If you’re craving cozy fall flavors, these homemade pumpkin donuts are just the treat. Baked (not fried!) and topped with a rich brown sugar icing, they’re soft, moist, perfectly spiced, and ready in under 45 minutes. The icing sets beautifully so the donuts are easy to stack, store, and even transport—making them just as practical as they are delicious!
I originally published this recipe in 2019 and have since added new photos and more success tips.
There’s something about pumpkin season that makes baking feel extra special. These donuts capture all of that magical fall comfort with warm spices, a soft cake-like texture, and a rich brown sugar caramel-like icing. They’re simple enough for a weekday breakfast and impressive enough to serve at a fall gathering or holiday brunch.
Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Donuts
- Baked, not fried
- Makes a big batch, but can be halved
- Cake donut texture that’s still moist and soft
- No mixer needed
- Ready in less than 45 minutes
- Perfectly spiced and you can use homemade pumpkin pie spice
- Delicious plain, but even better with icing
By the way, these taste fantastic with a cup of coffee and homemade pumpkin coffee creamer. Fall breakfast doesn’t get much better than this!
One reader, Jennifer, commented: “I had some leftover pumpkin and this was the perfect recipe to use it on. The donuts are soft and the glaze turned out just like a donut shop! ★★★★★“
One reader, Tricia, commented: “This recipe is perfection! Made them today and wanted to share them with the world. Ha! Perfect texture and moistness. I love that the glaze sets. I added pecans to the top. ★★★★★“
One reader, Lat, commented: “I thought I loved all your other baked donut recipes, but these are just insane. They blow everything else away. And the frosting! Literally one of the best treats I’ve made, and I’ve been baking A LOT this year! ★★★★★“
Behind the Recipe
My mini pumpkin muffins are donut-like, but it wasn’t until I transformed these pumpkin cream cheese muffins into cake-like donuts that I was truly satisfied with a classic baked pumpkin donut recipe.
I love that muffin batter because it’s really easy to prepare and always impresses, even without the cheesecake filling and crumb topping. (And that says a lot!!) The batter is a lot like my pumpkin crumb cake muffins, but there’s baking powder for lift, and we’ll sweeten the donuts exclusively with brown sugar.
How to Make Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Made with basic ingredients, these pumpkin donuts come together quickly. Here’s what you need for the batter:
Making them is extremely simple. Here’s the basic process:
- Mix the dry ingredients together.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients.
- Fill donut pan.
- Bake.
I have a handy trick for filling donut pans, and I swear by it if you’re looking for an easy shortcut. Add the batter to a large zipped-top bag, cut off a corner, then pipe the batter into the donut pan filling only about halfway. The bag makes transferring the batter easy, neat, and quick. I use the same trick when making the baked chocolate donuts in Sally’s Baking 101 cookbook.
Bounce-Back Trick
I have another trick for you and I do this with almost every cake, muffin, cupcake, and donut that I bake. When the donuts are looking just about done, lightly poke the top with your finger. If the donut bounces back, they’re done. If your finger leaves an indent, the donuts need a little longer in the oven. Testing with a toothpick works as well.
Brown Sugar Icing
After plenty of testing, I landed on this buttery brown sugar icing, which is adapted from my apple Bundt cake glaze. It’s smooth, creamy, and rich, and it sets into a glossy finish that makes these donuts easy to transport.
Here’s how it comes together: Simmer butter, brown sugar, and milk together. Stir in vanilla and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Add a pinch of salt for balance (highly recommend!).
Dip the donuts while the icing is warm and let it set for a few minutes. The combination of spiced pumpkin donut + buttery brown sugar icing is truly next-level.
Let the icing thicken for a few minutes, then give those donuts a nice belly flop right into it. Brown sugared and buttery, this icing might just be better than the donuts themselves. If you’re hooked on it, you’ll also love the icing drizzled on apple cinnamon bread.
The brown sugar icing sets, so these are convenient for stacking or transporting.
Alternate Pumpkin Donut Toppings
Before the icing sets, you can garnish the donuts with finely chopped nuts (I used walnuts), toffee pieces, coconut, or sprinkles. If you’re not into brown sugar icing, try any of these:
- Vanilla Icing
- Maple Icing from these Banana Scones
- Brown Butter Icing from these Apple Blondies
- Cinnamon-Sugar Topping (see recipe note)
More Fall Baking Recipes
And, of course, don’t forget about pumpkin pie, the dessert that started it all!
Print
Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 donuts
- Category: Donuts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
If you’re craving all the cozy fall flavors, these homemade pumpkin donuts are just the treat. Baked (not fried!) and topped with a rich brown sugar icing, they’re soft, moist, perfectly spiced, and ready in under 45 minutes. The icing sets beautifully so the donuts are easy to stack, store, and even transport—making them just as practical as they are delicious! See recipe Notes about turning these into pumpkin muffins or mini pumpkin donuts.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil (or canola oil or melted coconut oil)
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (226g) fresh or canned pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup (80ml) milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Brown Sugar Icing
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk (whole milk is best)
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (170g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
- pinch of salt, to taste
- optional topping: crushed walnuts (see Note for other options)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease donut pan(s) with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Make the donuts: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice until combined. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk together gently just until combined and no flour pockets remain. Do not over-mix.
- Spoon the batter into the donut cavities or, for ease, I recommend transferring the batter into a large zipped-top bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cavity, filling each about halfway.
- Bake for 10–11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. To test, poke your finger into the top of the donut. If the donut bounces back, they’re done.
- Cool donuts in the pan for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Re-grease the pan and bake the remaining donut batter. *For mini donuts, bake in a mini donut pan for 8–9 minutes. Cool donuts for at least 10 minutes before icing them.*
- Make the icing: Combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 1 minute, then remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract and sifted confectioners’ sugar until smooth and combined. Taste, then add a pinch of salt if desired—I always add a tiny pinch. Let the icing cool for 5 minutes to slightly thicken.
- Dip the tops of the pumpkin donuts into the warm icing. If the icing is getting too thick as you’re dipping, whisk in a little more milk, or warm back up in the microwave or on the stove to thin it out.
- Place dipped donuts on a cooling rack placed on a baking sheet to allow excess icing to drip off. Top with chopped nuts or other toppings if desired. If applied lightly, the icing will eventually set (in about 1 hour) so you can stack or transport the donuts.
- Cover leftover donuts tightly and store at room temperature for 1–2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can freeze the donuts, plain or topped with the icing, for up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up to your liking in the microwave. I usually microwave them for just a few seconds. If plain, top with icing before serving, if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Donut Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Large Zip-Topped Bag | Saucepan | Cooling Rack
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores, or you can make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/4 teaspoon each: ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice. This is in addition to the 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon—you will still add that.
- Milk: For the donut batter, any milk works, dairy or non-dairy. I’ve tested with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, whole milk, and skim milk. For the icing, whole milk will give you the thickest consistency and best flavor.
- Optional Toppings: After applying the icing, you can sprinkle toppings on top or dip the donuts into any of the following: sprinkles, finely chopped walnuts (what I use) or pecans, toasted coconut, finely chopped toffee bits, or a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Instead of icing, you can add a cinnamon-sugar topping. Follow the same topping instructions (including dipping in melted butter) found in my baked cinnamon sugar donuts recipe. Feel free to replace that cinnamon in the topping with pumpkin pie spice, if you’d like.
- No Donut Pan? Make donut muffins in your standard 12-cup muffin pan. Follow the baking instructions for my pumpkin crumb cake muffins, leaving off the crumb topping. Top warm muffins with the brown sugar icing before serving.
- Mini Donuts: Want to make mini donuts or mini donut holes in a mini muffin pan? Grease your pan, and fill each mini muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for about 8–9 minutes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Made these this morning and as usual it was amazing! I can’t say enough about how light and delicious these are. I made them exactly as the recipe and they are perfect! All of Sally’s baking recipes are wonderful and I also love all her pre recipe explanations about how’s and why’s. THE BEST site for baking which is my passion/hobby!
Hi Nancy, we are so glad you loved these!
Made these this morning as I had leftover pumpkin from the pumpkin spice roll cookies (also 5 stars!). What a treat! These were easy to make an SO FUN! The “bounce back” test worked like a charm. Instead of the brown sugar icing here, I used the maple icing (also from the ps roll cookies). I am in heaven. Perfect for a chilly morning in New England! Thank you again for another delicious and fun recipe!
Hi Catherine, we are so glad you put your leftover pumpkin to good use! Enjoy.
Made these to take to a birthday brunch today. They were decadent and a breeze to make thanks to your great directions!!
Can almond flour or coconut flour be substituted?
Hi Stefanie, We haven’t tried these with almond or coconut flour, but please let us know how they turn out if you do!
Soooo good. I added a little milk to the thickened frosting , mistake for me, I should have warmed it.
I’m an unrelated matter, would it be advisable to make a cracker crust for a savory dish like a quiche? How would that work?
DELICIOUS! My icing didn’t turn white like pictured, but it was still yummy. More donut recipes please!
I would like to know if I can do this recipe in one of those little mini donut maker machines?
Hi Julie, We haven’t tried it but we don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Let us know if you give it a try!
I am planning on making these this week-end and was wondering if I need to pat the moisture out of the pumpkin puree before using?
Thank!
Hi Amy! That’s not necessary for this recipe. Hope you love them!
Have you ever added chocolate chips? Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies have been a family favorite for 40 years. I want to introduce this concept!
Thank you!
Hi Sally! Can’t wait to try these, but I have just one (probably silly) question. I have a donut pan, but have only ever used it once, on a recipe I got from another blog. My donut pan is non-stick (dark) and typically I would lower the oven temperature 25 degrees to accommodate that, but the pictures from that recipe showed the author using a non-stick pan too, so I followed the recipe instructions using the same temperature and time. I took them out at the low end of the baking time range and they were both dry and way too dark on the bottom. We were not a fan of the outcome. I’m dying to try these, but since it also looks like you might be using a dark non-stick donut pan, thought I’d ask first if I should bake at 350 or lower the temp to 325. (I have an accurate oven thermometer, so I know that’s not the issue.) Thanks!
Hi Colleen, we can’t speak to the other recipe, but we’d recommend baking these at 350 degrees as stated, but you can keep a close eye on them if you find that baked goods finish earlier in your oven. Hope you enjoy these muffins!
That’s all I needed; thanks so much! It looks like the link in the recipe note actually goes to the exact same donut pan I have, so I will proceed at 350. Thanks!
Oh My Gosh…..these are so delicious. No improvements needed, I can’t wait to make them again. I’m on the look out for copycat blueberry cake donuts like DD.
The cooler morning temps in the Midwest this week had me ready to bake, and I made this with some pumpkin purée I had frozen last fall. So good!! We’ll be making these on repeat throughout the fall!! Thank you!
Hi Sally, planning to give these a try here in the U.K. I lived in the USA for a while and miss pumpkin and apple cider donuts (I’m having a go at your recipe for those too) my question is can I substitute melted butter instead of the veg oil? Many thanks
Hi Vita! You can substitute melted butter for the oil, but the donuts won’t taste quite as moist. Let us know how you like it and if you try the apple cider donuts, too!
Can you substitute apple sauce for the oil? I do that often with my baking and usually have success.
Hi Sue, We haven’t tested it. However, we usually find that when all of the fat is removed the end result can be a rubbery texture. If you wish to experiment you can start by replacing half of the oil with applesauce. Let us know if you try it!
I just made this recipe and they came up perfect and delicious! Strongly reccomend anyone to try. My boys loved it! It is easy, straight forward and the directions and amounts were just right. Thank you so much!!
Sally I finally bought a donut pan last night. Even though I’ve seen plenty of recipes for pumpkin donuts I’m going to use yours because your recipes never fail me. That glaze sounds AMAZING!! I’ll come back to let you know how it went. Happy Holidays to you and yours Sally….
I don’t know what I did wrong but they came out very veggie oily. Had to throw the batch away. Maybe next time I’ll try without veg oil.
Hi Lexie, Thank you for trying this recipe. There is only a half cup of oil in this recipe – did you make any changes or ingredient substitutions?
These donuts are so yummy! I made a batch last night and after my family (seven of us plus two friends) each had one they immediately requested a second batch so there would be more for breakfast. The recipe is so easy I didn’t mind at all.
This donut recipe is superb! Our whole family loved it. My son is a picky eater and he doesn’t like veggies at all but he likes this very much. What I really like the most in this recipe is that it works well with plant based milk. Also, the icing is so good! This definitely has become one of our favorites.
Sally, these were so so so delicious! I bought a donut pan back in 2012 after you posted the banana bread donuts and have made those quite a few times but thought I should break out that pan a bit more. I am usually not even a huge cake donut fan, but THESE ARE WOW! I devoured so many even before glazing. I froze about half the batch too(unglazed) when I made them a few weeks ago and today I grabbed one out of the freezer, microwaved it for about 15 secs each side and tossed in some cinnamon sugar and it was still so soft and delicious!! These really knocked it out of the park.
Sally this is probably one of the BEST recipes I’ve tried from your blog! I made mini versions and they barely made it to the glazing stage because they were soooo goood my family and I kept eating them!! The glaze made them perfect and I love that the glaze hardens making the donuts stackable. Definitely a keeper! Thanks for such a stellar recipe!
I thought I loved all your other baked donut recipes, but these are just insane, the blow everything else away. And the frosting! Literally one of the best treats I’ve made, and I’ve been baking A LOT this year!
These are amazingly delicious, super soft with super yummy flavor! The brown sugar icing is a perfect combo (with added nutmeg and cinnamon of course!) thank you for your foolproof recipes!
Super popular at work.—with everyone, even the “no-sweet” eaters. Yum.
Hi! Can you sub coconut flour? Or it completely ruin the recipe?
Thanks!!
I made these for Halloween and they were so delicious!!!Easy to follow and I’m even making another batch today 🙂
Came out great!
These are amazing! I recently got a donut pan and have been trying recipes. These were so easy and perfect for a rainy, fall Saturday morning! Thank you!
These were such a yummy treat! Great taste for the cake part and the frosting is awesome.
Will make these again:)
Should I let the donuts cool completely before dipping in the icing?
It really doesn’t matter. You can dip them warm or wait for them to cool. The longer they cool, the easier they are to handle.
I have tried this recipe 4 times now and the icing just doesn’t work. It hardens quickly and I mean HARD and then after about 12 hours melts off.. it’s very strange. I love the donut recipe itself though and continue to make that and just dip in cinnamon sugar mixture.
Same thing happened to me. It stayed for a day or so and just came right off. Not sure how to fix this or what is best, I want to try it again but I don’t want to gift them and they flop before they can enjoy it.
Just got myself a donut pan and I wanted to try it out. These are ridiculously good, I can’t stop eating them! I doubled the amount of pumpkin pie spice and that was perfect for my taste. They are so fluffy and the glaze is the perfect topping. I’ll definitely be making these again. Thanks for the recipe!
These are amazing!! It was my first time making donuts and it was so easy to follow and they were so moist and not overly sweet, loved them!