Easy, from-scratch, no yeast donut holes! These homemade donuts can be mixed up and fried in minutes! A great guide for making donuts on your own at home!
I spent six years of my life shackled to a deep fry station.
I exaggerate a bit, I wasn’t exactly shackled (only by the need for a paycheck to keep my college from slamming its door in my face each semester), and it was more often the drive-thru window or the sandwich station that I found myself stuck overseeing, but in the six years that I worked for a particular red-hatted fast food company, I experienced a lot of deep frying and bathed my fair share of curly fries and chicken tenders in sizzling wells of golden-brown (more often brown-brown) oil.
And, every evening when I would punch out to go home, my clothes, hair, and skin would be saturated with the distinct scent of all things deep fried.
So I think that might be why it’s taken me so long to share anything on my site that’s been fried, despite the fact that deep fried desserts are truly some next-level stuff… 6 years of scrubbing oil out of your (already acne-prone) pores will do that to you (and if I never see another curly fry in my life, that’s just fine by me).
But today, I’m finally breaking my no-fry streak with these incredibly easy, bite-sized, no yeast homemade donut holes, made with my versatile no yeast cinnamon roll dough and fried until golden-perfection.
Deep frying can be a little messy, but it’s quick, and the results are well-worth any cleanup. These donut holes need to only fry for about 3 and a half minutes (do them in batches of about 4-5 at a time), then roll them in cinnamon/sugar (or powdered sugar — makes them taste like funnel cake or fried dough) and you’re done. Coupled with the fact that the dough is also very simple to make and comes together easily, you can easily have home-fried donuts ready for eating in under 30 minutes.
I’m not sure there’s anything quite as beautiful as watching homemade donuts floating in golden oil until they’re cooked to perfection <3
Except maybe eating said hot homemade donuts.
To be honest, I have quite a few homemade donut hole recipes coming up (ones with surprises tucked inside), but I wanted to share this basic recipe first, as it’s going to be the foundation for the future ones.
Stay tuned, and Happy Friday!
Donut Holes (Fried, No Yeast)
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil or canola oil for frying
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 Tbsp butter cold
- ¾ cups milk
For rolling
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix.
- Using a pastry cutter cut butter into your flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add milk and mix until all ingredients are combined.
- Transfer dough onto a well-floured surface, and knead gently until it forms a cohesive ball. If dough is too sticky to manage, continue to work in flour until it is smooth and manageable (I've found on hot days or if my butter isn't cold enough the dough can be quite sticky)
- Break off approximately 1 ½ Tbsp-sized pieces of dough and roll into smooth, tight balls. Set aside.
- Fill a medium-sized saucepan 2-inches deep with your oil over medium-high heat. Use a candy thermometer (make sure it isn't touching the bottom of the pot) to monitor your temperature.
- Heat oil to 350F (you will have to monitor the heat pretty regularly and may need to increase/decrease your stove temperature to keep it consistent).
- While your oil is heating, prepare your cinnamon/sugar mix by stirring together cinnamon and sugar in a small dish. Set aside.
- Prepare two plates for your cooked donut holes by lining them generously with paper towels.
- Once oil has reached 350F, very carefully fry your donut holes, about 4 at a time, carefully transferring them to the oil with a slotted spoon (don't drop them in or the oil may splash, lower them into the oil instead).
- Fry donut holes for approximately 3.5 minutes*, remove carefully with a slotted spoon, and place them on a paper towel laden plate. Allow them to sit for about 30 seconds and then use another spoon to transfer them to your cinnamon/sugar dish, roll them in the topping until fully covered, and then transfer to your other paper towel lined plate.
- Repeat until all donut holes are cooked and have been rolled in cinnamon sugar.
- These donuts are best enjoyed warm/hot, and do not carry over well to the next day.
Notes
While these should take about 3.5 minutes under optimal conditions with a consistent oil temperature of 350F, it's still important to check so that you don't end up with 1 ½ dozen donuts that are still gooey in the middle!
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase anything through these links I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please view the disclosure policy for more information. Thank you for supporting the companies that support Sugar Spun Run!
Recommended Tools:
PIN IT:
You May Also Like:
Cookie Dough Stuffed Donut Holes (No Yeast!)
Inside Out Cinnamon Roll Donut Holes (with Cream Cheese Filling)
Easy Cinnamon Rolls (no yeast)
Featherhead
Would this recipe work using an air-fryer instead of deep-frying?
Sam
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. Since it is more of a dough than a batter I think it could work.
grace
tried it, it became too dry and cracked. make sure to brush it with oil everytime you check.
grace
Final comment on Air Fryer version: actually even if it looks dry and cracked, it turned out great! its like a turnover dough when you use air fyer. its crusty but just enough, sooo yummy! and less oil definitely!
I will experiment on using tuna filling instead of cheese next time 💕. tip if you’re planning to use this recipe but baked in airfryer. make sure to brush it with oil every 10 mins or everytime you check it. I baked it in the air fryer for 30 mins. with 140-180 c settings.
Sam
Thank you for the feedback. 🙂
Gabriel Clune
I loved it
Until I got a mouthful of baking soda when I bit into the donut
If I’m doing something wrong tell me but I am not a fan
Sam
Oh no, Gabriel! The recipe calls for baking powder; 1 Tablespoon of baking soda would be quite an extreme amount and it’s not surprising you could taste it. I think if you try it again with baking powder you will have much better results! <3
Gabriel Clune
Soooo sorry for the bad review. They are delicious I’m still new to this so I thought baking powder and baking soda are the same thing I tried it again and they are delicious
Sam
I’m so glad they turned out. It’s nice to hear a good success story and I commend your efforts to try it again. Happy baking! 🙂
Yom
I got two dozen out of this recipe. I rolled half of then in cinnamon and sugar and the other half in sugar glaze. My wife got into them as soon as she came in the door.
Joe
These seemed a bit too crumbly. They fell apart. I assume I didn’t work the dough enough to develop the gluten. They also grow a lot, so be sure to make them 1/3 the size you want to end up with.
Zoe
Great recipe worked out perfect 👌
Sallykolone
Thank you Sam!!! It’s yummy and satisfying and want more hahaha. Thank you for sharing.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂