These Baked Banana Donut Holes are super-simple 3-ingredient donuts with a batter made with ripe bananas and no sugar in less than 30 minutes.
While the whole recipe is just below, don’t miss all my tips further down, including ingredient swaps, my cooking tips, and step-by-step shots!
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Baked Banana Donut Holes
These Baked Banana Donut Holes are super-simple 3-ingredient donuts with a batter made with ripe bananas and no sugar in less than 30 minutes.
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Servings: 24 Donut Holes
Calories: 139.6 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Self-Rising Flour - (note 1)
- ¼ cup Light Olive Oil - (note 2)
- 1 ⅓ cups Mashed Banana - (note 3)
To coat
- ½ cup Unrefined Cane Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons Light Olive Oil - in a spray bottle
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Oil generously two 12-hole mini muffin pans with cooking oil.
- In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas, pack them in a measuring cup to get the exact amount. If you mash too much banana, freeze it, and use it in a smoothie later.
- Add olive oil and self-rising flour, and use a rubber spatula to stir and form a sticky banana muffin batter.
- Use a small cookie dough scoop to fill each muffin hole up to 3/4 their level.
- Bake the donut holes for 20-22 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- In a small bowl, prepare the cinnamon sugar: stir sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Flip the pan upside down on a cooling rack and let them cool for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the olive oil in a oil spray bottle, (or use a pastry brush).
- Spray oil all over the mini muffin, or use a pastry brush to lightly brush each mini muffin and immediately roll it into the cinnamon sugar.
- They will look like mini banana muffins coated with cinnamon sugar but taste like donut holes.
Notes
Note 1: You can replace the self-rising flour with 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour + 3 teaspoons of baking powder. The recipe hasn’t been tested with all-purpose gluten-free flour, I can’t guarantee it delivers a great taste/texture. The recipe won’t work with almond flour or oat flour.
Note 2: Any low-flavor oil works, like canola oil or refined coconut oil.
Note 3: Make sure you use ripe bananas with black spots on their skin for the best sweetness.
Nutrition
Serving: 1donut hole (recipe makes 24) | Calories: 139.6kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1.7g | Fat: 6.3g | Saturated Fat: 2.8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 2.5mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 10.3g | Vitamin A: 3178.7IU | Vitamin C: 0.9mg | Calcium: 12.6mg | Iron: 0.5mg | Magnesium: 8.4mg | Phosphorus: 19.1mg | Zinc: 0.1mg
Ingredients and Substitutions
This paragraph gives you all my tips about picking the right ingredients. For the full recipe with measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post!Go to Full Recipe
You only need 3 ingredients to make the dough! Here’s how to pick them.
- Self-Rising Flour – This provides the structure for the donut holes and helps them rise. If you don’t have it, you can use 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour plus 3 teaspoons of baking powder. Almond flour or oat flour are not suitable for this recipe. I haven’t tried any gluten-free flour blend for this.
- Light Olive Oil – It adds moisture to the donut holes. Other low-flavor oils like canola oil or refined coconut oil also work well.
- Mashed Banana – This is the base of the donut holes, providing natural sweetness and moisture. Ripe bananas with black spots on their skin will give the best sweetness.
And if you want to coat the donuts:
- Unrefined Cane Sugar – This is used to coat the donut holes, adding sweetness and a slightly granular texture. Sugar-free crystal sweeteners like monk fruit blend or allulose can also be used.
- Cinnamon – This spice is mixed with the sugar for a classic donut flavor coating.
- Light Olive Oil – This is brushed or sprayed onto the baked donut holes to help the cinnamon sugar adhere. Refined coconut oil is also a good option for a neutral flavor.
How to Make Baked Banana Donut Holes
These donut holes are really easy to whip up. Here’s how in pictures.
Mash the banana s in a mixing bowl and measure the exact amount needed.
Add the oil and self-rising flour and combine the batter.
Transfer the batter to two oiled mini-muffin baking pans.
Bake the donut holes for 20-22 minutes at 350°F (180°C).
Carine’s Baking Tips
Let me share a few more tips to make sure you have the best donut holes.
- Sugar-Free Coating – Feel free to use a sugar-free crystal sweetener like monk fruit blend or allulose to roll the donuts for a lower sugar and calorie option.
- Maximize Banana Sweetness – Use ripe bananas with black spots on their skin to enhance the sweetness of the donut holes without adding extra sugar to the batter.
- Control Oil Coating – Use an oil spray to apply a thin and even layer of oil around each donut, or lightly brush with a pastry brush to use less oil.
- Choose Low-Flavor Oil – Use a low-flavor oil like light olive oil or refined coconut oil to coat the donuts, ensuring the banana and cinnamon flavors remain prominent.
Don’t have a donut hole pan . Could I bake these like cookies ?
We don’t use a donut hole pan but a mini muffin pan. Since the batter is liquid like a muffin batter, you can’t bake these on a baking sheet like cookies. However, you can try my 2-ingredient banana donut holes2-Ingredient Banana Donut Holes, the batter is easy to roll by hands and bake on a baking sheet or air fry, without a pan. I hope it helps.
They look Delish I will try them Ty x
Thank you! Let me know how it turns out.
Hi☺️I like your simple ingredients recipe. can I please clear some questions,, what’s the difference using oil 60ml in this and some milk in the muffins recipe? make them moist but especially for donuts alike, using oil necessary in ? what the texture difference you are aiming for? Thanks
Absolutely! In baking, the goal of using oil versus milk is all about the texture and moisture retention you want to achieve. For example, oil adds moisture and creates a chewy, texture in this donut hole recipe, close to a fried donut texture – even though I am not frying them. But on the other hand, milk provides hydration, create a light fluffy crumb, and give structure, which is more what you expect from a muffin.
Thank you!
Hello there,
I am hoping to try a recipe from this site for the first time, as they all look so amazing and very delicious!! Apologies if you have answered these questions before, but please can you let me know whether it is strictly necessary to have a mini muffin/donut hole pan for this donut hole recipe as well as your others (if so, what is the cavity hole size of yours)?
Or can you simply take sections of the dough, roll them into balls and bake them on a parchment-lined baking tray?
Also, for your (cake/donut-style) recipes that use yogurt, can the yogurt be substituted with silken tofu blended with a splash of lemon/vinegar would you say?
Thanks so much in advance for your help!
For this particular mini donut hole you must use a mini muffin pan because the batter is runny, you can’t roll it into balls. However, I have a banana donut hole recipe here, that you can roll and shape by hand without a pan. They can be baked, or airfried. I haven’t tried swapping yogurt for silken tofu, but I am pretty sure it will provide good result in cakes and muffins. I wouldn’t add any liquid to it tho. Otherwise, unsweetened applesauce, or mashed bananas are great swap to yogurt in same amount in vegan baking.
Thank you so much for this, this is all perfect, very helpful and clear, I do appreciate it! I will look into getting the items you have mentioned here, and try out some of these amazing looking (& SO blissfully simple & quick) recipes!:-)
Thanks again!! x
My pleasure!