Treat yourself with these easy carrot cake donuts! With plenty of shredded carrot, juicy pineapple and an icing sugar glaze generously sprinkled with nuts, this baked donut recipe is sure to be a favourite!

Stack of carrot cake donuts with icing sugar glaze and chopped nuts.

I love baked donuts! You too? Some of my faves are these blueberry baked donuts and vanilla glazed donuts.

Today I’m sharing another easy donut recipe. These carrot cake donuts are super easy to prepare and a favourite around here!

If you’re a fan of carrot cake, then I know you’ll love these too.

I grew up with pineapple in my carrot cake, so I used it in these donuts. Plus, the pineapple juice is used for the simple icing sugar glaze.

And because there’s a veggie in these donuts, they’re practically considered a health food, right? Okay, not really, but they are delicious.

These carrot donuts are great for a random Wednesday, but would also be a lovely Easter dessert or addition to brunch. Plus, who doesn’t love homemade donuts?

Now, all that’s left to do is put on a pot of coffee (or boil the kettle) and whip up a batch of these homemade donuts. Sound good?

Why We Love These Carrot Cake Donuts

They take minutes to prep!
Baked donuts are an easier and healthier version compared to fried donuts.
The ingredients are mostly those that one would find in their pantry or have on hand already.
They’re an easier version of carrot cake, nice-n-portable too.
You don’t have to visit your local coffee shop to enjoy fresh donuts. Homemade is always a good idea!
These carrot cake donuts are so delicious!

Carrot donuts with icing sugar glaze and chopped nuts on a blue plate.

How To Make Baked Donuts

Full details on how to make these donuts are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:

To a bowl, add flour, sugar, shredded carrot, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix to combine.
In another bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, egg and vanilla extract.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk or blend to combine.
Add in chopped pineapple.
Spoon or pipe donut batter into a greased donut pan and bake.
Once baked, allow to cool in the pan for a little bit.
Then place the donuts onto a cooling rack to completely cool before glazing.
Make the icing sugar glaze, then invert each donut into the glaze to coat. For added flavour and texture, sprinkle over chopped nuts.

Collage of steps to make carrot cake donuts.

A glazed carrot cake donut with nuts on a cooling rack.

Do I Have To Use Icing Sugar Glaze?

Not at all!

The glaze adds an extra special touch to donuts, but you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. Alternatively, you can simply dust with a little icing sugar.

Tip: If you opt not to glaze (but still want to use nuts), mix some into the batter.

Close-up of a glazed carrot cake donut with chopped nuts sprinkled over top.

Tips and Variations

Do not glaze the donuts until they are fully cooled. Otherwise, the glaze will melt right into the donuts.
The icing sugar glaze is on the thicker side (which works great for these donuts). It’s best to add a little pineapple juice, mix in and see how you like the consistency. Then, add more as needed. And if you thin out your glaze too much, no worries! Just add a little more icing sugar to thicken things.
Canned pineapple is used, but you can totally use fresh if you prefer.
Another delicious addition to these carrot cake donuts is fresh orange zest. You can mix some into the batter, as well as top the glaze.

More Easy Desserts

If you make these glazed carrot cake donuts, be sure to leave a comment below!

Stack of glazed carrot cake donuts on a blue plate with more donuts around it.

Baked Carrot Cake Donuts

Dawn | Girl Heart Food

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Save Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 12

Cooling Time 30

Total Time 52

Course Dessert

Servings 8 donuts

Ingredients

Carrot Cake Donuts

Cooking spray, to grease donut pan
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup grated carrot, about 1 small carrot
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup milk
¼ cup melted unsalted butter
1 large egg
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup small dice canned pineapple, about 3 slices of pineapple (drained from juice, but juice reserved)

Glaze and Garnish

1 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons pineapple juice, approximately
⅓ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions

Carrot Cake Donuts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spray a donut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Note: This recipe yields 8 donuts. If you have a 6-count donut pan, you can bake in batches. Just make sure to wash, dry and re-spray your pan when you are baking your remaining donuts. Or, if you have a larger count donut pan, even better!
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, grated carrot, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and salt until well combined. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter (allowed to cool for a few minutes before adding to milk and egg mixture), egg, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Whisk or mix the milk mixture into the reserved flour mixture until combined and there are no streaks of flour remaining.
Stir in pineapple.
Pipe or spoon donut batter into the prepared donut pan. Smooth tops and tap on a hard surface to settle things.
Bake for about 12 minutes or until a wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted in the donuts comes out clean. Don't overbake.
Let donuts cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then remove the donuts from the pan and allow them to fully cool on a cooling rack before glazing.

Glaze

In a bowl, whisk together the icing sugar and pineapple juice until smooth. It's better to start with a little juice first and add as necessary. As you stir it, the glaze will get smooth and should be thick.
Note: If you add too much juice and the glaze is too thin, add a little more icing sugar to thicken.

Glaze and Garnish the Donuts

Once donuts are cool, invert each donut into the icing sugar glaze and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. If you like, you can allow the glaze to set, so let the donuts rest on a cooling rack for a little bit (or you can dig in). Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Do not glaze the donuts until they are fully cooled. Otherwise, the glaze will melt right into the donuts.
The icing sugar glaze is on the thicker side (which works great for these donuts). It’s best to add a little pineapple juice, mix in and see how you like the consistency. Then, add more as needed. And if you thin out your glaze too much, no worries! Just add a little more icing sugar to thicken things.
Canned pineapple is used, but you can totally use fresh if you prefer.

A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.

Keyword baked donut recipe, Easter dessert, easy donut recipe

Tried this recipe?

If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!

Why We Love These Carrot Cake Donuts

How To Make Baked Donuts

Do I Have To Use Icing Sugar Glaze?

Tips and Variations

More Easy Desserts

Baked Carrot Cake Donuts

Ingredients

Carrot Cake Donuts

Glaze and Garnish

Instructions

Carrot Cake Donuts

Glaze

Glaze and Garnish the Donuts

Notes

Tried this recipe?

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Comments

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