Making homemade glazed doughnuts is easier than you think, but requires a little patience. Ready in about 2.5 hours, these taste like doughnuts from your favorite bakery, but they’re made in the comfort of your own home. For doughnut success, follow my step-by-step photos, helpful success tips, and video tutorial. Using this same doughnut dough, you can create other flavored frosted doughnuts too!
With that signature bakery taste and texture, doughnuts from a doughnut shop are incredibly delicious and indulgent. When you can’t pick up your favorite doughnuts, why not make them at home instead? They’ve always been a baking bucket list recipe for me, and today I’m taking you on a deep dive into homemade doughnuts—fried, sugary, old-fashioned, and comforting. I originally shared this recipe in 2016, and I now have more step-by-step photos and a video tutorial to guide you.
There’s a lot to cover today, so let’s get started!
These Homemade Glazed Doughnuts Are:
- Soft and sweet
- Flavored with a little nutmeg
- Completely from scratch
- Ready in about 2.5 hours (most of this is rise time!)
- A fun and delicious weekend project
- Perfect for sharing
Best Ingredients to Use for Homemade Doughnuts
This is a straightforward, no-frills yeasted dough. You need just a few ingredients to begin:
- Milk: Liquid activates the yeast. Whole milk is a must for a super tender dough—or you can try buttermilk. Lower-fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch, but the doughnuts aren’t as flavorful or rich.
- Yeast: You can use active dry yeast or instant yeast. If using an instant yeast, your rise time will be a little shorter.
- Sugar: Sugar sweetens the doughnuts, but it also feeds the yeast, increases its activity, and tenderizes the dough.
- Eggs: Eggs provide structure and flavor.
- Butter: Melted butter promises enhanced flavor.
- Salt & Vanilla Extract: Both add flavor. You could even try using homemade vanilla extract!
- Nutmeg: A little nutmeg is the secret ingredient to that cozy, comforting bakery taste. If you’ve ever made my chocolate chip muffins, you know it adds a delicious pop of flavor!
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the dough’s structure. You’ll be tempted to add more and more flour as you mix the dough, but don’t. You want a very soft, pillowy dough for soft, pillowy doughnuts. The dough can still be slightly sticky. When kneading, use extra flour on your hands and work surface.
Are You a Yeast Beginner?
Reference this Baking with Yeast Guide whenever you work with baker’s yeast. I include practical answers to all of your common yeast questions.
Overview: How to Make Homemade Glazed Doughnuts
Let me walk you through the process so you understand what you’re doing. Homemade glazed doughnuts seem a little intimidating, but I assure you—they’re really not! I find they’re much easier than, say, homemade bagels and homemade English muffins.
Prepare the dough. The dough comes together with a mixer. You can also make the dough by hand, but it requires a bit of arm muscle. After the dough comes together in the mixing bowl, knead it for 5–7 minutes. If you’re new to yeasted doughs, my how to knead dough post and video can help with this step.
Let the dough rise. In a relatively warm environment, the dough rises in about 90 minutes.
Punch down the dough to release the air.
Roll & cut into doughnuts. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut the doughnuts using a 3–3.5-inch doughnut cutter. Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Place doughnuts (and doughnut holes!) onto the lined baking sheet(s), then lightly cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes as you heat the oil.
Prepare the oil. Using a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven and an oil thermometer, heat vegetable oil to 375°F (191°C).
Fry the doughnuts. Working with 2–3 doughnuts at a time, cook for 1 minute on each side. Carefully remove from the oil and place onto prepared rack. Repeat with remaining doughnuts. (See my recipe note about making the doughnut holes.)
How to Make the Glaze for Donuts
Make a simple 3-ingredient glaze: just milk or cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract. This part couldn’t be easier; literally just whisk the 3 ingredients together. Dunk each side of the warm doughnuts into the glaze. The glaze will set in about 20 minutes.
Looking for other flavors? Try my strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla donut frostings or you might enjoy my maple bacon doughnuts!
This Dough Is Best for Frying
I don’t recommend baking this dough—this dough is best for frying in oil. If you’re looking for a baked donut, try crumb cake donuts, pumpkin donuts, cinnamon sugar donuts, or lemon poppy seed donuts instead. Here are all of my donut recipes.
Yes, absolutely. You’ll need a 3-inch biscuit or doughnut cutter without a hole in the center. Use the dough recipe below. Reduce the oil temperature to 350°F (177°C). Fry doughnuts for 1.5–2 minutes on each side, making sure to lower the stove’s temperature if the oil starts to get too hot. Let doughnuts cool for 5–10 minutes before filling. Jams or the pastry cream from this Boston cream pie are excellent fillings! Add filling to a piping bag fitted with a long tip such as Ateco 230. Insert the piping tip into the doughnut and fill until the doughnut feels heavy.
This dough is best for frying in oil. You can try using the air fryer, but the donuts will taste more bread-like, and more like baked donuts. For ideal results, I strongly recommend following the recipe.
Homemade Glazed Doughnuts
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 donuts and 12 holes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: American
Description
Making homemade glazed doughnuts is easier than you think, but requires a little patience. Ready in about 2.5 hours, these taste like doughnuts from your favorite bakery, but they’re made in the comfort of your own home. For doughnut success, follow my step-by-step photos, helpful success tips, and video tutorial below.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)*
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)*
- 1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- 1–2 quarts vegetable oil*
Donut Glaze
- 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Loosely cover and allow to sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy and frothy on top. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl, and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula is a better choice.*
- Add the remaining sugar, the eggs, butter, vanilla, nutmeg, salt, and 2 cups (about 250g) flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Add remaining flour and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If needed, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t add too much flour, though. You want a slightly sticky dough.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5-7 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5-7 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Let Dough Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1.5–2 hours or until double in size. (For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Shape Doughnuts: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Remove dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is 1/2 inch thick. Using a 3–3.5-inch doughnut cutter, cut into doughnuts. Re-roll the scraps and cut more. *If you don’t have a doughnut cutter, you can use 1 large + 1 smaller circle cookie cutter (large should be about 3 and 1/2 inches).
- Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Place doughnuts and doughnut holes on each. Loosely cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes as you heat the oil. They will rise a bit as they rest. Place a cooling rack over another baking sheet.
- Pour oil into a large heavy-duty pot fitted with an oil thermometer. Turn stove on to medium heat. Heat oil to 375°F (191°C). Add 2–3 doughnuts at a time and cook for 1 minute on each side. Carefully remove with a metal slotted spatula or metal slotted spoon. Be sure to lower stove’s temperature if oil temperature is rising; you want it to stay at 375°F (191°C). Wear kitchen gloves if oil is splashing. Place fried doughnuts onto prepared rack. Repeat with remaining doughnuts, then turn off heat.* (See Note for doughnut holes.)
- Make the glaze: Whisk all the glaze ingredients together. Dip each warm doughnut (don’t wait for them to cool!) into the glaze, making sure to coat both sides. Place back onto prepared rack, as excess glaze drips down. After about 20 minutes, the glaze will set.
- Doughnuts are best enjoyed the same day. You can store leftover doughnuts in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for another day or two.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Prepare recipe through step 5. Freeze shaped doughnuts for up to 3 months. On the day you serve them, let the doughnuts thaw and rest at room temperature for about 4–5 hours. Fry as directed. You can also freeze the fried doughnuts (unglazed). Allow them to cool completely, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired (microwave is great) and dunk in freshly made glaze.
- Overnight Instructions: Complete dough through step 3. Instead of allowing to rise in a warm environment in step 4, place the covered dough in the refrigerator overnight (8–12 hours). The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise in a warm environment until doubled. The dough will lightly rise in the refrigerator overnight, so the rise the next morning won’t take too long. After rising, continue with step 5.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer | Large Heavy Bottomed Pot or Dutch Oven | High-Heat Thermometer (I love this thermometer, too) | 3–3.5-inch Doughnut Cutter (I like this one and this one) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Metal Slotted Spatula | Cooling Rack | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk
- Doughnut Holes: Add holes to hot oil and fry until golden, about 30 seconds, on each side.
- Milk: Whole milk is a must for the most tender dough—or you can try buttermilk. Lower-fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch, but the doughnuts aren’t as flavorful or rich.
- Yeast: If using an instant yeast, your rise time will be a little shorter. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Oil: The amount of oil really depends on how wide or tall your pot is. You want oil to fill about 1/3 of the pot. I use a little more than 1 quart for my 4 and 1/2-quart Dutch oven.
- Leftover Oil: Do not pour used oil down the sink drain. Allow to cool, then pour into an empty container (a funnel is useful here) and discard in the trash or reuse it.
- Adapted from Mark Bittman and Top Pot Doughnuts
Hi! In step 2, this recipe says to “beat” the mixture. Should this be done with the beater or dough hook attachment on a stand mixer?
Thanks!!
Hi Nicole, you can use either the paddle attachment or the dough hook attachment. If you use the paddle attachment, you’ll want to switch to the dough hook for kneading in step 3 (or knead by hand instead.
I’m intrigued by this recipe! My oven has a bread proofing setting, which I’ve never used. Might this be a useful feature, or would it be a bad idea to use it?
Hi Tina! You can certainly use that, though we would keep an eye on the dough to make sure it isn’t proofing too quickly.
This is the best donut recipe on the face of the internet. Wow! I made these last night and I had one this morning… Oh my gosh, so soft and not too sweet!! I’ve tried multiple other donut recipes but they always soak up too much oil or they go bad by the next day… Not this recipe. I highly, highly recommend this if you’re craving donuts. You’ll impress anyone with this recipe!!
Can you use buttermilk instead of regular milk? And can you triple or quadruple recipe for a party?
Hi Jane, yes, you can use buttermilk in place of the whole milk. For best taste and texture, we recommend making separate batches rather than multiplying.
Hi! Can you replace nutmeg with cinnamon?
Hi Katie, you definitely can, but a little nutmeg is actually what gives doughnuts their signature flavor. But if you really don’t like the taste of nutmeg, you can leave it out or substitute cinnamon.
Love your recipes!!!
Wondering what type of oil do you prefer for frying the doughnuts?
I usually use vegetable or canola oil; you want a neutral oil with a high smoke point. Both are good choices.
these were amazing! Such a hit that I made a batch on Monday and doubled it on Wednesday and they were such a hit! I found that letting the remaining dough rest covered in a warm spot for a few minutes while i fried off the first batch made it way easier to work with and roll out.
Do you have any tips on frying off ones that don’t have a hole, ones that you would fill? I tried a few and found that the insides were slightly raw and the outside was browning a little too much for my liking
Hi J! You could try slightly lowering the temperature of the oil to fry for a little longer.
Want to really save time? Use Pillsbury biscuits instead of making dough! Roll out cut out the middle & fry as instructed. Any kind except butter flavored. The butter bits seem to keep them from being as fluffy& light.
This was my first time making any donut. I was a little worried when I rolled them out at 1/2 inch they’d be flat and dense, but they really puffed up 10x in the oil. I didn’t make the glaze, just rolled in sugar. Really impressed my family! They were superb
Great recipe. Awesome rise, texture, and puff when fried. Hardly sweet or crispy. If you’re thinking of a classic sweet and light, fluffy, donut.. This is not it. More of bread than of sweet yeast donuts. Would make again though.
These were so amazing..my fussy child rated it 10 out of 10 and for some reason felt much easier than other doughnuts I’ve made..thank you so much
Love this recipe!! It was so easy and fun to make, also the donuts tasted amazing!!
Thank you for sharing.
This recipe is awesome. Good job.
Missing baking powder in recipe!!
Hello! These homemade glazed doughnuts are risen with yeast. Let us know if you give them a try!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Looks amazing! I’m serving it to dairy free guests… has anyone tried with a milk alternative? What did you use? Also, I have a proper deep fryer so thinking of using that… but worried about the water content in milk alternatives.
Hi Billy, Lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch, but the doughnuts aren’t as flavorful or rich.
Hi Sally, I would like to do this recipe with my students. Due to only 50 minute classes, can my students cut the donuts and place back in the refrigerator to fry the next day? There won’t be enough time to wait for the 30-minute rest and my students move very slow… lol
Hi Nancy, that could certainly work, but the donuts may puff up a bit during that overnight rest. Shouldn’t be a *huge* issue; just expect very puffy donuts.
I made these yesterday/today and they were insanely good! I made some tweaks though: I subtracted a small amount of flour, liquid, and yeast so I could add ~1/2 cup of sourdough discard.
I let the dough rise overnight in the fridge and then come to room temp this morning before rolling it out.
I also fried the donuts in coconut oil since it’s healthy and has a high smoke point (I get the giant jar from Costco). It ends up being neutral tasting – the finished donuts don’t taste like coconut at all.
I made some donuts glazed with the recipe above (it’s so good! perfect glaze!) and also made some with a different chocolate icing for my chocolate lovers.
They were perfect. Crispy, pillowy, purely delicious. We couldn’t stop eating them. Thank you!!
These were really good and a lot easier than I expected. We did a maple sea salt glaze that was delicious.. We had some trouble re-rolling the dough because it turned extremely stiff. Any strategies for that? We were never able to get the dough as smooth again.
Hi Erin, for the re-roll, if you lightly cover the dough and give it about 5 to 10 minutes of rest, it will be much easier to roll out and cut again. I’m so glad you enjoyed these!
Did you try same donut recipe without nutmeg
A little nutmeg is the secret ingredient to that cozy, comforting bakery taste, but you can leave it out if desired.
Vegetable oil is so unhealthy for you –
Could you recommend a healthier option?
Hi Tristan, You want a neutral tasting oil with a high smoke point for frying – vegetable oil is best!
I used coconut oil and it worked great! Plus it made the house smell delicious!
Can you add fruit to the recipe? Have you tried baking instead of frying?
Hi Angela, you can see how we used fruit with a yeasted dough in these berry fritters. This dough is best for frying, but we have plenty of baked donut recipes on our site as well. Let us know what you try!
Made it tonight. Followed the recipe exactly. The donut itself was good! But I didn’t care of the frosting. There was a raw flavor that I didn’t like
Hi, is it possible to use a donut pan and bake these in the oven?
Hi Christa! This recipe is specifically for frying. These baked apple cider donuts and baked pumpkin donuts both are baked in a donut pan and are favorites this time of year.
I don’t have any sort of cutting tools for the doughnuts. What is an alternative?
Hi Sarah, If you don’t have a doughnut cutter, you can use 1 large + 1 smaller circle cookie cutter (large should be about 3 and 1/2 inches).
I just made these very yummy
Absolutely delicious results with this recipe! I have been waiting for the “right time” to make these since it’s a long process and we’re usually busy. We are having a cold rainy day today so it felt like the perfect day to try them out. I will definitely be making these again! I didn’t have whole milk, but I did have canned milk which I used instead and these still came out perfect. They very much remind me of Southern Maid donuts, which you pick up while they’re still warm and they have a very homemade taste that I’ve never had in any other donut shop. I can never eat another donut shop donut ever again after this, these were honestly really easy and very delicious! Well worth the effort. Next time I will make my dough and let it spend the night in the fridge so that I can fry them up the next morning. Today I was just experimenting, and 4pm donuts are great and all, but I really want to make them for breakfast next time. It’s too bad a can’t post a picture, they were so beautiful!
So glad you loved this recipe, Rheanna!
I tried this recipe with buttermilk and bread flour because it was all I had. It was wonderful!! I also took the left over dough and threw it in the oven. It made some wonderful bread as well.
This is a great way to make donuts…. Not to difficult and they are very tasty! Thank you!
Hi Sally, can these donuts be made the day before serving and frozen overnight to keep fresh for the next day? Have you tried freezing them and do they stay fresh tasting?
Hi Caterina, see recipe Notes section for both overnight and freezing instructions. Hope you enjoy the doughnuts!
this recipe is delicious thank you so much! my family enjoyed it so much that we got sad when they were all gone!
Can I turn this recipe into a jelly donut and can I use a biscuit cutter ?
Hi Carol, yes, you can make these doughnuts round and fill them. Enjoy!