These healthier banana donuts are so fluffy and light and the dough takes only about five minutes to prepare. The donuts are just 3 ingredients and don’t need yeast, white flour, eggs, added sugar or butter. They are healthier than regular donuts but taste just as good as traditional donuts.
I love making donuts at home. They are so delicious, especially when they are freshly fried and still warm. Recently, I made some changes to my go-to donut recipe to make it healthier. These taste just as good and are just as easy but they are made with more nutritional ingredients.
Ingredients
- Whole Wheat Flour
- Baking Powder
- Bananas
Whole Wheat Flour: Instead of white flour, these donuts are made with whole wheat flour. You can either use whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour. I tested them with both and liked the results.
Baking Powder: Baking powder is used to give the dough rise.
Bananas: You will need to mash the bananas until they have a puree consistency. You want to use very ripe bananas. Very ripe bananas are sweeter and also have more liquid.
The above ingredients are all that you need to make the dough. The donuts are then fried in oil. To make them healthier, I fried them in extra virgin olive oil.
Cooking the donuts
Much like traditional donuts, these donuts are fried. However, they are fried in extra virgin olive oil which provides a lot of nutrients.
I don’t recommend baking or air frying these donuts. I did test both and found that the donuts were not light and fluffy. They were more dense and like little bread rolls.
Donut Toppings
The donuts have a natural sweetness from the bananas. If you enjoy less sweet desserts, I think you will be fine with eating these as they are. I prefer my donuts less sweet so I like eating the donut holes plain.
However, if you want to decorate them or make them look more like traditional donut holes you can dip them in glaze or coat them in sugar or a sugar substitute. Just 1 tbsp of granular sugar is needed to coat the entire batch of 9 donuts.
More Easy Donut Recipes
3 Ingredient Banana Donuts
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (60 g) whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 3/4 tsp (3.5 g) baking powder
- 1/3 cup (88 g) banana puree
- extra virgin olive oil for frying
Instructions
- Add 2 inches of oil to a medium saucepan. Bring to medium heat (about 335-350°F). Be careful to not let the oil get too hot beyond that because olive oil has a lower smoke point.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add flour and baking powder. Whisk until evenly mixed. Add in banana puree. Mix with a spatula until flour is just incorporated into the bananas. Your dough should be sticky.
- Once oil has reached the correct temperature, scoop dough using a 2 tsp cookie scoop. Gently release the dough ball directly into the heated oil. Repeat this with remaining dough, only adding as many as can fit. You can do this in two batches if your saucepan is not big enough. The donuts will float to the surface so only put in as many donuts as can fit on the surface. If a donut sinks and get stuck to the bottom of your pan, make sure to quickly release it from the bottom using your cooking tool. Cook donuts until both sides are golden brown, flipping halfway through. Remove donuts from oil and place onto a plate lined with paper towel to soak up excess oil.
- When donuts are no longer too hot to touch, you can top with sugar or other donut toppings. You can also leave them plain.
Notes
- Make sure to mash the bananas until they have a puree consistency. This works best with very ripe bananas. I like using a whisk to mash them as it mashes better than a fork. Measure the bananas after they are puree consistency. You should only need 1 large banana (you should have a little leftover).
- Because the dough is sticky, using a cookie scoop is the best way to work with the dough. It will directly release the sticky dough ball into the hot oil.
- I used a 2 tsp cookie scoop, which yields donuts the size of traditional donut holes when they are done cooking.
- I used this 2 tsp cookie scoop.*
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
- If you don't have a 2 tsp cookie scoop, you can use a bigger or smaller one but keep in mind your donuts will be bigger or smaller and may need more or less cooking time.
- Nutrition estimate does not include oil absorbed during frying. It is only for the donut dough before it is cooked as it is difficult to determine the exact amount of oil that is absorbed by the donuts.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Kids loved them perfect substitute for egg of dairy allergy. Ps use self raising flour 2 make only 2 ingredients.
We’re glad they loved them!
Such an easy recipe. I covered the balls in powdered sugar. My daughter (4) loves them! I have to work on the cooking method because some of the balls came out a bit doughy.
We’re glad you enjoyed it! Do you use a deep-fry thermometer when you fried them? This makes it a lot easier to maintain the oil temperature so they cook correctly.
Do you have to use WHOLE WHEAT flour?
We’ve only tested it the recipe with whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour.
Tried the 3 ingredients banana doughnut holes and they were delicious! The only thing with me baking is they looked like meatballs?
Do you mean the color? Sounds like they came out dark brown but we’re glad you enjoyed them!
Saya suka dengan resep ini
We’re glad you like it!
The donuts sound so good, but it would be nice if you told us how much of everything we use, cups, tablespoon, etc. You only have the ingredients you use.
All of the ingredient amounts are listed in the recipe card at the end of the post. You scrolled past it to leave your comment. Hope that helps!
Really nce but did not try yet
We hope you try them soon!
Made these this morning & what a perfect treat. Simple & super quick. They looked like hushpuppies but I did add a sprinkle of cinnamon & very Lil sugar to boost the flavor. Sorry I didn’t take a photo but they were eaten before I thought to do so.. This will be a favorite for me. Thank you for sharing. Virginia fan
I’m so glad they worked out for you!
These look delicious and super simple to make! Do you think the flour could be substituted for almond flour or oat flour?
I don’t think they will work with almond flour. They might work with oat flour, but some adjustments might need to be made.
Hi, is this possible to make gluten free? I have buckwheat and brown rice flour available, along with doves farm gf brown bread flour (live in the uk). Sometimes xanthan gum needs to be added, so unsure if I need it. Cheers
Sorry I haven’t tried to make them gluten free
Nevermind, I see you tested that
I’m glad you were able to find the answer!
Can this batter be used for baked donuts? I have a pan but don’t want to mess with the oil and mess.
Can I fry these in a air fryer? They would be less fattening that way.
They don’t work well in the air fryer. I explain this in the post.
Very sweet
Could these be made with almond flour?
I don’t think they will work with almond flour
Can The 3 ingredient banana donuts use Almond flour, to Make them keto?
Do you think they would work?
I don’t think they will work with almond flour. Also banana has a lot of sugar too if you are trying to make them keto-friendly
Would definitely try!! Always looking for ripe banana ideas!! Thank you much.
We hope you love the recipe!
We need more of these
We have other Donut Recipes you might like to try!
How about. Gluten free recipes
We have a lot of Gluten Free Recipes you can try!
Love these recipes ?
Love making easy recipes ?, Thank you for your inspiration ?
You’re welcome!
Could I use macadamia oil or ghee to sub olive oil?
We haven’t tried them, but they are both used for frying so they should be okay. If you try them, please let us know how they worked!
Is it possible to use the air fryer and skip the oil?
This is discussed in the post – we don’t recommend air frying them because they come out too dense. Please see the info under the “Cooking the Donuts” section for more info.
My mum used to make this for us, we used to call it banana pholourie, and even my kids called it that when I use to make this when they were little
Just made a batch of these and are they good! Mine were not exactly light fluffy, but I think I over mixed.
These came together and we’re finished cooking in. Probably less than 10 minutes. I’m going to add these to my breakfast rotation for my two little granddaughters. Literally ate the whole batch myself!
I’m glad they worked out for you!
Thanks for the recipie if i may ask can i use peanut flour instead of whole meal please?
Thanks
Sorry, but we haven’t tried peanut flour.
The pumpkin purée biscuits were really great ! I did add some brown sugar and it tasted great too! Thank you.
Can I use all purpose flour in place of whole wheat?
Yes that should be fine
Can I use GLUTEN FREE FLOUR in the place of the wheat flour?
Sorry, we haven’t tried the recipe with GF flour.
My donut holes were golden brown, but doughy in the middle. Should I use lower temp and fry longer? I microwaved them and they finished beautifully.
Yes, your oil might have been too hot.
Hi, these sound great! Question, any suggestions for a gluten free flour to use instead? I can’t have gluten…
Sorry, we haven’t tried this recipe with GF flour.
So good and easy ?
I’m glad you enjoyed
So good and easy ?
Will try the recipe for banana donut
It looks healthy and delicious!
We hope you like them!
Would i be able to do this in the airfryer without oil?
We don’t recommend air frying them. This is discussed in the post under the Cooking the Donuts section.
These sound so yummy. Question: Would the recipe still work if a Gluten Free All Purpose flour blend (with Xantham Gum) was substituted for the flour?
Sorry, but we’re not sure.