Keto Chocolate Glazed Donuts
Published August 1, 2020 • Updated July 20, 2026
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These chocolate glazed donuts are my favorite low carb breakfast treat. Baked cake donuts with a rich sugar-free chocolate glaze, and each one is 4.8g net carbs.
I have a Homer Simpson problem. I cannot resist a donut with sprinkles. Even on keto, especially on keto, I need a donut in my life. So I spent a weekend testing four batches of these chocolate glazed donuts until I got the cake texture exactly where I wanted it: dense enough to hold up under a thick layer of melted chocolate, soft enough that it doesn’t crumble when you bite in.
Each donut comes in at only 3.5g net carbs without the glaze. That’s the number I calculated myself after a reader named Sun asked for macros without the chocolate coating (her husband just wants a plain fry cake). With the glaze, you’re still well under 6g net carbs per donut. For a full breakfast with coffee, I’ll eat two and still stay on track.
These are baked, not fried. I have a separate Krispy Kreme-style fried donut recipe if you want that lighter, yeast-risen texture. But these cake donuts are the ones I reach for on weekday mornings because they’re faster and I don’t have to deal with a pot of hot oil before I’ve had coffee. The combination of almond flour, protein powder, and sour cream gives them that old-fashioned cake donut density. I’ve tried swapping coconut flour for the protein powder and it works, but the texture is a touch drier.
The chocolate glaze is just two ingredients: sugar-free chocolate chips melted with a tablespoon of coconut oil. I dip the tops while the chocolate is still warm, then hit them with sugar-free sprinkles right away before the glaze sets. You can also do a white chocolate version with a couple drops of red food coloring for a pink glaze (my daughter loves that one).
If you love keto donuts as much as I do, I have a whole collection: churro donut holes when I want cinnamon sugar, and a single-serve donut for those mornings when I don’t trust myself with a full batch. This recipe makes about 10 donuts, and I can have the whole batch mixed, baked, and glazed in under 30 minutes.
How to make chocolate glazed donuts
- Mix your dry ingredients first (almond flour, protein powder, sweetener, salt, xanthan gum, baking powder), then add the wet (melted butter, sour cream, hot water). The dough should be thick and pressable. If it’s crumbly, add water a tablespoon at a time.
- Press the dough into the pan firmly. I use my thumbs to push it into the donut mold, filling almost to the rim. These don’t rise much, so don’t be shy with the dough.
- Bake at 325F for about 10 minutes. I pull mine when the edges just start to turn golden. They firm up as they cool.
- Let them cool completely before glazing. If the donuts are warm, the chocolate slides right off. I learned that one the hard way.
- Dip into melted chocolate and add sprinkles immediately. The glaze sets fast, so work one donut at a time. I melt my chocolate in 30-second microwave bursts to avoid scorching.
If you want another chocolate breakfast, my keto chocolate pancakes use a similar almond flour base.
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Keto Cake Donuts Ingredients
2 cup almond flour -
1/2 c unflavored or vanilla protein powder
-
2 tablespoons sugar free sweetener
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2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
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2 teaspoon xanthan gum
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1 teaspoon salt
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1/2 cup butter, melted
-
1/4 cup sour cream
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1/4 cup hot water
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donut pan
Chocolate Glaze Ingredients
-
5 oz keto chocolate chips (white, milk or dark)
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1 tablespoon coconut oil
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sugar free sprinkles
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Preheat
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a donut pan with cooking oil.
Dry ingredients
Add all the dry ingredients for the cake donut to a medium bowl. Mix until combined.
Wet ingredients
Add in wet ingredients. Mix until combined. If dough is crumbly, add a splash more of water.
Press the donut
Grab a handful of dough and press it into a donut pan. Add enough dough to reach almost the top of the rim. These donuts don’t rise much.
Bake it
Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes or until the donuts are set and lightly brown around the edges. You also have the option to fry these donuts. Add lard or your favorite cooking oil into a small non-stick skillet. Heat to medium heat. Add donuts and fry on each side until golden brown.
Let cool
Let cool completely in the donut baking tray then transfer to a wire rack.
Melt chocolate
Once donuts have cooled, melt chocolate and coconut oil in a flat bowl. To melt sugar-free chocolate, microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between until chocolate is melted. You can also melt your chocolate using a double boiler if you don’t want to use a microwave. For a pink chocolate glaze, use sugar-free white chocolate and add a couple drops of red food coloring to it.
Dip the donut
Dip the top of your donut into the melted chocolate and top with sugar-free sprinkles right away. Set back on a wire rack to cool the chocolate.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
How many net carbs are in one keto chocolate donut?
I calculated the macros myself: each donut without the glaze is 297 calories, 27.4g fat, 8.8g protein, and 3.5g net carbs. With the chocolate glaze, you're looking at roughly 5g net carbs per donut depending on which chocolate you use. I use Lily's dark chocolate chips for the lowest count.
Can I make these donuts in an air fryer?
I haven't tested these in an air fryer myself, but based on what I know about air fryer baking, I'd try 300F for 8-10 minutes using silicone donut molds that fit your basket. The outside will crisp up more than oven-baked, which some people prefer. I'd still glaze them the same way after they cool.
How do I reheat frozen keto donuts?
I freeze mine without the glaze (the chocolate gets crackly after thawing). To reheat, I thaw at room temperature for 20-30 minutes, then either microwave for 20 seconds or warm in a 300F oven for 5 minutes. Then I make fresh glaze right before eating. The texture is almost as good as day one.
Can I add vanilla extract for more flavor?
Yes. A reader named Marilyn mentioned these felt like they were missing something, and I agree that a teaspoon of vanilla extract in the wet ingredients makes a noticeable difference. I didn't include it in the original recipe because I wanted the chocolate glaze to be the main flavor, but if you're eating them plain or with a light glaze, vanilla helps a lot.
Do I need a donut pan, or can I use a silicone one?
I use a metal Wilton pan and spray it every time, but silicone pans work great for these. The donuts pop out of silicone without any greasing, which is nice. Just make sure you set the silicone mold on a baking sheet before filling it so it doesn't flop around in the oven. I've used both and the bake time stays the same.
Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
Not as a direct swap. Coconut flour absorbs way more liquid than almond flour, so if you use the same amount, your donuts will be dry and crumbly. I'd use about 1/3 cup coconut flour plus extra liquid (another 2-3 tablespoons of water or sour cream) if you're trying to avoid almond flour entirely. My preferred nut-free swap is sunflower seed flour, which measures cup for cup.
Can I make these donuts dairy-free?
I've made them with coconut oil instead of butter and coconut cream instead of sour cream. The texture is slightly different (a little denser), but they still hold up and taste good with the chocolate glaze. My dairy-free keto chocolate chip muffins use a similar approach if you want another dairy-free baking option.
Cool them completely before glazing. I was losing glaze to one side every time until I actually waited. Four batches to figure that out.
Four batches is commitment, Terri. A warm donut won't hold the glaze, it slides to one side before it has a chance to set. I should've put that in the notes.
12 grams of protein and I get my donuts back. Done.
Lauren, 12.5g. The protein powder in the batter bumps it up without changing the texture.
Not sure I believed baked donuts would actually hold up past day one. Glazed a full dozen Sunday, stored them airtight, and had breakfast handled through Thursday. The sour cream is doing something real to the structure (stays tender even cold, no gummy texture by day four). 325 degrees looked low when I first preheated, but they come out springy, not dense. Double batch next week.
the glaze alone changed my mind on baked donuts
The glaze sets up like an actual shell on these. That's what got me too, baked donuts never felt right until the chocolate cracked when you bit in.
the glaze is gone, my kids are shameless
Kids have a radar for the glaze. I've started making a backup batch just so the donuts actually get covered.
Ha, backup batch. Should've been my first thought.
Tried adding a pinch of espresso powder to the glaze, chocolate got noticeably deeper without tasting like coffee at all. Also: freeze them unglazed if you're not eating them right away. Cold surface sets the glaze in about 30 seconds and you avoid the soggy-bottom thing that happens when you refrigerate them already glazed.
Espresso powder in the glaze, not the batter. Hadn't thought to do it that way. And the freeze-first method is what I do too, the glaze sets up so much faster on a cold donut.
Glaze temperature matters more than people think. Too cool and it clumps, too hot and it slides off. Took a few batches to figure that out.
Learned that the hard way too. I give it 2 minutes off the heat now, just enough to thicken without fully setting.
That 2 minutes off heat is exactly what I was missing. I'd just been guessing and getting it wrong both ways.
Swapped the sour cream for Greek yogurt because I was out, and the dough came out a little denser but the chocolate glaze soaked into it differently, almost like it absorbed instead of sitting on top. Pulled them out looking pretty pale and thought I'd miscalculated, but once the glaze set they were genuinely good. Not what I was planning to fuss over on a hot Sunday, but I'll probably just keep making them this way.
The fat in sour cream is what keeps these light. Greek yogurt is leaner so you get the denser crumb, and that extra moisture probably pulled the glaze in instead of letting it set. I want to try it that way now.
Pipe the dough instead of pressing it in. I used a zip-lock bag with the corner snipped off, and the rings came out clean with no gaps. Glaze goes on way more evenly that way. Worth the extra 30 seconds.
Piping is cleaner. The gaps mess up the glaze coverage, that's the real problem with pressing it in. Going to try the zip-lock method instead of my actual piping bag, less cleanup.
I have never made donuts in my life and I bought a donut pan specifically for this recipe, which felt like a real commitment. Ten minutes at 325 and the whole kitchen smelled like a bakery. The glaze sets up glossy and thick, and I kept double-checking the net carbs because something that looks like that shouldn't be 3.5. One question: can you press the dough into the pan the night before and refrigerate it, or does it need to go straight into the oven?
Bake same day. The baking powder loses its lift if it sits overnight and they'll come out flat. Ten minutes once you've done it before.
Used vanilla bean protein powder instead of unflavored and the base has this subtle sweetness that makes the chocolate glaze taste richer than it has any right to.
That layering effect is real. Vanilla bean pulls something out of the chocolate that unflavored just doesn't do.
I've tried a few keto donut recipes and they always come out weirdly dense or crumble the second you try to glaze them, so I almost didn't bother with this one. Made a batch Sunday morning and they actually held together, had a real crumb to them, and the chocolate glaze set without sliding straight off. The xanthan gum skeptic in me has officially been converted. Double batch next weekend.
Double batch is the right call. The xanthan gum gets a bad reputation but it's what keeps these from crumbling - every time I've cut it down even a little they fall apart right at the glaze step.
Brought these to a work thing last weekend and set them out next to a Krispy Kreme box someone else brought. Mine disappeared first. The chocolate glaze held up the whole afternoon too, didn't get tacky or greasy sitting out. Only thing: they're fragile to transport. Lost two in the container, so next time I'm baking a double batch and keeping some back.
Out next to a Krispy Kreme box and gone first. That's the review.
I was completely sure baked keto donuts were going to be some sad approximation I'd force down out of desperation. The xanthan gum almost stopped me (bad experience with gummy almond flour bakes), and I stood there for a solid minute before just committing. Pressed the dough in, watched them come out at 10 minutes looking like actual donuts. Still didn't trust it. Glaze went on, kept waiting for the disappointment. Then I bit in and the inside is soft and cakey. Actually soft and cakey. I've made other keto donuts that tasted like almond bread with frosting on top, this is not that at all. The 3.5g net carbs at that point just feels like an extra joke.
The protein powder is what saves it from the gummy situation. Most keto donut recipes skip it and you get exactly what you were bracing for.
My husband is lactose intolerant, so I've had two years of keto baking with no dairy. These are on my Saturday breakfast list but the sour cream has me second-guessing. Full-fat coconut cream has worked in some recipes and completely bombed in others. Depends a lot on how much structure the dough needs. With almond flour and xanthan gum already doing the work, I'm not sure the fat ratio will behave the same way. Is the 1/4 cup a straight swap, or would I need to adjust anything else in the batter? Happy to do a test batch first -- texture matters more to me than speed -- but a starting point would save a lot of wasted almond flour.
Straight swap, 1/4 cup coconut cream for the sour cream. I've done it and the texture comes out a little denser but they hold up fine. The xanthan gum and protein powder are doing most of the structural work here, so the fat ratio change doesn't throw the batter off.