Baked Pumpkin Donuts: Easy Cinnamon Sugar Recipe for Fall

Name: Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup vegetable oil; 2 eggs; 3/4 cup sugar; 3/4 cup pumpkin puree; 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 3 tablespoons sugar; 2 teaspoons cinnamon

By:

Josie Baker

Published:

October 1, 2026

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Baked Pumpkin Donuts

Baked pumpkin donuts are the cozy fall treat I make when I want something sweet without heating a pot of oil. They are soft, fluffy, and finished with a cinnamon sugar coating that clings to every bite.

The recipe makes 1 dozen donuts, and the batter comes together by hand in one bowl with no mixer needed. If you have ever felt nervous about frying, this is your easy way in.

I bake these on cool October mornings, and the smell of pumpkin pie spice filling the kitchen is half the fun. By the time the coffee is poured, the first batch is out of the oven and ready to be coated.

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Pumpkin Donut Recipe

This pumpkin donut recipe is the follow up to my homemade baked sugar donuts, and it has become the one my family asks for the moment the weather turns cool. The biggest difference between these and the donuts you buy at a shop is simple: these are baked, not fried.

When you bake donuts at home, you skip the hot oil and the splatter. All you need is an oven and a donut pan. The ingredients are the kind you likely already have in your pantry, and the cinnamon sugar coating takes about a minute to stir together.

Baked Pumpkin Donuts, Pumpkin Donut Recipe

If you do not own a donut pan yet, it is worth picking one up. You can find them at most department stores or online, and they are inexpensive. My honest recommendation is to buy two 6 donut pans if you can.

That way you can bake all 12 donuts at once instead of waiting for the first pan to cool so you can reuse it. It saves you a full round of baking and, in my house, a lot of impatient waiting.

These donuts are a fall dessert through and through. The pumpkin puree keeps them tender, the pumpkin pie spice gives them that warm flavor we all crave in autumn, and the sugar coating on the outside adds a light crunch.

Baked, not fried, so there is no pot of hot oil to manage.
Mixed by hand in one bowl with no mixer required.
Made with simple ingredients and a two ingredient sugar coating.
A good fit for fall gatherings, lazy weekend breakfasts, and lunchbox treats.

I like to serve them warm with coffee in the morning, and my kids grab one on the way out the door. They also travel well to a potluck or a bake sale, though I usually have to make a double batch because the first dozen disappears before we leave the driveway.

How To Make Baked Pumpkin Donuts

Making baked pumpkin donuts is mostly about stirring and a little patience. There is no mixer involved, and everything happens in one bowl, which means less cleanup and a batter you can put together in minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking powder, and vanilla until everything is fully combined. Then stir in the flour and keep mixing until the batter is smooth. That is the whole job. No creaming butter, no whipping egg whites, no stand mixer.

Baked Pumpkin Donuts, How To Make Baked Pumpkin Donuts

Now for the part that makes people nervous: getting the batter into the pan. You can spoon it in, but I prefer the bag method. Spoon the batter into a large zipped top bag, seal it, and snip off one corner.

Then pipe the batter into each donut cavity. It is faster, neater, and you will not end up with batter smeared across the rim of the pan.

Bake the donuts for 15 to 17 minutes. While they are in the oven, mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a large plastic bag. This is a good moment to make your coffee, because the coating step comes fast.

Once the donuts come out, let them cool for about 5 minutes. Any longer and the coating will not stick as well. Place them in the bag one at a time and shake lightly to coat. Take each donut out, set it on a rack, and let it cool completely.

That is a dozen cinnamon sugar pumpkin donuts, start to finish, without a fryer in sight.

Tip: Coat the donuts while they are still warm. The cinnamon sugar sticks to a warm donut and slides right off a cold one.

How to Store Donuts

Baked pumpkin donuts are best the day they are made, but they keep well if you store them right. Let them cool completely first, because trapping any warmth in the container creates steam and softens the sugar coating.

Once cooled, place them in an airtight container at room temperature. They stay fresh for up to 2 to 3 days. If you want them to last a little longer, refrigerate them, where they will keep for about 5 days.

A quick note from my kitchen: a slice of bread in the container helps them stay soft, though the coating will lose a bit of its crunch either way.

Tips for Baking Donuts

Here are the tips I share with anyone making these for the first time, and they come straight from my own batch of kitchen mistakes.

Do not overfill the pan. Fill each cavity no more than 3/4 of the way full. Overfilling makes the batter expand over the edges of the pan, and the donuts lose their shape.
Coat them at the 5 minute mark. Let the donuts cool for only 5 minutes before you shake them in the cinnamon sugar. If they cool completely, the coating will not stick well.
Make the batter the night before. The batter can be prepared ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake. It is a nice trick for holiday mornings when the oven is already busy.
Use two pans if you have them. Two 6 donut pans let you bake the whole dozen at once instead of waiting for the first pan to cool.

The one mistake I made early on was walking away while the donuts cooled. Now I set a timer the second they come out of the oven, because those first five minutes matter more than you would think.

If the batter looks a little thick, that is normal. Pumpkin puree varies in moisture, so a slightly thicker batter still pipes beautifully and bakes up tender.

Ingredients

The ingredient list is short and pantry friendly, and it makes 12 donuts.

Group	Ingredient	Amount
For the donuts	vegetable oil	1/4 cup
For the donuts	eggs	2
For the donuts	sugar	3/4 cup
For the donuts	pumpkin puree	3/4 cup
For the donuts	pumpkin pie spice	1 teaspoon
For the donuts	salt	1/2 teaspoon
For the donuts	baking powder	1 teaspoon
For the donuts	vanilla	1/2 teaspoon
For the donuts	all purpose flour	1 cup
For the sugar coating	sugar	3 tablespoons
For the sugar coating	cinnamon	2 teaspoons

That is it. No buttermilk, no yeast, and nothing you need to order online. If you keep pumpkin puree in the pantry during fall, you are probably ready to bake right now.

A note on the coating: the cinnamon sugar is mixed separately so the donuts get coated after baking. Mixing it into the batter would give you a very different result.

Instructions

Here is the full method, step by step.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a donut pan with nonstick spray.
Mix together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking powder, and vanilla until combined. Stir in the flour and continue to mix until smooth.
Fill the donut pans about 3/4 of the way full. A large zipped top bag with the corner snipped off makes this easy and neat.
Bake the donuts for 15 to 17 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then take the donuts out of the pan.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a large plastic bag. One at a time, put the donuts in the bag and shake lightly to coat. Remove each donut, let it cool completely, and store in an airtight container.

The whole batch takes about 10 minutes of prep and 15 minutes in the oven, for a total of about 25 minutes. One donut has around 140 calories, based on the source nutrition for this recipe.

Notes

This recipe makes twelve 3 inch donuts or six large donuts. If you go with the larger size, adjust the baking time to 23 to 35 minutes and check them near the end so they do not overbake.

I usually make the 12 smaller donuts because they bake faster and there are more of them to go around, which matters when a hungry group is waiting by the stove.

Recipe details

Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	25 minutes
Servings	12
Yield	12 donuts
Method	Bake
Oven temperature	350 degrees F

These numbers are for the standard 12 donut batch. If you make the large donuts, the cook time changes, so plan for a little extra oven time.

If you make these baked pumpkin donuts, I would love to hear how they turn out. They are one of my favorite fall bakes, and once you try them, I think they will become a tradition in your kitchen too.

FAQs

How do you make baked pumpkin donuts?

Mix 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until combined. Stir in 1 cup all-purpose flour until smooth. Fill greased donut pan cavities 3/4 full and bake at 350°F for 15-17 minutes.

Why are my baked pumpkin donuts dry?

Baked pumpkin donuts become dry primarily from overbaking. Bake them at 350°F for exactly 15-17 minutes and check with a toothpick inserted into the thickest part; it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Also, avoid overmixing the batter, which can develop too much gluten and make the texture dense and dry.

Can you freeze baked pumpkin donuts?

Yes, you can freeze baked pumpkin donuts for up to 3 months. For best results, freeze the plain baked donuts without the cinnamon sugar coating. When ready to serve, thaw them at room temperature, reheat in a 300°F oven for a few minutes, then coat with the cinnamon sugar mixture while still warm.

How do you store baked pumpkin donuts to keep the coating fresh?

Store cooled, coated donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. The cinnamon sugar coating may dissolve into the donut surface over time. To maintain a crisp coating, consider storing the plain donuts and applying the cinnamon sugar just before serving. Refrigeration can extend freshness to about 5 days.