These chocolate chip zucchini donuts are a nutrition-packed twist on your favorite breakfast treat!
Did I ever tell you about that phase in my life when I lived off of donuts? Yeah, that was definitely a thing.
When I was a sophomore in high school, I would usually go to the grocery store across the street from my school and buy either a donut or a bagel for lunch. I would spend a whopping 50 cents on my lunch, then pocket the rest of the lunch money my parents would give me to buy Forever 21 earrings. Ummmm #priorities #entrepreneur.
These days, I don’t consider a donut “lunch” by any means. They are more of an occasional treat, or office meeting accessory. However, I do still consider donuts beyond delicious and wouldn’t mind eating them more often. I tried my hand at making donuts when I got a donut pan a few months ago, and haven’t looked back since. Sorry not sorry Safeway bakery.
As I’ve said before, when it comes to healthy eating, I believe in adding instead of taking away. If donuts were going to be a regular part of my life again, they were going to need to do a little more for me in the nutrition department. Enter, Krestchmer Wheat Germ and some zucchini action.
Wheat germ is packed with nutrition, and can be a great addition to your diet if you aren’t gluten free. It is a great source of fiber, vitamin E, magnesium, zinc and plant-based protein. Zucchini is also an ingredient I have been experimenting with lately. It is one of my absolute favorite vegetables because it is so versatile. You can go the zoodle route for savory dishes, or put it in zucchini bread and oatmeal if you’re feeling like something sweet. Plus it is a good source of vitamin C, fiber and potassium.
Basically, these ain’t your mama’s donuts. No offense to your mama though, I’m sure she’s lovely.
These sweet little pieces of heaven are basically what would happen if zucchini bread and donuts had a baby then covered it in chocolate. What’s not to like about that?
- ¾ Cup White Whole Wheat Flour
- ¼ Cup Kretschmer Wheat Germ
- ½ Cup Coconut Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ Cup Almond Milk + ½ Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- ¾ Cup Shredded Zucchini, Squeezed Dry
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil, Melted and Cooled
- 1 Egg
- ½ Cup Chocolate Chips, Divided
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a donut pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a small bowl or measuring glass, combine the apple cider vinegar and almond milk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, coconut sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir together until all ingredients are combined, and there are no clumps. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, almond milk mixture, vanilla extract and coconut oil. Whisk together until smooth and combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently stir until a batter forms.
- Fold your shredded zucchini (make sure you place it in a paper towel and squeeze the moisture out first!) and ¼ cup chocolate chips into the batter.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared donut pan. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (mine took the whole 15 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least five minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the donuts are cooling, melt the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips and drizzle over the top of the donuts.
Your Turn:
- Did you have some questionable food choices as a teenager? Tell me everything.
- What is your favorite breakfast treat?
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Krestchmer Wheat Germ. All opinions are my own. Thank you so much for your support!
I love that you used to save your lunch money for shopping, lol! I used to always get a smoothie and a cake donut when I was in high school too but I think the smoothie was too much for me to have anything left over. 🙂
These donuts look unbelievable! I like that they have a nutritional boost from zucchini and wheat germ!
Hahaha priorities right? 😉 Thank you so much! Also – your vacation looks amazing.
Well first of all these photos are just freaking stunning. B-e-a-you-tiful. Second, the love I had for forever 21 earrings was true <3. And third, in high school my favorite lunch was definitely these little fried cheesy tots. So terribly good. I think I paired them with chocolate milk… yeah I was really healthy then.
Hahaha I cared about the important things in life…what can I say? We definitely would have gotten along in high school
These look incredible!! Best food baby I’ve seen all day! Lol also loved that you included wheat germ. Kudos, girl!
Thank you Jamie! These were definitely fun to come up with 🙂
Haha “questionable” is a great word to describe it! I used to be able to eat those cream-filled donuts like it was my JOB when I was a young girl. Now I can’t eat them anymore because they’re sickeningly sweet. I can totally get behind these donuts though! What gorgeous photos! 🙂 My favorite breakfast treat is definitely pancakes or french toast. NOMZ.
“No offense to your mama though, I’m sure she’s lovely.” Dying.
I can relate to this post so much because pretty much every day before drill team practice I would go to Safeway and get a bagel or donut bahaha. I haven’t yet tried making my own donuts, and I think I need to after reading this!
Hahah I’m so glad you can relate! And they are super easy to make – I got my donut pan at target!
How many calories per donut?
Hi Kathy, I’m not sure – but you are welcome to plug the recipe into an app like MyFitness Pal to see! <3