These deliciously fluffy Lemon Glazed AIP Blueberry Donuts are both yeast-free and baked rather than fried. They’re super quick to come together and sure to brighten up your day!
This was one of the first recipes I created on the blog and every time I make them it takes me back to the summer of 2020 when Heal Me Delicious first began. In their first iteration these donuts were vegan, but after testing with different brands of tigernut flour, I’ve found that they really do need more of a binder to keep them together. In the updated version of this recipe, I’ve added a gelatin egg to do just that.
These baked AIP donuts are light and soft and have a cake-like texture. The lemon glaze is made by adding just a pinch of turmeric to the coconut butter-based mixture to achieve a beautiful bright yellow colour. Don’t worry, it doesn’t impart its flavour, just a lovely burst of colour!
You can also opt to decorate your donuts with some unsweetened shredded coconut and a few more blueberries if you’re really feeling fancy.
Here are the key ingredients in these AIP Blueberry Donuts:
- Tigernut flour, coconut flour and tapioca starch – this combination makes for a wonderfully light texture and I don’t recommend any substitutions.
- Coconut oil – you’ll want to ensure it’s melted for this recipe
- Full fat coconut milk – as always, ensure it’s additive free and unsweetened. For this recipe I also recommend warming the milk before adding it to the oil, just so that it doesn’t cause the oil to solidify.
- Unsweetened applesauce – these add both sweetness and moisture to the donuts
- Cinnamon, vanilla extract and maple syrup – all contribute to the delicate and delicious flavour of these donuts
- Blueberries – you can use either frozen or fresh blueberries and both wild and regular varieties of blueberries work here too to provide bursts of natural sweetness.
- Gelatin powder – this is used to make a gelatin egg and serves as an egg replacement and is key for the donuts to stay together.
- Apple cider vinegar – don’t worry, you won’t taste it. This provides some acidity for the baking soda to interact with.
- An optional lemon coconut glaze takes things up a notch and transforms these into a beautiful treat that will be sure to impress even your non-AIP friends and family members. For the glaze you’ll also need coconut butter and turmeric (for color)
As with many AIP baked goods that don’t have real eggs, it’s important that you let these donuts cool slightly before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing/eating. Try moving them too soon and they are guaranteed to crumble.
Blueberry Donut FAQs
Can I substitute any of the flours?
This combination of flours and starches is what I’ve found to work best in this recipe to achieve the desired texture so I can’t recommend any other AIP substitutions.
Can I make these without a donut pan?
You could try rolling them into donut holes and baking them on a parchment lined baking sheet. They probably won’t need as much time in the oven so you’d have to check in on them!
How do I store these?
You can store these in a sealed container at room temperature for 2 days. Beyond that, I like to store them in the fridge for up to 4 days for optimal freshness. You can also freeze them!
My donuts are crumbling, what should I do?
These donuts are delicate so the best way to prevent them from crumbling is to let them cool! As noted above, you want to ensure these donuts cool slightly before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing/eating. It’s also very fimportant that you grease the donut pan – even if it says non-stick. You want the donuts to be able to slide out the pan when baked to minimize any crumbling.
Looking for more AIP berry-licious recipes? Try:
- Lemon Blueberry Banana Bread
- AIP Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream
- Lemon Custard with Strawberry Compote
- Strawberry Basil Ice Cream
- Mixed Berry Galettes
- Paleo Wild Blueberry Beet Smoothie
Here are some other AIP and paleo donuts you might enjoy:
- Baked Chocolate Donuts with Raspberries
- Salted Caramel Cinnamon Donuts
- Grain-free Baked Mini Donuts with Pastel Glaze
- Pumpkin Spice Cake Donuts
If you try these AIP Blueberry Donuts, I would appreciate it if you would give the recipe a star rating and short review. Also, be sure to snap a picture of the finished product and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @healmedelicious and using the hashtag #healmedelicious.
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AIP Blueberry Donuts (paleo, yeast-free)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5–6 donuts 1x
Description
These deliciously fluffy, baked AIP Blueberry Donuts are grain free, yeast-free and dairy-free and topped with an optional lemon coconut glaze for a pop of colour.
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup tigernut flour
- 2/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 TBSP maple syrup
- 1/4 cup warm coconut milk
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- gelatin egg (1 TBSP apple cider vinegar, 1 TBSP gelatin powder, 1/4 cup hot water)
- 1/4 cup blueberries
Lemon Glaze
- 1/4 cup coconut butter
- 2 TBSP maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 TBSP full fat coconut milk (additive free)
- 3 TBSP lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp turmeric for colour (optional)
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat oven to 325 F and lightly oil donut pan with olive or coconut oil.*
- In a large bowl, combine tapioca starch, tigernut flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine applesauce, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, maple syrup, warmed coconut milk and melted coconut oil.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Make gelatin egg by combining apple cider vinegar and gelatin powder in a small bowl and whisking in the hot water until the mixture is frothy.
- Immediately fold the gelatin egg into the batter. Batter will be thick (not pourable), but should feel light.
- Fold in blueberries.
- Place the batter into a piping bag and pipe the mixture into the donut pan, OR use your hands to shape batter into moulds, filling each mould 3/4 way full.
- Bake 15 minutes in the middle rack of the oven or until a toothpick inserted into the donut comes out clean.
- Let donuts sit 5 minutes before removing from the donut pan and then transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.**
Glaze
- As donuts cool, make glaze by mixing together in a wide bowl the coconut butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, coconut milk, lemon juice and optional turmeric. Mix until smooth. Add more coconut milk and/or coconut butter as necessary to create your desired consistency.
- Once donuts are cooled completely, drizzle glaze onto donuts.
Notes
* Don’t skip this step (even if your pan is non-stick), this really helps the donuts come out the pan and gives them a golden exterior.
**To remove the donuts from the pan, I recommend placing your cooling rack upside down on top of the donut pan. Using two hot pads, grab the sides of the donut pan and the cooling rack at the same time and in one smooth motion, flip them upside down. The donuts will release onto the cooling rack and this will minimize the amount you are actually handling the donuts before they have cooled and while they are still subject to breaking apart.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Desserts
This recipe is wonderful! I was so amazed to find a donut recipe that suits the way my husband and i eat. They came out really light and with a delicious flavor. I will definitely be making them again. Thank you so much Nicole – I can’t wait to try out more of your recipes!
Since I suffer from Lupus it’s hard to find tasty AIP recipes. I stumbled onto your IG, and have really come to fall in love with your recipes. I made these today and was so happy with how they turned out.😋 They were so tasty, and easy to make. Took pics but I don’t see how to insert them. 😞
Thanks so much Yvette!
looping back to this recipe now that my friend has written me a hand-written thank you card expressing just how much she loved the blueberry donuts with lemon glaze i delivered to her last week. she said she hadn’t eaten something that felt decadent in the months since moving toward AIP. it was such a nice card to receive that I wanted to be sure to share the compliments.
Thank you so much for this and for sharing with your friend <3
I have made these donuts three times now and have been lifted up by them each time! I am super grateful for how beautiful and lemon-y the frosting looks after it receives its turmeric dash. Happily delivering 28 of these as spring treats to a friend who could use a pick-me-up. Thank you as always, Nicole!
Holy moly! These are great!! I also blended an additional quarter cup blueberries with the wet ingredients to give more flavor and color, then used a whipped honey with blueberries as the frosting. Yum. I had to cook an additional 10 min with the extra blueberries. Next time I’ll double the maple syrup to make it sweeter too. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
These turned out wonderful! I used a muffin silicone pan and added 5 more minutes, then used a spoon to top them with glaze. They are delicious, moist, a little bit tangy and not too sweet. Thank you for this recipe, will make them again!
So delicious! I made them with a muffin pan since I didn’t have a donut pan and they turned out great! I’ve tried several other AIP dessert recipes from other sites before but this one is a new favorite.
Thanks, Stephanie! So glad you enjoyed
Great recipe! I just made them. My only question I have is about the dipping technique and the consistency. I added one more tablespoon of coconut butter to the lemon glaze which made it thick. When I dipped the donut in it basically fell apart. I ended up using a brush to coat the donuts. The brush made some lines but I ended up putting coconut flakes. Doesn’t look bad. I ate the one that fell apart lol. But I’m wondering is the consistency supposed to be runny or thick? – Thanks!
Hi Mimi, thanks for trying the recipe and so glad you like the donuts! The consistency of the coconut butter should be soft but not melted so that it’s runny. Sounds like yours was too thick, but I trust it was still delicious 🙂
These were awesome. It was delightful to have a donut that has weight to it. You almost feel guilty, but in a good way!
Hi,
Can you please tell me if you melt the coconut butter first when making the glaze? My coconut butter is pretty hard.
Thank you,
Julie
Hi Julia, if it’s really solid then you can warm it slightly so that you’re able to mix it in with the other ingredients but you don’t want it to become liquid and lose its opacity or thickness.
Super yummy! I used a mini muffin pan and they turned out great. The glaze takes it to the next level. Thanks for such an awesome recipe!
Do you this this recipe would work in a different type of pan? I don’t have a donut pan. Thanks! Can’t wait to make these.
Hi there. You could try rolling them into donut holes and baking them on a parchment lined baking sheet. They probably won’t need as much time in the oven so you’d have to check in on them!
Can you substitute cassava flour for the tiger nut flour? I don’t have tiger nut flour on hand, and with the “speed” of mail, it’ll be weeks before I can get any. I also have coconut flour and almond flour. Thanks!
Hi Kathi, I haven’t tried any substitutes in this recipe so can’t say for sure. I don’t eat nuts as they aren’t AIP compliant, but have heard that almond flour is your best bet!
Hi!
Would substituting the tapioca with cassava flour work? I know one is just the extracted starch and the other the complete root so that could either make a big difference or hardly any at all in the final result…
(Mostly asking cuz I got a huge bag of the latter and none of the former in my pantry)
Hi Diederik, unfortunately the starch here is key to the texture. The taste will be similar but cassava flour is likely to make these a bit gummy.
Tried these tonight and they turned out even better than expected! The sweet and tangy combo is just divine! Will definitely make again. Thank you for sharing ❤️
Im going to make these tomorrow ?
How do you store them?
Thanks!
Hi Kath! These can be stored in a sealed Tupperware on the counter for about a day and then refrigerated for up to 4 days. You can also freeze them without the glaze.