Deliciously spiced and moist baked banana donuts are made in the oven! Covered in a silky smooth dark chocolate glaze, they’re decadent yet quick and simple to make. To bake as muffins, see my note below the recipe.
Homemade banana bread meets chocolate frosted donuts in today’s recipe for baked banana donuts. Bursting with sweet banana flavor, these moist and tender donuts are baked not fried. Like banana muffins, they’re a convenient and simple recipe any morning of the week.
Why You’ll Love These Baked Banana Donuts:
- Baked, not fried
- Easy to prepareโno mixer required
- Spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg
- Sweetened with brown sugar
- Made with banana and buttermilk for a soft, moist crumb
- Topped with chocolate glaze
- Fun to make and fun to eat!
Two Parts to Baked Banana Donuts
- Donuts: Weโre using my standard baked donut recipe as the base. It’s what I use for my baked maple donuts, cinnamon sugar donuts, chocolate frosted donuts, lemon poppy seed donuts, and crumb cake donuts (doubled for that recipe). To make today’s banana variation, we add some mashed banana, leave out the yogurt, and reduce the milk. Thereโs a small handful of basic ingredients required like flour, egg, and leaveners. Banana and buttermilk add moisture and I like to sweeten them with brown sugar. Add cinnamon and a little nutmeg for that signature bakery-style taste. After you mix this donut batter together, the aroma alone will remind you of a donut shopโitโs those spices!
- Chocolate Glaze: Weโre using the same chocolate glaze as we do for my chocolate frosted donuts. It’s like chocolate ganache, but we use butter. Butter helps it solidify and “set” on top of each donut. Water thins the glaze out while corn syrup (optional) keeps it smooth and shiny.
Quick Overview: How to Make Baked Banana Donuts
You only need a couple bowls and a spatula for these baked donuts!
- Make the donut batter. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Whisk to combine both. Itโs that easy.
- Fill the donut cavities. Transferring donut batter into the donut pan can be tricky, so I always suggest using a zipped-top bag to pipe the batter. (You can see me doing this in my pumpkin donuts post.) Just spoon the batter into a large zipped-top bag, trim off a bottom corner, and squeeze the batter into the pan. The donut batter is thicker than youโd expect, so it pipes pretty neatly.
- Bake. They bake up VERY quickly!
- Make the glaze. I usually do this as the donuts bake. Melt the chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup, and water together until completely smooth.
- Dip into glaze. Dip the warm donuts into the chocolate glaze.
More Donut Recipes
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Chai Spice Donuts
- Maple Bacon Doughnuts (fried)
- Glazed Doughnuts (fried)
- Glazed Chocolate Donut Holes
- Pumpkin Donuts
Baked Banana Donuts with Dark Chocolate Glaze
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8-9 donuts
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Sweet banana donuts, baked not fried, then covered in a rich dark chocolate glaze.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoonย ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) melted butter, slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 medium banana)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) buttermilk or whole milk
Dark Chocolate Glaze
- 1/2 cup (90g) darkย chocolate chips (semi-sweet works too)
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup*
- 2 teaspoons water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Spray a donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Makeย the donuts:ย Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Whisk the egg and brown sugar together in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in theย butter, mashed banana, vanilla, and buttermilkย until smooth and combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Spoon the batter into the donut cavitiesโI highly recommend using a large zipped-top bag for ease. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup, filling 2 โ 3 โ3 โ 4 of the way full. (See the photo in my chocolate frosted donuts post for a visual.)
- Bake for 9โ10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool for about two minutes and transfer to a wire rack set on a large piece of parchment paper or on a large baking sheet. Bake the remaining donut batterย (there is usually enough batter for 2-3 more donuts) and once baked, transfer to the wire rack. Allow donuts to cool down until you can handle them.
- Make the glaze:ย Place the chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup, and water in a medium bowl. Melt in 20 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each time, until completely melted and smooth.ย Dip the tops of the donuts into the chocolate glaze.
- Donuts taste best eaten the same day, though they may be covered tightly and stored at room temperature for 2 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the unglazed donuts for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator,ย warm up to your liking in the microwave, and top with glaze.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Donut Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Cooling Rack | Parchment Paper or Baking Sheet
- Milk: For best taste and texture, use buttermilk or whole milk. You can use lower fat or nondairy milk in a pinch, but the donuts wonโt taste as moist or rich.
- Muffins: You can make this recipe into 8-10 muffins using a muffin pan. Bake at the same temperature for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
- Corn Syrup: The 2 teaspoons of corn syrup makes the glaze unbelievably smooth, shiny, and silky. If desired, you can leave it out without making any other changes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made these without the chocolate glaze. So delicious! My kids and husband want me to make them again asap.
Made these today because I had one lonely overripe banana. Despite knowing that Sally only posts the best recipes ever, I didn’t have very high expectations largely due to previous experiences with baked donuts. But, WOW! These were great! I’ll be making them again.
Thanks LeeAnn, so glad to read this!