Banana Bread Donuts (Printable version)
Soft, moist donuts combining classic banana bread flavor with fun shape. Ready in 30 minutes.
# What you'll need:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (160 g)
02 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 g)
03 - 1 tsp baking powder
04 - 1/2 tsp baking soda
05 - 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
06 - 1/4 tsp salt
→ Wet Ingredients
07 - 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
08 - 2 large eggs
09 - 1/3 cup vegetable oil (80 ml) or melted butter
10 - 1/4 cup whole milk (60 ml)
11 - 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
→ Optional Glaze
12 - 1/2 cup powdered sugar (60 g)
13 - 1 tbsp milk
14 - 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
# Directions:
01 - Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a standard 12-cavity donut pan with oil or non-stick spray.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt until evenly distributed.
03 - In a separate bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, vegetable oil (or melted butter), whole milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth and fully incorporated.
04 - Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently fold with a spatula until just combined — be careful not to overmix, as this can make the donuts tough.
05 - Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan cavities, filling each one about three-quarters full. Alternatively, transfer the batter to a piping bag for cleaner filling.
06 - Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the donuts spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
07 - Let the donuts rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
08 - Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and ground cinnamon until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled donuts and allow the glaze to set before serving.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- These donuts use up bananas that are past their prime and turn them into something genuinely exciting instead of another predictable loaf.
- The batter comes together in one bowl situation with no fancy equipment, so you can go from spotty bananas to warm donuts in about half an hour.
02 -
- Overmixing the batter is the single fastest way to ruin these, so stop folding the moment everything looks combined even if a few tiny streaks remain.
- Underripe bananas will taste flat and starchy, so wait until the peels are mostly black or microwave whole bananas for thirty seconds to soften them quickly.
03 -
- A piping bag or even a zip top bag with the corner snipped off makes filling the donut pan infinitely easier and gives cleaner shapes.
- Tapping the filled pan gently on the counter before baking releases trapped air bubbles and prevents odd tunnels inside the donuts.