This Homemade Donuts recipe is mega popular! Ultra soft, light, airy and they are sinfully addictive. I have provided countless tips and tricks to achieve the most amazing doughnuts you'll ever make. It's as light as biting into a cloud.
Looking for yeast bread recipes? Try my easy pizza dough recipe or the parmesan bread bites next!
👉 This homemade donuts recipe has been a reader favorite since I first shared the recipe in 2017. This one pin on Pinterest has garnered over 24,000 impressions! It was updated with more details in March 2025.
These are hands down the best glazed homemade doughnuts you’ll ever make at home! They’re almost as good as Krispy Kreme. Since our favorite doughnuts are 32 miles away, I created this recipe to satisfy our cravings!
I've made it countless times, Google Gods love it and a reader favorite for years. They practically melt in your mouth when you take a bite like the homemade garlic knots!!
👉 Is it donuts or doughnuts? Doughnut was the original spelling in the early 1800s, while donut is an American variant that gained popularity after Dunkin' Donuts launched in the late 1800s.
You will find two types of yeast in the grocery store - active dry and instant. Active dry yeast is dried at higher temperature whereas the instant is dried at more gentle temperatures. So, according to Cook's Illustrated, substituting equal amounts for one of the other will not provide the same results.
Jump to:
- The Secret
- Featured comments
- Ingredients you'll need
- Glaze Variations
- How to make soft donuts at home?
- What is the best temperature to deep fry donuts?
- How to cut donut shapes without a donut cutter?
- Helpful tips
- Trouble shooting
- How to store leftover homemade donuts?
- Recipe FAQs
- More tasty treats
- Homemade Donuts Recipe
The Secret
The secret of this homemade donuts recipe is in the right proportion of ingredients and the sponge. Traditionally used in sour dough bread making, sponge is a bubbled mixture of flour and wet ingredients that is very sticky. The two-step process of forming gluten allows to create the base for an airy texture just like a homemade bread. They are ultra soft, light and airy as a cloud.
Featured comments
From Mags: "OMG!!!! first try absolutely amazing. Totally delicious. Thank you for sharing. Had to use instant yeast but worked perfectly" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
From Cynthia: "These by far are the best donuts I have ever made. I've tried other recipes but ended up with dense not good donuts. I will make these again" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
From Rachel: "I make these almost everyday 🙂 I'm a baker and have eaten and made so many donuts! This recipe is the best because its light, not greasy and blows everyone away. Other bakeries go for brioche, but they are so much denser and more bread like! These are soft and memorable! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Here are some photos shared by our readers who’ve tried the recipe!
Ingredients you'll need
Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.
- Milk - The amount of milk is key. During frying, the moisture turns into steam, creating hollow pockets as the moisture tries to escape. I like to use full fat whole milk for it's richness.
- Butter - Butter is fat and water. When it's heated, the water turns into steam., which then lifts the dough and helps in creating a light and airy texture.
- Yeast - Make sure that the yeast is fresh. Yeast is a living organism and is best stored in the freezer.
- Eggs -It's crucial to have the eggs at room temperature. Cold eggs will hinder the yeast's ability to activate.
- All purpose flour - It provides structure and texture in the homemade donuts recipe. It has 10 to 11 percent protein when compared to 12 to 14 percent protein in bread flour. Lesser protein all purpose flour minimizes gluten formation and thus creating super tender yeast doughnuts.
- Nutmeg - Do not buy pre ground nutmeg. Buy whole nutmegs and grate fresh for this homemade donuts recipe.
- Oil - I like to use neutral oils, such as vegetable oil, canola oil or sunflower oil, because it has a high smoke point. Peanut oil will also work great! If you use an oil with a low smoke point, the oil will burn as the fat breaks down, imparting an unpleasant taste.
Glaze Variations
- Chocolate - Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder along with confectioners sugar.
- Sprinkle - Stir in fine colored sprinkles into the glaze.
- Maple - Replace vanilla extract with maple flavoring.
- Flavorings - Use orange zest, bourbon or rum instead of vanilla.
How to make soft donuts at home?
You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
1. Make a sponge- Add milk, butter, yeast, eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg and 2 cups of flour into a stand mixer and mix to create a very soft and sticky dough. This is secret in achieving a fluffy crumb! This method is usually adopted in making making Asian style breads that is very light and airy.
👩🍳 Use the right amount of liquid—too much makes the dough too loose, while too little results in a dry dough where gas bubbles struggle to form.
2. Add remaining flour and knead to a soft dough, using the dough hook. The dough should stick to the bottom and little bit to the sides. Don't worry - This is due to high moisture content and this is essential in creating a best homemade donut recipe.
👉 Soft dough equals soft homemade doughnuts. Do not be tempted to mix in more flour!
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Pro tip: If you like to make it by hand, then mix for about 5 minutes, using a wooden spoon in step-1 and another 5-6 minutes in step-2 of the recipe.
3. Let dough rise for about 1 and ½ hours, until doubled in volume. Find the warmest spot in your kitchen , like a sunny window, near the stove top or in a luke warm oven.
4 & 5. Shape the dough - Dump the homemade donut dough onto a floured kitchen counter, Roll ½ inch to ¾ inch thick, dusting the top with flour as well. Cut doughnut shapes and place on floured cookie sheets. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place again in the same warm spot for about 30-60 minutes, until they almost double in size.
Deep fry homemade donuts in moderate heat, until pale golden on both sides. Drain on paper towel. Remove when they are light golden in color and not get dark in color.
Tip: Don't overcrowd! Adding too many donuts will cause the oil temperature to drop rapidly and your doughnuts might absorb some oil, making them greasy.
Make glaze - Stir confectioners sugar, water, salt and vanilla extract, until you get the drippy consistency. Dip the tops or both sides in glaze and place on a wire rack for glaze to set.
What is the best temperature to deep fry donuts?
The best temperature of oil to deep fry is 330-340 degrees F. If you own a deep fry thermometer then this is great time to use. Hotter oil will get the outside brown fast before the doughnuts have a chance to rise, whereas cooler oil will cause them to absorb oil and might make them greasy.
How do you know if the oil is ready? Pinch a small piece of dough and add into the oil. It should take about a minute to get golden in color.
👉 Did you know? When you drop the homemade donuts in the hot oil, the rapid change in temperature causes the air bubbles inside the dough, to expand bringing in lightness to the doughnuts.
How to cut donut shapes without a donut cutter?
If you don't have a donut cutter, you can still make donut shapes using common kitchen tools. Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to about ½ to ¾ inch thick. Use any of the following methods to cut donuts:
Cicle cookie cutter: Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out circles.
Other kitchen objects: You can use like a drinking glass or a small bowl to cut out the outer shape of the donut.
Knife: Using a sharp paring knife, cut out a circle, then carve a smaller circle in the center to form the donut shape. While it may be less uniform, it gets the job done.
To cut the inner holes: Use the wide end of a large piping tip to cut out the holes, as we did to shape the Halloween chips. You could also use a bottle cap or a shot glass to cut out the holes.
Helpful tips
- Oil temperature - The magic temperature is 330-340 degrees F. Hotter will get the outside brown fast before the homemade donuts have a chance to rise fully in the oil. If you own a deep fry thermometer then this is great time to use. If not, medium heat is perfect and test one doughnut - it should take about a minute on each side to get golden. Adjust heat accordingly.
- Color, color, color - Pale golden and not any darker. Letting the homemade donuts brown will form a crusty outside, but not the light texture we are aiming for.
- Measure flour correctly - Adding too much flour to the homemade donut recipe is the most common mistake and will make your glazed donuts dense. The best way to measure -fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
Trouble shooting
Not fluffy - There could be several reasons for this:
- Yeast not active - Yeast is a living organism that, when activated with liquid, it creates air bubbles that gives the homemade donuts its rise and fluffy texture. Yeast needs to be tested to ensure it’s still alive and ready to work as intended.
- Dough did not rise enough - If the yeast was expired or the liquids was too hot or cold, then it will kill the yeast.
- There was more flour - Measure your flour and other ingredients correctly. More than needed flour will cause the homemade donuts to become dense.
How to store leftover homemade donuts?
These homemade donuts are absolutely best when fresh! However, unglazed donuts can be refrigerated, in an air tight container for up to 4 days (warm in the microwave for few seconds before eating). It can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature, beyond that the glaze begins to get sticky.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! However, the only issue is that half the recipe might be too less for the stand mixer. Otherwise, it does not affect the result in any way.
Self raising flour has rising agents, like baking powder or baking soda in it, So, this will not work when combined with yeast.
I have not tried this recipe with instant yeast. However, the general rule is if that if a recipe calls for 1 ¼ teaspoons of active dry yeast, use 1 teaspoon of instant yeast.
When working with active dry yeast, you don’t have to proof it separately. It works just as well however you will have to make sure the temperature of ingredients are exactly as mentioned in the recipe.
More tasty treats
Homemade Donuts Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups milk, lukewarm (whole milk or 2%)
- 1 stick unsalted butter ( ½ cup ), room temperature
- 4 and ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 and ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 5 cups + ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, divided
- additional flour for dusting
- vegetable oil, for deep frying
Glaze
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
- 5 to 6 tablespoons water
- 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 pinches salt
Instructions
To make doughnuts
- Combine first 7 ingredients (milk through nutmeg) and 2 cups all purpose flour in the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat on medium speed with a flat beater for 2-3 minutes (dough will look like slightly curdled cake batter).
- Add remaining all purpose flour ( 3 cups + ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons ) and switch to a dough hook, knead on medium speed for additional 3 minutes (dough will be very soft).Remove bowl from the mixer, scrape the sides of the bowl and cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel and place in the warmest spot in your kitchen. Let dough rise for about 1 ½ hours or until doubled in size.Pro tip: Soft dough equals soft doughnuts. Do not be tempted to mix in more flour!
- Dust working surface liberally with all purpose flour, Dump dough and dust flour on top. Gently roll into ½ to ¾th inch thick, cut circles with a doughnut cutter Tip: Don't have a donut cutter? Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter (a wide mouth canning ring would also work) and the fat end of a large piping tip to cut the holes.
- Place doughnuts and holes on two lightly floured cookie sheets, spacing about an inch apart. Cover with a kitchen towel, let rise again for 45 - 60 minutes.
- Line a large baking sheet with paper towels and place a wire rack on top.
- When ready to fry, add vegetable oil in a large dutch oven until comes to about 2-inches height. Place over medium high heat until 330 to 340 degrees (use a deep fry thermometer , refer notes if you do not own one). Deep fry about 4 doughnuts at a time (do not overcrowd the pan), until golden brown on both sides (45-60 seconds per side). Remove doughnuts onto the cooling rack.Tip: How do you know if the oil is ready? Pinch a small piece of dough and add into the oil. It should take about a minute to get golden in color. Pro Tip - Deep fry only until pale golden and not any darker! Letting the homemade donuts brown will form a crusty outside, but not the light texture we are aiming for.
- Repeat until all doughnuts and holes have been fried. Pro tip: Yeast releases carbon dioxide gas, forming thousands of tiny air pockets inside the cut donut dough, causing it to rise. When the risen dough hits the hot oil, those air pockets expand further giving a high rise.
Glaze doughnuts
- In a medium bowl, whisk all glaze ingredients until smooth. Begin by adding 5 tablespoons water and then a touch more if glaze seems thick.
- Working with one doughnut at a time, dip one side of each doughnut into the glaze and return to the wire rack. Let glaze set for about 20 minutes before serving. We never wait that long around here:)
- These soft glazed doughnuts are best eaten hot!!! However, to enjoy them later (but not more than a day) microwave one doughnut for 7 seconds.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
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tahneek sattar
hi there i was wondering if i could put the dough in the fridge overnight and make the batch the next day would that over proof it?
Maria Doss
Hi Tahneek, I'm sorry, you could take that route, but the doughnuts don't turn out as soft as the ones made right away - Maria
Tim Wren
I've made these a time or two and the texture is always perfect! The best homemade donut recipe I've ever tried. However, every time I make these, I notice I always end up with far fewer than 25. Last time I think I got twenty, maybe twenty two. This time I only got fifteen (and fifteen donut holes, for each one). Do you have any advice? I'm pretty sure the round cutter I'm using is three inches across
Maria Doss
Hi Tim,
My guess is that rolled dough is a little thicker than it's supposed to be. Try rolling a bit thinner to get more doughnuts, Maria
Mags
OMG!!!! first try absolutely amazing. Totally delicious. Thank you for sharing. Had to use instant yeast but worked perfectly.
Maria Doss
Thank you Mags, happy to hear that, Maria
Sharon Cole
For the flour… I know typically you would use it packed, but do you pack it then sift it or are the measurements already sifted? Makes a big difference! Thanks!
Maria Doss
Hi Sharon, This recipe requires it to be measured packed (without sifting). Wishing you a wonderful holidays and new year, Maria
Monica
I can't wait to try this recipe. After thoroughly reading thru the posts, I've learned quite a lot and most of my questions have been addressed, thanks to everyone's input. I have only one question remaining, and that is, I live in a high-altitude area. Should I make adjustments to the ingredients by increasing or decreasing anything?
Maria Doss
Hi Monica, We do not have any readers trying at a high altitude. One note that we would like to offer is that lower air pressure at high altitude (over 3,000 feet) allows the yeast to rise 25 to 50 percent faster, and the drier air makes the flour drier. So, please adjust the rising time accordingly, Maria
Maria
Hi I just made these on firday but they are anything but light and fluffy. I dont know what I did wrong.
Also what do you do with the rest of the dough after cutting them?
I had so much. I did reroll and cut those out too.
? Over mixed maybe?
They are so heavy
Maria Doss
Hi Maria, Here are a few things that might have gone wrong for not yielding a light and fluffy donuts-
1. Yeast is towards the expiring stage
2. Eggs/Butter should be at room temperature and milk lukewarm (105°F to 115°F) ---> The temperature of ingredients added is CRITICAL when working with yeast dough. Any colder or hotter ingredient will inhibit the yeast from blooming.
3. Dough was not risen enough.
4. Roll and handle the dough with gentle hands so that we don't deflate the dough.
Place excess dough (after cutting/before second rise) on a parchment lined baking sheet, wrap well and freeze for a few days. Thaw them at room temperature, and let rise at a warm place until doubled in size. Deep fry as instructed.
Hope it helps, Maria
Monica
I made it! Best ever glazed donut recipe I've ever tried. It pays to read thru the comments. I learned a lot. This dough is as light as a cloud when ready for frying, so handling is tricky. I took the suggestion from one of the commentators of placing them individually on square parchment cut-outs, which I was out of, so I used waxed paper instead. Worked really well. I'm not as proficient at "multi-tasking" as I used to be, so I fried them one at a time, thus giving each fluffy puff of dough my undivided attention. I made the traditional glaze and for a little variety, some chocolate and maple. I filled a few with Bavarian Cream, using a basting injector syringe that I've had in my drawer, forever! Everyone loved them. From now on, this will be my "go-to" for donut-making.
Maria Doss
Hi Monica, Thanks you for the detailed feed back. I love the idea Bavarian cream filling, YUM - Maria
Cynthia
These by far are the best donuts I have ever made. I've tried other recipes but ended up with dense not good donuts. I will make these again.
Maria Doss
Hi Cynthia, Happy to hear hun, Maria
William
These are amazing donuts. Have you made twist donuts out of this recipe. If so how many grams of dough you use for each teist...
Maria Doss
Hi William, I'm not sure that this donut recipe will work for twisted donuts, because the dough is very soft and you might have a difficult time getting perfect looking twists - Maria
Rachel
I make these almost everyday 🙂 I'm a baker and have eaten and made so many donuts! This recipe is the best because its light, not greasy and blows everyone away. Other bakeries go for brioche, but they are so much denser and more bread like! These are soft and memorable!
Maria Doss
Happy to hear hun, Maria
Gadija Kaldine
Made these Doughnuts & came out delicious. Will share this recipe with family & friends. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Maria Doss
Hi Gadija, Glad you loved the doughnuts. Have a great weekend, Maria
Rosita
First try. Awesome, super soft and fluffy...best donut from scratch..I definitely gotta keep this recipe on my phone so I don't have to forget in the near present and future time. So unbelievable amazing, this is definitely my way on bonding with my kids. Love to bake and cook. This recipe was my first choice for trying something new. Thanks
Maria Doss
Happy to hear hun, have a great Sunday - Maria
Marion
I’m making these tomorrow. Will using cake flour create a fluffier texture?
Maria Doss
Hi Marion, Hmm... these are very fluffy using just all purpose flour. May be you could try replacing half the flour with cake flour - Maria
Krista
Excellent recipe. My family loves them and I'm excited to make them again. Im curious if I can use this recipe to make donuts with filling instead of making a donut hole. Also would love to make a dutchie style donut by adding raisins. Has anyone adapted the recipe to do either of those things?
Maria Doss
Glad to hear hun. You could totally make them without a hole for jelly filled donuts (make sure that they are not too big in size). We don't have any readers try the Dutch style, but it should work just fine. Our guess is that it might not be as light and airy due the dried fruits addition. However, it sounds super delish. Hope it helps - Maria
Katy
Is the cooking time the same if you do not cut a donut hole?
I am planning to make these for my daughter's birthday party which is at 10am. Am I ok to make them the night before or should i get up very early?
Maria Doss
Hi Katy,
May be 10 to 20 seconds more, but make sure they don't get darker in color (this is one of the crucial tip to get the softest donuts).
If you want the best results then we will suggest waking up early 😔 However, some of our readers have had success with refrigerating (wrap the pan with plastic wrap) the donuts overnight (after the first rise), leaving at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours, until thawed and to rise again, before deep frying.
Hope it helps and wishing your daughter a wonderful birthday - Maria
K
Has anyone made this at High Altitude? Any Comments appreciated.
Anxious to try this recipe!
Rather Not Say
I love this recipe, but I don’t live at High Altitude Area
Maria Doss
This recipe is designed for normal altitude and not high altitude - Maria
Randy Lee Gilmore
This recipe is fantastic! I did activate the yeast first. Amazing donuts!
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear, so glad you loved it - Maria ♡
Michael
No matter how much I tried to coat my rolling pin as well as doughnut cutter with flower it just kept sticking it was a total mess. I finally had to add 7 cups of flower to it and even then it was so liquid that it flowed into a bread baking pan. So Plan B, its in the proofing oven now and is rising very nicely so hoping I end up with some good sweet bread. The only way that recipe would work for me is if I had an extruder with a knife and it fell directly into the hot oil.
Maria Doss
Hi Michael, So sorry to hear that you had trouble with this donut recipe. My guess would be that liquid measurement was much higher than mentioned in the recipe - Maria
Courtney
Do you activate the yeast first? If so how do you do this?
Maria Doss
Hi Courtney, When working with active dry yeast, you don’t have to proof it separately. However, if you like it activate it separately, then here are the instructions:
1. Before beginning with step-1, stir 1 1/2 cups LUKEWARM milk, 4 1/2 tsps yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl.
2. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. The mixture would have thickened and look foamy.
4. Add all this into the stand mixer along with 1 stick room temperature butter, 3 room temperature eggs, remaining 4 tablespoons sugar, 1 1/2 tsps salt, 1 tsp grated nutmeg and 2 cups all purpose flour.
5. Beat on medium speed with a flat beater for 2-3 minutes (dough will look like slightly curdled cake batter).
6. Proceed with step-2 in the recipe.
Hope it helps, Maria
G
The recipe was terrible and did not work. I wanted to make it as a treat for my friend who’s getting knee surgery and it quite literally tasted like a pizza crust. It also did not cook fully without turning almost black. I tried less oil, in the oven and deep frying and nothing worked. 10/10 do not recommend.
Maria Doss
We're sorry to hear that this didn't work out for you. This recipe has been highly popular since it was shared in 2017 with rave reviews. We're not sure where things went wrong, but if you could provide more details, we'd be happy to help troubleshoot and figure out what happened. Happy holidays - Maria
J
OooOoooOoooo!!! Love this recipe I just started venturing into donuts and this recipe was perfect . I have to admit I was VERY tempted to add more flour but I trusted the process and they came out really nice . The second time I added dough softener to the recipe and they were ultra fluffy and soft, my husband ate 6 right away 😂 . I’ll definitely be making donuts instead of cinnamon rolls now on Sunday's !
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear, so glad you loved it - Maria ♡