Banana Donuts are moist baked banana donuts topped with a thick brown butter icing. They are a great alternative to banana bread if you are looking for a way to use up your overripe bananas.
As much as I love a good banana bread (my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe is next level) you can only eat so much of it. Enter: this Banana Donut Recipe. Now you have another way to use up your overripe bananas!
Honestly, the donuts are great plain and I would eat them like that all day long, but you know I had to throw an extra special icing on top. Brown Butter Icing takes these banana baked donuts from an 8 to a 10! It is really simple and easy to make, but the icing tastes like you spent forever making it.
Baked donuts are one of my favorite things to make because they are insanely versatile and so simple. You throw them in a mold, bake them, and they're ready in no time. They are a great treat to make with kids, as well!
Ingredients for Banana Donuts:
Ingredients for banana baked donuts:
- All-purpose flour. Measuring the flour correctly is very important. I suggest weighing your flour out (I use this scale). If you want to use a measuring cup, make sure you spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a knife. Don’t use the cup to scoop directly from the flour.
- Light brown sugar. Brown sugar adds flavor and a softer texture to the final product.
- Salt. Salt is a must in baked goods. It will help to balance out the sweetness and improve the overall flavor.
- Baking powder. Baking powder will help the baked donuts to rise.
- Overripe Bananas. You need to be sure the bananas are overripe (a lot of brown spots on the peel) or they won't be soft enough to bake with.
- Unsalted butter. I always make sure to use unsalted butter when baking because there is no “standard” for the amount of salt they can add to butter. So if you add salt to a recipe and then use salted butter you could end up with a very salty end product.
- Egg. It will be easier to incorporate the eggs into the batter if they are at room temperature.
Ingredients for brown butter icing:
- Unsalted Butter. See above note. We will brown this butter.
- Powdered Sugar. This will bring the icing together and make it sweet.
- Vanilla Extract. Vanilla is a must in baked goods just like salt. Real vanilla adds a better flavor than imitation vanilla.
- Heavy Cream or Milk. If the brown butter icing is too thick you can mix in some milk heavy cream to thin it out. I add 1 tablespoon at a time.
How to make Banana Donuts:
BANANA BAKED DONUTS
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (F). Spray your donut mold with non-stick spray and set it aside.
STEP 2: In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, light brown sugar, salt, and baking powder. Be sure there are no lumps.
STEP 3: In a separate bowl mix together mix the mashed bananas, melted butter, and the egg.
STEP 4: Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thick.
STEP 5: Spoon or pipe the batter into your molds and fill them up about ¾ of the way to the top.
STEP 6: Place your banana donuts in the pre-heated oven. They usually take about 15-17 minutes to bake, but I started checking them around 10 minutes to see if the pan needs to be turned. You’ll know they are finished when you lightly press on a donut and it springs back.
STEP 7: Remove from the oven and let the baked donuts cool in the molds until cool enough to remove.
What is brown butter?
Brown butter is unsalted butter that has been cooked down so the water in the butter evaporates and the milk solids in the butter turn brown. It gives the butter a nutty taste and smell. Adding brown butter to dishes in place of regular butter will amp up the flavor.
Brown butter sounds fancy, but it is very simple to make. You will learn how to make brown butter below! If I want to change up a recipe, but don’t want to worry about testing out the recipe changes, I am going to brown the butter. It will totally change the taste of your baked good without changing the way it comes out of the oven.
HOW TO MAKE BROWN BUTTER
Browning butter is very simple, but if you have never done it before it can be a bit daunting.
- First, you will melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. If you have the heat too low it will take a while for the butter to brown. If you have the heat too high the butter might burn.
- After the butter has melted it will start to get foamy and make crackly noises, this is normal. You can stir the butter occasionally, but you don’t need to do it constantly.
- Little brown bits will start to form at the bottom of the pan and the butter will take on a more orange color. It will start smelling nutty.
- Let the butter continue to brown for about a minute, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. This whole process should take about 5 minutes.
Brown Butter Icing
STEP 1: Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. It will start to foam and you will see orangy brown bits form at the bottom of the pan, this will take about 5 minutes.
STEP 2: Remove from heat and allow the butter to cool slightly.
STEP 3: Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whisk until no longer lumpy. If the icing is too thick you can add small amounts of milk or heavy cream.
STEP 4: Dip the tops of the donuts into the icing.
Can I make baked donuts ahead of time?
I WOULDN’T RECOMMEND IT. Donuts are best eaten the same day that they are made.
You can, however, make the batter ahead of time, refrigerate it or freeze it (depending on how far ahead of time you are making the donut batter), and then bake the donuts when you are ready to eat them.
More donut recipes
- Churro Donuts- fluffy baked donuts rolled in cinnamon sugar and drizzled with dulce de leche.
- Cinnamon Roll Donuts- These baked donuts are topped with a cinnamon streusel and drizzled with a cream cheese glaze.
- Baked Donuts with Fresh Raspberries- Raspberry baked donuts topped with a lemon glaze.
- Baked Maple Donuts- These baked maple donuts are topped with a maple glaze.
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Recipe originally published April 15, 2020.
Recipe
Banana Baked Donuts
Ingredients
For Donuts:
- 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (107 grams) brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 overripe bananas mashed
- 2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
For Glaze:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- milk or heavy cream as needed
Instructions
For Donuts:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Spray your donut mold with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, light brown sugar, salt, and baking powder.
- In a separate bowl mix the mashed bananas, melted butter, and egg. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix only until just combined. The batter will be thick.
- Spoon the batter into the donut pan and place the donut pan on a cookie sheet.
- Put the donuts into the pre-heated oven and bake for 17-20 minutes or until they spring back when lightly pressed.
- Remove from oven allow and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove and allow to cool fully.
For Icing:
- Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. It will start to foam and you will see orangy brown bits form at the bottom of the pan, this will take about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow the butter to cool slightly.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whisk until no longer lumpy. If the icing is too thick you can add small amounts of milk or heavy cream.
- Dip the tops of the donuts into the icing.
Jeffrey Temple says
I followed these directions to the letter and got a loose soup instead of a thick batter. not sure if someone edited this, but the ratios are way off 😞 I tried making adjustments but it was beyond repair.
Ellie Haley says
That's so strange? I have made this recipe countless times and that has never happened. I'm sorry they didn't turn out well!
Grace says
These are by far my favorite donut recipe I’ve made, and I’ve made a lot! Everytime I make them I get rave reviews from family and friends. Thank you so much!
Ellie Haley says
This makes me so happy!
Liliana Groh says
I had some bananas that were ugly and crying to be baked in something. this was a great fun recipe to make with the kids. easy and so delicious. I added a splash of vanilla, cut the sugar in half, a dash of both pumpkin spice and cinnamon, and a TB of vanilla yogurt for fun. turned out amazing! I had some leftover Dutch vanilla honey for frosting.I sent a hot batch to the neighbors, I had to share. thanks for the recipe start
Ellie Haley says
Those are fun substitutions! I'm glad you enjoyed!
Amy says
Excellent recipe, thank you for sharing! Mine yielded 10 doughnuts and I intentionally made the icing thick, then pressed walnut pieces into the icing to mimic banana nut bread. Perfect!
Ellie Haley says
Love the addition of walnut! I'm glad you enjoyed!
Anonymous says
too thick and too bland. needed to add vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and milk to make this work
Cindy says
This is my second time making them. They are so delicious and so easy to make. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Ellie Haley says
Love hearing that!
Betsy says
What’s the best way to store left overs? Fridge or just on the counter?
Ellie Haley says
I think the counter is best because the fridge can change the texture a bit, but either works!
Elizabeth says
Everybody loved them....very tasty and so easy to make as I made them with my kids. I put food color in the glaze to make it fun for the kids.
Ellie Haley says
I'm so glad they were a hit!
Tina Jarkko says
Can the banana donut recipe be baked in a muffin pan instead?
Thanks
Ellie Haley says
I have never tried this, but I don't see why not. The baking time will probably be different, so I'd just keep an eye on them while they're in the oven.
Susan Iozzo says
Great recipe to Ouse when you have too many bananas and really want a donut! lol I just made them today and let them cool before I made the brown butter icing, delish with a cup of herbal tea. Next time I will double the recipe!
Ellie Haley says
Thank you for trying them and leaving a review! So glad you loved them!
Autumn says
These didn't really rise, I followed the recipe by weight and and my baking powder was just opened, I wish there was at the very least a volume amount on the banana because they can vary pretty wildly in size and think that may have been the issue.
Flavor was great though, especially the icing
Ellie Haley says
That's such a bummer! I'll be sure to retest the recipe and get the correct banana weight in there. Thanks for the input and for trying the recipe!
Lisa Wall says
Absolutely loved these! That icing is amazing!
Ellie Haley says
Yay! This makes me so happy!
Ann-Marie says
Can you freeze these donuts after they have been baked - and then add the icing later, after they are thawed?
Ellie Haley says
I have never tried freezing after baking, so I'm not sure how it would turn out.
Diane says
These were good, but felt like they were missing something. Next time I try might add some white sugar too. I made banana frosting too.
dolores says
vanilla
Kim says
can these be made with gluten free flour instead?
Ellie Haley says
I have never tried it, so I can't tell you for sure, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I prefer Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour