HOMEMADE BAKED Sugar Donuts recipe that is easy to make and ready in 15 minutes. These simple and extra soft donuts taste just like raised sugar donuts from your favorite bakery!
We live in a world filled with crazy and exciting donut flavors and combinations. Remember the half donut/half croissant craze? Have you checked out the exotic flavors that bakeries are offering for donuts?
There’s Blood Orange, Cafe Au Lait, Hibiscus, Passion Fruit, Horchata, Matcha and more. And while these unique flavors are exciting, sometimes it’s just not practical nor economical to hunt down the ingredients.
Maybe I’m just not an adventurous foodie. Sugar, Glazed, Chocolate donuts – now you’re talking my language. So, because I was craving donuts today, I came up with this simple Homemade Baked Sugar Donuts recipe. I think you’ll love it. Who else loves homemade baked donuts? Me, me, me!
How to Make Sugar Donuts
Homemade Sugar Donuts Recipe
When you make your own donuts at home you know exactly what is going into them. There are no fillers and extra junk that donuts really don’t need. And let’s face it, as delicious as those exotic donuts are, do we really know what’s in them?
This recipe is so simple and requires almost nothing that you don’t already have around the house. You will need a donut pan! Make the $10 investment and buy one because it’s worth it!
These homemade donuts are so delicious and extra soft! They are made with buttermilk so you know they are going to be moist and soft. These donuts are not heavy at all but instead have a light, airy texture to them, more like a raised donut.
Buttermilk Substitute With Vinegar
Not everyone keeps buttermilk around the house, but it is easy to substitute if you cannot make a run to the store. I know how it is when you want your donuts NOW! So instead, you can use 1 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice plus enough milk to measure 1/2 cup. Stir it and let stand for 5 minutes. Then you’re good to go!
Buttermilk Substitute With Yogurt
Another option is using 1/2 cup of plain yogurt instead of the buttermilk. It’s much more common to have regular milk or yogurt in your house than buttermilk, unless you are someone who bakes all the time.
This recipe is so quick and easy. Mix up your batter, throw your donut pan in the oven for 15 minutes, let cool for a few minutes and then shake the donuts in a bag of sugar and your Homemade Baked Sugar Donuts are ready to be eaten and enjoyed!
It really is that quick! You’ll be eating your own delicious donuts in no time. Eat them while they’re still warm, yummmm.
They are great for breakfast, a snack and dessert. They are so simple that you can make up a batch anytime you feel like it with no trouble at all. It’s so easy that many of my readers have told me they had fun baking them (and eating them!) with their kids too.
I hope you like them as I do (and I really, really like them)! Feel free to mix it up too. Add some raw cacao to make chocolate donuts. Make a simple glaze with powdered sugar and milk and glaze them. The possibilities are endless.
Enjoy!
More Donut Recipes
Looking for more donut recipes?
Try my Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Frosting!
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Homemade Baked Sugar Donuts
PrintIngredients
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
For the sugar coating
- 1/4 cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray donut pan with nonstick spray.
- Mix together oil, buttermilk, eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder and vanilla until combined.
- Stir in flour and continue to mix until smooth.
- Fill the donut pans up about 3/4 of the way.
- Bake donuts for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then remove donuts from pan.
- Put sugar in a sandwich bag.
- One at a time, drop your donuts in bag and shake lightly to cover.
- Eat right away or store in container.
Jenny says
Best baked donut recipe! Very light and fluffy.
Susan Roberts says
I love this recipe! This is the second time I’ve made them but this time they didn’t really brown. Any suggestions as to why? I had to make the buttermilk with milk and vinegar. I wondered if this was the issue that the buttermilk wasn’t ready?
Pamela says
Hey Susan, I would bake the donuts 1-2 additional minutes to make them more golden brown. Thank you for stopping by, I’m happy to hear you like the donuts!
AnnIe B says
Donuts did not disappoint! Mixed in cinnamon with the sugar coating and WOW… closed my eyes and instead of waiting in a looong line at the fair, was tap dancing in my kitchen for 15 minutes while waiting for them to bake! Now we don’t have to wait a year for the fair, or in lines… thank you🦩
J Corl says
This recipe turned out fantastic!!!! I used einkorn flour instead of modern wheat and they were sooooooo good!!
Ronda McCall says
Can i substitute any portion of the vegetable oil with applesauce to reduce the fat?
sophie says
What type of sugar do you use for these donuts?
Vel says
This recipe is EXCELLENT! I wanted to eat them all they were SOOOOO Good! 5 stars isn’t enough. Make it 10 stars
Ana says
I made this with gluten free flour and it was a success. They were moist and yummy! Next, I am trying your chocolate donuts. Thank you!
Janice Massey-Saylor says
Even I could make these!!! I have a pan that makes donut holes. Would the baking time vary much from the donuts?
Scott Entrup says
Great recipe! Made the first batch with buttermilk, second one with sour cream, worked perfectly, no change to the recipe. Thanks
Pamela says
Hey Scott, thanks for commenting, I’m so happy to hear you liked these donuts!
Vera W says
Any way to substitute soy milk for the buttermilk? My family can’t have anything with lactose in it. Thanks!
Pamela says
Hey Vera, disclaimer: I’ve never made these with soy milk but I don’t see why you couldn’t. I wouldn’t just add soy milk though, I’d make buttermilk soy milk. To do this use 1 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice plus enough soy milk to measure 1/2 cup. Mix and let stand for 5 minutes. Enjoy the donuts!
Tracy says
I love your page. So inspired
Pamela says
Thank you Tracy! 🙂
Sandy A. says
I was in the mood to bake today and it’s National Donut Day so these fit the bill! I made mini donuts instead of large. They are just like the minis you can buy at the fair! Excellent! I had to make a few standard ingredient amount modifications for high altitude.
Rebecca says
I live at 9000 ft, what were your modifications?
Thank you
Cathy says
This is by far the best baked donuts. They are a real big hit in my house. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
Sindu Christian says
Thank you for the recipe. Family loved it. Ate it before I could take photos
Pamela says
Glad to hear you guys liked these donuts! Thanks for commenting! 🙂
Jrae says
This was so easy and delicious! I had tried another recipe and it was a total flop! These turned out fabulous!! Definitely a keeper 😊 Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Caitlin says
I don’t have a donut pan so I made them in a mini muffin tin. I put 2 tablespoons of batter in each tin and got exactly 24 (the number in the pan). I baked at 350 for 15 minutes (though started checking them at 10 minutes) and they were perfect. Tossed them in some cinnamon sugar I already had, and they are delightful! I will say, they don’t really taste like a donut to me, (either raised or cake donuts) but almost more like a vanilla cupcake. Still, delicious!
Mitzi says
Can you use flavored yogurt in place of the buttermilk ?
Julie says
Just tried this today, and they came out DELISH! I made a vanilla glaze, and a chocolate glaze, and my husband devoured them! 10/10, would recommend again and again!
Heather says
While this tastes amazing! (I added some vanilla Bean paste to the batter and used vanilla infused sugar for the coating, it didn’t rise as high as yours. In fact, it barely rose above the doughnut pan. Not sure what went wrong as it was new baking powder, not over mixed. But still tastes amazing!
Karen Othen says
I made these in muffin tins, as we didn’t have donut ring tins. I hadn’t got buttermilk so I did them with yoghurt Instead. Husband, a real donut lover, thinks they are fab! Might need to buy some ring tins now!
Nia says
Made this recipe, my only downfall was I forgot to grease the tins but otherwise these tasted amazing! Great recipie.
Maria says
I tried them today with plain yogurt instead of buttermilk and they turned great. I’ve used a silicone muffin pan with 🦋🐝🐞 and they looked awesome! My son loved them!
Hanna says
Sooo nice, quick! Family loved it! I didn’t have a dougnut pan and since we are on lockdown with Covid-19 virus I could not get one, so I used silicone muffin pans – one with rose patern. It worked well, just have to spray real good with non-stick.
Pamela says
Hey Hanna, thanks so for sharing! So happy to hear you guys liked these donuts – in muffin pans! Stay healthy, thanks for stopping by! 🙂