What better day to make delicious donuts, than National Donut Day! This has to be one of our favorite holidays here at Metabolic Living. In honor of this special day, we have created these low-carb, high-protein carrot cake maple donuts so you can celebrate without spiking your blood sugar. When your blood sugar goes up quickly (thanks, sugary treats), insulin rises in response, chasing the excess sugar around our bloodstream and often pushing it into our fat cells.

The good news is that unlike your standard donut that will likely contain around 33g carbs and 10g refined sugar per serving, these carrot and maple donuts are low in carbohydrates, calories, and have no added refined sugars. This recipe also contains a generous amount of our Metabolic Super Protein, a very high-quality whey protein from grass-fed cows, making them both metabolism and joint friendly.

So, enjoy this fun holiday without derailing your hard work and progress and bake a batch of these carrot cake maple protein donuts—you don’t even have to miss out on the glaze!

Carrot Cake Maple Protein Donuts

Serves: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Instructions

For the donuts

½ cup almond flour

¼ cup arrowroot flour

2 tablespoons coconut flour

¼ cup Metabolic Super Protein – Vanilla 

¼ cup finely grated carrot (about 1 small carrot) 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

½ teaspoon sea salt 

¼ teaspoon ground cloves 

¼ teaspoon nutmeg 

¼ teaspoon ground ginger 

¾ cup unsweetened almond milk 

1 egg 

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted 

¼ cup pure maple syrup, or Lakanto sugar-free maple syrup (keto option)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a donut pan (with 6 molds) with coconut oil. Place a cooling rack on top of a piece of parchment paper. Set both aside. 

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, arrowroot flour, coconut flour, protein, carrot, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. Whisk to combine. 

In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the almond milk, egg, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined with a spatula. Using a ¼ cup measuring spoon, add the batter to each mold in the pan, smoothing the surface once finished. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Place pan on the cooling rack for 10 minutes. 

While waiting on the donuts, whisk together the melted coconut oil and maple syrup (or substitute) in a small shallow bowl. The mixture will become slightly thickened. Once the donuts are cool, flip them bottom side up onto the cooling rack. (This side has a much more rounded appearance). One at a time, dip the now top of the donuts into the maple mixture, then place back on the rack. Continue until all the donuts are glazed.