Baked Gluten-Free Apple Cider Doughnuts REcipe
In my life BGF—Before Gluten-Free—one of my favorite things about fall was a warm apple cider doughnut straight from the fryer. You know the kind: picked up at an apple orchard after a morning of apple picking, still warm, slightly greasy, and completely covered in cinnamon sugar.
These baked gluten-free apple cider doughnuts bring all of that cozy nostalgia home. They’re tender, warmly spiced, packed with concentrated apple flavor, brushed with melted butter, and rolled in a generous cinnamon sugar mixture.
And because they’re baked in a doughnut pan instead of fried, they’re easy enough to make on a lazy fall morning. No hot oil, no thermometer, no fuss.
Jump to Recipe
Why You’ll Love These Gluten-Free Apple Cider Donuts
These gluten free apple cider donuts have all the flavor of classic apple cider donuts without the deep fryer.
The secret is reduced apple cider. Simmering fresh apple cider until it’s concentrated intensifies the apple flavor and gives these doughnuts that unmistakable orchard-shop taste.
Add ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla, and a buttery cinnamon sugar coating, and you’ve got the perfect fall treat.
They’re especially lovely after a trip to the pumpkin patch, a visit to your local apple farm, or simply because it’s that time of year when everything should smell like apples and warm spices.
The Secret to Big Apple Flavor
For the best flavor, use cloudy, unfiltered real apple cider. I often use the dark, unfiltered apple juice from Trader Joe’s, which works beautifully.
For this apple cider donut recipe, start with 1 cup of cider and simmer it in a small saucepan until it reduces to ½ cup. Bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat, then lower to medium heat as needed so it gently cooks down without scorching. Reducing the cider concentrates the flavor, making it richer, sweeter, and much more apple-forward than plain juice.
This step is worth the extra few minutes. It’s what gives these apple cider doughnuts their classic apple cider flavor.
A Note About Gluten-Free Flour
Use a good-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour blend for the best results.
Check the label before adding extra xanthan gum. Many blends, including some from King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill, already contain it. If your free flour blend includes xanthan gum, don’t add more. Some blends use guar gum instead, which is also fine, but different flour blends can absorb moisture differently, so your donut batter may vary slightly.
What About Brown Sugar?
I love brown sugar in fall baking, but this recipe uses granulated sugar because it keeps the doughnuts light and lets the cider and spices shine. You could experiment with brown sugar or coconut sugar, but both may change the texture and moisture level, so I recommend making the recipe as written first. The deep autumn flavor here comes from reduced cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla rather than brown sugar.
How to Make Baked Gluten-Free Apple Cider Doughnuts
- First, reduce the cider and let it cool slightly.
- Next, whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl: gluten-free flour, almond flour, xanthan gum if needed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Add the wet ingredients—sugar, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, melted butter, and the cooled cider—and whisk until the batter is smooth.
- The finished donut batter should be thick but easy to pipe.
- The easiest way to fill the pan is with a piping bag. No piping bag? Use a large Ziploc bag, snip off one corner, and pipe the batter into the prepared donut cavities.
- Fill each cavity about three-quarters full.
- Bake until the doughnuts are lightly golden brown and spring back when gently touched, about 8 minutes for mini donuts and around 10 minutes for regular-sized doughnuts.
- Transfer them to a wire rack or cooling rack until they’re cool enough to handle.
Don’t Skip the Cinnamon Sugar Coating
This is where the magic happens.
In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Brush or dip each doughnut in melted butter, then toss it in the cinnamon sugar mixture until generously coated.
That buttery cinnamon sugar coating is what makes these baked doughnuts taste so much like the real deal. And yes, you should absolutely eat one while they’re still warm donuts.
Quality control.
Gluten free apple cider doughnut FAQ
Can I Use Apple Juice Instead of Apple Cider?
Yes, as long as it’s cloudy and unfiltered. The darker, less-filtered kind of apple juice has much more flavor than clear shelf-stable juice and works very well here. The reduction step is still important because it concentrates the flavor and keeps the batter from becoming too wet.
Can I Add Applesauce or Apple Butter?
You’ll see plenty of apple recipes that use apple sauce or apple butter, but I don’t use either in this recipe. The reduced cider adds plenty of apple flavor without making the doughnuts too moist or turning them into something closer to apple cake. And while I love apple cake, that’s not what we’re after here.
Can I Make These Dairy-Free or Vegan?
This recipe was developed with butter, eggs, and buttermilk, so I recommend making it as written for the most reliable results. You could experiment with vegan butter and a dairy-free milk mixed with a little apple cider vinegar, but I haven’t tested this recipe with flax eggs or chia eggs. If you need free vegan apple cider donuts, it’s usually best to start with a recipe specifically developed to be both gluten-free and vegan.
How to Store Apple Cider Doughnuts
These doughnuts are best the day they’re made, ideally while they’re still slightly warm. If you have leftovers, let them cool completely and place them in an airtight container at room temperature. The cinnamon sugar will soften a little by the next day, but the doughnuts will still be delicious.
For longer storage, freeze them before adding the butter and cinnamon sugar. Wrap cooled doughnuts in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe container. Thaw, warm gently, then coat with fresh cinnamon sugar before serving.
A Few Tips for the Best Results
- Don’t skip reducing the cider. It’s the key to concentrated apple flavor.
- Check your flour blend for xanthan gum before adding extra.
- Don’t overfill the donut cavities, or the centers may close up while baking.
- A piping bag makes filling the pan much easier and less messy.
- And finally, don’t overbake. Gluten-free baked goods can dry out quickly, so pull the doughnuts as soon as they spring back gently when touched.
These baked gluten-free apple cider doughnuts are everything I want in a fall baking recipe: easy, cozy, cinnamon-sugary, and just nostalgic enough to make me want to plan an apple-picking day immediately.
Because during this time of year, there is no such thing as too much apple, cinnamon, or butter.
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Baked Gluten-Free Apple Cider Doughnuts
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup apple cider unflitered
- ¾ cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk shaken
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your flour blend contains it
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ½ cup sugar & 1 teaspoon cinnamon whisked together in a bowl
Instructions
- Heat the cider in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer until the cider has reduced to ½ cup. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9 wells of 2 regular doughnut pans with gluten-free cooking spray. (Tip: if you need to bake the doughnuts in more than one batch, make sure to re-spray the pan with gluten-free cooking spray)
- Add the flour blend, almond flour, xanthan gum if using, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cloves to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the sugar, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, melted butter and reduced cider and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a large zip-top bag and snip about ½ inch off one corner. Carefully pipe mixture into your prepared doughnut pan, filling each well about 3/4 full.
- Bake the doughnuts until they spring back when gently touched, about 8 minutes for the minis, 10 minutes for the larger ones.
- Dip or brush the doughnuts with the melted butter just as soon as they are cool enough to handle and gently toss with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
- Serve immediately!
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?LET US KNOW HOW IT WAS!
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Well, good morning! I am huge on using apple cider reductions in baking and cooking to enhance flavors. So happy to see you feel the same. Cannot wait to bake these, Ali. Thanks for sharing, girl. Pinning! xo
These look fantastic! Is there a way to make these if we don’t have a donut pan? I saw the pumpkin donut holes recipe you posted – how would you suggest adapting this one to make cider donut holes? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it, but I’m pretty sure that if you baked them in a mini muffin tin they would be just fine. 🙂
I totally baked them in mini muffin pans and they were amazing as bite size donut holes!
Great idea!
Just made these- made the first batch as directed and…amazing! Light, fluffy, not too sweet, so good right out of the oven!
Made the second batch as apple fritters with the following modifications: added another 1/2C GF flour blend and 2 medium tart apples, finely chopped. Also replaced the sugar with packed brown sugar. Then I fried them in canola oil at 365 degrees until lightly brown. They are so good! Thank you- I love all of your recipes and your blog!
Um…Beth those apple fritters sound AMAZING. Great idea!
I should add that since the fritters are fried you don’t add the butter for the topping- just toss them in cinnamon and sugar while they are still hot after blotting them on a double layer of paper towels over a cooling rack….I have now frozen both the donuts and the fritters- you can throw them right in the over at 325 for 10-15 minutes and they are fabulous.
These look great! Do you think I can freeze these to enjoy throughout the season?
Yes! Bake, cool, wrap tightly with plastic and freeze them before you brush them with butter and toss them with the sugar mixture. When you are ready to eat them, thaw them out and warm them up, then brush them with butter and toss them with sugar. 🙂
I am learning to bake for my 9 year old grandson that has Type 1 Diabetes as well as Celiac. Your recipes look terrific but it would be wonderful if the Nutritional Facts could be included to help adjust the insulin.
We are new to eating gluten free. I made these last weekend and all 5 of us LOVED them. I think next time, I might reduce the apple cider the night before so that there isn’t as much prep time on the morning of.
Great idea, Jennie! 🙂
thank u for the recipe ,
Splendid outcome. Must be the buttermilk. Perfect! Thank you for posting.
Do you have an idea what I could use instead of Buttermilk?? I have to try my best to keep the sodium lower for my husband as well as sugar, as well as GF for me. Kind of tuff to do and still have things taste good.
Hi Debbie,
You can make your own buttermilk for this recipe by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to 1/2 cup of milk. Hope that helps! 🙂
Can i use more all purpuse gluten free flour in place of the almond flour. Don’t have any on hand right now. I di have sorghum flour thou
Yes, additional AP flour would be fine. 🙂
Hi, just wondering if I use still or sparkling cider in this recipe?
Thanks in advance
Hi Taryn! Still cider. 🙂
These look so good! I think donuts are on my top five foods I miss most! I can’t wait to try this recipe! I love your site, and recipes! Thanks so much for sharing!!
This is an excellent recipe and the results rivaled the gluten cider donuts at our local apple orchard! I used 2 cups Better Batter flour(140g/c) and followed the rest of the recipe to the letter. They were moist, light in texture and recipe makes a generous batch. I’m also happy to report that they freeze and re-heat beautifully when properly wrapped. No more over-priced, brick-like confections from the market. Thank you for a gluten free recipe that is worthy of being shared!
So glad you liked them, Leslie! And I’m happy to know they freeze well too. 🙂
Hi Allison,
As a gf newbie(diagnosed back in Mar. ’13), I’ve slowly tackled revamping my baking repertoire and skill set to adapt to a gf lifestyle but I’ve hit a roadblock as of late. After exhaustive and repeated failed attempts to make a simple yellow cake (for birthdays or as a base for other confections) using recipes from other gf bloggers, I now turn respectfully to you and your advanced gf baking skills. I don’t want to spend $50 + at the gf bakery every time we need an everyday cake or use the gritty gf mixes that abound, but I’m tired of the profoundly flawed recipes (with their dubiously high user ratings) at the sites of some seriously over-hyped gf bloggers. Is there any chance that this project might be on your “to tackle” list in the future?
Yes it is, actually. My kids’ birthdays are all in December and January so hopefully I’ll have a good one for you coming soon. <3
A thousand thanks…looking forward to it! I’m trying your pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe today. My twins (and I) can hardly wait to taste them. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Wow, I can’t wait to try this recipe!! I love apple cider doughnuts but haven’t eaten them since going gluten free. Thanks for sharing.
Tried them for second time and they came super awesome.1st time i didn’t have same luck
Wondering for vainilla flavor,something in specific do i need to do? I want to
Try a flavor like the original glazed krispy kreme.
Tks a lot!
Today i found a donut pan, your recipe, and something I only dreamed existed: gluten-free oats, locally available here in country Australia. Oh! Happy day!
That is a happy day! 🙂
Thank you, thank you, thank you! We go apple picking every year and previously one of my favorite parts was eating the apple cider doughnuts sold at the orchard. I haven’t had an apple cider doughnut since I had to go gluten free and thought I would never have another…
We made your recipe today (I subbed tapioca flour for almond flour because it was much cheaper) and used apple juice instead of apple cider. They were perfect! They were light and fluffy like a “normal” doughnut, not heavy and dense like most gluten free doughnuts I’ve had. Fantastic recipe, thank you for sharing.
Made these tonight and they were amazing!! SO good!! Do not taste gluten free at all!
I made these this afternoon and oh my stars, this recipe is delicious. I’m really, really thrilled with how they turned out! Thank you.
Theses were so good! I subbed ground flax seed for the almond flour & added about 1/3 cup very small, diced pieces of apple. They came out delicious!
I made these donuts today and followed the recipe to the letter. The results were just mehhh….. The plus: donuts are moist a bit like muffins and I liked that the spices came through (although I did add a little extra). The cons: the dough was thick and not at all pipable like yours. I can’t taste the Apple cider at all and they sadly don’t taste like donuts at all, not even “cakey” donuts 🙁
I really wanted these to work. I’ll keep looking for a better recipe.
Help! I don’t have a doughnut pan! Can I still make them without it? Any tips?
Try a muffin tin! 🙂
Try making your own donut pan with aluminum foil. You could use a mini Bundt pan as a model, only make the cups more shallow.
I love these. But because I live above 4,500 elevation in my 2nd batch I added more flour so they would actually be donuts. They are so tasty. I found the tin at Bed, Bath and Beyond.
I have food allergy to almonds, is there a different flour you recommend to replace the almond flour in your recipe?
Hi Judy – you can use any other nut flour or just swap for additional gluten free flour blend.
These were so good! Question about the ingredients. The list states melted butter for the batter but the directions do not mention when to add it. I omitted it and they taste really good but wonder if they’d be even better with the butter.
Hi there – oops! I updated the recipe. The butter gets whisked in with the rest of the wet ingredients. It won’t much change the flavor of the doughnut, but it might add a little more moisture. Glad you enjoyed them without the butter. There’s plenty brushed on after they bake anyway. LOL
We visited a cider mill in Vermont last fall and had one of their famous cider donuts. I was sold but my husband needs to eat gluten and sugar free. So I tried your recipe last night for treats at a game night we hosted. They were a huge hit!! I swapped out the sugar with half Swerve brown and half Anthony’s erythritol sweetener, keeping the rest of the recipe the same. Oh my goodness!…they were so light, fluffy, and tasty! ???? Will definitely be keeping this one in my recipe book.
Thanks for sharing such goodness! ????
So glad you loved them!
I’ve made the carrot cake donuts you posted for Easter and wanted something a little different this fall and these did not disappoint! They tasted great and my son ate them up and requested more. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Used a regular sized muffin tin, got 15 donuts. Added 2-3 mins in the oven until “springy.” Bit of a funny shape because they rose so much but taste great!! Love the fluffy texture.
Glad you loved them. There is a bit of trial and error in figuring out how high to fill pans. 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! This absolutely the best GF apple cider donut recipe. I have made these several times. I wouldn’t change a thing!
Thanks for your comment, Beverly. Glad you enjoyed!