Easy Pumpkin Donuts {With Cake Mix}
Quick and easy pumpkin donuts recipe with cinnamon sugar coating, made with 4 simple ingredients. These baked pumpkin donuts start off with a cake mix!
These delicious pumpkin donuts with cinnamon sugar are great as as breakfast, snack or even dessert and my family just can’t get enough of them. I am usually very fond of fried donuts like my Homemade Jelly Doughnuts (Sufganiyot) but when Fall comes, I am obsessed with these donuts instead.
These donuts are loaded with pumpkin puree and warm pumpkin spice flavors, making them perfect for Fall and Thanksgiving breakfast/ brunch. You can also use pumpkin in many other recipes like these Pumpkin Truffles or even this Pumpkin Pie Fudge with Gingersnap Crust.
How to make pumpkin donuts?
-
- Start off by mixing together the cake mix powder, pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice
-
- Then, spoon this mixture into a greased donut pan.
-
- Bake and let the donuts cool down.
- Then, cover them in a sugar and spice mixture and enjoy!
Baked pumpkin donuts vs. Fried pumpkin donuts
Baked donuts have a soft and moist cake-like texture. However, fried donuts are typically lighter in texture and more airy and have almost a soft bread-like texture. The recipe below cannot be used for fried donuts.
Pumpkin cake donuts
My recipe used a cake mix, which makes the whole process very easy and they donuts are ready in 30 minutes.
Glazed pumpkin donuts
Use a simple sugar glaze or spiced donut glaze, made by mixing together powdered sugar and milk to coat the entire donut.
Healthy pumpkin donuts
There are some “healthier” cake mixes in the market now, which can be used but as always, desserts and sweets should always be enjoyed in moderation.
Gluten free pumpkin donuts
Use a gluten free cake mix.
These homemade pumpkin donuts are made with 4 ingredients:
- Cake mix
- Pumpkin spice
- Pumpkin puree
- Powdered sugar
You can enjoy them as as is, fresh out of the oven OR you can take them to a whole new level by covering them in a glaze or cinnamon sugar.
TIPS for easy cake mix pumpkin spice donuts
- To make pumpkin donut holes, follow the same recipe but instead of a donut pan, use a donut hole pan.
- You cannot get the donut shape without a donut pan. If you don’t have that pan, you can use a mini muffin pan and make mini muffins instead. They will still have the same flavor and texture.
- You must use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Both look similar but are totally different and can dramatically affect this recipe.
- Adjust the amount of pumpkin spice, based on your preference.
- I used spiced powdered sugar to coat these donuts but you can also dip them in a simple donut glaze or brush some melted butter on top of each donut and just dip it in cinnamon spice granulated sugar.
- Use yellow cake mix since it yields the best flavor. The spiced cake mix surprisingly didn’t yield the best results.
- Since the donut batter is thick and difficult to pour into a pan, it’s easier to fill a piping bag with the batter and then pipe it into the donut pan.
Other Doctored Cake Mix Recipes
- Easy Pumpkin Cake Recipe with Cake Mix
- Easy Apple Cake Recipe with Cake Mix
- Cake Mix Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
- Cake Mix Chocolate M&M Cookies
- Cake Mix Brownies
- Cake Mix Gingerbread Cookies
Easy Pumpkin Donuts Recipe
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 box Yellow cake mix
- 15 oz Pumpkin puree
- 1 tbsp Pumpkin spice
Sugar topping
- 2 cups Powdered sugar
- 1 tsp Pumpkin spice, Or cinnamon powder
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add cake mix, pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice and mix everything together. It will be a thick mixture.
- Spoon mixture into a donut pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until donuts are cooked through.
- Allow the donuts to cool down.
- While the donuts are cooling down, prepare the sugar topping mixture: Mix the sugar and pumpkin spice together in a mixing bowl.
- Roll around each donut in the sugar mixture and enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored at room temperature.
Nutrition
Until next time, tata my lovelies!
Ahhh…these pumpkin donuts are incredible! They’re light and fluffy with the perfect crumb. These lovelies will be enjoyed again on Friday morning.
I love this recipe. I have such a weakness for donuts, and pumpkin, and these are PHENOMENAL and super easy to make!
Do you mix the yellow cake box as directed on back of box first, then add puree and spice?
I didnt see eggs, oil, butter on your recipe. Thanks in advance!!
No, you ignore everything on the box and follow the recipe as directed in the recipe card above. Hope you like them.