Butternut Squash Baked Mini Doughnuts
Everyone likes these moist baked mini doughnuts made with butternut squash and drizzled with chocolate. Perfectly baked doughnuts are great for brunch or breakfast!
If you like baking with veggies, this recipe is for you! You don’t have to bake with pumpkin again – you can use butternut squash instead. The butternut squash adds moisture to these delicious doughnuts, which are sprinkled with coconut flakes. Looking for more butternut squash recipes? Check out Butternut Squash Cheesecake and Butternut Squash Soup. Everything is yummy!
Butternut Squash Mini Doughnuts Recipe
Texture: soft.
Taste: sweet, with mild cinnamon flavor.
Simplicity: simple to make, blend or mix wet ingredients, mix in flour and other ingredients, then bake.
Meal Type: breakfast, snack, dessert, brunch.
Ingredients Needed
- Butternut Squash – adds natural sweetness, moisture, and flavor to the recipe.
- All-Purpose Flour – regular all-purpose flour needed for the recipe.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – leavening agents that help the batter rise and become light and fluffy.
- Cinnamon – adds warm, aromatic spice that complements the sweetness of the squash.
- Granulated Sugar – adds sweetness to the donuts.
- Unsalted Butter – adds richness and moisture, and helps with texture and flavor.
- Avocado oil – provides moisture and helps with a tender crumb, while being a neutral fat.
- Milk – adds moisture to the batter, helping to create the right consistency.
- Vanilla Extract – enhances the overall flavor with a subtle sweetness.
- Egg – binds ingredients together, adds moisture, and helps with structure and rise.
How to make Baked Mini Doughnuts
- (Full recipe and video below.) Prepare all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, egg, butternut squash, avocado oil, butter, milk, vanilla extract, sugar, melted chocolate chips, and coconut flakes.
- In a bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Blend or mix the egg, butternut squash, melted butter, avocado oil, milk, and vanilla extract in a blender.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
- Fill a greased mini donut pan about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 10–13 minutes.
- Drizzle with chocolate and top with coconut flakes.
Baked Mini Doughnuts Tips
- You can use a hand mixer or stand mixer to blend the wet ingredients together, but I’ve found that a blender works particularly well for this recipe. Using a blender ensures a smooth, creamy texture without any chunks of butternut squash, which is great for consistency. It helps to create a velvety batter that bakes into perfectly tender donuts. I use my Ninja Blender that I recommend.
- If you don’t have butternut squash available or simply want to try a different flavor, you can easily substitute it with the same amount of pumpkin or sweet potato. Both options will provide a similar texture and flavor, though pumpkin will give you a slightly lighter texture, while sweet potato will add a bit more sweetness and earthiness.
- Large or mini donut pan can be used, for larger doughnuts, you might need to bake few minutes longer.
Butternut Squash Donuts FAQ’s
While baked donuts can taste similar to fried donuts, the texture will differ slightly. Fried donuts tend to be a bit more moist and have a denser, richer texture due to the oil they’re cooked in. Baked donuts, on the other hand, are usually a bit lighter and airier.
If you’re not a fan of coconut flakes, there are plenty of other delicious options! You can use colorful sprinkles for a fun touch, or sprinkle chopped nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pecans for some crunch and added flavor. Powdered sugar is another classic topping that adds a sweet finishing touch. You can also try drizzling the doughnuts with caramel, honey, or even a flavored glaze for extra sweetness. The possibilities are endless—get creative with your favorite toppings!
Yes, you can definitely use a large donut pan instead of a mini one. By doing so, you’ll get 6 larger doughnuts instead of 12 smaller ones. Keep in mind that you may need to adjust the baking time slightly, as larger doughnuts generally take a bit longer to cook through. Start checking for doneness around the 15-minute mark, but be sure to check with a toothpick to ensure they’re fully baked.
Other Donuts
- Strawberry Shortcake Baked Mini Donuts
- Chocolate Chips Pumpkin Spice Donuts
- Sweet Potato Baked Mini Donuts
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Butternut Squash Baked Mini Doughnuts
Ingredients
Donuts
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. baking soda
- 1 cup butternut squash diced & cooked
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter melted
- 2 Tbsp. avocado oil
- 2 Tbsp. milk
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg
Drizzle
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips melted
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a mini donut pan by spraying it with oil.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Set aside.3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. baking soda
- Mash butternut squash with a fork.1 cup butternut squash
- In a blender or using a mixer, combine the butternut squash, sugar, melted butter, avocado oil, milk, vanilla extract, and egg. Blend or mix until smooth.1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 2 Tbsp. avocado oil, 2 Tbsp. milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 egg
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a spoon or electric mixer until everything is well incorporated.
- Pour the batter into a piping bag and snip off a small piece from one corner. Fill the mini donut pan about 2/3 full with the batter.
- Bake for 10 – 13 minutes.
Drizzle
- Drizzle with chocolate, add coconut flakes.1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
Equipment needed
- Mini Donut Pan
Video
Notes
- You can use a mixer to blend wet ingredients, but I found that blender works here great, it will provide the smooth texture without any chunks of butternut squash, however mixer is perfect too. I use my Ninja Blender that I recommend.
- If you don’t have butternut squash available or simply want to try a different flavor, you can easily substitute it with the same amount of pumpkin or sweet potato. Both options will provide a similar texture and flavor, though pumpkin will give you a slightly lighter texture, while sweet potato will add a bit more sweetness and earthiness.
- Large or mini donut pan can be used, for larger doughnuts, you might need to bake few minutes longer.
Nutrition
Update Notes: The recipe was originally posted in August, 2018, it was updated with new tips in April, 2021.
This is a lovely combo. Looks so beautiful!
Thank you!
Such a great way to sneak more veggies in the kiddos diet. I love butternut squash although I must admit that peeling and chopping them can be quite the chore. It’s too bad because I would love to cook with them more often. That said, I bet the butternut squash tastes wonderful in these donuts.
This was my first butternut squash that I bought and I have to admit it is hard to peel and chop. I was scared that I am going to cut my fingers.
I’m not big on sweets, but I could probably convince myself to eat a ton of these lol. They’re healthy… right? hehe. They sound delicious!
Totally healthy:)
I would never think to make donuts out of squash, but I love this idea! Perfect for fall!
Thanks Kim!
These look really good. I can see dunking some of those bad boys into a cup of steaming hot, black coffee. YUM!
Thank you!