These baked Keto Lemon Chia Seed Donuts are so good!!
If you are someone like me and you have a love for everything lemon poppy seed, then you will love these donuts.
Although I use chia seeds, these taste just like any classic poppy seed recipe!
I remember when I worked at a bakery, I used to loveee when they had leftover loaves of lemon poppy seed bread or ones that fell apart.
I'd happily eat chunks of it throughout the day. It was seriously one of my biggest weaknesses.
I'm not sure why I never made lemon poppy seed loaf or anything before this keto donut recipe.
Ages ago I made lemon poppy seed keto muffins written by another keto food blogger and I remember really enjoying them. I guess maybe I thought I could never top them!
And although those were delicious, I'm really happy I branched out and tried my own recipe.
These donuts are so tasty. They are light and fluffy and perfect with a cup of coffee our tea.
These are baked donuts so they don't require any frying.
They also actually have a texture and taste like donuts!
Many recipes I find for low carb or keto baked donuts are simply cake in donut form, which I guess is kind of what cake donuts are but I feel like a donut needs to have a softer, fluffier texture and that's what these offer.
I've also made fried donuts if you prefer more of a classic like cinnamon sugar donuts!
I've even made other baked donuts similar to this one including; a basic keto glazed donut and a maple bacon donut.
These donuts start off with a dry ingredient blend of almond flour, coconut flour, powdered monkfruit/erythritol sweetener, xanthan gum, baking powder, lemon zest and salt.
The blend of almond flour and coconut flour always results in the nicest texture.
The xanthan gum further helps by giving this flour blend a gluten-like quality.
It makes the dough almost “stretchy” and results in baked goods more similar to those made with white flour.
Next we add baking powder to help the donuts rise since we will not be using yeast.
In our wet ingredients, we have light cream, melted butter, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
The cream is what gives the batter it's light and airy quality.
Melted butter is used in this recipe and works best because it's already released most of its moisture content, helping to make the donuts to become denser but stay soft.
We also use 2 whole eggs because they, along with the baking powder are the main ingredients giving the rise to our donuts.
Lastly we add lemon juice for of course..the lemon flavour and some vanilla extract!
Once our batter is made, we then will stir in our chia seeds. We want them stirred in towards the end because they tend to want to absorb liquid and we want our to remain crunchy. Adding them last prevents them from sitting and absorbing liquid.
Finally we take our mixture and place it in a piping bag (aka a large ziplock with a big corner cut off) and pipe the batter into our donut molds.
Bake these for ~18-22min, let them cool fully, then we can top them with a sweet lemon glaze (although, my family enjoys these even without a glaze!)
The lemon glaze is a simple mixture of light cream (heavy thickens it too much so you need to add a lot more to make it work), powdered monkfruit/erythritol sweetener and vanilla extract.
Overall, these donuts, glazed or not are truly delicious! No one will even guess they are “healthy” or low carb donuts!
Low Carb Lemon Chia Seed Donut Ingredients
- Almond & Coconut Flour – I use the Kirkland Costco brand of almond flour (I buy it in bulk on Amazon or at Costco itself occasionally) and this brand of coconut flour for this recipe. As I’ve noted in many of my past recipes, the brand of almond and coconut flour can affect the final outcome of the recipe because absorbency can vary depending on how the flour has been processed.
- Powdered Monkfruit Erythritol Sweetener – I use this brand at the moment. The powdered is the best option for no-bake goods and desserts where you want a very smooth final product. I also used the powdered in this recipe because it works great in baked goods but ALSO creates perfect glaze every time!
- Xanthan gum – This is used to create a batter more similar to that of white flour. It helps give the donuts a “doughier” texture.
Tools I used to Make Keto Lemon Chia Seed Donuts
– Low Carb Substitution Guide – This is totally optional but if you like my recipes, I now have a $5 guide available with all of the substitutions I use to create every recipe on my site. You can use this to convert old traditional recipes and create new keto recipes! You can purchase it here and/or read more if you are interested. 
I appreciate your support so much guys!
– Nutritional Food Scale – AKA my best friend. This little buddy has been with me for over 4 years and never fails. Perfect measurements and only needs the batteries replaced maybe once a year!
– Donut Pan – Perfect for making any kind of donuts! This is the exact one I use.
Tips For Making Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts
- Make sure to let the donuts FULLY cool before attempting to gently remove them from the pan.
- Glaze your donuts by drizzling the glaze on top of each one, don't try to dip them or they may fall apart.
- Feel free to use poppy seeds rather than chia seeds in this recipe, just reduce your cream by 2 tbsp if you do so.
- Watch your oven when baking these. For me they took around 18-20min but my oven tends to bake more slowly than most. Don't worry if they brown a bit on the outsides, the centers will take longer to cook and will remain soft. Plus the glaze will cover any imperfections!
- If you do not have a donut pan, you can also make these as muffins and glaze them that way!
- Ultimately I would recommend making these as the recipe states..with almond flour, coconut flour and xanthan gum for the best possible texture BUT if you only have one type of flour…see my suggestions below.
Almond Flour Donuts
- If you only have almond flour, you can try making this recipe using 2 1/4 cups almond flour and leaving out the coconut flour. (Add more almond flour if your dough seems too runny, it should be quite thick)
Coconut Flour Donuts
- If you only have coconut flour, you can try making this recipe using 1 total cup coconut flour and one extra egg and leave out the almond flour.
What Can I Substitute For Xanthan Gum?
-
- If you don't have xanthan gum, you can use try a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten (aka gluten flour) OR 1 tsp cornstarch OR 1 tsp ground psyllium husks.
- If you don't have any of these ingredients, you can still make the donuts! They just won't have a texture quite as “chewy”.
Storage Instructions For Low Carb Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts
- Store these donuts in an airtight container between layers of parchment or wax paper in the fridge for up to 3 days
- OR freeze the same way and let the donuts thaw whenever you want a quick snack.
Keto Lemon Chia Seed Donuts
Serves: 15
Donuts
- 1 cup almond flour, 112g
- 1/2 cup coconut flour, 56g
- 1/2 cup powdered monkfruit erythritol sweetener, 124g
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (zest of 1 lemon)
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp 18% cream, room temperature
- 2 tbsp lemon juice, 30ml
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 5 tbsp melted butter, 75g
- 2 tbsp chia seeds or poppy seeds, 20g (see tips for using poppy seeds)
Glaze
- 1/4 cup light cream, 60ml (18% for Canadians, heavy cream will NOT work the same, you'll have to add more of it to get the same consistency)
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup powdered monkfruit/erythritol sweetener, 150g
Directions:
-
Pre-heat oven to 350*F.
-
In a large bowl, add all of your dry ingredients including the lemon zest and sweetener and mix.
-
In a measuring cup, add your cream and lemon juice and set aside.
-
In another bowl, melt your butter and then add the 2 eggs and vanilla extract, whisk well with a fork.
-
Pour the butter mixture as well as your cream and lemon juice into the dry ingredients.
-
Mix until a thick batter forms.
- Add your chia seeds and mix once more until combined.
-
Put this batter into a piping back with a large open end or a large ziplock and cut off the corner (alternatively you can scoop the batter into muffin tins now if you don't have a donut pan).
-
Grease your donut pan well with oil or butter and then begin piping your batter into the donut molds.
-
Bake for 18-22min or until donuts are lightly browned on top. (My oven cooks slower so maybe give them a check a few minutes early.
-
While the donuts are baking, make your glaze by whisking the above 3 ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
-
Let the donuts cool completely. Using a butter knife, go around the edges and then gently lift to remove the donuts from the pan.
-
Have a wire rack ready if you own one and place the donuts on it, then place the wire rack above a large tray or cookie sheet to catch the excess glaze.
-
Drizzle each donut generously with glaze. Repeat for all 15 donuts.
-
Once the glaze has hardened you can move them to a plate for serving OR store them in an airtight container on the counter between layers of wax paper (you can also freeze them this way to preserve them for longer). Enjoy your Keto Lemon Chia Seed Donuts!
Keto Lemon Chia Seed Donuts
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 cup almond flour 112g
- 1/2 cup coconut flour 56g
- 1/2 cup powdered monkfruit erythritol sweetener 124g
- 1 tbsp lemon zest zest of 1 lemon
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp light cream 18%, room temperature
- 2 tbsp lemon juice 30ml
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 5 tbsp melted butter 75g
Glaze
- 1/4 cup light cream 60ml (18% for Canadians, heavy cream will NOT work the same, you'll have to add more of it to get the same consistency)
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup powdered monkfruit/erythritol sweetener 150g
- 2 tbsp chia seeds or poppy seeds 20g (see tips for using poppy seeds)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350*F.
- In a large bowl, add all of your dry ingredients including the lemon zest and sweetener and mix.
- In a measuring cup, add your cream and lemon juice and set aside.
- In another bowl, melt your butter and then add the 2 eggs and vanilla extract, whisk well with a fork.
- Pour the butter mixture as well as your cream and lemon juice into the dry ingredients.
- Mix until a thick batter forms.
- Add your chia seeds and mix once more until combined.
- Put this batter into a piping back with a large open end or a large ziplock and cut off the corner (alternatively you can scoop the batter into muffin tins now if you don't have a donut pan).
- Grease your donut pan well with oil or butter and then begin piping your batter into the donut molds.
- Bake for 18-22min or until donuts are lightly browned on top. (My oven cooks slower so maybe give them a check a few minutes early.
- While the donuts are baking, make your glaze by whisking the above 3 ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
- Let the donuts cool completely. Using a butter knife, go around the edges and then gently lift to remove the donuts from the pan.
- Have a wire rack ready if you own one and place the donuts on it, then place the wire rack above a large tray or cookie sheet to catch the excess glaze.
- Drizzle each donut generously with glaze. Repeat for all 15 donuts.
- Once the glaze has hardened you can move them to a plate for serving OR store them in an airtight container on the counter between layers of wax paper (you can also freeze them this way to preserve them for longer). Enjoy your Keto Lemon Chia Seed Donuts!
Notes
Tips For Making Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts
- Make sure to let the donuts FULLY cool before attempting to gently remove them from the pan.
- Glaze your donuts by drizzling the glaze on top of each one, don't try to dip them or they may fall apart.
- Feel free to use poppy seeds rather than chia seeds in this recipe, just reduce your cream by 2 tbsp if you do so.
- Watch your oven when baking these. For me they took around 18-20min but my oven tends to bake more slowly than most. Don't worry if they brown a bit on the outsides, the centers will take longer to cook and will remain soft. Plus the glaze will cover any imperfections!
- If you do not have a donut pan, you can also make these as muffins and glaze them that way!
- Ultimately I would recommend making these as the recipe states..with almond flour, coconut flour and xanthan gum for the best possible texture BUT if you only have one type of flour…see my suggestions above in the blog post.
- If you don't have xanthan gum, you can use try a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten (aka gluten flour) OR 1 tsp cornstarch OR 1 tsp ground psyllium husks.
- If you don't have any of these ingredients, you can still make the donuts! They just won't have a texture quite as “chewy”.
Nutrition
Other Similar Recipes You May Like:
Lemon Mug Cake
Easy Keto Lemon Cookies
Keto Lemon Bars
Keto Lemon Coconut Balls
Keto Fried Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Keto Boston Cream Donuts
