These old fashioned sour cream donuts are cakey, tender, and made with no yeast! Fried to perfection and dipped in a simple vanilla glaze, these donuts are easy to make and are a classic favorite.
Once you’ve tried a fresh, warm, homemade sour cream donut you’ll never be able to enjoy one from a bakery the same way again! Like my popular donut hole recipe, these are great to make with no yeast or rising required! Recipe also includes a step-by-step video.
Some mornings you just need a donut for breakfast.
Maybe it’s not as ideal as, say, a homemade granola bar, but the weather today is at least 30 degrees cooler than it was last Monday, it’s grey outside, the wind is howling, and the baby pool in our backyard (Leia’s) that was empty on Friday is about to overflow with rain. The weather forecast says that things aren’t expected to look any brighter this week as hurricane Florence heads for the East Coast (stay safe, everyone).
This gloomy morning I could go for a donut, a freshly fried sour cream donut. With vanilla glaze. I bet you could go for one, too?
Honestly, I wish I’d waited for this cooler weather to come before I started experimenting with this recipe. I spent a few hot summer days standing over a Dutch Oven full of oil working on perfecting these sour cream donuts, but ultimately it was worth it.
These donuts are tender, cakey, and packed with flavor. My recipe uses a combination of both white sugar and brown sugar, egg yolks only (no whites), and a full tablespoon of cornstarch for the best sour cream donut recipe out there (in my humble opinion, of course 😉).
Also see my yeast-raised homemade donut recipe
Tips for Making Sour Cream Donuts
- I do not recommend baking these donuts, they are meant to be fried for best results. If you’re looking for a good baked donut recipe please check out my baked Snickerdoodle Donuts, my baked Pumpkin Donuts, or my baked Chocolate Donuts. I do not own an air fryer so I’m not sure how they would work in one of those (but if you try it out please let me know!).
- Don’t skip the chilling. Chilling the dough for an hour is mandatory, otherwise it will be too sticky to roll out. It’s also important that your donuts be chilled before frying, they will need to be cold in order for them to hold their shape when you transfer them to the oil.
- If your glaze begins to solidify while your donuts are frying, just pop it in the microwave for a few more seconds and give it a good stir.
- If you’re feeling too lazy to make the glaze (been there) you can just dip these donuts in sugar or a cinnamon/sugar mixture instead. It’s quicker, easier, and my taste-testing siblings enjoyed the sugared donuts just as much as the glazed ones.
Enjoy!
More Recipes to Try:
My video for these Sour Cream Donuts is at the bottom of the recipe! If you enjoy watching my cooking videos, I’d love it if you would consider subscribing to my YouTube channel <3
Sour Cream Donuts
Ingredients
- Vegetable or canola oil, for frying
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (42g)
- ¼ cup sugar (50g)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (50g)
- 2 large egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup sour cream (160g)
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (267g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg optional
Glaze**
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (185g)
- ¼ cup salted butter melted (57g)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½-2 Tablespoons hot water
Instructions
- Combine butter and sugars in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamed together.
- Add egg yolks and beat until ingredients are well combined.
- Add vanilla extract and sour cream and stir well (be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl if using a stand mixer).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cornstarch, salt, and nutmeg (if using).
- Add dry ingredients to wet and use a spatula and stir by hand until ingredients are combined (I don't recommend using your electric mixer at this point, you don't want to over-work the ingredients or it can make your donuts tough).
- Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Once dough has chilled, remove from refrigerator and turn out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll to about ½" thickness and use a donut cutter to cut out donuts (save the holes, I always fry the donut holes as well!).
- Re-group any scraps and work them together, re-roll out, and repeat to cut out as many donuts as possible from your dough.
- Transfer cut out donut shapes to a wax paper lined cookie sheet and return to the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes while you heat your oil.
- While dough is chilling, fill a Dutch oven at least 2-3" deep with canola or vegetable oil. Fix a candy thermometer to the edge (make sure it is in the oil but not touching the bottom of the pan) and set your heat to medium-low. Oil will need to reach 350-360F (175-185C) before you can continue. Meanwhile, prepare your glaze.
- To prepare the glaze, combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and hot water in a small bowl and whisk or stir until smooth. Set aside.
- Once oil has reached 350-360F (175-185C), remove donuts from the refrigerator and use tongs to carefully transfer donuts or donut holes in the oil, just 3 or 4 at a time. Adding donuts will cause your oil temperature to drop, so make sure you allow it to come back to the correct temperature between batches.
- Allow to cook for about 1-1 ½ minutes and then use tongs to flip. Cook another 1-1 ½ minutes and then use tongs to remove them from the oil and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Allow to cool 1-5 minutes.
- Dip donuts in prepared glaze and then transfer to a cooling rack to allow the glaze to set.
- Enjoy warm. Donuts will keep for several days in an airtight container at room temperature, but they really taste best warm and freshly fried.
Macy
Just okay. Followed the recipe to a T and they just didn’t have the texture I was hoping for. They still seemed too heavy for my families liking. Oh well! The flavor was good though!
Sam
Glad you enjoyed the flavor! Sour cream donuts are by nature heavier/denser than classic yeast-raised donuts, it sounds like you might be looking for that recipe instead 🙂
mj
can i substitute buttermilk coz i dont have sour cream and how much buttermilk should i use?
Sam
I’m not sure how buttermilk will work in this recipe as I haven’t tested it that way. Plain Greek yogurt would work as a 1:1 substitute, if you have that on hand.
Mj
I have yogurt! Omg thank you so much, I’ve tried your donut and it’s sooooo good which makes me want to make more but I run out of sour cream, gladly I have yogurt😊
lola
I made these yesterday and they did not turn out well! I usually love all your recipes but this time my donuts just crumbled in the oil!! as they were in the oil, the donuts jsut fell apart into pieces 🙁
Sam
Oh no! How was the dough for you? Was it easily manageable/easy to cut out and was it still cold when the donuts were added to the oil? Were any substitutions made? And was the oil at the proper temperature? I’d love to help you troubleshoot!
Neera
Really easy recipe and the donuts turned out perfect!
Mommaof4
Could these be baked?
Sam
Hi! Unfortunately I have not tried baking these and so am not sure how they will turn out. If you do try it, please let me know how it works for you! Alternatively I do have a baked donut recipe.
Alyssa
These doughnuts were delicious. The instructions were easy to follow, which was crucial especially since this was my first time making them.
Thank you for sharing.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Alyssa! 🙂
Lindsey
I made these sour cream doughnuts on Saturday and they were SOOO good😋
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Lindsey! 🙂
Jillian Penny
OMG!! Made these twice this week!! lol
So good!!! Thank you so much! This was my first time making donuts and they were perfect!!! xo
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jillian! 🙂
Kristen M Bechtel
Do you think I can make the dough and refrigerate over night? Fry in morning?
Sam
Hi Kristen! I haven’t tried it, but I think it could work. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
James K
Stellar recipe. Did the version with nutmeg. Added an extra tsp of vanilla to the glaze.
Could not find my donut cutter so last minute took an old pill container and cut the tabs off then filed down with a nail file to make it smooth. Worked perfectly for donut holes!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, James! Sometimes you have to use whatever you have available. 🙂
Russ
Amazing! For my money they’re as good as any bakery sour cream doughnuts. making them right now for the 2nd time in a week.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy them so much, Russ! 🙂
CHRISTA M MENDOZA
Just curious if you could substitute milk instead of water for the glaze?
Sam
Hi Christa! That should work the glaze will just be thicker. 🙂
Meera
I made it and i am glad i chose your recipe. They came out so good.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Msush
So delicious and the tips for success were delightful!
Michelle
I tried these in an air fryer. They came out yummy, but too dry. We’ll try oil next time. Thanks for the recipe!
Sam
Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad they still tasted good. 🙂