Easy Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts Recipe

My Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts are proof positive that bakery-worthy autumn treats don't require long ingredient lists, complex baking techniques, or a big pot of boiling oil. These donuts start with a box of cake mix and a can of pumpkin puree, eliminating most of the measuring and tedium involved in making homemade donuts. With this recipe, those considerations simply disappear, and what you're left with are pillowy soft, deliciously sticky, and warmly spiced homemade donuts. And all they require are a handful of simple ingredients and some basic mixing.

The best part about this recipe is that they're baked instead of fried. This means that there's no risk of splattering hot oil, and no need to hover over a thermometer. From the mixing bowl to the table, this super simple, easy baked pumpkin donuts recipe takes a total of about 30 minutes. This makes the recipe ideal for the fall season, whether you're planning a Halloween get-together, a lazy weekend full of autumn baking, or a Thanksgiving brunch spread - or just an afternoon with coffee and donuts, with the familiar autumn aromas of ginger, nutmeg, and cloves wafting from the kitchen.

Now, without further introduction, let's make some homemade pumpkin donuts.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love These Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts
• Why You'll Love These Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts
• Ingredient Checklist
• Yellow Cake Mix vs Spice Cake Mix
• How to Make Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts
• How to Fill a Donut Pan Without Making a Mess
• No Donut Pan? Try These Alternatives
• How to Get Soft, Cake-Like Pumpkin Donuts
• Pumpkin Donut Glaze
• How to Keep Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts from Getting Gummy
• Can I make these Pumpkin Donuts Ahead of Time?
• Simple Variations for Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Easy Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts Recipe

Why You'll Love These Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts

Making homemade donuts from scratch can be very intimidating, as they require boiling oil, yeast, and rising, precise timing, and, on top of all of that, a long list of ingredients. This recipe aims to cut out all of the parts that make preparing homemade donuts intimidating, and reformulate that equation so that the process and ingredient list are as simple and approachable as possible.

Why You'll Love These Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts

Here's what is special about this recipe, and why you'll love it:

• Requires only a handful of simple ingredients
• No yeast
• No rising time
• No prepping or handling a complicated donut batter
• Takes 30 minutes, start to finish, rather than hours for regular donuts
• The texture is soft and decadently moist
• Easily customized, as we'll touch on below
• Packed with autumn flavors of pumpkin and warm spice
• Perfect for breakfast, brunch, fall dessert spreads, or even Halloween

The yellow cake mix does a lot of this recipe's heavy lifting, especially in the structure and sweetness. It provides a reliable, bakery-style crumb, while the pumpkin puree supplies the moisture and that delicious autumn flavor. Taken together, they turn a boxed shortcut into a delicious autumn treat.

More Pumpkin Goodness

If you enjoyed today's recipe, be sure to check out our Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake, as well as our Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, both of which deliciously capture the flavor of the season.

Ingredient Checklist

Don't preheat your oven just yet. I always recommend taking a minute to review the ingredient list, make a few notes, and do some prep before starting any recipe - regardless of how simple. With that in mind. Here's what you'll need for today's recipe.

For the Pumpkin Donuts

• 15 oz can of 100% pumpkin puree - This is the base for flavor and moisture.
• 15.25 oz box of yellow cake mix - Provides structure, sweetness, and a reliable crumb.
• Ground Cinnamon - The foundational ingredient for the spice blend.
• Ground Ginger - Brings a little warmth to the flavor profile.
• Ground Cloves - Provides deep, aromatic spice notes. Be mindful that a little really goes a long way. Use even just a little too much, and all you'll taste is cloves.
• Grated Nutmeg - Works to round out this recipe's pumpkin spice profile.
• Sugar - For balancing the spice blend.
• Butter - Don't skip it. This is for greasing the donut pan.

Important: Use 100% pumpkin puree, which can sometimes be labeled "canned pumpkin." This is plain, cooked pumpkin puree and nothing else. No added sugar or spices. This is the ingredient that keeps the donuts moist without throwing off the sweetness or intended balance of spices.

Pumpkin Puree vs Pumpkin Pie Filling

These two types of canned pumpkin are often stocked side by side in most supermarkets, and the similar labeling causes many consumers to mistake them as being the same thing. However, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling are not interchangeable and have important differences - as they are intended for significantly different uses.

• Pumpkin Puree: Plain cooked pumpkin that is unsweetened and unseasoned. Pumpkin puree is pure pumpkin that has been cooked and then canned. That's it.
• Pumpkin Pie Filling: This is pumpkin that has been sweetened and spiced. This type of canned pumpkin is intended to be poured straight into a pie shell. Basically, this is dessert pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling is also often considerably moister than pumpkin puree.

For this particular recipe, we want to use pumpkin puree because we're seasoning the donuts ourselves.

Ingredients For the Vanilla Glaze

This is a simple, four-ingredient glaze that we're using to finish the donuts. Here's what you'll need:

• Confectioner's Sugar: This is the body of the glaze.
• Vanilla: Adds warmth and depth of flavor.
• Melted Butter: For richness, and also works to give the glaze a nice sheen.
• Milk: Works to loosen the glaze to the right consistency.

We want the glaze to be thick enough to cling tightly to the donuts, but loose enough to dip or drizzle.

Yellow Cake Mix vs Spice Cake Mix

Why This Recipe Uses Yellow Cake Mix

Typically, a yellow cake mix is fairly flavor-neutral, as it is usually intended as a buttery cake base, and that's exactly what we want for these donuts. If we look at the yellow cake mix as a blank canvas, that means we are allowed to define the flavor profile with our own spice blend.

Can You Use a Spice Cake Mix Instead?

Yes, but a spice cake mix already contains spices, and so if you add the full amount of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves I've outlined in the recipe card, you will end up with donuts that are very aggressively spiced.

A pumpkin spice blend cake mix can work too, but you should treat it as a substitution for the spices in this recipe, not something to add on top of the existing spice blend.

With all of that said, for the recipe we're making today, I do strongly recommend sticking to using a plain yellow cake mix, as it offers the most control over the donut's flavor profile.

How to Make Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts

From start to finish, I promise this is the simplest donut recipe you'll find anywhere else. Here is a step-by-step guide.

Prepare the oven and Donut Pan

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F and then thoroughly butter your donut pan. Greasing the pan is not a step you should rush, as these donuts are very tender, and a well-buttered pan allows them to release cleanly without tearing. Once that is done, set the greased pan aside.

Mix the Pumpkin Donut Batter

Combine the yellow cake mix, pumpkin, sugar, and spices in a large bowl and stir until the mixture is completely combined. There is no need for a stand mixer or to beat the batter at medium speed with an electric mixer. Instead, the ingredients can simply be stirred together by hand. We want a thick, sticky donut batter.

Pipe or Spoon the Batter Into the Pan

For the cleanest results possible, pipe the batter directly into the prepared pan. Remember that this batter is thick and sticky, so a piping bag (or a zip-top bag with one of the corners snipped) is by far the easiest way to fill the donut pan.

• Fill the piping bag with the batter. The batter should be thick and sticky. This is normal.
• Pipe the batter evenly into each mold of the donut pan, working carefully around the ring.
• Fill each cavity without covering the center post, filling only the outer ring. This is what keeps the donut hole open.
• Avoid overfilling, as the donuts rise as they bake.

No piping bag? A spoon or baking spatula works fine too. Without a piping bag, carefully portion the batter into each mold of the donut pan, and then carefully smooth the tops with the back of a spoon or spatula.

Bake the Donuts

Bake the donuts at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes. Be sure to start checking the donuts at around the 12-minute mark. The donuts should be set and spring back lightly when touched. A toothpick inserted into the donut should come out clean.

Pro-Tip: Remember that every oven runs slightly hotter or cooler, so trust the toothpick test over the clock.

Cool Before Removing

After removing the donuts from the oven, let them rest in the pan for 6-7 minutes. After that, carefully loosen the edges of the donuts and transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Do not skip this resting time. The donuts are still fragile when they are fresh from the oven, so allowing them to rest means they have a chance to set as they cool. Rushing to remove them from the pan is the surest and fastest way to break them. Let them cool further on the rack before you apply the glaze.

How to Fill a Donut Pan Without Making a Mess

The batter whips up thick and very sticky, and that can make it a little frustrating to fill the donut pan. With that in mind, here are a few techniques to keep things tidy.

Piping Bag Method

Fill a piping bag (or a large zip-top bag with the corner cut) with the batter. Then pipe in a steady ring around each mold of the donut pan. This easily creates the most even, professional-looking donuts with the least fuss and minimal cleanup.

Using a Spoon

If you prefer not to use a piping bag, the answer is using two spoons. One to scoop out the batter and the other to scrape the batter into the mold. You might also consider using a small baking spatula. Portion the batter into each mold and then nudge or flatten it into the ring, then smooth the top of each donut as evenly as possible. If the donuts are not roughly the same size, they will not bake evenly.

Don't Overfill the Molds

Whether using spoons or a piping bag, it is vitally important to this recipe that you do not overfill the molds of the donut pan. Cake donuts rise as they bake, and overfilling the molds or cavities will cause the donuts to lose their ring shape and donut shape, and also risks having the tops and edges burn. Not fun.

No Donut Pan? Try These Alternatives

Even if you don't have a donut pan, there are several good options.

• Silicone Donut Mold: These work well, and they release the donuts very cleanly. That said, silicone tends to bake a touch differently than metal, so begin checking a couple of minutes early.
• Mini Muffin Pan for Pumpkin donut Holes: If you don't have a donut pan, but have a mini muffin pan, it can be a great alternative. A mini muffin pan turns these donuts into bite-size pumpkin treats - basically donut holes. If doing this, I would recommend that you start checking for doneness around the 8-to-10-minute mark, as donut holes bake faster than full donuts.
• Loaf Pan or Cake Pan: This recipe works perfectly as a loaf or cake. Simply pour the batter into a loaf or cake pan, and bake. As an example, see the delicious pumpkin caramel loaf I prepared here.

How to Get Soft, Cake-Like Pumpkin Donuts

The pumpkin puree brings moisture to the donuts, and that's a good thing - as it keeps the donuts from being dry. However, that same moisture needs to be managed properly lest the donuts become dense.

• Don't Overbake. Pull the donuts from the oven as soon as the toothpick test comes out clean.
• Don't Overfill the Pan.
• Let the donuts cool properly before handling.
• Do not glaze the donuts until they have cooled.
• Avoid adding any extra liquid to the batter.
• Use Pumpkin Puree, not pumpkin pie filling.

Why Can Pumpkin Donuts Turn Gummy?

Pumpkin brings a lot of moisture to the batter. If the donuts come out slightly underbaked, or if they are stored while still warm, that will trap excess moisture into the crumb of the donuts, causing them to become gummy and dense. Baking the donuts fully and then letting them come to room temperature before storing solves that problem.

Pumpkin Donut Glaze

After the donuts have cooled, it's time for the glaze.

How to Make the Vanilla Glaze

• Whisk the confectioner's sugar, melted butter, and vanilla together in a small bowl, and then add in milk a little at a time, whisking, until smooth.
• Start with 1 tablespoon of milk.
• If the glaze is still too thick, add an extra teaspoon of milk to loosen it.
• We want a consistency that is thick but still pourable, just runny enough to dip a donut in.

How to Glaze the Donuts

There are three ways you can finish them.

• Dip the tops of the donuts directly into the glaze.
• Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the tops.
• Add a light glaze with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Regardless of how you frost them, the donuts absolutely must be room temperature, or the glaze will weep down the sides of the donut, or potentially even soak into the donut, rather than sticking to the donut and setting.

Frosting Alternatives

• Cream cheese frosting is always an option, especially if you prefer an overall richer donut.
• Powdered sugar by itself for the simplest finish.
• A cinnamon sugar coating is probably my personal favorite, and works to create a deliciously traditional fall-donut profile.

How to Keep Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts from Getting Gummy

And this is where a little know-how can really shine. Here are my top tips.

Let the Donuts Vent Before Glazing

Donuts fresh from the oven release steam as they cool. This is why we move them to a wire rack, so that air can circulate underneath the donuts. Do not store the donuts while they are still warm. Also, be sure that they reach room temperature before glazing. Venting the steam that the donuts release as they cool is what keeps the crumb from becoming damp.

Cool the Donuts Before Storing

Setting warm donuts in a container traps the steam that they are trying to release. Trapped steam means moisture, which condenses on the walls and lid of the container, and drips back onto the donuts, leaving them soggy and gummy.

How to Store Homemade Donuts

For short-term storage, here is what I recommend.

• Let the donuts cool to room temperature.
• Arrange the donuts in a container with paper towels or wax paper between the layers to absorb or catch excess moisture.
• Never store them while still warm.
• Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Should you Refrigerate These Pumpkin Donuts?

It depends on the topping. If you are using a glaze or frosting that contains dairy, then I recommend storing the donuts in an airtight container in the fridge. If the glaze contains no perishable ingredients, or if the donuts are unglazed, then refrigeration is not usually necessary unless storing for more than a day or two.

Can I make these Pumpkin Donuts Ahead of Time?

Yes, these pumpkin donuts are indeed make-ahead friendly. Bake the donuts ahead, let them cool completely, and then store appropriately as outlined above. For best results, however, I recommend that you glaze them shortly before serving, rather than applying the glaze in advance.

Simple Variations for Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts

Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Use a pumpkin spice blend in place of the spice blend outlined in the recipe card below. I've got a delicious, homemade pumpkin spice blend right here on Living the Gourmet.

Brown Sugar Pumpkin Donuts

Simply swap out some or all of the white sugar for brown sugar. This will give the donuts a deeper, molasses-forward flavor.

Cream Cheese-Topped Pumpkin Donuts

Trade the vanilla glaze for a cream cheese frosting. This also allows you to get creative with flavors and colors for the frosting. That said, I would frost the donuts shortly before serving for best results, as mentioned above.

Frequently Asked Questions

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And those are our Easy Pumpkin Cake Mix Donuts! If you enjoyed this recipe or have any questions or suggestions, be sure to let us know in the comments below; we always love hearing from you.

Happy Baking!

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