Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Donuts

It was a Sunday morning, the kind where the rain is hitting the window just hard enough to cancel all your plans. I had three bananas on my counter that were more brown than yellow. You know the ones—so soft you’re afraid to even peel them.

My kids were circling the kitchen like tiny sharks, whining for something “fun” for breakfast. I didn’t have the energy to haul out the deep fryer (and honestly, who wants to deal with a pot of hot oil at 8 AM?). But I also couldn’t face another smoothie.

I spotted that dusty donut pan in the back of my cabinet—a gift from my mother-in-law three Christmases ago that I’d used exactly once. “What if,” I thought, “I just baked the banana bread batter?”

That first batch was lopsided. I overfilled the wells. They stuck like glue to the pan. But the flavor? Pure magic. A few tweaks later (and one very messy incident involving melted butter), I cracked the code. These Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Donuts are now my Sunday currency. They are tender, cakey, taste like a hug, and have saved approximately forty-seven bananas from the compost bin.

Let me show you exactly how to nail them, no fryer required.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• No Yeast, No Frying, No Drama. We are baking these, not frying. That means no standing around the stove and no scary oil splatters. Just mix, scoop, bake, glaze (optional, but why would you skip it?).
• Pantry Hero Recipe. You likely have everything already. Brown bananas, flour, sugar, an egg, and that bag of chocolate chips hiding in the freezer.
• Ready in Under 30 Minutes. Seriously. 10 minutes to mix, 12 minutes to bake. Faster than driving to a donut shop.
• Kid-Approved & Picky-Eater Friendly. My son refuses to eat a plain banana, but he will inhale three of these. The chocolate chips are a great negotiator.
• Freezes Like a Dream. I always make a double batch and stash half in the freezer for school lunches or unexpected guests.

The Ingredients (Nothing Fancy)

Because you are a busy human, we are keeping this simple. Here is what you need to grab.

For the Banana Donuts:

• 1 ½ cups (190g) All-Purpose Flour – Spoon and level it. Do not scoop directly from the bag with the measuring cup. We aren’t making hockey pucks.
• ½ cup (100g) Granulated Sugar – Just plain white sugar works best here to let the banana shine.
• ½ cup (100g) Light Brown Sugar, packed – This is my secret for moisture. White sugar makes them crisp; brown sugar makes them tender.
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda – The banana is acidic, so the soda helps it rise perfectly.
• ½ teaspoon Salt – Don’t skip this. It makes the chocolate taste more chocolatey.
• ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon – Optional, but cinnamon and banana are best friends.
• 2 large Very Ripe Bananas – The browner, the better. If the peel is still yellow, come back tomorrow.
• ½ cup (120ml) Buttermilk – The Game Changer. Don’t have buttermilk? Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to regular milk and let it sit for 5 minutes.
• ¼ cup (60ml) Vegetable Oil – Or melted coconut oil. Olive oil has too strong a flavor here, so stick to neutral oils.
• 1 large Egg – Room temperature if you remember. If not, place it in a bowl of warm water for 2 minutes.
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ¾ cup (130g) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – Plus a few extra to sprinkle on top because we live in a society.

For the Glaze (Optional, but Highly Recommended):

• 1 cup (120g) Powdered Sugar
• 2 tablespoons Milk – Any milk works. Even oat milk.
• ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Let’s Make Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Donuts (Step by Step)

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grab that donut pan and grease it. I don’t care if it says “non-stick.” Grease it anyway. I use a little melted butter on a pastry brush, but cooking spray works too. My one hard-learned lesson: do not skip this step unless you want donut-shaped banana bread chunks.

Step 1: The Banana Smash
Peel those sad, brown bananas. Put them in a large mixing bowl. Grab a fork (or a potato masher if you’re fancy) and mash them until they look like lumpy baby food. A few small lumps are good—it means you’ll get little pockets of banana. Do not puree them smooth.

Step 2: Wet Your Whisk
Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and that magical buttermilk to the mashed bananas. Whisk it all together vigorously for about 30 seconds. You want it to look cohesive and slightly frothy. This is where the moisture lives.

Step 3: The Dry Dip
In a separate small bowl, whisk your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Pro tip I discovered by accident: Sift it if you have a sifter. One time I didn’t, and I bit into a dry clump of baking powder. It was not a fun surprise. So just give the dry mix a good whisk for 20 seconds.

Step 4: Marry the Bowls
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet banana mixture. Here is where beginners mess up. Do NOT overmix.
Stir with a rubber spatula just until you stop seeing white flour streaks. The batter should look thick, shaggy, and a little lumpy. Overmixing develops gluten, which turns your tender donuts into tough little hockey pucks. It’s okay if it’s not perfectly smooth.

Step 5: The Chocolate Situation
Gently fold in those ¾ cup of chocolate chips. I like to toss a tablespoon of flour onto the chips before folding them in (keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the donuts). Pour them in and fold 4-5 times. That’s it.

Step 6: Scooping (The Tricky Part)
Spoon the batter into a large ziplock bag and snip off the corner. Or use a piping bag. Or, if you’re me at 7 AM before coffee, just use two spoons.
Pipe or spoon the batter into your greased donut pan cavities. Fill each mold about ¾ of the way full. Do NOT fill to the top. If you do, the hole in the middle will close up, and you’ll have muffins with a divot. I learned this the hard way.

Step 7: Bake to Perfection
Slide the pan into the preheated oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Visual cue: The donuts will spring back when you gently poke the top with your finger. The edges should look slightly golden brown and pull away from the sides of the pan.

Step 8: The Cool Down
Let them sit in the hot pan for exactly 5 minutes. Do not try to take them out immediately, or they will crumble in your hands. After 5 minutes, flip them out onto a wire cooling rack. If any chocolate chips stuck to the pan, use a toothpick to pop them out.

Step 9: Glaze Time (The Fun Part)
While the donuts cool (they should be just barely warm, not hot), whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a shallow bowl. Dip the top (flat side or domed side—you do you) of each donut into the glaze. Lift it up, let the excess drip off, then place back on the rack. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on the wet glaze before it sets.

Wait 10 minutes for the glaze to harden. Or don’t. I won’t tell anyone if you eat one dripping wet.

My Pro Tips & Tricks (Confessions of a Donut Burner)

1. The Earlobe Test for Batter: This batter should be thicker than pancake batter but thinner than cookie dough. It should feel like a soft earlobe when you scoop it. If it’s too thick, add 1 tablespoon of milk.
2. The Pan is the Boss: Invest in a metal donut pan. The silicone ones are cute, but they flop around and don’t conduct heat as evenly. I use a Wilton 6-cavity metal pan, and it’s never failed me.
3. Chocolate Chip Sinking: This drove me nuts. If all your chips sink to the bottom (which becomes the top when flipped), toss the chips in 1 teaspoon of flour before adding them to the batter.
4. The Banana Sweet Spot: Green bananas have too much starch. Yellow bananas are okay. Brown speckled bananas are gold. Black bananas? Even better. The riper the banana, the sweeter and more flavorful the donut. If your bananas aren’t ripe, put them in the oven at 300°F for 15 minutes until the skins blacken.
5. Don’t Over-grease: I used to spray like a maniac. That just creates a greasy, dense crust. A light, even layer of non-stick spray or butter is enough.

Variations & Swaps (Because Life Happens)

Vegan Version: Swap the egg for a “flax egg” (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water, let sit 5 minutes). Use oat milk with a teaspoon of lemon juice instead of buttermilk, and use dairy-free chocolate chips. They turn out slightly denser, but still incredible.

Gluten-Free: I’ve done this with King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour. Do not use almond flour or coconut flour here (too heavy). The texture is 90% as good as the real thing. Add an extra tablespoon of milk.

Peanut Butter Banana: Reduce the oil to 2 tablespoons. Add ¼ cup of creamy peanut butter to the wet ingredients. You will have to physically restrain yourself from eating the batter.

Double Chocolate Banana: Reduce flour by 2 tablespoons and add ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. Use milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. This is for when you need a serious chocolate fix.

What to Serve With These Beautiful Donuts

These Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Donuts are a breakfast champion, but they shine in other places too.

• Breakfast for Dinner: Serve them warm alongside scrambled eggs and bacon. Don’t look at me like that. It’s amazing.
• Coffee Break: Honestly, a hot cup of black coffee is the only pairing you need. The bitterness of the coffee cuts the sweetness perfectly.
• Ice Cream Sandwich: Slice a donut in half horizontally, put a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream in the middle, and squish it. You’re welcome.
• School Lunch Surprise: Pack one in a lunchbox (unglazed holds up better for this). Your kid will be the most popular kid at the table.

FAQ’s

Can I make these Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Donuts ahead of time?

Absolutely. Bake the donuts (without glaze), let them cool completely, and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days. Glaze them the day you serve them. The glaze makes the donut moist, but it also makes the top sticky if stacked.

How do I reheat these without drying them out?

Pop one in the microwave for 10 seconds. That’s it. Any longer and they get rubbery. For a crispy exterior, put them in an air fryer at 300°F for 2 minutes.

Can I freeze this batter?

No. The baking powder and baking soda start reacting the second they get wet. Freezing the batter will give you flat, sad donuts. Freeze the baked donuts instead. Wrap each cooled donut in plastic wrap, then put them in a freezer bag. They last 3 months.

Why are my donuts sticking to the pan?

Two reasons. One: You didn’t grease the pan enough, or you used butter which has milk solids that burn. Use non-stick spray with flour in it (like Baker’s Joy). Two: You pulled them out of the pan too fast. Let them rest for exactly 5 minutes.

I don’t have a donut pan. Can I make muffins?

Yes! Pour the batter into a lined muffin tin. Fill ¾ full. Bake at 350°F for 18–20 minutes. They won’t have the fun donut shape, but they taste exactly the same. Call them “Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins” and nobody will complain.

The glaze is too runny/thick. How do I fix it?

If it’s running right off the donut, add more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. If it’s so thick it won’t drip, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. The perfect consistency: you pull the whisk out, and the glaze falls in a ribbon that holds its shape for 3 seconds before disappearing.

Related Recipes:

• Banana Chocolate Chip Scones
• Banana Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake
• Banana Chocolate Chip Blondies

Go Make a Mess

Look, I’m not a professional pastry chef. I’m just a mom with a messy kitchen, a drawer full of mismatched spatulas, and a deep love for anything that makes my house smell like vanilla and cinnamon on a lazy morning.

These Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Donuts are forgiving. They are fast. They turn trash (brown bananas) into treasure (donuts).

So go preheat that oven. Find that donut pan buried in the cabinet. And when you take that first bite—warm, soft, with a melted chocolate chip hitting your tongue—you’ll understand why I make these almost every single Sunday now.

Drop a comment below if you try them. And please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me if you add peanut butter. I need to know I’m not the only one. Happy baking, friends. 🍩