The Easiest Donut Recipe of All Time!

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to share with you today The Easiest Donut Recipe of All Time! These delectable donuts made from Pillsbury refrigerated canned biscuits are hands down some of the most delicious donuts I’ve ever consumed in my life. You must give them a try.

Is it me, or are donuts taking over the world these days? Truly, there is not a single day that goes by where I’m not scrolling through my Instagram feed and I see an outrageously delicious donut pop up.

Please tell me you have seen them. I’m talking everything from donuts covered in maple frosting and bacon crumbles to ones dipped in peanut butter frosting and then garnished with crushed Reese’s peanut butter cups.

The thought of this is literally making my mouth water.

My obsession with sweets is truly over the top and one I should probably be embarrassed about. In all honesty, though, I’m not! I proudly admit that I would give up a steak dinner for an ice cream sundae any day of the week.

While I’m confessing, I also have an unhealthy love for trifles as you can see in these amazing trifle recipes: 3 Ingredient Cream Puff Trifle, Banana Pudding Trifle, Strawberry Orange Trifle, Heavenly Oreo Trifle. They’re all worth a try!

But back to the donuts since that is what I’ve been craving lately…

I finally decided to give in to my inner sweet tooth and whip some of them up in my kitchen today. Lucky for me, and you as well, I decided to take the super easy route with these fluffy pillows of heaven. You can literally get your donut fix in about 15 minutes from start to finish.

Really, set a timer if you don’t believe me.

What makes these donuts so easy to prepare are the fact that they are made from Pillsbury Grands! refrigerated canned biscuits. It might sound a little odd at first, but I promise you, they are some of the best donuts you’ll ever eat!

So what do I need to make The Easiest Donut Recipe of All Time?

1 can Pillsbury Grands! refrigerated canned biscuits, vegetable oil, 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar, 3 – 4 tablespoons milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract (can be replaced with any extract of your choice), food coloring (to tint the frosting), sprinkles (any variety will work)

The first thing I like to do when making this recipe is to get my oil heated up. You’ll want to use a large pot or dutch oven to do so. Add about an inch of oil into your pot or dutch oven and allow it to get up to 350 degrees. I like to clip my thermometer to the side of the pot so I can be accurate with this.  

With the oil beginning to heat up, you’ll next want to bust your biscuits out of the can. I hate this part because the pop of the can always scares the living daylights out of me. Am I the only one?  

With the biscuits out of the can, you can now go about creating the hole in the center of them. You have two choices here. First, you can simply use your finger to create a hole in the middle of your donut without removing any dough. The second option is to take a circular cookie cutter and actually remove a chunk from the center of the dough. If you go with option two, you’ll be able to make donut holes along with your actual donuts! Today, I chose option 1.

In a bowl, whisk together your powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. I’ve learned that everyone has a preference when it comes to the consistency of their frosting. For a looser frosting, add more milk. In the event you think your frosting is too loose, add a little more powdered sugar to thicken it back up.

I split the frosting into three bowls to tint them different colors. This step is optional but makes a prettier donut in my opinion.

On a plate, pour out some of your sprinkles to decorate later.

Once you’re done with your prep work, the oil should be ready to go. Remember, you’re looking for a temperature of 350 degrees for your oil. If the oil is too hot, the donuts will brown quickly and not be cooked inside. If the oil is too low, the donuts will end up soaking up a ton of oil while you wait for the browning to happen.

Place 2 to 3 donuts in the hot oil. You’ll want to keep an eye on them because they will brown up super fast, like 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Once browned on both sides, remove with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel lined cookie sheet.

Continue the frying process until all 8 of your donuts are made.

Now for the fun part, the decorating!

To minimize the mess, I like to place a wired rack on top of a paper towel lined cookie sheet.

Simply dip the top of your donut into the frosting.

With the donut dipped in frosting, repeat the same process with the sprinkles.

Place the donut on the wire rack to dry and that’s all she wrote!

Additional tips:

Let your imagination run wild with these donuts. In place of the 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract in the frosting, add any other flavor that suits your fancy (strawberry, hazelnut, cake batter, peppermint, coconut).

Make the donuts any color you like with food coloring and decorate with whatever sprinkles you want. As you can see, I opted for pastel colors and Easter sprinkles for the upcoming holiday.

These donuts are best eaten warm. I suggest placing them in the microwave for about 10 seconds if you have any leftovers (that doesn’t happen in my house!) and want to eat them at a later time. They just don’t taste the same at room temperature.

There you have it, The Easiest Donut Recipe of All Time! These donuts using refrigerated canned biscuits are a total winner and one you must make in the near future. Add the ingredients to your shopping list this week and let me know what you think after trying them. Enjoy!

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