5 Best Protein Donuts (You Can Buy)
High protein donuts are the new and fun way to get that protein boost pre-and post-workout. But unfortunately, great suppliers are far and few between.
So today we look at the best protein donuts you can buy online. This list includes mostly premade and ready-to-eat options from brands like Lenny & Larry, Wow!, Elite Sweets, and The Protein Donut.
However, we’ve also included a dry mix that allows you to make fresh donuts at home.
This option is arguably more convenient and budget-friendly because you don’t have to struggle to find it, ship it, and wait for it.
In today’s article, we will take a look at exactly what protein donuts are, how to choose the best option for you, and what makes them great!
What Are Protein Donuts?
Protein donuts are exactly what they sound like – donuts that are very high in protein.
But what exactly does that mean? And how is this different from regular donuts?
Traditionally, donuts are made from a yeast-leavened dough. Other common ingredients used include flour, milk, butter or oil, sugar, and salt.
It’s a pretty simple recipe and doesn’t contain anything exceptionally special.
Once the dough is made, it is shaped into either balls, discs, or the classic American ring-style donut.
The dough is then fried in some hot oil and coated with a glaze, icing, frosting, or ganache or some type. Donuts can be stuffed with fillings like creams, frostings, jams, and spreads.
Finally, a popular add-on is something like sprinkles, powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar.
If you break a regular donut down nutritionally, it usually contains around 3-5 grams of protein.
This obviously massively depends on the types of ingredients used, the size of the donuts, and which garnishes, toppings, and fillings have been added.
Now, protein donuts – what makes them high in protein?
These types of donuts are usually made with a protein-rich flour or have added protein powder. Some products even include both of these.
Usually, high-protein flours are types made from nuts or legumes. This includes soy flour, almond flour, chickpea flour, or coconut flour.
There are also some other exceptions like quinoa flour, amaranth flour, teff flour, and chia flour.
Whey protein is also very common in protein donuts.
How To Choose The Best Protein Donuts
Obviously, if you choose a high-protein product, nutrition is somewhat important to you.
However, there is a lot more to it than just grabbing any product that is high in protein.
Here are some other factors you should take into consideration.
How Much Protein Do You Need?
High protein doesn’t necessarily meet your specific requirements. So, it’s important to know how much protein you need and how much the donut contains.
This is pretty much like calorie counting but with specific nutrients.
Most high-protein products state the exact amount per portion directly on the front. After all, that’s the main selling point.
A high-protein donut usually contains above 8 grams of protein.
Where Does The Protein Come From?
This is also really important to know for some people. Many prefer staying away from protein powders, while others are exclusively looking for another way to ingest their pre and post-workout dose.
Some protein donuts are made only with high-protein flours and will advertise it as such Granted, these types of usually more difficult to find, but not impossible.
Furthermore, if you only use specific types of protein powders (with specific nutritional builds), it’s important to consider this as well.
Not all products will specify which brand of protein powder they used, but you may be able to find small-batch producers that do.
Other Nutrients
If you are heavily into tracking macronutrients, this is another factor you can, and maybe even should, take into consideration.
The nutrients should be listed on the back, but some are even specified on the front. Popular ones people look at are fat content, sugar content, and fiber content.
Availability, Diversity, And Price
Last, but not least, it is also important to look at the brand. Will it “likely” be around for a while?
Because trust us when we say, there is nothing worse than falling in love with a product that is discontinued a couple of months later.
Furthermore, it helps to buy from brands that offer versatility. Again, let’s face it, the same flavored cinnamon sugar donut every day can get boring quickly.
So, it helps if the brand offers different flavors for you to choose from.
And finally, you can also consider how easy it is to find protein donuts and if they are worth the price. Usually buying in bulk works out cheaper.
Don’t forget to consider shipping fees if you cannot buy them in-store.
5 Best Protein Donuts (You Can Buy)
Let’s take a look at the best protein donuts you can buy online.
As always, we tried to include a bunch of different options that are almost guaranteed to meet your needs.
There are different flavors, different sizes, different brands, and, of course, varying amounts of protein.
Rank | Product | Key Feature |
1. | Wow! Protein Donuts | Easy to find, affordable, comes in many different flavors and contains 11 grams of protein. |
2. | Elite Sweets Gluten-Free Protein Donut | These donuts contain 8 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar, and 3 grams of carbs. They come in 4 flavors and are gluten-free and keto-friendly. |
3. | The Protein Donut | Each donut contains between 13-15 grams of protein, has no added sugars, is gluten-free, and comes in 9 flavors. |
4. | Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie Chocolate Donut | Vegan and kosher donuts contain 16 grams of plant-based proteins. They are non-GMO and free of artificial sweeteners too. |
5. | ProDough Protein BakeShop | High protein donut powdered mix that allows you to make fresh donuts on demand. It’s cheaper, more convenient (you don’t have to wait or pay for shipping frequently), and offers 18 grams of protein per serving! |
1. Wow! Protein Donuts
This is arguably the best protein donut brand out there to date.
You can buy these donuts on Amazon, directly from their website, and even from chain grocery stores like Walmart.
They have three different flavors you can choose from chocolate, cake batter, and blueberry. And trust us, all of these are equally delicious!
Each of these donuts contains 11 grams of proteins (per donut) and between 120-130 calories per portion (66 grams).
In terms of sugar, you are looking at only 4-5 grams each.
They are also low in carbohydrates so you don’t have to worry about packing on the pounds.
Another reason these protein donuts became so popular is their effectiveness as a pre-and post-workout snack.
The protein content all comes from the milk protein powder used.
The biggest downside we find with these donuts is that they aren’t gluten-free, which is an added benefit of some other brands.
2. Elite Sweets Gluten-Free Protein Donut
Next up, we have another brand that is ever-growing in popularity.
The biggest downside is that they are difficult to find and arguably a little bit pricey.
Other than that, Elite offers a wide range of flavors including cinnamon, birthday cake, chocolate, and maple.
These donuts contain about 8 grams of protein per 62-gram portion.
This is slightly on the lower side, but perfect for people not wanting to double down on their intake. The donuts are also very low in carbs and sugar.
They are gluten-free and keto-friendly so you can indulge in them guilt-free.
So, where does the protein come from? Mainly the almond flour, eggs, and milk protein.
3. The Protein Donut
This is a small online business that exclusively makes protein donuts.
There are 9 incredibly unique flavors to choose from including banana cookie monster, chocolate chip dough, cookies mmm’ cream, and cinnamon toast dough.
They use Whey protein powder along with gluten-free almond flour, coconut flour, or oat flour.
The eggs and no-fat Greek yogurt also contribute quite a large amount of protein.
Each donut contains between 13-15 grams of protein, depending on the flavor.
You can find a nutritional breakdown on each package.
Now, the ONLY reason this brand and donut products aren’t higher on the list is that it’s not easily accessible.
They do ship and there is a list of stores that has donuts in stock. But again, across the entire States, it won’t be easy to find.
Other than that, it’s an exceptional brand and product.
4. Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie Chocolate Donut
Next up, we have a chocolate cookie-donut hybrid. It’s quite a unique sweet treat.
While it’s not an authentic donut, very few protein donuts these days are.
Each portion contains 16 grams of plant-based protein, an incredibly high amount compared to other brands.
They are certified as being non-GMO, vegan, kosher, and free of soy, eggs, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners.
Unfortunately, they aren’t gluten-free, which does make them slightly higher in calories.
5. ProDough Protein BakeShop
Our final option on today’s list isn’t a premade donut. Instead, it’s a protein donut powder mix.
We HAD to add this option, mainly because it’s such a process getting the premade donuts to your door.
If you have a dry mix that you can whip up in 30 minutes, you can make as-many fresh donuts as you’d like.
Plus, ProDough offers A TON of different flavors that are arguably a lot more interesting and better than some other options on the list today.
Granted, you do have to put in some effort to make these.
But it’s worth every second and offers a lot more pros than one con.
Each prepared donut contains a whopping 18 grams of protein. In the dry mix, they have added Whey protein powders and gluten-free flours (either coconut, oat, rice, potato, brown rice or sorghum flour).
The dry mixes don’t contain any artificial ingredients, are GMO-free, and are FDA inspected and approved.
Related Questions
Now that we’ve covered what the best options are for protein donuts, I want to cover some other important questions that you may have.
How does the nutrition of a protein donut compare to an ordinary donut?
The main difference is that a traditional donut that you would find at a grocery store will typically be higher in calories, sugar, and unhealthy fats.
Protein donuts, like the name, suggests, also typically have quite a bit more protein in them, usually coming from whey protein.
Although uncommon in ordinary donuts, you’ll also often find better ingredients in protein donuts such as almond or coconut flour, whey, plant proteins, etc.
However, protein donuts are typically also much more expensive than ordinary donuts, in some cases 5-10 times more expensive.
What are some tips for making protein donuts at home?
Probably the most important thing to do is to choose a good, high-quality protein powder that works well for baking.
I personally like to use a casein/whey blend, but there are many good options including just a good flavor of a quality whey protein.
Another good thing to consider would be to use a more natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup. Or, if you’re wanting to go even lower in calories consider a good zero-calorie sweetener option.