it into a measuring cup and leveling it out with a knife. Add the flour to the bowl, along with cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients lightly right on top of the banana mixture, then combine everything. Don’t over mix the batter. Stir just until the flour mixture is mixed into the wet ingredients.

Put the batter in the pan. Spray the donut pan lightly with cooking spray. There are two ways to put the batter in the pan. You can scrape it all into a pastry bag (or plastic bag with the corner cut off) and squeeze it into the little circles. This is a little neater and faster. The second option is to carefully spoon the batter into the molds. It’s not very difficult to do that either. Don’t worry about getting it perfect. As the donuts bake, they rise and fill right in.

Bake the donuts and make the glaze. While the donuts are baking (just 15 minutes!), make the glaze. You’ll need a small saucepan. Combine the brown sugar and milk in the pan, bringing it to a boil. Let it boil for one or two minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter and vanilla, stirring quickly and thoroughly until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the powdered sugar.

Pour the glaze into a shallow bowl for dipping.

Glaze the donuts. Once the donuts have cooled for five minutes, remove them from the donut pan, and immediately dip the tops into the glaze. Let the excess drip off and set the donut on a wire rack to cool completely.

Important tip! If you’re adding nuts or sprinkles, remember that the glaze hardens really quickly. Once you dip the donut in the glaze, immediately top that donut with the nuts or sprinkles. Otherwise, they’ll just bounce right off. Trust me, I know this from experience.

Serve. Serve the donuts with a tall glass of cold milk for the kids, and maybe an iced pumpkin spice latte for you. Take a little time to savor the donuts and have some great conversation. Make memories with brown sugar glazed banana donut delights!

Ripe Bananas

How can I ripen bananas quickly? Chiquita has all the answers for you (and they are certainly the experts!). To ripen bananas quickly, put them in a warm spot. It helps to put them in a paper bag with another piece of very ripe fruit.

If you want ripe bananas just for baking, put unpeeled bananas on parchment paper in a baking tray and place in a preheated oven at 300°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are completely black. Once they’ve cooled, you can scoop the soft banana pulp out and use it for baking.

Can bananas be too old for baking? Even if the banana peel is completely black, you can use it for baking. The riper the banana, the sweeter the taste. (However, if you notice mold or a rotten odor, discard the banana.) If you happen to have an abundance of slightly over-the-hill bananas, freeze them to use later in recipes like these banana doughnuts, banana bread, banana muffins, or smoothies (how to freeze bananas).

Recipe Variations

• Make a different kind of glaze (or omit it). A plain powdered sugar glaze is good on most anything and you could garnish it with chopped nuts, sprinkles, or sugar crystals. Instead of the vanilla extract, try a maple flavored extract or go in a completely different direction with a lemon flavored glaze. Another option is to simply sprinkle the donuts with powdered sugar.
• Flour alternatives. Substitute whole wheat flour for the all-purpose or use a combination. If you’re looking for gluten-free, use a 1:1 gluten free flour. Note: I haven’t tested either of these ideas.
• Make muffins instead. Use the same batter but fill muffin tins instead of a doughnut pan. Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Depending on the size of your muffin cups, the yield will be eight to ten muffins. Drizzle with glaze after removing the muffins from the pan, if you like, or dip in glaze.

Storage Tips

Like most bakery items, these donuts are best eaten the same day they are baked. If you have some leftover, make sure they are completely cool before storing them in an airtight container on the counter. They’ll keep for a day or two, but keep in mind that the glaze tends to soak into the donuts, so their appearance will change. If you want them to last a bit longer, refrigerate them for up to a week.