These 2 ingredient pumpkin donuts are the coziest fall bake and make the perfect Fall treat!
Made with just pumpkin puree and spice cake mix, these baked pumpkin donuts take just 10 minutes to whip up and 15 minutes to bake.
If you want to get fancy, you can even add a delicious maple drizzle with chopped pecans for the perfect pumpkin season treat.
After making my 2-ingredient pumpkin bread a couple of years ago, I knew I needed to make pumpkin doughnuts with spice cake mix! These soft and fluffy doughnuts are cake doughnuts (so no need for yeast or frying oil), so they’re a breeze to make.
Using a ready-made cake mix means no need to measure anything out or use any fancy equipment for this easy recipe. Now, if you do want to go the extra mile with these pumpkin donuts, then you can cover them in my favorite maple drizzle!
why you’ll love these 2 ingredient pumpkin donuts
- Quick: Whip up a batch of these cake donuts in under 30 minutes!
- Easy: You only need 2 simple ingredients to make these easy pumpkin donuts.
- Pumpkin: It’s the best combination of pumpkin and spice flavours for all of those fans of pumpkin spice during the Fall season.
Ingredients needed
Pumpkin: You need just one can of pumpkin puree; make sure you’re using 100% pumpkin puree, and not pumpkin pie filling. Canned pumpkin pie filling already has sugar and spices in it, which we don’t need here.
Spice Cake Mix: You’ll want a 14-15oz box or 375 grams box of spice cake mix. Spice cake mix is perfect in these pumpkin donuts because of all the warm spices. See my tips below on how to enhance the pumpkin spice flavour further.
How to use boxed cake mix to make homemade pumpkin donuts
I personally love using a spice cake mix. I find that the spices are perfect with the pumpkin! You can swap it out for vanilla or French vanilla cake mix. If you want the same amount of spices, make sure to add 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice (and then it’ll be 3-ingredient baked pumpkin donuts!)
How to make these homemade baked pumpkin donuts
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°Fahrenheit and spray two donut pans with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, mix the pumpkin puree with the spice cake mix until smooth.
Step 3: Fill a large piping bag with the donut batter (or use a ziplock bag with a corner snipped off).
Step 4: Pipe the batter into the donut pan, filling each about three-quarters full, dividing between the 12 spaces in the donut pan.
Step 5: Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Step 6: Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to completely cool.
Step 7: If you want to drizzle over a maple glaze, let the donuts cool completely. Mix the melted butter, maple syrup, and icing sugar until smooth. Drizzle over the donuts or dip them into the glaze. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Tips & Tricks
- Only have one donut pan? Bake the first batch and let them cool for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack. Spray the pan again with cooking spray and pipe the next batch of donuts.
- To enhance the pumpkin spice flavor of these donuts, add ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ¼ teaspoon of both ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg to the pumpkin puree and spice cake mixture.
- If you want a loaf cake instead, then you should try my 2-ingredient pumpkin bread!
Variations on these cake mix donuts
- Cinnamon sugar: Make a cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat these donuts in instead. Brush the donuts with melted butter (or dip them in) and then gently toss in a cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Cream cheese icing: Swap out the maple glaze for cream cheese icing!
- Brown sugar glaze: Try a brown sugar glaze for these donuts by melting 2 tbsp milk, 1 tbsp butter and 1/4 cup lightly-packed brown sugar in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well to combine and then whisk in 1/2 cup powdered (icing) sugar and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon until well combined. Let sit for 5 minutes to cool and then glaze the cooled donuts.
- Powdered sugar: Toss the cooled homemade donuts gently in powdered sugar.
common questions about this pumpkin donuts recipe
You definitely can! Use a gluten-free cake mix to make these 2 ingredient pumpkin donuts and follow the same steps in the detailed instructions above.
A great substitute for a piping bag is to use a ziplock bag with a corner snipped off.
I haven’t tested it but you should be able to make 12 muffins from this 2 ingredient recipe. I would recommend baking them at 375F for 18-22 minutes.
How to store these donuts
I find that baked donuts taste best on the day of baking. If you do have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
More easy pumpkin recipes to make from the blog
- Easy No-Bake Biscoff Cookie Pumpkin Truffles Recipe
- Pumpkin Spiced Oat Smoothie
- Quick Pumpkin Whipped Feta Dip with Crispy Sage
2 Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts (with cake mix)
Ingredients
For the donuts
- 14-15 oz can pure pumpkin purée
- 14-15 oz (375 grams) box spice cake mix
Optional topping: maple glaze with chopped pecans
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup icing (powdered) sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
Optional topping: cinnamon sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray two donut pans (6 donuts each) with cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the pumpkin purée and the spice cake mix until fully combined and smooth.
- Fill a large piping bag with the batter or (you can also use a large ziptop bag and then cut one of the corners, about 1 inch wide, to make a homemade piping bag).
- Pipe the batter into the donut pan, filling each about three-quarters full, dividing between the 12 spaces in the donut pans.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the donuts to a cooling rack.
- Note: If you only have one donut pan, let the first batch cool in the donut pan for 5-10 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Spray the donut pan again and pipe in the next batch of donuts. Follow the baking instructions above.
- Optional: use the maple glaze or cinnamon sugar toppings below
Optional topping: maple glaze
- When the pumpkin donuts are completely cooled, remove from the pan. If desired, make the icing by mixing together the melted butter, maple syrup and icing sugar until smooth. Drizzle the icing over each donut and then sprinkle over chopped pecans if desired. You can also spread the icing or dip the donuts tops into the icing before topping with finely chopped pecans.
Optional topping: cinnamon sugar
- Melt the butter in a bowl and set aside. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in another bowl and set aside. Dip the donuts in the melted butter, making sure to get both sides of the donut and letting excess butter drip off. Then, dip the donut in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating all sides. Repeat until all donuts are done.
Notes
- To enhance the pumpkin spice flavor of these donuts, add ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ¼ teaspoon of both ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg to the pumpkin puree and spice cake mixture.
- Can I make these gluten-free? You definitely can! Use a gluten-free cake mix to make these 2 ingredient pumpkin donuts and follow the same steps in the detailed instructions above.
- A great substitute for a piping bag is to use a ziplock bag with a corner snipped off.
Leave a Reply