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Home / Main Dishes / Breakfast

Easy Homemade Donut Holes

4.72
/5
30 minutes minutes
157 Comments
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By: The Chunky Chefpublished: 08/05/2018

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

The easiest way to satisfy your donut cravings, with no finicky yeast or rolling required. Just mix, fry, and eat!

The tastiest homemade donut holes, ready in about 30 minutes, with no rolling or yeast to deal with.  Mix, fry, eat!  Breakfast is served! #breakfast #donut #doughnut #homemade #donutholes #easyrecipe

Can we all just agree that donut cravings are real, and they’re not just for pregnant women?  Because y’all… I was hit with some MAJOR donut cravings last week.  It doesn’t help that there this amazing donut shop that I literally drive right past at least once a week… BUT, I’m trying not to gain a million pounds and spend money there every week.  But those cravings man, I couldn’t help myself!

So instead of stopping in the shop, yet again, I came up with a recipe for quite possibly my favorite type of donut of all time.  Donut holes!  So cute and pop-able, they’re the donut you can eat in one bite!

Mixing up donut holes batter in clear mixing bowl with wooden spoon

ARE DONUT HOLES REALLY FROM THE HOLE OF A DONUT

Traditionally yes.  When donuts were rolled out and cut into that classic donut shape, the dough where the center hole was removed and no doubt used in an effort to reduce food waste (and money!).  But you can absolutely make JUST the donut holes.

HOW MANY DONUT HOLES ARE EQUAL TO ONE DONUT

Sadly, less than you’d think.  1 regular sized donut is equivalent to about 4 donut holes.  So if you’re watching what you’re eating, keep that conversion in mind.  Or be like me and just keep poppin’ the donut holes and treat yo’ self!

Frying donut holes in hot oil

DO YOU HAVE TO FRY DONUT HOLES

Not necessarily!  For that classic donut taste and texture, with the crispy outside and fluffy inside, you do have to fry them.  But I’ve taken the dough for these chai vanilla donuts and baked little bits in mini muffin tins and gotten delicious baked donut holes that way.  So it’s really up to you and what texture you’d like.

ARE THESE CAKE OR YEAST DONUTS AND WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE

These donut holes would be classified under the “cake” variety.  When it comes to donuts, and donut holes, there are two main types; cake donuts and yeast (or raised) donuts.  Cake donuts are made using a sweetened dough that uses baking powder to rise.  Yeast or raised donuts are made using a dough that uses yeast (I know you’re shocked right?), and involves a rising time.  A classic glazed donut from Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts would be a good example of a yeast donut.  Personally I LOVE the flavor of a great yeast donut, but they take time to make, and working with yeast can be finicky.  For a fool-proof donut, go with the cake variety.

Variety of fried donut holes

For these donut holes I couldn’t decide on a flavor, so I went with 3 types.  The classic sugared, chocolate ganache dipped, and filled with an orange scented raspberry sauce.  Can I just say, I literally couldn’t pick a favorite… they are all SO good!

I’ve included the ganache and raspberry sauce in the recipe below, but don’t let the fancy words like “ganache” scare you.  It’s quite simply the easiest sauce to make!

Variety of donut holes on white plate with chocolate sauce

HELPFUL TOOLS

  • Cookie scoop – the PERFECT tool to drop the dough into the oil with… plus it’s great for cookies and meatballs!
  • Piping tip – I love using this tip in either a piping bag or regular ziplock for filling the donuts with raspberry sauce.
  • Cooling rack – This is great for placing the donut holes to cool after you’ve fried them.  It lifts them off the counter so they don’t get soggy on the bottom.
  • Wire Spider – the BEST tool for removing fried foods from the hot oil!


Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!

The tastiest homemade donut holes, ready in about 30 minutes, with no rolling or yeast to deal with.  Mix, fry, eat!  Breakfast is served! #breakfast #donut #doughnut #homemade #donutholes #easyrecipe

Homemade Donut Holes

4.72 from 59 votes
Author: The Chunky Chef
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Calories: 218
Servings: 8 servings
(hover over # to adjust)
Print Rate Pin
The easiest way to satisfy your donut cravings, with no finicky yeast or rolling required. Just mix, fry, and eat!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour , (I always use unbleached)
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar , use less for a less-sweet donut hole
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg , optional
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup milk , I use whole
  • 1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • oil for frying, (canola, peanut, or vegetable are good choices)

Instructions

  • Line a large baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels then top with a wire cooling rack.  Set aside.
  • Pour oil into heavy bottomed pan (dutch ovens or deep cast iron pans are fabulous for frying), until oil is about 2 inches deep.  Heat over MED heat until oil comes up to 350 F degrees.  Adjust heat level as needed to maintain the 350 degree temperature.
  • While oil is heating, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, egg and vanilla.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients and stir together for a few seconds with a wooden spoon.  Add melted butter and stir until mixture forms a thick batter.
  • Once oil has reached 350 F degrees, use a cookie scoop to scoop up batter and drop them into the hot oil.  Be careful when dropping the batter, do it from just above the oil so you minimize splashing!  Hot oil is no joke and it hurts like crazy if you get burnt!
  • Add about 8 donut holes to the oil in one batch, and fry about 2 minutes per side.  Remove fried donuts to prepared cooling rack/baking sheet.

FOR SUGARED DONUT HOLES:

  • Add about a cup of granulated sugar to a shallow bowl.  When you take the fried donut holes out of the oil, add them to the sugar bowl and toss to coat them in sugar.  Transfer to cooling rack to cool down.

FOR GANACHE-DIPPED DONUT HOLES:

  • Let donut holes cool on wire rack for a minute or so, then dip into ganache sauce.  Return to cooling rack to finish cooling.  Alternatively, dip a fork in the ganache sauce and wave it back and forth over donut holes to drizzle them with the sauce.

FOR RASPBERRY-FILLED DONUT HOLES:

  • Let donut holes cool completely.  Prepare a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip (alternatively, snip off just the tip of a corner of a ziploc bag and add piping tip to bag so it comes partially through the hole).  Use the empty bag with the tip to poke a hole in the donut hole, being careful not to poke all the way through the other side.  Fill bag with cooled or slightly warm raspberry sauce, and pipe into hole.  Garnish with a little orange zest if you'd like.

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Chef Tips

** Recipe makes approximately 24 larger donut holes.  Smaller donut holes will yield a larger amount. **

CHOCOLATE GANACHE SAUCE:

  • ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
Add chocolate pieces to a mixing bowl.  Heat heavy cream until simmering and hot.  Pour cream over chocolate in bowl and let sit 5 minutes.  Whisk until all chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth and glossy.

RASPBERRY SAUCE:

  • 8 oz raspberry jam
  • ¼ tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp orange zest
Heat jam in a saucepan over MED heat, stirring often, until jam is loosened to a sauce consistency.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and orange zest.  Let sit 10 minutes and serve.

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

Did You Make This?Tag @the_chunky_chef on Instagram and hashtag it #thechunkychef so I can see what you made!
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The tastiest homemade donut holes, ready in about 30 minutes, with no rolling or yeast to deal with.  Mix, fry, eat!  Breakfast is served! #breakfast #donut #doughnut #homemade #donutholes #easyrecipe

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Meet The Chunky Chef

Hey there! I'm Amanda. Wife, mother, photography nerd, and bacon lover! I believe that delicious meals should be easy to make. Now that you’re here, stay a bit, browse a few recipes, and let’s get cookin’!

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4.72 from 59 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




  1. Soph says

    Posted on 4/27 at 6:10 pm

    Made these yesterday and they were so good! Crispy on the outside and super light on the inside. I couldn’t finish them alone so I froze them and they are great microwaved for about 20 seconds- still crispy on the outside!
    I didn’t have an ice cream scoop so i just used two spoons to get the ball shape and plopped them in

    Reply
  2. Mary jones says

    Posted on 4/24 at 9:37 pm

    My mom made these but called them another name. Any ideas?

    Reply
    • Denise says

      Posted on 5/3 at 8:18 pm

      Fry cakes?

      Reply
  3. Kate Gallager says

    Posted on 4/22 at 3:59 am

    I tried this recipe (cinnamon sugar) and they were so good! They were pretty easy to make and they tasted delicious, especially when they were warm. I definitely recommend this recipe – i will be making them again.

    Reply
  4. amanda says

    Posted on 4/19 at 7:44 am

    Absolutely gorgeous, easy to make, and taste lovely. Smell just like when your at a fair ground or show, waiting for them to be cooked. Great for when the grandchildren come round.

    Reply
  5. Su says

    Posted on 4/7 at 7:02 am

    Hi! Just wanted to ask the calorie info is it per 8 donuts? Or per 1?

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 4/7 at 9:08 am

      It’s for 1/8th of the entire batch.

      Reply
  6. Chris W says

    Posted on 4/5 at 4:36 pm

    Ok.. these were awesome. I added 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and almond extract. Really good. If you eat them plain, I would add about half again the sugar to the batter mix. Really really good. Thanks!

    Reply
  7. Sarah says

    Posted on 3/31 at 9:43 am

    Well I LOVED them! My kids were like nice try mom, for your first try. I don’t have a small cookie scoop and my ice cream scoop caused them to bee too large for my harsh critics to devour. “A donut hole is like one bite, mom. Not 15.” -Henry, aged 8
    Thank you for an easy peasy recipe! 

    Reply
  8. kristen says

    Posted on 3/26 at 8:25 pm

    I made these donuts today for the first time! Kids loved them! I think I loved them even more. My husband had celiac disease… have you ever tried substituting the flour for gluten free flour? Or do you have something similar that’s gluten free? Thank you!

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 3/27 at 8:58 pm

      I’m so glad you all loved these donut holes! My kiddos love them too 🙂 Unfortunately I’m not very well versed in gluten-free, as no on in our family has celiac disease.

      Reply
    • Delanie says

      Posted on 4/7 at 7:20 pm

      I made them with gluten free flour (King Arthur Flour) and they turned out very similar to the donuts with regular flour. My mom has celiac and she love them!

      Reply
  9. Doon says

    Posted on 3/20 at 12:44 am

    So easy so yum, although without an icecream scoop the become some interesting shapes!😂

    Reply
  10. Bracha says

    Posted on 3/6 at 6:25 pm

    I’ve made this twice now– 1st time single batch and 2nd time I doubled up. My deviations were the frying oil– I used olive oil for frying, as I don’t use canola or vegetable, and I used lingonberry and blueberry jams. Changing the oil made the donuts come out a little dark, but still soft and delectable. My family and friends love it! It’s a keeper. <3

    Reply
  11. Janelle says

    Posted on 1/31 at 5:29 am

    I made these today for my crew (I work on a military vessel) and they absolutely loved them! This recipe was quick and easy! I doubled the recipe, used a small cookie/ice cream scoop and made a ton! Rolling them in sugar was awesome. Next time I’ll try filling them. Thanks for the recipe, it was perfect. 

    Reply
  12. Zohara says

    Posted on 9/26 at 3:03 am

    Came out pretty good for me:) but i used 1/2 cassava flour and 1/2 almond flour because i am doing the paleo diet( grain free) and i have problems eating gluten stuff. Ex: wheat is 100% gluten. I used lakato sugar substitude, rolled them in lakato sugar( from amazon) with cinnamon mixed in. i baked them at 350 for about 13 minutes. Came out tasting very light not very sweet like a “cake holes” kind of instead of donut holes. But it was worth it for me since i was craving strachy something. With small glass of A2 Whole milk(organic) thank you.

    Reply
  13. Esther says

    Posted on 9/18 at 10:47 pm

    Can you use coconut oil instead of butter? Also can you bake these instead of frying?

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 9/19 at 7:56 pm

      I have only tested this recipe as it’s written, so I truly can’t say if those substitutions and changes would work.

      Reply
  14. AK says

    Posted on 9/8 at 10:46 am

    Amazing donut recipe as it’s written! I rolled them in cinnamon sugar afterwards. One batch makes quite a bit. I was enough to feed my family of 6 breakfast on one batch. Yum! 

    Reply
  15. Cheri says

    Posted on 8/18 at 1:02 pm

    How do you think this recipe would work with an air fryer?

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 8/18 at 8:52 pm

      I’m not entirely sure as I haven’t tested it in an air fryer.

      Reply
  16. Allyssa says

    Posted on 6/10 at 12:39 am

    These were delicious and fun to make. The only issue I had was getting them to form a ball. I think I ended up with donut blobs instead 😂. The family loved them though and put in a weekly request for them!

    Reply
  17. Lynda Alderton says

    Posted on 5/26 at 5:51 pm

    Can I freeze these? I was wondering about lightly fryng them, freezing them and then when I need them to finish them off in the deepfry – roll and pipe at this stage. Glad to know if anyone has tried this? Thanks

    Reply
  18. Kai says

    Posted on 5/22 at 12:07 pm

    What happens if you use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar?

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 5/23 at 8:56 am

      I haven’t tested the recipe that way so I can’t say for sure.

      Reply
      • Olivia Byrne says

        Posted on 7/17 at 7:14 am

        Made these tonight for the family and they went off like a frog in a sock! I had the sense to double the recipe and I’m glad I did. Everyone loved them and kept coming back for more. So might and delicious. I used two spoons to make the balls, and rolled them in cinnamon sugar. Outstanding recipe, truly simple and amazing!

        Reply
  19. Betha says

    Posted on 5/8 at 12:27 pm

    These doughnuts are fantastic! They’re surprisingly light and fluffy, and the taste is positively phenomenal! I ended up covering them in a basic glaze, and everyone in the house loved them! I’ll probably make these again, and again, and again!

    Reply
  20. Inna says

    Posted on 4/27 at 1:41 am

    I tried these tonight and they turned out really great! Both kids and my husband loved them (husband actually said that they are the best donuts he’s ever had :)), and I did too. And I have zero experience with deep frying so this is definitely a fool proof recipe.
    Thank you!

    Reply
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