Blueberries are my favorite fruit.
Hands down.
I gotta get my blueberry fix, and on the daily.
They’re widely considered as one of the world’s best superfoods, providing high amounts of antioxidants and other nutrients.
Most of the sweet recipes on this blog all contain blueberries. Whether it be pancakes, waffles, protein bars, smoothies—you name it. Blueberries just go great with just about anything, almost like peanut butter, hehe.
So you know I had to incorporate this wonderful fruit into everyone’s favorite grab-and-go, time-saving, go-to breakfast option……the donut!
And of course, I threw in some of my usual faves into the mix too, just for kicks.
And this packs a super wallop of a kick.
I’m talkin’ some HBK sweet chin music level kicks.
So…
Without further adieu….
Enter….my Blueberry Amaretto Protein Donuts!!
Feast your eyes on the most glorious donuts you’ll ever set your sights on!’
Wild blueberries, cinnamon, banana, amaretto, almonds, a dabble of peanut butter, a heavenly blueberry glaze….these oven baked protein donuts are exploding with antioxidants and flavor!!
That’s right, blueberries inside every bite, and blueberries smothered all over the outside.
If you love blueberries, if you love donuts, and if you love delicious, muscle-building, nutrient-packed food, then this donut was made especially for you!
Sure to knock your taste buds senseless!
So if y’all don’t know by now, almond flour is my go-to flour of choice, pretty much every, single time.
It provides excellent nutritional value—-high in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants….
And also, according to the Diabetes Education Online website, “because fiber is a type of carbohydrate your body can’t digest, it does not affect your blood sugar levels. You should subtract the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate.”
Generally, almond flour contains 5 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of fiber per serving. Taking this into account, this means that almond flour only has 2 grams net carbs per serving! Much leaner than the commonly used whole wheat flour or oat flour!
Amaretto is a sweet Italian liqueur from Saronna, Italy flavored from bitter almonds, apricot pits, and sometimes peach. The non-alcoholic substitute for this is almond extract.
This extract is so concentrated with flavor, you just need to use a tiny bit of it to get that boost of flavor. Even so, I like to use 2 tsp per recipe just to make sure that flavor really pops.
I prefer to use the extract over the actual alcohol because it provides less sugars, and I feel the flavor is more intense and concentrated.
Peanut butter mixed into the batter adds not just that peanut-y flavor, but adds some “healthy” fats and oils that help keep these donuts moist—much better than using saturated fat–loaded butter.
One of the key ingredients I use for these protein donuts is erythritol.
Erythritol is considered a sugar alcohol, and most sugar alcohols are found in natural ingredients like fruits and vegetables.
Healthline.com has a great article on the positives and negatives of erythritol (mostly positives), you can check it out right here.
If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll notice that I like to use erythritol and/or monk fruit sweetener to help naturally sweeten up some of my recipes. I’ve done my research on these two ingredients, I like what I’ve been reading about them, and so I like to use them. These are both awesome substitutes for regular, table sugar, in my opinion.
But I also recommend you to read up on these ingredients as well, to see if you’re ok with using them. Here are some great articles I’ve found concerning erythritol, just click on them below:
Healthline.com: “Erythritol—-Like Sugar Without the Calories?”
Dr. Axe : “Erythritol: Is This Common Sweetener Safe?”
The key to that beautiful purple glaze is not only the fact that it uses only 3 ingredients (4 if you count water), but also in its preparation.
And I tried multiple methods —I experimented with microwaving frozen blueberries, to heating them over medium heat in a sauce pan, to blending them in my Vitamix blender.
Microwaving the blueberries was definitely the quickest way to heat up the blueberries but afterwards, it took a lot of forearm work to mash them down, and I was still left with a lot of chunks. I wanted a smoother consistency, so this wasn’t good.
Heating up the blueberries over the stove top took a bit longer, and by the time I was done mashing them up, the heat really shrank whatever amount I had left. This method was much better, but I would have to add more blueberries than I normally would to this.
Blending them in the Vitamix was also super fast, it got rid of the chunkiness, but I had to add more liquid to help it blend, and when the time came to add the erythritol to thicken it up into a glaze, I had to add WAY more erythritol, and this led to it losing its vibrant purple color, and turned it to a bland pink. The donuts still came out super delicious, but image wise, not exactly what I wanted.
But then I combined the two methods of melting them down over the stove top, followed by blending it in my Vitamix to get a smoother consistency. This worked like a charm!
The blueberries melted down, no more chunkiness, I didn’t have to add much erythritol to thicken it, and it kept that vibrant purple color!
KA-POW!!
OK, here are the nutritional benefits of the main ingredients in these Blueberry Amaretto Protein Donuts…
Blueberries are known to be one of the top “superfoods” found on planet earth, and they’re chockfull of antioxidants and vitamins. Studies have shown that nutrients in blueberries may help fight cancer, help fight inflammation, help support brain function, and its high fiber content aids with digestion. Blueberries are also a great source of vitamin K, which has been shown to help with the formation of blood clots if the body were to get injured.
Cinnamon is widely considered as the most antioxidant-rich natural spice available on the planet. The antioxidants found in cinnamon are believed to maybe help fight cancer, protect cells from DNA damage, slow the aging process, and helpfightdisease. Cinnamon also contains certain compounds that have been known to maybe help fight off viruses and infections.
Bananas are fully-loaded with potassium, a very important nutrient which has been shown to help support the body’s circulatory system, help move oxygen throughout our cells, and helps to lower high blood pressure. Bananas are high in fiber, which helps to keep our digestive system running smoothly and helps to remove toxins.
Almonds which are basically ground up to create almond flour, are packed with nutrients, and are good sources of protein, fiber, vitamin E, riboflavin, magnesium, manganese, calcium. They contain a special kind of vitamin E, called gamma-tocopherol—studies show this antioxidant to be a powerful cancer-fighter. Their high fiber content helps support our digestive system.
Here’s what you’ll need for the donut batter:
Here’s what you’ll need for the blueberry glaze:
And of course, you need 2 donut pans. Like so…
Some quick notes before you get started…
-I prefer to use wild blueberries for the donut batter because of their smaller size. You can fit a whole lot of these into a single donut versus regular blueberries.
-When making the glaze, after heating the berries in sauce pan, they may be too hot to put into your blender. Let them cool down for a couple of minutes before blending. I like to add a little bit of water here to cool them down faster.
-Store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge. Just like regular donuts, these donuts will slowly lose their freshness, and best consumed within 3-4 days. Best enjoyed as soon as possible! I like to warm them up in the microwave!
If you like these, then you gotta try my…
- Ultimate Blueberry Protein Muffins
- Maple Apple Cinnamon Protein Donuts
- Dark Chocolate Chip Blueberry Protein Pancakes
Alright then, let’s get to it!!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
donuts
|
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp monk fruit sweetener
- 1 banana (med-large)
- 1 whole egg
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 cup wild blueberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- 3 tsp almond milk
- 8-9 tbsp erythritol sweetener (powdered)
- water
Ingredients
Batter:
Glaze:
|
|
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Add dry ingredients to bowl. Mix thoroughly. In separate larger bowl, mash banana with fork. Add all other wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients bowl, until fully incorporated. Don't overmix. Fold in blueberries.
- Grease donut pan with olive oil. Using spoon, add batter into each donut section, at least 2/3 full, or fill to the top. Should make about 8-9 donuts.
- Bake in oven for about 10-11 minutes, or until surface is set.
- Remove from oven. Let cool for 3-5 minutes in pan(for easy removal). Meanwhile to make the glaze, set sauce pan to medium heat. Once heated, add water, blueberries. Stir around for 3-5 minutes, or until berries are soft and juices burst out.
- Transfer the berries to a blender. Add almond milk, erythritol/sugar replacement. Blend until smooth.
- Dip donuts into glaze. Enjoy!
-Wild blueberries are best for the donut batter because of their smaller size. You can fit plenty more of these into a donut versus regular blueberries.
-When making the glaze, after heating the berries in sauce pan, they may be too hot to put into your blender. Let them cool down for a couple of minutes before blending. I like to add a little bit of water here to cool them down faster.
-Store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge. Just like regular donuts, these donuts will slowly lose their freshness, and best consumed within 3-4 days. Best enjoyed as soon as possible! I like to warm them up in the microwave!
Say hello to my…. Apple Cinnamon Dark Chocolate Chip Protein Waffles!!
