Soft and sweet 3 Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts – top them with cinnamon-sugar or a simple maple glaze for the ultimate fall treat!
I could eat donuts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And midnight snack, which actually happens to be a common thing these days. I love donuts. LOVE THEM. The only person I know who loves donuts more than I do is my sister Tammy who is an absolute donut connoisseur. She seriously knows her donuts. Which is why I’m taking this opportunity to let you know that she gave these homemade baked pumpkin donuts two thumbs up.
The best part about these donuts (seriously it’s all good, but if we had to narrow it down…) is that they only have 3 ingredients. I’m so excited about that little fact that I made sure to put it in the title of this post. 3 INGREDIENT BAKED PUMPKIN DONUTS. I was thisclose to naming them The Tastiest and Easiest Pumpkin Donuts You Will Ever Meet In Your Lifetime. But after some careful consideration I realized that’s a bit of a mouthful and I’d rather have a mouthful of these donuts to tell you the truth.
They’re just so fluffy. And soft. And moist. And purrrrrrdy. You can eat these little nuggets of joy straight-up of course. Just the plain donut. And there’s nothing wrong with that – trust me, I’ve done it. But if you want to jazz them up – and you do, because you’ve only spent 20 minutes on these things start to finish and now you don’t know what to do with all of your time and energy – then you should definitely consider adding that glaze. I threw in a little maple extract because I absolutely adore all things maple + frosting, especially when it comes to fall treats. BUT. If you know you’re not a maple fan (that is sad news, but I’ll forgive you) then you could sub out the maple for vanilla instead which is still 110% crazy yummalicious.
And even after all of that is said and done and you’ve only spent 30 minutes now on these donuts (if that) and you find yourself aching to go the extra inch (seriously, it’s not even a mile cause it’s just so easy) then you should sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon + sugar right on the top of those glazed donuts. When it’s all said and done you’ve spent what, 40 minutes? on these gorgeous donuts. And if you think they are gorgeous to look at, just wait til you taste them. They taste as scrumptious as they look!
Yes. I just said scrumptious. It’s that kind of day.
*If you don’t have a donut pan, it’s about time you got yourself one! I waited soooo long to get one and I have no idea why because they’re all of maybe $10?? I used this Wilton 8-cavity Donut Pan, but I’m thinking about getting a 12-cavity pan like this one so that I don’t have to do quite as many batches to use up the batter.
What people are saying about these 3 Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts
“I made these last night using gingerbread cake mix, the closest thing I could find to spice cake. I was nervous about the flavor but they turned out PERFECT. And that’s without the laze, even. This recipe’s a keeper!” – Lizzie
“Easiest recipe ever. My grandchildren helped and they ate every last crumb! Thanks for the tip about putting the glaze in the microwave. It worked perfectly. This recipe is definitely a keeper!” – Mary
3 Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 box spice cake mix
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree - (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
Cinnamon Spice Coating
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Glaze
- 2 ounces cream cheese - softened
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon maple extract - OR 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease a donut pan (or more than one if you have it).
- In a large bowl mix together cake mix, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice. Transfer mixture to a large zip-lock bag, press the excess air out, and seal.
- Snip one bottom corner of the bag off (about 1/2 inch from the corner) and pipe the batter into your prepared donut pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.
- For the cinnamon-sugar coating, simply whisk together cinnamon and sugar, and toss slightly cooled donuts in the mixture to coat.
- For the glaze, cream together cream cheese, powdered sugar, extract, and milk. Warm it in the microwave for a few seconds to make it thin and runny. Dip cooled donuts in glaze. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar if desired. Allow to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on the link and end up buying yourself a sweet donut pan, I make a percentage of the sale – woohoo!
oh yummy for my tummy!!
No eggs! Ok, I’m on it!
You should’ve went with ‘The Tastiest and Easiest Pumpkin Donuts You Will Ever Meet In Your Lifetime,’ because they really look like they are! I love cake donuts, let alone anything pumpkin, and these look just like that! I love the ease of it so that kids could take over making them, and a box mix is welcome in my kitchen from time to time. Pinned!
I turned these into mini muffins and they were delicious! No icing needed and my kids loved them.
Do we sub the pumpkin purée for the eggs and other ingredients that my spice cake mix calls for (eggs, milk, butter)? Or should I still add those?
Hi Lauren! Don’t pay attention to the ingredients on the box – you’re using the pumpkin puree instead 🙂
You only use the pumpkin purée and the spice cake mix and the pumpkin pie spice….NO oil, eggs, or water. Just made them for the first time…they are YUMMY!!