If you enjoyed my Pumpkin Spice Protein Donuts, you’ll love these. I say that to drop a hint at this recipe’s secret ingredient – pumpkin. But don’t worry, you’ll never know it’s there. These aren’t called double chocolate donuts just for the fun of it!
Pumpkin gets thrust into the limelight every fall thanks to Pumpkin Spice Lattes and holiday pies. However, if you’re looking for a go-to ingredient for low-calorie recipes all year long, look no further than our orange friend. 120g of canned pumpkin only has 50 calories of creamy texture goodness. It’s crazy!
Okay, pumpkin is awesome, but you’re here for the chocolate. Let’s get into the double chocolate donuts recipe.
Chocolate Protein Donuts Ingredients
I used a different approach with the protein frosting or glaze than I did in the pumpkin version, using chocolate syrup instead of evaporated milk. The consistency is a bit thinner, which I found easier to work with than the former. Why not try both?
That being said, the donuts taste great without the glaze. You could save some extra carbs and calories by skipping out on the glaze if you wanted, but I’d make a tiny bit for funzies.
You could also try using the ultimate chocolate protein frosting recipe.
Speaking of funzies, don’t underestimate the boost from sprinkles. As you can see, I used both chocolate and rainbow sprinkles and find the extra 5-10 calories worth it.
Similar to the pumpkin donuts, if you wanted a donut with a bit more density and moisture, you could swap an egg for the apple sauce. It will add about 12 calories per donut, but that’s not a huge difference. Other than that, it’s business as usual.
Don’t worry about perfection when adding the batter to your donut pan. It’s easy to remove any excess around the edges.
Any donut pan will do, but you can get the one I use on Amazon here. Update 10/18: I’ve since switched to a silicone donut mold and love how they never stick.
The photo above was from the same batch. Just flip and trim the edges with a knife or fingers and you’re good to go!
My Recommended Protein Powder
You can use any protein you’d like, but I recommend Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey, Dymatize’s 100% Whey, or PEScience Select Whey and Casein Blend. I’m not affiliated with any of these companies, I just use and love their products.
The macros for this recipe are with Gold Standard Whey.
That’s all ya need to know. I hope you enjoy these protein donuts as much as I did! If you make this for a post-workout snack or sweets fix, tag me in your creation on Instagram or join my free Facebook group and share it with everyone.
Double Chocolate Protein Donuts
Ingredients
Pronuts
- 1/4 C All Purpose Flour
- 1 scoop Protein Powder, chocolate
- 3/8 C 92g Liquid Egg Whites, or 2 whole egg whites
- 1/2 C 120g Canned Pumpkin
- 2 Tbsp Swerve Confectioners, or Zero-Calorie Sweetener
- 1 Tbsp 15g Apple Sauce
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 3 Tbsp 15g Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Frosting/Glaze
- 1 serving, 32g Fat-Free Cream Cheese
- 1 Tbsp 15g Sugar-Free Chocolate Syrup
- 1 scoop Protein Powder, chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray donut pan with low-cal cooking spray.
- Mix pronut ingredients in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
- Fill donut pan evenly and bake for 15 minutes.
- To make your frosting, mix cream cheese (room temp helps), chocolate syrup, and one scoop of protein powder together until creamy.
- To cover donuts, allow them to cool briefly and dip them face down into frosting mixture. Twist them back and forth in a circular motion and remove to let the frosting set. Voila!
Notes
Nutrition
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How should these be stored? Refrigerated?
I would store the donuts (w/o the frosting) at room temp in an airtight container for up to a few days.You can make the frosting and store it in the refrigerator to frost as you eat them since applying it first might make the donuts soggy.
I made these with gluten free flour and they are perfect!! Super fluffy and moist! 👌🏻 Also super simple and fast to make!
I made these with gluten free flour and they are perfect!! Super fluffy and moist! 👌🏻 Also super simple and fast to make!
I love these doughnuts, just perfect when I have a chocolate craving. Recipe says it makes 6 but I found I could nearly make twice that with my 6 cavity doughnut pan. I can’t get pumpkin easily here in the UK so used apple sauce instead and it worked great
I love these doughnuts, just perfect when I have a chocolate craving. Recipe says it makes 6 but I found I could nearly make twice that with my 6 cavity doughnut pan. I can’t get pumpkin easily here in the UK so used apple sauce instead and it worked great
Hi. May I know what’s the purpose of the canned pumpkin and can I substitute it with something else? Because pumpkin is not really my favorite 🙂
You’ll never know it’s there. Seriously. But it works as a bit of a “fat” replacement. You can try something like unsweetened apple sauce or another fat source like light butter or full fat butter.
Made these and they came out great. Made 6 donuts. Perfect for when I need a donut fix. Not very sweet but love that about them. I used two egg whites and 1 whole egg. No applesauce.
Plugged the ingredients into the recipe builder in my weight watchers app and each donut came out to 1 freestyle point!!!! Excellent!
Made these and they came out great. Made 6 donuts. Perfect for when I need a donut fix. Not very sweet but love that about them. I used two egg whites and 1 whole egg. No applesauce.
Plugged the ingredients into the recipe builder in my weight watchers app and each donut came out to 1 freestyle point!!!! Excellent!
Which apple sauce did you use?
Just a store brand unsweetened apple sauce. 50 calories/half cup for comparison.
Just made these but in mini version to make for easier snacking. Delicious!!!! I added 1/2 tbsp more of applesauce and 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white. These are great without the icing!
Thank you again Mason! Another family favorite.