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
More Healthy Recipes You Might Like
Here’s a handful of my favorite recipes on the blog:
Hands down my favorite recipe. I’ve literally made them every Sunday now for probably 2 months. I eat two a day…one for breakfast and one to tide over my nightly sweet tooth. The only changes I’ve made is adding a decent amount of unsweetened vanilla almond milk to my frosting because it needed thinned out, and I finally have this down to a science! I’m not a huge pumpkin fan and I can’t taste it at all! I am obsessed and don’t see it going away soon. I’ve made them for even my pickiest family members who love them!! And I love not feeling guilty eating them too!
I think I’ve made 95% of Mason’s chocolate recipes (can you blame me?). These are still a top contender, I even like them unfrosted.
I think I’ve made 95% of Mason’s chocolate recipes (can you blame me?). These are still a top contender, I even like them unfrosted.
I have celiac disease what kind of flour substitute works best for those who made it gluten free?
The most common GF substitution I see readers make in my recipes is the Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF all purpose flour.
HI! Would it be possible to make these as muffins?
HI! Would it be possible to make these as muffins?
Oh yeah, I’m sure that’d be fine. Though you may want to double the recipe to fill more than a couple slots in a muffin tin.
Just made them, and they turned out SO good! Thank you so much for this recipe.
Just made them, and they turned out SO good! Thank you so much for this recipe.
Oh my goodness. I didn’t have pumpkin, so subbed additional unsweetened applesauce for it. It still cooked through perfectly, and tasted amazing! I made icing using FF Greek yogurt, PE Science PB flavor, and some soy milk. Ate three for breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed them. 🙂
Have made these a few times. Easy and fun snack under 100 calories? Yes please.