These healthy Keto Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes are easy to make in an air fryer. And each donut hole has just 1g net carbs.
Hello!
Hope your morning is going well. I’ve spent mine happily experimenting with my new air fryer. If you don’t know about them, air fryers are these magical machines that fry food using only air. It’s a far healthier and less messy way to fry foods. So for my first foray into air frying, I thought I’d start with something that I love, but that is a total pain to fry the normal way.
I decided to make keto cinnamon sugar donuts.
Donut holes to be exact.
I’ve been systematically trying out different cook times and methods to make these donut holes. Like 8 minutes with just air, 9 minutes brushed with oil, 7 minutes brushed with butter.
You get the idea.
But I am going to be honest with you, I taste tested waaaayyy too many Donut Holes this morning.
I gobbled up the first couple whole because they were so delicious. But now I really wish I had paced myself. I finally found the perfect combo of butter and cook time, but now I am stuffed to the gills with these addictive cinnamon sugar donut holes.
But onwards and upwards with these devilishly addictive treats .
They are made from real yeast bread dough, so you’ll need to proof some yeast, mix up your dough, knead it and then let it rise before cooking it in the air fryer. But you can still do it all in less than an hour.
And soon you'll have some lovely Keto donut holes with only 114 calories and 1g net carbs each.
I used Carbquik Baking Mix for this recipe.
It's a low carb flour mix that is meant to replicate Bisquick. And it actually does act quite a bit like real flour. It’s made from wheat, but they’ve converted most of it to fiber to bring the net carb count down to nearly nothing. If you are an absolute Keto diet stickler, then you may want to move on to another donut hole recipe.
But if you are like me, and are doing "Lazy Keto" then you are all good.
If you like this Keto breakfast recipe, then you might like my recipes for Carbquik Pancakes, Keto Waffles or Keto Granola.
Now, a word of warning.
You are going to see sugar in the ingredients, but hold up a minute before you pass judgment. The sugar is needed to feed the yeast. But it’s converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide in the fermentation process, so the carbs are canceled out. You should also know that since the Carquik is made from wheat, it’s not gluten-free like most other low carb and Keto baked goods. So, just a word to the wise.
But enough chit chat, now I have a date with some Pepto-Bismol.
Plop plop, fizz fizz!
📋 Recipe
Keto Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes
These healthy Keto Cinnamon Donut Holes are easy to make in an air fryer. And each donut hole has just 1g net carbs.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 donut holes 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Diabetic
Ingredients
- ½ cup warm water (between 100 - 110 degrees F)
- 1 teaspoon sugar*
- 1 envelope (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1 ½ cups Carbquik Baking Mix
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup Swerve Granular
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Step 1. In a large bowl, mix together warm water, sugar, and yeast. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow to rest for 7 minutes until frothy with small bubbles. If it isn't frothy like the head on a draft beer, then your yeast is dead and you need to start over with fresh yeast.
Step 2. Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a wooden spoon to mix Carquik into the yeast mixture. Mix it until it is a kneadable dough. If it's too wet to knead, then add a little more Carbquik and if it's too dry to knead, then add a little water.
Step 3. Either use the dough hooks on the stand mixer or your hands to knead the dough for 3 minutes.
Step 4. Make the dough into a ball and use a large knife to cut it into 8 equal pieces. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll each piece of dough into a ball with your hands and place them on the parchment-covered cookie sheet.
Step 5. Allow the dough balls to rise for 15 minutes. They will not rise a lot, but you'll be able to tell that they are a bit bigger.
Step 6. While they are rising, set your air fryer to 350 degrees F and preheat it for 10 minutes.
Step 7. Brush four of the dough balls with melted butter on all surfaces and place them in the basket of the air fryer. Air fry at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
Step 8. Remove the donut holes from the air fryer and set them aside to cool a little bit. Repeat the process with the remaining dough balls.
Step 9. Once the donut holes are cool enough to touch, brush them again with melted butter on all surfaces.
Step 10. Mix together cinnamon and sweetener in a medium-sized bowl. Roll the donuts in the cinnamon mixture until coated on all sides.
Step 11. Best when eaten warm. Can be reheated in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften them back up.
Notes
*The sugar will be converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide in the fermentation process so the carbohydrates are canceled out. The sugar has been left out of the nutritional info.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 donut hole
- Calories: 114
- Fat: 10
- Carbohydrates: 9
- Fiber: 8
- Protein: 4
Keywords: Low Carb Air Fryer Donuts, Low Carb Air Fryer Doughnuts, Sugar-Free Air Fryer Donuts
Farzana Firoz says
I'm trying this soon! Just want to double check...one ball is 100 calorie? That's a lot for a small ball lol
EmilyKrill says
Yep, that is correct.
Bri says
Halle-frickin-lujah! This is actually a donut that's low carb. I'm so tired of recipes that use almond flour and ten ingredients to make something that's supposed to be simple. Since we don't have a gluten intolerance I'm desperate to find baked good recipes that use wheat protein, and since my husband does have a dairy allergy, it's great to find something that isn't fat head.
Even though these only make eight they're much bigger than the average donut holes and very rich, so eating two was very filling. I also added 1 Tbsp beef gelatin powder, so don't know if that changed anything. Thanks so much, and I just may make these for Easter breakfast.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Yay, so glad you like the donut holes. And I've got lots of other Carbquik recipes on the site, now that you have some. https://www.resolutioneats.com/?s=carbquik
EmilyKrill says
Yes, the recipe actually calls for Swerve sweetener. You can use any sweetener that can replace sugar in a 1:1 ratio.
EmilyKrill says
I can't say that I agree with you on this one, but ok. Good to know.
Max Nager says
Can’t wait to make these!
Can you substitute coconut flour for carbquik?
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
No, that would not work.
Char says
I just made these with a twist. Instead of going sweet, I went salty (was seriously dying for something like pretzel). They came out delish! What I did was add 1 tsp vital wheat gluten and a tablesoon of Everything Bagel Seasoning to the Carbquick. Made my balls, let them rise, brushed with the butter & rolled in more bagel seasoning, then baked at the 350 for 10 min. I am going to make your Cinammon Sugar ones also, maybe tonight! It's a great recipe.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
What a great idea! I would never have thought to make a savory donut hole, but it sounds really good. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Char says
I just got my air fryer & the Carbquik this week so I've been scouring the internet for recipes. Yours gave a really good texture to the donuts (or whatever these things are that I made!).
EmilyKrill says
Awesome, I'm a big fan of air fryers and Carbquik too. I really feel like Carbquik is underused in low carb baking. I've only ever found a handful of recipes that the manufacturer (Tova Industries) posted online. But I've posted 10 Carbquik recipes on my site so far. You can find them here: https://www.resolutioneats.com/?s=carbquik And these are my ones that use the air fryer. https://www.resolutioneats.com/?s=air+fryer Happy cooking!
traci says
Great recipe! I love it that they're low carb...so I can eat more haha! Thanks for sharing 🙂
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Yep, they are low carb and low calorie (114 calories!) so you can splurge a little.
Jacqueline Debono says
I'm still on the fence about getting an air fryer but then I see great recipes that can be made with one and I want to go out and buy an air fryer NOW!! Love these doughnuts! Not sure I can buy carbquik here in Italy but will look out for it!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
I was worried that it would be just one more appliance junking up my countertop, but I'm really glad I took the plunge.
Kelly Anthony says
This is sure to crave any donut craving while eating Keto. This recipe is a game changer when it comes to keeping a diet on track.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
I know! I've been missing fried donuts so much.
Jennifer says
I am simply amazed at how many things you can make in the air fryer. I want to try these donut holes.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
So many things. I can't wait to try it out with other low carb recipes.
Lizzet says
I'm sure you didn't mind trying that many donut holes to give us the right recipe 🙂 they look so delicious!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
You're right. They were pretty tasty, I have to say.