3-Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts made with pumpkin, cake mix and frosting and completely baked in under 15 minutes! Easy cake mix donut recipe that yields soft, delicious doughnuts with tons of pumpkin flavor!
We really love donuts, and homemade donuts are the best. But sometimes, you just don’t want to deal with the hassle of heating oil and all of the splatter that goes along with the frying process. Cue the baked donuts. A little more cakey than traditional donuts, but equally delicious and much easier to make!
How do you make baked pumpkin donuts?
To make easy baked donuts, all you need is a cake mix and a can of pumpkin. Mix together and pipe into a donut pan and then bake. That’s it!
How to make easy donut glaze
There are many simple recipes for glaze, but the fastest and easiest way to make glaze is to melt canned frosting to a glaze consistency and then dip the baked donuts. Only takes a few minutes total to dip all of the donuts in the glaze!
Ingredients in 3-Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Cake mix (15.25 oz) – I usually use a yellow cake mix, but you can use a white cake mix or a spice cake mix for a slightly different flavor. You can even use chocolate for a chocolate/pumpkin flavor combination.
Pumpkin – You will need a 15 oz. can of pumpkin. Make sure it’s just plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. I’ve had a bit of trouble finding pumpkin in the stores this year (apparently pumpkin is delayed this year?), so I’ve only been able to find the larger 29 oz cans. If that’s the case, just use half of one of those larger cans or use the whole can and make a double batch! Or you can make your own puree.
Frosting – Again, you can choose any flavor you want. I like vanilla, but a cream cheese vanilla is also wonderful with pumpkin. Or chocolate. Or you can add a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice to the vanilla frosting to add a little pumpkin flavor if you’d like. I usually only use about half of the can for one batch of donuts.
Sprinkles – Yes, I know that’s a 4th ingredient. But it is completely optional and I’m not sure it counts as an actual ingredient – it’s more of a decoration. And we all know sprinkled donuts are the best kind, right?
How to make Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Preheat oven to 425°.
Put the cake mix in a large bowl and then add the pumpkin. Mix by hand or use an electric mixer to completely mix the batter.
Put the batter in a well greased donut pan. The batter is pretty thick, so you can’t really pour it. You can spoon it in, but I find that the easiest way is to pipe it in. No need for a fancy piping bag – just place the batter into a large (gallon-sized) Ziplock bag and snip a 1/2″ hole in one of the bottom corners of the bag. Squeeze the batter into each donut well. I usually get 10-12 donuts out of each batch.
Bake the donuts for 8 minutes.
Let the donuts cool in the pans for about 5-6 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Place the wire rack over a cookie sheet or wax paper – this part gets a little messy.
Place the frosting in a bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds, stirring until smooth. If the glaze isn’t quite as runny as you’d like, you can microwave for another 15-30 seconds.
Dip the top half of each donut into the glaze and then place the glazed donuts on the wire rack to set. If sprinkles are desired, add immediately after dipping. We all know donuts are best warm, but these donuts really are amazing a day or two later as well. They stay moist and soft and delicious even at room temperature.
3-Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 oz) cake mix (white, yellow, chocolate, spice, etc.)
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
- 1 can frosting (vanilla, cream cheese, chocolate, etc.)
- sprinkles (if desired)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Put the cake mix in a large bowl and then add the pumpkin. Mix by hand or use an electric mixer to completely mix the batter.
- Put the batter in a well greased donut pan. The batter is pretty thick, so you can't really pour it. You can spoon it in, but I find that the easiest way is to pipe it in. No need for a fancy piping bag - just place the batter into a large (gallon-sized) Ziplock bag and snip a 1/2" hole in one of the bottom corners of the bag. Squeeze the batter into each donut well. I usually get 10-12 donuts out of each batch.
- Bake the donuts for 8 minutes.
- Let the donuts cool in the pans for about 5-6 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Place the wire rack over a cookie sheet or wax paper - this part gets a little messy.
- Place the frosting in a bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds, stirring until smooth. If the glaze isn't quite as runny as you'd like, you can microwave for another 15-30 seconds.
- Dip the top half of each donut into the glaze and then place the glazed donuts on the wire rack to set. If sprinkles are desired, add immediately after dipping. We all know donuts are best warm, but these donuts really are amazing a day or two later as well. They stay moist and soft and delicious even at room temperature.
Video
📫 Save this recipe! Send it to your email! 📩
I consent to receiving emails from this site.
HOW DO YOU PUREE A PUMPKIN?
If you have your own pumpkin handy, why not use it and skip the trip to the store? Preheat your oven to 325° and cut your pumpkin in half. Remove all of the seeds and pulp (we don’t need those).
Rub cooking oil on the rind of the pumpkin and cover each half with foil. Bake foil side up for an hour until fork tender.
Scrape the pumpkin meat from the rind and puree in small batches using your blender, strain it through a cheesecloth to remove any stringy pieces or chunks. You can then use as directed in recipes or finish cooling or portion into baggies and freeze for up to a few months.
NEED SOME NEW BREAKFAST IDEAS? HERE ARE SEVERAL MORE BREAKFAST RECIPES:
- Easy 15-Minute Maple Bars
- Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Best Blueberry Muffin recipe
- Nutella Banana Muffins
- Apple Bread Pudding
- Berry Protein Pancake Bites
- Oatmeal Waffle recipe
- Cinnamon French Toast Casserole
- Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Cake recipe
- One Hour Orange Rolls
- Easy 15 Minute Donut Recipes
- Vanilla Butter Syrup recipe
3-Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts made with pumpkin, cake mix and frosting and completely baked in under 15 minutes! Easy cake mix donut recipe that yields soft, delicious doughnuts with tons of pumpkin flavor!
Pam says
I’ve made pumpkin muffins this way, but oh, these frosted donuts look even better!! YUM!!! Thanks for sharing at TFT.
Kaylie says
Thank you, Pam!
Wanda paul says
I made these donuts and followed the recipe to the letter. The only taste was the vanilla frosting.
Nellie says
If you want more pumpkin flavor, you can add 1-2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice to the batter.
Chimere says
We made this recipe, it was not good at all. Best thing was the frosting.
Nellie says
So sorry you didn’t love them as much as we do – they usually disappear within minutes at my house!
Matthew says
How many ingredients are in the cake mix?🤔
Jessica says
Sounds like someone needs a donut…
Carrie Benes says
I did add 2.5 tsps of pumpkin pie spice to the batter and used a white cake mix. Came out awesome! These were even great without the frosting!
Jessica says
Such a great idea Carrie!
Shannon says
So easy and truly delicious!
Cathy says
Great Thanksgiving breakfast treat! Delicious and fun to make. And so easy to make gluten free just by using gluten free cake mix. Think I’ll add pumpkin pie spice next time for a little more flavor. Thanks for a new tradition.