Soft Banana Bread Donuts For Breakfast Or Brunch
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These Banana Bread Donuts take everything you love about classic banana bread and tuck it into a soft, baked donut you can glaze or roll in cinnamon sugar. They use pantry ingredients, a quick yeast boost, and a donut pan, so you get that bouncy, tender texture without dealing with hot oil.
The Banana Bread Donuts I Want With Every Weekend Coffee
These are the donuts I make when I have a couple of ripe bananas and want something a little more fun than another loaf. You get the familiar banana bread flavor, a hint of cinnamon, and that soft, cake-meets-yeast texture that feels extra special in donut form. The brown sugar keeps them moist, the bananas add natural sweetness, and the quick rise happens right in the mixing bowl so you do not need a full bread schedule to pull these off.
The process stays simple. The yeast wakes up in warm milk and sugar, then you stir in flour, mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and cinnamon until everything comes together in a thick batter. It sits for just a few minutes to get puffy, then you pipe it into donut pans and bake until the tops are golden and the kitchen smells like banana bread. Once they cool slightly, you can dip them in a vanilla glaze or toss them in cinnamon sugar, depending on how dessert-forward you want them to be.
Here is how it all comes together:
- Stir the dry ingredients and warm milk together so the yeast can activate and start to bubble
- Mash the bananas and whisk them with eggs, melted butter, and vanilla
- Fold the wet mixture into the flour mixture just until everything is combined and smooth
- Pipe or spoon the batter into greased donut pans, filling each well about two-thirds full
- Bake until the donuts are risen and lightly golden on top, then let them cool in the pan briefly
- Finish with a dip in vanilla glaze or a roll in cinnamon sugar while they are still slightly warm
The result is a donut that feels familiar and cozy but a little more playful than a slice of banana bread. They are sturdy enough to hold a thick glaze yet soft enough to tear apart with your fingers, and they taste just as good with coffee in the morning as they do as an afternoon snack.
Banana Bread Donuts
Equipment
- 2 donut pans
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour ( or 1:1 gluten free flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 pkt quick rise yeast
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup milk (oat milk if dairy-free)
- 2 eggs
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- optional toppings, vanilla glaze, cinnamon-sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 2 donut pans with nonstick baking spray.
- Add all of the dry ingredients and the oat milk to a bowl and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes so the yeast can activate.
- Add your remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix to just combine.
- Divide the batter between the donut pans.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Dip your donuts in glaze or cinnamon-sugar if desired.
- Enjoy!
