These keto brown butter donuts are everything and more. Imagine having keto donuts that feature a base of warm, baked, fluffy goodness with the perfect rich, brown butter glaze.
That, my friend, is what this keto donut recipe delivers.
Your taste buds will find it hard to believe that these delicious donuts are not only keto-friendly but they are also sugar-free, grain-free, and gluten-free!
Make these keto-baked brown butter donuts for breakfast, as a snack, or any time you need a quick dessert. I promise you’re going to love these!
These low-carb brown butter donuts can be made in the oven, donut maker, and MINIS! Everything is cuter in a mini and great for portion control!
The brown butter icing is sure to make you smile, and the (lack of) carbs will have you coming back to make more.
If you’re a donut lover like me, you’ve probably already made some of my other keto donuts. Just in case you missed them, I have keto blueberry donuts and keto sour cream donuts for your enjoyment.
In fact, I have a complete collection of my Keto Donut Recipes here to save you time.
Keto Brown Butter Donuts
The beauty of these donuts is that there are so many different ways you can make them! The donut maker makes it so much faster and mess-free, but I also love making larger donuts in the oven!
It really depends on your occasion, whether it’s meal prepping, a quick get-together, or a big holiday! You can make them in the oven or in the donut maker, big or small. Okay, I’m done with the Dr. Seuss moment!
Ingredients And Tools Needed
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The following is a list of materials and ingredients you will need to bake your keto brown butter donuts:
- Sifter
- Mixing bowl
- Electric stand mixer or hand mixer
- Donut Maker
- Donut mold, Silicone, or non-stick
- Almond Flour
- Coconut Flour
- Granulated sugar substitute
- Unsalted butter
- Cream cheese, room temperature
- Large eggs, at room temperature
- Heavy cream, room temperature
- Vinegar (to make keto buttermilk with heavy cream)
- Confectioner’s sugar substitute, for icing
How To Make Mini Keto Donuts
Making these keto mini donuts is truly so simple. I promise that even beginner keto bakers will love to make them!
These are also perfect to make if you purchased or someone gifted you a donut maker.
What’s key is to follow the baking directions of your specific donut maker. Most will vary but land somewhere in the 7 to 10-minute range. This achieves the perfect middle ground.
After you’ve read your manufacturer’s directions for your donut maker, you can continue to prepping your batter.
You’ll mix your dry ingredients in one large bowl and wet ingredients in the other large bowl, and then combine.
Then you’ll bake them up and enjoy the aroma of donuts baking in your kitchen.
It really is half of the joy of baking, am I right?
Allow your donuts to cool fully, this is very important, and then simply dip your donuts into the brown butter icing.
Tips For Keto Donut Sucess
In this recipe, I add my homemade version of keto buttermilk. It’s super simple to make by simply adding a tiny amount of vinegar to the heavy cream and allowing the cream to slightly curdle.
The buttermilk flavor really complements the brown butter profile.
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It should go without saying, but you’ll need to grease your donut maker or pan properly. I personally like using melted butter for this, but you can certainly use a coconut oil cooking spray
Be sure not to over-bake your donuts. You want your donuts to remain moist and tender. If you are using a donut maker, I would test one to get the proper timing.
If baking in the oven, then follow the recipe instructions and check at the minimum time first. You’ll know your donuts are ready if they’ve risen slightly and spring back when gently touched.
Keto Brown Butter Icing
The real star of the show is clearly the brown butter icing.
We’ve talked about brown butter a lot here, and if you’re not familiar with my keto brown butter cake you truly are missing out! This recipe quickly dethroned my keto pound cake in my family and is still the reigning champ!
Making the browned butter is so much easier than it may seem. It is really as simple as using a pan that is stainless steel so that you can cook evenly and see the bits start to form at the bottom!
You’ll let the butter cook on medium-high heat until it bubbles. After 2 minutes, you’ll see the brown bits of magic forming on the bottom.
Remove from the heat and add the confectioner’s sugar substitute and heavy cream.
Then, it’s just a matter of dipping your cooled donuts into the warm icing. It’s that easy.
The Best Sweetener For Sugar-Free Donuts
As far as which sugar substitute to use for these keto brown butter cake donuts, I have a few recommendations.
If you’re a regular reader of our site, you know I’m a massive fan of Lakanto Monk Fruit.
This is because the texture of Lakanto is spot on, and there is barely any aftertaste. It is a monk fruit and erythritol blend.
I love that Lakanto Monk Fruit is all-natural, and it gets its sweetness from antioxidants called mogrosides, instead of fructose or sucrose. And it has zero calories and zero glycemic impact.
I’m also partial to Swerve, another erythritol blend. It works well in this keto donut recipe and is a great choice if you are looking for a sugar substitute that has no bitter aftertaste and measures just like sugar.
It’s also a sugar substitute that browns and caramelizes just like sugar. Swerve is made from ingredients found in select fruits and starchy root vegetables and contains no artificial ingredients, preservatives, or flavors.
Like Lankanto, Swerve has a 0 % impact on blood sugar.
If you are a fan of stevia, you can use the stevia and erythritol-based brand Pyure in this recipe.
However, it’s important to note that if you are using Pyure, you will want to use half the amount called for in this recipe since it’s a much sweeter option.
Lastly, if you cannot easily find a more natural sugar substitute, you can also use Splenda with great success.
You will need a confectioner’s sugar substitute for the donut icing. Thankfully, both Lakanto and Swerve have great ones.
You can read more about my keto baking tips to assist you with all of your baking needs with keto-friendly ingredients.
Tag Us
I sure hope you give these keto, low-carb, gluten-free brown butter donuts a try. Because if you loved my other keto donuts then I’m sure you’ll love these!
Once you do, please remember to tag us with your pictures on Instagram and Facebook. It’s what keeps this girl encouraged.
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Keto Brown Butter Donuts (Minis) (Gluten-Free)
These keto brown butter donuts are light, fluffy and make the perfect treat. They feature a rich, nutty brown butter glaze that makes them extra special.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups of finely milled almond flour , measured and sifted
- 1 cup of coconut flour
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 5 eggs , room temperature
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups of granulate sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar
- 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
Brown Butter Icing
- 1/4 cup butter unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup of confectioner's sugar substitute
- 1/4 cup of heavy cream, room temperature
- 1/8 of teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, measure and sift the almond flour.
- Next, measure the coconut flour and add it to the bowl with the sifted almond flour.
- To the large bowl add the baking powder and salt. Set the dry ingredients aside.
- Make the keto buttermilk by adding vinegar to the heavy whipping cream and set aside.
- In another large bowl, using an electric beater mix the cream cheese, and sugar substitute until light fluffy.
- Add the softened butter, and vanilla extract, and beat until well incorporated.
- To this mixture, add the eggs one at a time, be sure to combine well after each addition.
- Slowly add all the dry ingredients one tablespoon at a time while continuing to use the mixer.
- Fold in the keto "buttermilk" and mix until fully incorporated. Set aside.
- Turn on your electric mini donut maker and lightly grease it with butter or baking spray. You will need to follow the manufactures instruction for your particular brand but generally, you will bake for about 7-10 minutes.
- For baking, instructions refer to the notes below.
- You will be piping the donut batter into the donut molds. You can do so by using a piping bag or Ziploc bag with a small slit cut in the corner.
- While the donuts cool completely on the baking rack make the brown butter icing.
- Once the glaze is ready and the donuts have had time to cool, dip the donuts in the glaze and return to the cooling rack to allow the icing to set for about 8-10 minutes before enjoying it.
- Note that donuts are best eaten the same day but you can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze them for up to 3 weeks.
Butter icing
- Brown the unsalted butter in a small saucepan (preferably a stainless steel pan so it's easier to see when the butter is browning).
- Over medium heat make sure to stir constantly. The butter will begin to foam and bubble. After 2-3 minutes you should begin to see brown bits on the bottom of the pan. At this point, remove from the heat immediately and continue to stir until the butter begins to lightly brown to a golden amber color.
- To the hot butter add 3/4 cup confectioners sugar substitute and the room temperature heavy cream. It's important that the heavy cream not be cold otherwise you risk the butter congealing.
- If the icing is too thick simply add another tablespoon or so of heavy cream.
- The icing needs to be warm to work well. Once the icing is smooth and loose, begin the process of glazing each donut by dipping then into the icing and then returning to the cooling rack to allow the icing to set.
Notes
This recipe makes 36 mini donuts or 24 regular sized donuts. The donuts can be made in an electric donut maker or baked in the oven.
If baking in the oven grease two 6 cavity donut pans for regular-sized donuts (note that you will be making 20 donuts so you will need to repeat the process). For regular-sized donuts bake at 350 degrees for 22-30 minutes.
For baked mini donuts, grease 3 12-cavity pans for a total of 36 donuts and bake in a 350-degree oven for 18-22 minutes or until donuts are fully cooked and you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 166Total Fat: 14.8gSaturated Fat: 6.8gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 74mgCarbohydrates: 4.7gNet Carbohydrates: 2.3gFiber: 2.4gSugar: .1gProtein: 3.9g
