I finally bought a donut pan! After seeing (and drooling over) recipe after recipe for donuts, I gave in. While I know I can make the same recipes in a muffin tin, I was still itching for a cute pan – it’s about the shape and the hole in the middle I guess.

I’ve had this pan for a week and have baked batches of donuts – both savory and sweet. I had an idea for a certain Valentine’s themed dessert donut for Fork and Bean’s vegan and gluten free bake-off but I can’t seem to master the batter…I hope to have a recipe coming to you soon if I can figure out the funky texture I’m getting!

Instead of a more familiar sweet variety, I thought I’d shared my first savory version in case you need a break from the sugar rush! How about a cheesy and garlicky (is that a word?) broccoli donut. Sounds interesting strange, right? Well if you are thinking of a typical sweet donut then yes, it would be a bit bizarre. But, this veggie packed version is more like a savory muffin in terms of texture. This was my first attempt at a non-sweet donut and I was very pleased with the results, not to mention it was a nice change from all the sugar I’ve been consuming lately. I ate two for lunch the other day with a cup of tomato soup and Chris and I enjoyed these again for dinner that evening along side our dinner.

The photos didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped since these “donuts” stuck to the pan pretty well; I learned to grease my pan a little better the next time around and let them cool before removing them. My excitement to taste/lack of patience got the best of these little guys! I ate the broken ones for lunch that didn’t make the photo but they were still delicious! You could easily make these in muffin form and cook them a few minutes longer if you don’t have a donut pan, should be about 4-5 muffins 🙂

Cheesy Garlic and Broccoli “Donuts”

Ingredients

2 Tbsp coconut flour
6 Tbsp brown rice flour (buckwheat, oat, millet or other gluten free flour could probably be subbed)
1/2 cup millet flour (buckwheat, oat, brown rice or other gluten free flour could probably be subbed)
2 Tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 to 1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric, optional for color
1/2 cup finely chopped raw broccoli florets
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or non-dairy Daiya shreds for vegan)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 to 1 tsp minced garlic (depends on how much you want the garlic to come through)
1 egg, whisked (use Energy egg replacer for vegan)
3 Tbsp olive oil (melted butter, ghee or earth balance could be subbed)
2/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened plain rice milk)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease your donut pan well and set aside.
2. In a small microwave bowl, add broccoli and 1 tbsp water. Cover and cook for 1 minute, remove from microwave, drain and let cool completely.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, add dry ingredients (flours through turmeric) and whisk to combine. Add in cooled broccoli and shredded cheese and stir.
4. In a small bowl, mix wet ingredients (vinegar though milk) and whisk to combine. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated.
5. Spoon batter into prepared grease pan and bake for 13-15 minutes. Let cool completely and remove from pan, enjoy!