24 Awesome Donut Recipes to Make Breakfast a Little Sweeter

Chocolate Cake Donuts

Life is short, so eat dessert first (even for breakfast!). The rainbow sprinkles and chocolate frosting on these baked chocolate donuts will make breakfast a special occasion. Even better, this recipe makes mini donuts so you can indulge with less guilt.

Cocktail-Inspired Old Fashioned Donut

Wake up feeling spirited. This adults-only breakfast treat starts with a cherry-orange baked donut and is finished with a bourbon cream drizzle. They taste strikingly similar to an old fashioned cocktail and are the perfect partner to a cup of coffee.

Sour Cream Donut Holes with Raspberry Sugar & Glaze

The tangy-sweet donut holes start with a sour cream-infused batter. Once those little beauties are fried, you get to choose between a raspberry sugar (freeze-dried berries blended with sugar) or a sweet berry-filled glaze with a hint of lemon. And when you can't decide, go for both!

Polar Bear Donuts

This easy donut recipe is both delicious and fun for kids to help create. Decorate cake donuts with frosting, coconut, and marshmallows for a sweet, wintery makeover that your little bears will love. This two-for-one breakfast is for true donut lovers only (a mini powdered sugar donut is the polar bear's face, too!).

Best Donuts

When you come across a donut recipe labeled as "best," you better believe it truly is the best. Consider our top-rated sugar-dusted beauties to be your gateway to delicious homemade donut making. One bite and you'll be hooked.

Cinnamon Air-Fried Donut Holes

Using your air-fryer for healthier "fried" foods is even better now that you know you can use it for this homemade donut recipe. With just a handful of pantry staple ingredients required, you'll have some cinnamon-sugar bite-size treats ready in just over 30 minutes.

Cherry-Almond Donuts

Cherry lovers, this is a cake donut recipe made for you. Dried cherries and almond extract give these donuts a unique and fruity flavor. For an extra burst of sweetness, dust in powdered sugar just before serving.

Chocolate-Filled Donuts

There's a lot to love about these decadent filled donuts. Make the dough the night before, and in the morning just roll out and fry the dough to light, fluffy donut perfection. Fill with chocolate-hazelnut spread and enjoy an indulgent start to your day.

Baked Apple-Spice Donuts

Eating one of these delicious donuts will make you feel like you just had a slice of warm apple pie for breakfast. Whole wheat flour, low-fat yogurt, and shredded apple keep this donut moist and fluffy while also keeping it lower in fat.

Homemade Mochi Donuts

We finally jumped on the trendy mochi donut train and we'll never be the same. Instead of regular wheat flour, this homemade donut recipe uses sweet rice flour (or glutinous rice flour). The result is a chewy, slightly stretchy texture that is irresistible. Bonus: This is a naturally gluten-free donut recipe!

Rosemary and Lemon Cornmeal Donuts

You won't find these donuts at the store! Flavoring baked donuts with fresh rosemary and lemon zest will have the family super impressed they came from your oven and not a fancy bakeshop. Using white whole wheat flour and low-fat yogurt also helps keep the calorie count low. It's the perfect donut recipe to add to your next brunch menu.

Gluten-Free Cake Donuts

A homemade gluten-free flour mix is the base of this easy cake donut recipe. If you're crunched for time, swap in your favorite purchased flour blend. Once the donuts come out of the fryer, toss them in powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or try our spicy-sweet variation.

Chocolate-Banana Donuts

Got a few brown, spotty, overripe bananas lying around? Skip the banana bread and turn them into something truly magical. We're talking donuts, obviously. These delicious banana donuts are dipped in a rich chocolate glaze. And don't worry about there being enough to go around—this donut recipe makes 30 donuts plus donut holes!

Grilled Donuts

Don't have time to make homemade donuts? Glazed store-bought donuts get a toasty and delicious makeover from a quick turn on the grill. Dunk them into one of our two refreshing glazes and revel in your new favorite summer dessert.

Mini Cinnamon-Sugar Donuts

How cute are these little donuts?! An all-star cast of low-calorie ingredients (i.e. low-fat yogurt, white whole flour) makes this donut recipe a win. Plus, they're easy to make. If you don't already have a mini donut pan, this might be the recipe worthy of making a special baking tool purchase.

Apple-Walnut Donuts

If you can't resist buying those boxes of apple cider donuts at the store, you need to make these apple-walnut donuts stat. They have all the flavor of apple cider donuts, plus crunchy walnuts and a quick dip in a quick powdered sugar icing. Perfect for an autumn morning!

Decadent Chocolate Donuts

Life is full of choices; whether to make a chocolate or vanilla glaze for these spectacular homemade mini donuts shouldn't be one of them. We give you both amazing glaze recipes to try. A hint of instant espresso powder in the batter helps give the chocolate a richer taste.

Spiced Pumpkin Donuts

This cake donut recipe might just trump your favorite fall latte or Thanksgiving pie as your favorite treat. We've utilized those warm pumpkin spices to make a treat that will have you craving them beyond fall and making them any time. Take this as your cue to keep canned pumpkin in stock year-round for when cravings strike for these amazing donuts.

Yuzu Doughnuts

This filled donut recipe is stuffed with a tart yuzu filling. If you can't find fresh yuzu, you can easily substitute bottled yuzu juice. Create a curd filling and pipe it into fluffy yeast donuts.

Oatmeal-Raisin Donut Holes

These donut holes have everything we love about oatmeal cookies: oats, cinnamon, and a generous helping of raisins, of course. Of course, the homemade donuts are made extra special by a coating of cinnamon and sugar. This is a great baked donut recipe to use your cake pop mold if you have one to achieve the perfect sphere shape.

Applesauce Donuts

Applesauce gets involved twice in this cake donut recipe by going in the batter and the icing. Pull out all the stops and make your own homemade applesauce to use in this amazing donut recipe. Short on time? Substitute store-bought unsweetened applesauce.

Easy Homemade Fritters

This fried donut recipe is reminiscent of what you might enjoy at an authentic Italian sweet shop. For the Italian flair, the fritter dough is infused with ricotta cheese and vanilla. Coat in powdered sugar and serve with fresh fruit or jam.

Test Kitchen Tip: Make sure your frying oil is to the accurate temperature (365°F) by using a deep-fry thermometer.

Air-Fried Donut Sticks

There's no need to break out the flour and sugar here. These delicious air-fryer donuts are made from refrigerated crescent dough and dusted with a cinnamon-sugar mixture. Paired with caramel sauce or frosting, this easy donut recipe can easily become a dessert.

Baked Buttermilk-Pumpkin Donuts

We can't decide what we like more—the pumpkin spice dough or the sweet brown butter and maple glaze. This baked donut recipe is delicious on its own but a sprinkle of toasted pecans is the perfect topper.