Strawberry Donuts
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This super easy baked strawberry donut recipe is 100% better than Krispy Kreme. Our strawberry donuts are made with real strawberries. Baked until golden and crisp, they’re hand-dipped in delicious strawberry donut glaze.
It’s very satisfying to make DIY donuts at home using wholesome ingredients from the pantry. Nothing artificial. Baked not fried, these pink donuts are a healthier version of Krispy Kreme strawberry donuts. They’re packed with classic flavor just like those from a donut shop or bakery.
🍓 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- We use a donut pan instead of a frying pan with oil. With no splatters of oil in the kitchen, cleanup is simple and quick.
- A baked strawberry donut has zero grease and fewer calories than similar fried donuts. Less guilt equals more enjoyment.
- This strawberry donut recipe uses freeze-dried strawberries. This means you can make strawberry doughnuts all year round. No more waiting for strawberry season to make and enjoy these treats.
- To keep recipe costs down, we make both donuts and glaze with just 1 (1-ounce) package freeze-dried strawberries.
- Depending on the occasion, you can make either standard-size donuts or miniature doughnuts. Because these treats are made in a pan, each donut will be perfectly shaped.
- These adorable white-and-pink donuts are ideal for wedding showers, baby showers, birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or tea time.
- It’s fun and festive to make Krispy Kreme strawberry donuts at home.
- This recipe is easy to double.
🛒 Ingredients
Strawberry Donuts
- Freeze-dried Strawberries: Using real fruit gives this recipe so much flavor! Find this ingredient in a resealable bag at the grocery store. They’re usually stocked near the raisins and other dehydrated fruit. All you need is 1 bag. However, for a more vibrant pink glaze, or more strawberry powder for garnishing, purchase 2 bags instead of 1.
- All-purpose Flour: This ingredient provides the batter with structure for tender pillowy doughnuts.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds the perfect amount of sweetness to the batter.
- Baking Powder: Leavens our baked strawberry donuts so they’re light, soft and fluffy. It provides the perfect rise.
- Sea Salt: This seasoning balances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Whole Milk: Adds moisture and richness. If you don’t have whole milk on hand use 2% instead.
- Vegetable Oil: Contributes moistness to the batter. It slows down gluten formation to keep the strawberry donuts tender and fluffy.
- Butter: The fat in the butter adds moisture, richness and flavor. It helps make the donuts soft.
- Large Egg: This ingredient helps bind the batter together, keeping fats and liquid combined. They also add moisture, help create a smooth batter, and provide a delicious golden color to our donuts.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Enhances the sweetness and flavor of the strawberries. For taste and aroma, I prefer Mexican vanilla extract.
Strawberry Donut Glaze
- Powdered Sugar: This is the base for the icing.
- Whole Milk: This creamy liquid thins out the glaze to the desired consistency. If you don’t have whole milk use 2%.
- Freeze-dried Strawberries: Ground into a fine powder for even distribution of flavor and color in the donut glaze. Put aside a bit of the ground strawberries for sprinkling. If desired, keep half of the icing pure white, then mix ground strawberries into the remaining glaze.
- Optional: Candy sprinkle mix for garnishing.
📖 Recipe Steps
Baked Strawberry Donuts
RECIPE PREP: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease the donut pans with nonstick baking spray. Put them aside.
- STEP 1: Add freeze-dried strawberries to the bowl of a food processor or a high-speed blender. Pulse (about 45 seconds) until the dried berries are ground into a fine powder. Reserve 2 teaspoons of the powder for the strawberry donut glaze and for sprinkling.
- STEP 2: In a large mixing bowl, add remaining strawberry powder, flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt.
- STEP 3: Whisk the dry ingredients together until fully combined. Put the bowl aside.
- STEP 4: In a small bowl, whisk the egg. Then add in milk, vegetable oil, melted butter and vanilla extract. Whisk the wet ingredients together until fully incorporated. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- STEP 5: Divide the batter between the wells of 2 donut pans (12 wells total). Fill each well with 1/3 cup batter.
- STEP 6: Bake 16 to 18 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Transfer strawberry donuts to a wire rack to cool completely before icing with strawberry donut glaze.
RECIPE TIP: A baker’s secret for evenly (and cleanly) pouring batter into donut pans is piping it in. Transfer batter to a piping bag, or a large zip-top bag with one bottom corner snipped off. Pipe the batter into the pans.
Strawberry Donut Glaze
- STEP 1: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Divide the icing between 2 bowls. Add 1 teaspoon reserved strawberry powder to 1 bowl of the glaze. Mix well.
- STEP 2: One by one, dip the treats in strawberry donut glaze, or spread icing over the top with the back of a spoon. If desired, sprinkle donuts with remaining teaspoon of strawberry powder. Another option: Garnish with your favorite mix of candy sprinkles.
HELPFUL TIP: If you don’t plan to garnish the top of the donuts with strawberry powder, mix the extra teaspoon of powder into the glaze. It’ll give the light pink color a stronger hue.
👩🏻🍳 RECIPE FAQ
These are the most commonly-asked questions for making the BEST strawberry donuts, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.
Ground mace. This spice is similar to ground nutmeg but it’s much more special. It adds warmth and aroma, and bridges savory and sweet. It’s available at most large grocery stores, but it’s also quite expensive. If desired, add 1/4 teaspoon ground mace to the donut batter.
Mix (finely-ground) freeze-dried strawberries into the glaze. To further enhance the pink color, use Wilton pink icing color. Dip a toothpick into the color then swirl it into the icing. A tiny bit goes a long way.
Baked donuts taste best when enjoyed right after baking or on the same day. After 12 hours, the texture begins to harden and the frosting starts seeping into the crumb. But when stored on the countertop in an airtight container they can stay fresh for 2 or 3 days.
Yes, you can freeze baked donuts for later. For unfrosted donuts, line an airtight container with parchment paper. Arrange the donuts inside, using squares of parchment paper between the treats for stacking. Freeze up to 1 month. For frosted donuts, arrange them on a lined baking sheet and freeze for 2 hours, or until the frosting has hardened. Transfer the donuts to a lined airtight container and freeze.
🍩 More Yummy Donut Recipes
If you’re a fan of delicious homemade doughnuts, these are the recipes for you! Each is quick and easy to make. Pin your favorites to Pinterest.
Rate This Recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flavor testers rated these the BEST strawberry donuts! Compared to Krispy Kreme, they loved how these are baked not fried, and made with real fruit. They adored the soft tender texture, and delicious strawberry donut glaze.
If you agree these strawberry doughnuts are super yummy, give them a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero. Share it with a friend.
strawberry donuts
- Total Time: 35 Minutes
- Yield: 12 Donuts 1x
Description
These sweet, tender, baked strawberry donuts are made with real strawberries. They’re frosted with a delicious strawberry donut glaze. Make this easy recipe in 35 minutes.
Ingredients
Strawberry Donuts
- 1 (1-ounce) package freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Strawberry Donut Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons ground freeze-dried strawberries (reserved from the same package of freeze-dried strawberries above for the donuts)
Instructions
Baked Strawberry Donuts
RECIPE PREP: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease the donut pans with nonstick baking spray. Put them aside.
- Add freeze-dried strawberries to the bowl of a food processor or a high-speed blender. Pulse (about 45 seconds) until the dried berries are ground into a fine powder. Reserve 2 teaspoons of the powder for the strawberry donut glaze and for sprinkling.
- In a large mixing bowl, add remaining strawberry powder, flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt. Whisk the dry ingredients together until fully combined. Put the bowl aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg. Then add in milk, vegetable oil, melted butter and vanilla extract. Whisk the wet ingredients together until fully incorporated. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Divide the batter between the wells of 2 donut pans (12 wells total). Fill each well with 1/3 cup batter. Bake 16 to 18 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Transfer strawberry donuts to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
Strawberry Donut Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Divide the icing between 2 bowls. Add 1 teaspoon reserved strawberry powder to one of the bowls. Mix well.
- One by one, dip the treats into the strawberry donut glaze, or spread icing over the top with the back of a spoon. If desired, sprinkle donuts with remaining teaspoon of strawberry powder. Another option: Garnish with your favorite mix of candy sprinkles.
Notes
Reserved Strawberry Powder: If you don’t plan to garnish the top of the donuts with strawberry powder, mix the extra teaspoon of powder into the glaze. It’ll give the light pink color a stronger hue.
How to Make the Donut Glaze Pinker: Use a tiny bit of Wilton pink icing color.
Tip for Filling Wells of Donut Pan: Transfer batter to a piping bag, or a large zip-top bag with one bottom corner snipped off. Pipe batter into the pans. This method is helpful for distributing the batter evenly (and cleanly) between the wells.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Glazing: 5 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Category: Donuts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
🍓 Strawberry Donuts > Join the Conversation
Do you love how easy it is to make baked strawberry donuts at home? In the comments below share your favorite occasions for sharing these bakery treats with your family and friends.
This has 2 teaspoon baking powder twice in recipes is one of them suppose to be baking soda?
Hello Teresa. This recipe uses just 2 teaspoons baking powder (no baking soda). Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I updated the recipe card to reflect the correction. I send many good wishes your way!
This recipe is fantastic and easy to make. I took the strawberry donuts to a morning meet-up with friends and we enjoyed them with coffee. They were a huge hit. Everyone wanted the recipe. Will make them again.