You're gonna want to put these donut bites in your arsenal of quick and cheap homemade treats. That's right, this easy donut hole recipe can be made with 3 ingredients in just about 3 minutes! You're welcome.
Ok. Let's get real here.I'm going to issue you aBIG.FAT. (literally) WARNING.
What I'm about to show you, introduce, knock your socks off with is cheap, easy, and really really really really really delicious.Oh yeah, and they are about a million calories each.
*Note: When you click the links in this post, we may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Turn away now if you prefer the boring side of life and only eat healthy stuff.(okay totally kidding…….kinda……)
For the rest of us, I now introduce you to the addictive homemade donut hole recipe that I happened upon one day. It's ridiculously easy to make and so much cheaper than taking the whole family to the donut shop!
Jump to Recipe
HOW I CAME ACROSS THE BEST DONUT HOLE RECIPE
I don't spend much time on Pinterest because it's not the most shelf cooking-friendly. When I do, I choose a few gems here and there to pin for “down the road” when I don't have 100 kids screaming and yanking on me all the time… (So… maybe in the year 2062?)
But one day, I came across a pin and had to try it ASAP. I didn't even take good pictures of the process the first go around because it had no instructions or description, just pictures. So naturally I didn't expect it to turn out so well.BOY was I wrong. My family loved it and asks for it on the regular! It's great for a weekend breakfast treat and even fun get togethers with family or friends.
HOW TO MAKE DONUT HOLES
Okay, on to how to make donut holes! You may regret learning how to make these… Just don't shoot the messenger, mkay? 😉 Use these few tips and you'll end up with perfectly golden donut holes every. single. time.
DONUT HOLE HACKS AND TIPS
Want to know the best hack for making this donut hole recipe? Use canned biscuits. Plain, honey butter, store brand, off brand, it doesn't matter. The cheaper, the better, in my opinion! The one thing you need to stay away from are the flaky biscuits. Just trust me and don't try them.
Also, your oil needs to get REALLY hot; if it's not hot enough, it'll just make your donuts greasy. On the flip side, make sure it's not too hot or the outside of your donut will be black and the inside will be raw. Ewwwwww. A trick I learned is to put the handle of a wooden spoon into the middle of the oil. If bubbles rapidly flow around the handle, then it's hot enough. Thanks for that one, Rachael Ray!
My last tip is to use an oil strainer to bob them around in the oil to get both sides fried evenly. You could use a slotted spoon, but you may end up removing more oil than you need to when you take the donut holes out of the oil.
DIFFERENT FLAVORS
The basic donut hole recipe calls for rolling them in plain ‘ol sugar. If you want to go for a more churro-type flavor, add some cinnamon to your sugar to coat those delicious donut holes.
Go the extra mile and add a little Nutella to the table for dipping these sweet donut bites. I mean, it really can't hurt at this point. I know Olive Garden has a dessert similar to this (called Zeppoli), and they serve theirs with chocolate, caramel, and strawberry-esque dipping sauces. Not a bad idea…
THE BEST DONUT HOLE RECIPE
Don't be afraid to let the little hands get in and help with this recipe! It's so simple and they'll love helping in the kitchen with this project. Just keep them away from that hot oil, ain't nobody got time to get burnt when all you wanna do is eat some delicious donut holes!
Donut Hole Recipe
A simple donut hole recipe made with canned biscuits! So quick and easy – you'll love these little donut bites.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 can biscuits
- 4-6 cups vegetable oil, for frying
- 2-3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon, optional
Instructions
Cut your biscuits into quarters and heat oil in a pot on the stove.
Check your oil and make sure it's hot enough. (Test one donut bite to make sure the oil isn't too hot before throwing a bunch in.)
Cook for 40-50 seconds on one side, then flip and cook for another 40-50 seconds on the other side.
Set donut holes on a paper towel to cool off.
Coat in sugar or cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Optional: Dip in some kind of delicious chocolatey sauce.
Notes
These are pretty good reheated if you have any left over! For soft donut holes, pop them in the microwave for a few seconds until they're warm. For crispier donut holes, heat them in a 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes until heated through. Just make sure you're only heating them and not cooking them!
Keyword easy, homemade, quick
So good, so easy! And sooo fast. Let's be honest, it took me longer to figure out how to open the dang can then it took to cook the things.
ENJOY! And thank me. Then hate me. Then thank me again.
Doesn't this sound like the best donut hole recipe on the face of the planet?! What's your favorite thing to dip them in? Let me know in the comments!
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Other recipes that you definitely don't want to miss out on!
- If you're all for the homemade sweet treats, then you're going to love my banana bread recipe!
- Make 31 freezer meals for only $100!
- Your family will go crazy over these chocolate chip cookies!
Try them and let me know if you enjoy them as much as we did!
Shaunaon May 9, 2013 at 4:15 pm
Perfect timing! I was looking for something to take to a playgroup brunch tomorrow. These will be perfect. Thank you!
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joyon April 25, 2015 at 10:38 am
I used cinnamin sugar to roll them in but yes they tasted great! thanks for the recipe!
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FunCheapOrFreeon April 25, 2015 at 3:11 pm
Oh my word that sounds AMAZING. Thanks for sharing!
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Fryon October 29, 2015 at 9:16 pm
Have to make this for the office staff! Thank You!
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Janiceon May 10, 2013 at 12:19 am
We used to make these all the time! They are amazing and yes addictive! To take it a step further I like to dip them in melted chocolate frosting!
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Lindaon May 10, 2013 at 12:55 am
I totally forgot about these donut bites. I used to make them all the time back in the 60's. When my husband becasme diebetic I kind of got away from sweet desserts But will have to try the again when the grands and great-grands come to visit.
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Haleyon May 10, 2013 at 2:35 am
We make ours in the fry daddy. We go the extra step and take an empty pill bottle and make actual donuts and donut holes. 🙂 I must agree that they're addicting!
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Trishon November 8, 2015 at 9:09 am
thanks for the pill bottle doughnut tip. Now I will save a trip to DD on some cold Chitown mornings.
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[emailprotected]on May 10, 2013 at 4:18 pm
I've been doing this for about 45 years.. <G> Yummy, all the way! No Doubt about it..
I love & appreciate the hot oil wooden handle tip though.. never heard that one! 🙂
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vanessaon May 11, 2013 at 3:14 am
I remember my mom would make donuts usibg this method growing up so I was looking forward to trying the bites. However some of the bites didnt get cooked in the middle. It seems like the first batch was good but after that the oil became too hot and browned the dough rsther quickly therefore re ceieved less time frying. Any ideas to fix this would be appreciated!
Vanessa
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Ray Renkon May 19, 2013 at 6:12 pm
Great Share! My Wife, Sara, and our two kids all made doughnut bites this Sunday morning by following your blog post. I had seen it as couple weeks ago and sent the post to Sara. Thanks again! Yummy.
My recent postReply
nasimaon January 15, 2015 at 11:01 am
Wow, I am going to try this ! from the pics the biscuits must be thick so i hope i get some that will make these treats……looks like I am from the dark ages as i have never seen this method before.
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Vickyon April 27, 2015 at 3:29 pm
i live in England, uk what can I use instead of the biscuits in a tin as we don’t have these here thanks xxx
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FunCheapOrFreeon April 27, 2015 at 4:49 pm
Use any kid of bread dough!
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ellaon July 11, 2015 at 1:07 am
vicky, i think they are like scones.. so scone dough
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carolon July 22, 2015 at 2:54 am
You can make your own bisquits very easily….
Ingredients
2¼ Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Sugar
⅓ cup Shortening or Butter
1 cup Milk
extra flour for the counter
Instructions:
Add flour, baking powder, salt and sugar to bowl mix together.
Cut in shortening or butter to resemble coarse crumbs.
Add half the milk and mix, then add remaining milk and mix together.
Put on floured surface and kneed gently 15-20 times.
Pat out flat and cut out biscuits. Or like the one person said they use a pill bottle and make cute little mini donuts. These will be way healthier then the packaged bisquits we can buy in the US so consider yourself lucky you don’t have these available. Make and enjoy =)Reply
FunCheapOrFreeon July 22, 2015 at 3:18 pm
love this, thanks for sharing!
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FunCheapOrFreeon July 27, 2015 at 3:59 pm
THANK YOU for sharing!! XO
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Eileenon June 3, 2015 at 3:32 am
What is a ‘can of biscuits’? Not sold in Oz. Is this raw biscuit(cookie) dough or is in more like bread dough?
Many thanks
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FunCheapOrFreeon June 3, 2015 at 4:15 pm
It’s a Pilsbury product. You probably don’t want to know the amount of preservatives in it (yikes!) but here’s what it is: http://www.pillsbury.com/products/biscuits/grands-refrigerated-biscuits. Honestly, you could use any basic dough recipe!
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Alion July 20, 2015 at 5:45 pm
I rolled them out and put a dab of dulce de leche inside and cooked them that Way. Rolled in sugar you’ll never eat a normal doughnut again!
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FunCheapOrFreeon July 20, 2015 at 10:24 pm
Sounds delish!
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melanieon September 1, 2015 at 12:23 am
Hi guys great post. For those of you that can’t get canned biscuits . Pizza dough works the same I’m Italian and we’ve done it that way do since I was a little girl. Some grocery stores sell the dough pre made in the bakery or ask your local pizza shop for ball of fresh dough my favorite place charges me $ 1.00 happy baking
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Sheilaon September 5, 2015 at 5:06 pm
What cell phone/camera do you have? My Nokia 1020–supposedly great HD pics– cannot begin to look this good.
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FunCheapOrFreeon September 7, 2015 at 7:39 pm
I had an iPhone 5 when taking these pics!
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Sandra Morrellon September 7, 2015 at 10:02 pm
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FunCheapOrFreeon September 7, 2015 at 10:43 pm
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SUEon October 3, 2015 at 9:01 pm
We always used either cinnamon sugar or confectioners sugar to roll them in. Also of you want big doughnuts just use the whole biscuit and cut a whole in the center. You can then cook the doughnut holes too! Great memories of my mom making these during my childhood!
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FunCheapOrFreeon October 5, 2015 at 4:21 pm
Love the idea of big donuts! Thanks for sharing!
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Phyllison November 28, 2015 at 10:14 pm
hi! Something similar- pkg of crescent roll dough- fold triangles of dough around a chocolate-roll in a ball- have guests deep fry in a fondue pot and then roll in cinnamon sugar. Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get!
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Dianaon January 28, 2016 at 6:09 am
I live in UK and can’t get hold of these biscuits so could I use Jusrol croissants cut up?
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Elena Erwinon July 1, 2016 at 7:20 pm
Oh man I know what I’m making for tomorrow’s breakfast for the kids! <3
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Marshaon February 2, 2017 at 4:17 am
I use the really cheap thin biscuits and fry them whole and coat in powdered sugar or regular sugar. Then I put various fillings into piping bags with a very large decorating tip on the bag and make filled donuts. I have done this using both Jelly and Wilton’s Buttercream icing. I plan on trying Nutella next.
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Alexaon February 16, 2017 at 1:24 am
It looks so delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
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Heather Bon February 24, 2018 at 7:20 pm
Oh man I almost I didn’t know how to do this now! Drooling!
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Krista Sidhuon February 24, 2018 at 10:23 pm
Gotta try this!! Yep
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Wandaon March 24, 2018 at 10:59 am
Great Share! love these biscuits
thanksReply
Bethon January 21, 2019 at 9:09 am
Oh the memories! My mom used to make these exactly like this for us when we were little…..over 50 years ago! I used to make them for my kiddos too when they were young! So good!
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FunCheapOrFreeon March 4, 2019 at 1:14 pm
Awwww love it!
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Jesson June 30, 2019 at 5:45 pm
We have been doing this for years, but leaving the biscuts whole, then filling up with jam…sprinkle with powdered sugar….so good.
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FunCheapOrFreeon July 1, 2019 at 9:06 am
Oh yum, that sounds so good! I’ll have to try that out!
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David Perkon September 14, 2020 at 2:53 am
I turned them out and put a touch of dulce de leche inside and cooked them that Way. Overflowed with sugar you’ll never eat an ordinary donut again!Reply
JoAnn Chavezon November 24, 2023 at 6:51 am
I have been looking for a good easy way to make donuts. These were the easiest, fastest wonderful donut holes I have ever made. I rolled them in cinnamon and suger. GREAT RECIPE!! I will be making these often for my 8 grandchildren. Thank you so much!!
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