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If you love cakes, donuts, and healthy alternatives, you are going to LOVE these strawberry donuts. I combine fresh strawberries, vanilla, and flour to form cake-like donuts topped with a fresh fruity glaze. This is a beloved breakfast item in my household, and has even made special appearances at parties!
These baked strawberry donuts are my favorite way to cure my craving for sugary confections. Fresh strawberries bring their natural flavor, color, and sweetness, while the flour, egg, and raising agents provide a sturdy yet light and fluffy texture. If, like my family, you enjoy fruity baked breakfast items, you have to try my blueberry cake donuts next! Or make them both if you cannot choose. Ha!
I started making these donuts during the strawberry season. My husband and kids love anything strawberry-flavored, so this recipe is a real winner. A good friend of mine from the gym is also obsessed with strawberries, but is strictly vegan. I made a variation of my eggless donuts and added fresh strawberries and a glaze as a birthday surprise. It was quite strange walking into the gym with a container full of donuts. Ha!
As a nutritionist, nothing brings me more joy than creating a recipe, like these strawberry donuts, that is healthy yet looks and tastes insanely rich and decadent. It is literally the best of both worlds. Apart from their trademark flavor, natural sweetness, and bright color, strawberries also provide vitamin C, fiber, and potassium. Baking the donuts instead of frying them is another way I reduce the calorie content and trans fats.
The baking method is what makes these donuts especially reliable and healthier. Instead of frying, I bake the batter in a prepared donut pan, which creates a soft, cake-like texture while keeping the process simple and less messy. The baking powder helps the donuts rise, while the oil keeps the crumb moist as it cooks.
I usually make these on slow weekend mornings, for a sweet start. My kids love them so much that my youngest even asked to have them for a special birthday breakfast one year. These are usually the days when anything goes, and they could have ice cream for breakfast if they wanted. I happily obliged and arranged the strawberry donuts on a tiered cake stand, complete with candles, and extra fresh strawberries.
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🥘 Ingredients
All I need for these extravagant-looking strawberry donuts are some pantry staples and some fresh fruit. This is exactly what I use:
For The Donuts
Milk: I use dairy or plant milk to add moisture and help create a smooth batter.
Lemon juice: Lemon juice adds a slight tang to my milk and levels out the sweetness in the donuts.
All-purpose flour: I rely on this for structure and the soft, crumbly texture.
Baking powder: Instead of yeast, I use baking powder to give my donuts a proper rise in the oven.
Salt: I use a small pinch to help balance and strengthen all the flavors.
Granulated sugar: Sugar sweetens up my batter and helps create that typical cake crumb. You could also use coconut sugar for a less refined alternative.
Egg: I add one egg to bind the ingredients together and enrich my batter.
Olive oil: Mixing olive oil into the batter helps retain moisture after baking.
Vanilla extract: This deepens the sweetness and gives my donuts a bakery-like finish.
Fresh strawberries: I use diced strawberries for added texture and flavor in the batter
For The Glaze
Fresh strawberries: I use mashed strawberries to create the liquid base for my glaze.
Water: I use a bit of water to heat my strawberries, to help them soften for the glaze.
Powdered sugar: I whisk powdered sugar into my strawberry juice to create a smooth, sweet glaze that coats the donut perfectly.
🔪 How To Make
These strawberry donuts are a lot easier to make than traditional fried donuts. This is the process I follow:
Prep the oven: I preheat my oven to 350F.
Mix milk and lemon: Next, I combine my milk and fresh lemon juice, and set it aside.
Mix dry ingredients: I whisk my flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
Mix wet ingredients: Then, in a separate bowl, I add the milk and lemon juice mixture, egg, oil, and vanilla. I whisk together until well combined.
Add strawberries: Next, I gently fold my diced strawberries into the batter.
Combine wet and dry ingredients: I pour the wet ingredients into my flour mixture and mix gently until just combined.
Prepare tin, and pipe batter: I lightly grease my donut tin with nonstick baking spray. Then I fill a piping bag with my batter and pipe it into the prepared molds.
Bake and cool: Next, I bake my donuts for 10-12 minutes until golden brown, and an inserted skewer comes out clean. I allow the donuts to cool in the tray for 1-2 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely for about 1 hour.
Prepare glaze: Meanwhile, I heat the strawberries and water in a microwave-safe bowl, at 30-second increments until the strawberries are soft. Then I mash the strawberries into a puree with a fork.
Strain strawberries: I strain the cooked strawberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl and press out as much juice as possible.
Finish glaze: Next, I add 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar to the strained juice and whisk until smooth.
Glaze donuts: I dip the tops of each cooled donut into the glaze and allow them to set on a wire rack.
Serve: Once the glaze has set, I garnish with some fresh berries and serve!
My #1 Secret Tip for this strawberry donut recipe is to finely dice the strawberries before adding them to your batter. Smaller pieces are easily distributed and prevent excess moisture.
Other Tips To Keep In Mind:
- Cut the piping bag properly: When cutting the hole for my batter, I make sure it is big enough to allow the strawberry pieces through, but not so big that I cannot control how much comes out.
- Do not overfill: I fill the donut pans only 2/3 of the way, to allow room for the batter to rise without spilling.
- Mix gently: This batter needs to be handled gently, as overmixing overworks the gluten in the flour, which leads to a dense, chewy finish instead of a light, airy one.
- Grease the pan well: I grease my donut pan well, so that the donuts are easily removed without any sticking or breaking.
- Use ripe strawberries: I use ripe strawberries with a deep red color. This gives the donuts the best color and flavor.
📖 Variations
These strawberry donuts are delicious as is, but I have had a lot of fun experimenting with different variations. These are the ones that received the most compliments:
Rainbow sprinkle: Instead of fresh strawberries, use rainbow sprinkles for a donut that looks like it was made by a unicorn. My kids love the colors of this one.
Strawberry cheesecake donuts: I pipe a thin ring of my vegan cream cheese frosting, then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of crushed vegan graham crackers over the glaze while it is still sticky. This is definitely one of the messier versions, but my husband loves it the most.
Chocolate strawberry donuts: I add 1/4 of vegan chocolate chips into the batter, and top the glaze with chunks of fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate. My sister loves strawberries dipped in chocolate, so this is her favorite variation.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
I served these at a baby shower recently, and loved going all out with the pink theme. Luckily, the mom-to-be has had a significant strawberry craving throughout her pregnancy. I served these donuts with refreshing glasses of strawberry juice, and cute little bottles of strawberry milk tea, topped with pacifiers for decoration. If you love strawberries, try this combination. It is light, fresh, and will not be overwhelming.
A few weeks ago had had one of those days where I was in a fancy and experimental mood. I decided to turn these strawberry donuts into donut sandwiches. I cut them in half, and spread a layer of my strawberry chia seed jam on the lower ring, then dipped the top ring in the glaze and sprinkled it with strawberry crunch topping, and placed it back on top. It was the most divine sticky mess. My husband ate his with a fork. Ha!
🧊 Storing And ♨️ Reheating
Refrigeration: I store glazed donuts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: I freeze unglazed baked donuts in a sealed container for up to 1 month.
Reheating: If the donuts are frozen, I allow them to thaw at room temperature, and warm them briefly in the microwave if necessary. I make sure they are cool before applying fresh glaze.
❓Recipe FAQs
I do not recommend using frozen strawberries in the batter, as even after they have thawed, the tiny seeds have hardened and add a hard, gritty texture. I have used frozen strawberries for my glaze mixture, as the straining separates the juice from the hard seeds. I place the frozen strawberries in a sauce with the water and heat on a medium-high heat until the strawberries are soft.
This usually happens if the strawberry pieces are too heavy and cannot remain suspended. They also contain a lot of moisture, which is why they may sink during baking. To avoid this, I dice my strawberries into small pieces and dust them lightly with a bit of flour before folding them into the batter.
For a thicker glaze, I add more powdered sugar to the strawberry liquid. I start with 1 heaped tablespoon, then whisk thoroughly. I keep doing this until I have reached my desired consistency. Always make sure to taste the glaze, as the added sugar may need a drop of lemon juice to round out the sweetness.
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📋 Recipe Card
Strawberry Donuts
If you love cakes, donuts, and healthy alternatives, you are going to LOVE these strawberry donuts. I combine fresh strawberries, vanilla, and flour to form cake-like donuts topped with a fresh fruity glaze. This is a beloved breakfast item in my household, and has even made special appearances at parties!
Servings: 9 donuts
Calories: 224kcal
- My #1 Secret Tip for this strawberry donut recipe is to finely dice the strawberries before adding them to your batter. Smaller pieces are easily distributed and prevent excess moisture.
- Cut the piping bag properly: When cutting the hole for my batter, I make sure it is big enough to allow the strawberry pieces through, but not so big that I cannot control how much comes out.
- Do not overfill: I fill the donut pans only 2/3 of the way, to allow room for the batter to rise without spilling.
- Mix gently: This batter needs to be handled gently, as overmixing overworks the gluten in the flour, which leads to a dense, chewy finish instead of a light, airy one.
- Grease the pan well: I grease my donut pan well, so that the donuts are easily removed without any sticking or breaking.
- Use ripe strawberries: I use ripe strawberries with a deep red color. This gives the donuts the best color and flavor.
Serving: 1donut | Calories: 224kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 89mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g