These chai latte donuts are soft, spiced, and baked to perfection! Each donut gets dipped in a simple, three ingredient salted caramel sauce for the ultimate cozy treat. They capture all the warm, comforting flavors of your favorite chai latte in donut form.

WHY I MADE THESE HEALTHY CHAI LATTE DONUTS

I feel like fall is the perfect time of year for making donuts. Not that you can’t make donuts whenever you want (in fact, I encourage that), but the rich, warm flavors that come from a Cinnamon Sugar donut or a Maple Cinnamon donut just pair perfectly with a warm beverage and a binge watch on the couch, if you ask me.

I was thinking about all of the cozy baking that I’m looking forward to this fall, and I got the idea to make these donuts because I’m such a sucker for a good chai latte, and the idea of combining two things I love (chai, and donuts) is just too good to pass up this season.

But, you guys know I rarely just stop at the first idea. I was thinking about what I would want to pair these donuts with and the idea of putting some kind of salted caramel glaze on top hit me when I remembered how much I love this recipe from the archives, and that’s how these salted caramel chai latte donuts all came together in their final form.

These donuts are full of cozy, warm flavors, they’re not too sweet, they’re refined sugar free, AND they’re gluten free if you make the simple swap of using gluten free flour. They’re a triple win if you ask me, and I can’t wait for you to make them!

If you do, be sure to leave a review and comment so I can congratulate you! I’m so excited for you to give these a try.

MY SALTED CARAMEL CHAI LATTE DONUT RECIPE

The full instructions on how to make these healthy chai latte donuts is in the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post, but here’s a quick overview of how to make it.

Be sure to scroll down to the bottom to view the full recipe and get all of the measurements and instructions!

Chai latte Donuts

• Lightly grease a donut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
• Steep the chai in the warm milk for about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the chai-steeped milk, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla extract.
• Stir the mixture together until fully incorporated.
• Evenly divide the batter into the donut pan.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool donuts completely on a wire rack before dipping them in the salted caramel sauce.

Salted Caramel Sauce

• Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.
• Dip each of the donuts into the sauce, and enjoy!

HEALTHY CHAI DONUTS KEY INGREDIENTS

The full ingredients list is in the recipe card below, so make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see what you need to make this recipe!

Here is a quick overview of what you need to make these healthy chai donuts at home:

Chai Latte Donuts

• Flour: You can certainly swap all purpose flour with a gluten free flour if needed! I love King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, it’s my favorite for my baking recipes.
• Coconut sugar: A great natural sugar that adds a rich, caramel-y flavor that pairs really well with these donuts. You can always reduce the amount of sugar to suit your preference.
• Baking powder: Gives our donuts a nice rise so they’re fluffy and tender when baked.
• Cinnamon: Adds a delicious, fall flavor to our donuts. You can also use a chai spice if you prefer!
• Coconut oil: A better alternative to butter, which is traditionally used in donut recipes.
• Vanilla: Flavor!

Salted Caramel Sauce

• Almond butter: The key ingredient in our salted caramel sauce, which creates the right level of body and richness needed for this recipe.
• Maple syrup: Adds a touch of sweetness and delicious fall flavor.
• Coconut oil: Helps to thin the sauce, and allows it to harden at the right temperature.

HOW LONG DO THESE CHAI DONUTS TAKE TO MAKE?

This chai latte donut recipe has a few different components to it, but they all come together quickly and easily. The full recipe is below, but here’s the gist of it:

• Making the donut batter takes about 10 minutes.
• Baking the donuts takes about 10 minutes.
• Making the salted caramel sauce takes about 10 minutes.
• Putting it all together is about another 10 minutes (notice a pattern here)?

In total, these baked chai donuts will only take about 40 minutes to make!

HOW TO STORE THESE SALTED CARAMEL CHAI DONUTS?

Salted Caramel Sauce: I recommend storing the salted caramel sauce in the fridge. Since it contains coconut oil, the sauce will harden in the fridge so you’ll want to warm it up either in the microwave or let it sit out for a while at room temperature before using it again.

Chai Latte Donuts: The baked donuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. I don’t recommend storing them in the fridge because they will get super hard. I also recommend storing them without the salted caramel sauce on top, and to dip them in the sauce just before serving for the best texture.

CHAI DONUTS FAQ

1. Can I use a tea bag instead of loose chai leaves?
Yes! I typically like to use loose leaf tea since it’s higher quality than the tea you’d get in a tea bag. The recipe works either way, though. Just use about one chai bag in place of one tbsp of loose tea leaves, and steep it in the warm milk the same way. Discard the tea bag after the mixture has steeped.

2. Can I use a different type of milk?
Absolutely. You can use either regular dairy milk or a non-dairy milk like oat, almond, or coconut milk, too. All work well for steeping the chai leaves.

3. Can I substitute the flour with gluten free flour?
Yes, you can use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend in place of all-purpose flour. My two favorite gluten free flour blends are the King Arthur Measure for Measure flour, and Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour blend. If you use a different brand, just make sure it contains xantham gum.

4. Why do I need to steep the chai leaves in milk first?
Steeping the chai leaves infuses the milk with the warm, spiced chai flavor. This is what gives the donuts their signature chai taste, which is super delicious!

5. Can I bake these in a muffin tin instead of a donut pan?
A donut pan gives you the classic donut shape, but if you don’t have one, you can try baking these in mini muffin tins instead. Just keep an eye on bake time since it may vary slightly. I haven’t tried this method, but if you do please let me know how it turns out!

6. What can I use instead of almond butter in the salted caramel sauce?
You can use another nut or seed butter like cashew butter or sunflower seed butter (for a nut-free option).

7. Why is my caramel sauce too thin, or too thick?
This texture of this salted caramel sauce depends entirely on the consistency of your almond butter. If it’s on the runnier side, your sauce will be thinner, and if it’s super thick, then your salted caramel sauce will turn out thicker. You can adjust the consistency with a touch more melted coconut oil to thin it out, or a bit more almond butter to thicken it to the right consistency.

8. How do I store the salted caramel sauce?
I recommend storing the salted caramel sauce in the fridge. Since it contains coconut oil, the sauce will harden in the fridge so you’ll want to warm it up either in the microwave or let it sit at room temperature before using it again.

9. How do you store these chai donuts?
The baked donuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. I don’t recommend storing them in the fridge because they will get super hard. I also recommend storing them without the salted caramel sauce on top, and to dip them in the sauce just before serving for the best texture.

10. Are these donuts baked or fried?
These chai donuts are baked in a donut pan so there’s no frying involved at all, which makes these donuts much lighter and healthier than traditional donuts.

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If you love this recipe be sure to leave a review! And feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments via my Contact page. You’ll hear back from me soon!

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