Baked Lemon Spinach Donuts

These Baked Lemon Spinach Donuts are bright green but taste just like lemon. The flavour of the spinach fades, leaving that amazing colour and some extra goodness in the doughnuts. An easy and tasty hidden vegetable dessert!

Commissioned by Discover Veg.

What do they taste like?

These baked lemon spinach doughnuts are bright green, but taste just like lemon donuts.

The flavour of the spinach fades, leaving that amazing colour and some extra goodness in the doughnuts.

A love of spinach

I'll admit that I eat a LOT of spinach. I love it!

No need for Popeye puns, I'm happy to espouse my love of spinach to anyone who'll listen.

I'm one of those people who needs to have greens at every meal, and spinach is my go-to leafy green.

I have it fresh or frozen in my morning smoothies or piled high in salad. I add handfuls to stews, lentil dahl and even in vegetable pakoras.

Can you tell I'm a fan?

However, I know some people don't like those dark green, nutritious leaves (fools).

That's when we need to get creative. That's when we need to add them to spinach donuts!

Ingredients

You only need simple ingredients for these hidden vegetable donuts!

Spinach
Milk
Lemon juice
Sugar
Butter
Egg
Vanilla
Flour
Baking powder
Icing sugar

You'll also need a donut pan so they hold their shape while baking. It's a simple and inexpensive gadget that we end up using often! You can find them on Amazon: Silicone Donut Mold

Hidden vegetable desserts

I don't tend to sneak veggies into my vegetable cakes and desserts.

Rather, I'm loud and proud about the added vegetables.

I like to tell people that they can have their cake and eat it - and enjoy it as well.

Then, next time they don't want to eat the veg, I can remind them how they loved it in cake. That's the trick I use on my kids.

I've used spinach cookies, Vanilla Spinach Cake, and my vegetable dessert cookbook has it in a strawberry and spinach Swiss roll.

I love how the flavour of spinach fades in a dessert - but leaves it a vivid green colour and adds a little extra goodness.

Check out the recipe for Spinach Lemon Bars from my Veggie Desserts Cookbook over on the Sneaky Veg website.

Why is spinach healthy?

We all know that spinach is good for us, right?

It's versatile, delicious, healthy and great value.

I always keep a bag in the fridge so I can instantly add green goodness to meals. It's inexpensive and tasty.

This easy leafy green has a lot to offer. Plus it make these donuts an awesome color.

It's rich in folate and a source of vitamins A and C. It's always easy to get hold of, and you can even keep a stash in the freezer to make sure you've got some to hand.

Discover Spinach, part of the Discover Great Veg campaign, has been devised to build awareness of the versatility, taste, value and relevant health benefits of spinach. 

Spinach dessert recipes

As a big fan of vegetable desserts, spinach is one of my g0-to veggies (well, leaves) to add to them! Spinach is easy to puree, gives a lovely green color to cakes and desserts and adds a little goodness.

If you love this recipe, then I'm sure you'll love these sweet spinach recipes too!

Spinach Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Vanilla Spinach Cake
Yogurt Spinach Cake

Vegetarian spinach recipes

If you have leftover spinach from making these spinach donuts, then use it up in these other tasty recipes!

Spinach Pea Burgers
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Spinach Crust Pizza

Disclosure: This recipe for Baked Lemon Spinach Donuts was commissioned by Discover Spinach. Thanks for supporting the brands that make it possible for me to write Veggie Desserts: vegetable cakes, healthy food and lifestyle. 

Recipe

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And please head down to comment and rate the recipe if you've tried these Spinach Donuts!

Baked Lemon Spinach Donuts

Kate Hackworthy | Veggie Desserts

These baked Lemon Spinach Donuts are bright green, but taste just like lemon. The flavour of the spinach fades, leaving that amazing colour and some extra goodness in the doughnuts.

5 from 11 votes

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 196 kcal

Ingredients

 

UK Measures<>

• 3 cups (100g) raw spinach leaves
• 1 cup (250ml) milk
• 1 lemon , used for both the doughnuts and glaze
• ½ cup (115g) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoon butter melted and cooled
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (plain flour)
• 3 teaspoon baking powder

For the glaze

• 1 cup (125g) icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice from above

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 325F / 170C. Lightly grease a donut pan with oil.
• Add the spinach to a pan and heat until wilted. Run under cold water to refresh, drain and squeeze out excess moisture. Add the spinach and milk to a tall container and puree well with a hand held stick blender. 
• Zest and juice the lemon, then set aside. They will be used for both the batter and glaze.
• In a large bowl, beat the spinach puree, 1 teaspoon of zest, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, sugar, cooled melted butter, egg and vanilla together. Sift in the flour and baking powder and gently combine.
• Fill the doughnut molds with the batter until nearly full and bake for 15 minutes or until springy and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tray for 5 minutes, then carefully remove from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the glaze,

• Mix the powdered sugar with 1 ½ tablespoon of the lemon juice. Add more juice (or water), sparingly, if needed to achieve a thick but pourable consistency. Drizzle over the completely cooled doughnuts and sprinkle with a little zest.

Nutrition

Calories: 196kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 3gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 23mgPotassium: 240mgFiber: 1gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 895IUVitamin C: 7.6mgCalcium: 93mgIron: 1.4mg

The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.

Tried this recipe?Mention @kateveggiedesserts or tag #veggiedesserts! I love seeing your recreations.