Easy Ricotta Doughnuts
This is one super treat for breakfast. These little ricotta doughnut holes will quickly become a family favorite. They are quite addictive for two reasons:
1. They are SO tasty! The texture is wonderful, they are soft, moist and fluffy inside. They have a mild sweet flavor that goes with coffee, tea or milk. And, you can easily fill them with some jam or custard as soon as you pull them out onto a wire rack. (Just use a long pastry tip to fill the doughnuts.)
2. These doughnuts are unbelievably easy to make. First time I made them, I was really surprised just how fast it was to make these from start to finish. Dough takes about five minutes and cooking will depend on the size of the pan you are using and how many doughnuts can you cook at a time. Each batch takes about 5-7 minutes to cook. All in all, it’s an easy, tasty treat for breakfast.
Tips To Make My Ricotta Doughnut Holes
- Ricotta – use whole milk ricotta! This will provide the best moisture and richness to the dough.
- Use a #40 cookie scoop (which is a 1 1/2 Tb) to scoop out the dough. This will keep all the doughnuts nice and even.
- Dip the scoop into the hot oil before starting to scoop and after every few doughnuts to keep the dough from sticking to the scoop.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan/pot, fry in batches of a few doughnut holes.
- Remember to use metal utensils to turn doughnuts if needed and to take some out.
- Don’t make the oil too hot or the doughnut holes will darken too fast without cooking through.
Storing and Reheating
- At room temperature, these donut holes should be good for up to 2 days. To store them any longer or if you live in a humid climate, make sure to refrigerate them.
- Store donut holes in an air-tight food storage container whether you are storing on the counter or in the refrigerator. I always recommend storing them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- To reheat, you can always simply pop one or two in the microwave for a few seconds.
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Ricotta Doughnuts Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Oil for frying
- 2-3 tbsp Powdered sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat about 5 cups of oil in a medium pot or deep skillet, over medium heat. Heat oil to about 320-330℉ degrees. (Note: 350℉ will cook doughnuts too fast on the outside and leave them raw on the inside.)
- Set out a wire rack and cover it with a paper towel or two.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk ricotta, vanilla extract, sugar, and eggs until all incorporated.
- Add flour baking soda and salt. Mix with a rubber spatula until completely mixed throughout.
- I recommend using a #40 (1½ Tb.) cookie scoop to get even amounts of batter each time.
- Dip the scoop into the oil, shake it off, and scoop the doughnut batter. Scrape the excess on the side of the bowl and carefully drop the dough balls into the hot oil. Repeat with a few more doughnut holes. Work quickly and remember not to overcrowd the pot.
- Fry doughnut holes in batches of about 6 (as fitting to your sauce pot) for 5-7 minutes, until deep golden brown.
- Take out the cooked doughnut holes and place them on a paper towel. After they are cooled for a couple of minutes, dust them with powdered sugar.
Video
Notes
- Storing: At room temperature, these donut holes should be good for up to 2 days. To store them any longer or if you live in a humid climate, make sure to refrigerate them.
- Store donut holes in an air-tight food storage container whether you are storing on the counter or in the refrigerator. I always recommend storing them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- To reheat, you can always simply pop one or two in the microwave for a few seconds.
Nutrition
More Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in December 2015.
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All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
These are AMAZING! I am doing keto and I swapped my favorite keto flour and sweetener and they turned out perfect! Tossed in powdered allulose and drizzled in keto caramel these are the best keto dessert I’ve made!
This makes me SO happy to hear!! 🙌 I love that you were able to adapt them for keto — that’s always such a win when a swap turns out perfectly.
I use to make these when I was young and my children were small about 25 years ago. My full blooded Italian mother in law gave me the recipe and this is it. You can also put some lemon zest, chocolate chips, orange zest and other flavors. My favorite is plain with powdered sugar coating and dip them into a little hot fudge!
A little lemon zest does sound amazing! I will have to give that a try! 🙂
So very easy – and delicious!
Thanks, Maggie!
I’m about to make them for the 2nd time – they’re delicious & the fact they’re so easy & quick to make is a winner.
One question: can they be prepped & fried next day?
Unbelievably easy and fantastic!!!
Thank you, Zita! I am so pleased you liked the donuts!
So easy and so yummy they just hit the spot even reheated well in the microwave the next day
So glad you enjoyed them!
Made these yesterday. Absolutely easy and delicious. Winner at our house. Will definitely be making these often 😋
Thanks, Sandra! I am so glad you liked them!
Hi I wanting to make these today . My question is can I make this batter in advance then fry them later on same day ?
Thank you Lyuba. I will experiment making them both ways.
P.S. Everything I’ve cooked in our air fryer so far has come out great!! Easy clean-up too!! I highly recommend, and there’s no need to spend a lot on one.
I can’t wait to make these, but I would like to try them in our new air fryer. “Zoe” asked you this about a year ago, and I am wondering if you have any updated information for making them in an air fryer. Thank you!!
Hi Shirley,
I still do not have an air fryer… I know, I know, I might be the only person without one. 😉 So I am unsure how it would turn out, though I heard it would work okay.
Loved these. I added a grated Apple, some pine nuts and some cognac soaked raisins and lemon zest to the second batch. Either way you can’t stop eating them. Thanks for your recipe. X
Yum! I am so glad you liked them!
I made these and they came out perfectly. I used self rising flour bcs it was all I had. I fried them at 190 C in beef drippings which is the common oil to fry in here. They came out perfectly and the the children ate all of their breakfast to get to the plate of them. Cheers for the lovely recipe!!
Hi Lindy,
I am so happy you liked my recipe! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Can I use an electric donut ball maker for these?
Hi Jane,
I have never used one before so I am not sure of the results. It might dry out the middle and make them dry if you don’t fry them. You might want to try one of my other donut holes that have a filling. I have listed the links below. Hope this helps !
Bacon Brown Sugar Cream Doughnut Holes
https://gesundheitsreport2.org/bacon-brown-sugar-cream-doughnut-holes/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Lemon Curd Doughnut Holes
https://gesundheitsreport2.org/lemon-curd-filled-doughnut-holes/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi!! Can I use an Air Fryer to cook these donuts? What would be my setting? Thanks!
Hi, Zoe! I don’t have an air fryer so I am unsure what setting to use. I am sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.
These look so good Lyuba. I love all your recipes. Thanks so much for sharing. These little doughnuts remind me of my Italian family’s Zeppole. They are so addicting for sure lol!! I have to try making these, I bet they aren’t much different. Hope you and your family have a lovely holiday. 🙂
Thank you, Melissa! Happy holidays to you and your family as well 🙂
My grandmother made these and they are “sfingi” and a popular Sicilian dessert. She made them for St. Joseph’s Day and morning Aunt now makes them at Easter. We made them for my husband’s family for Hanukah this year and made with a berry dipping sauce as a play on the tradition sufganiyot donuts that are traditionally eaten for the holiday! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Would it be ok if I doubled the recipe, to make more of them?
Of course! Go for it 🙂
Hi, I love donuts, but I don’t eat fry food, well it’s not to. Can I bae the donut instead? Please let me know. They look so delish! Am an amateur Baker and I want to try to make them. I hope they come out looking and tasting like yours.
Hi Airis! I haven’t actually tried baking these doughnuts but I would think you would be fine baking them. The batter is a little thicker than the baked doughnuts I make though so the doughnuts might come out denser.
Here is one of the baked doughnuts recipes I have https://gesundheitsreport2.org/apple-pie-baked-doughnuts/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I have a few more that you can search for or let me know and I’ll send more.
I was wondering if these can be made using an ebelskiver pan-is the consistency like pancake batter? If so, it may be doable, and you can use a lot less oil/fat to cook them.
Hi there!
The consistency is actually thicker than pancake batter. You can see the consistency of the batter in the video. I’ve never used that pan before so I don’t want to give out a wrong suggestion.
yes, but where is the video, or a link. in the recipe above there is only written the word
“video”, but no link. you can’t click on it.
thanks a lot for the response
renata
I made these exactly and fried to deep golden brown and some of them came out under cooked what a waste. You cant leave in for too long or they burn, i reduced temp even to 300 degrees. I was wondering can these be baked instead of fried? I felt bad for the kids.
Oh no, I”m sorry it came out that way. I wonder if maybe they were a little too big? I’ve made these so many times and I haven’t had them under-cook. I lat them sit to deep golden brown.
If you have a doughnut pan, you can definitely try baking them. Try about 11 minutes and do a toothpick test. Let me know how it works out!
Is the recipe correct to use baking soda instead of baking powder?
Hey Gillian!
That’s a very old recipe from my mom but that is the way we always made them 🙂 If you want, you can use baking powder and it won’t hurt it, you may need to increase baking powder to 2 tsps.
I hope you enjoy them!
Can I use whole milk cottage cheese instead of Ricotta cheese ?
Hi Donna,
I would definitely not substitute cottage cheese for ricotta cheese because it’s a completely different consistency. The result will be quite different 🙂
You can try farmer’s cheese but I’m not 100% sure of the result.
Is there a reason you can’t have ricotta cheese?
Could I used Whole milk in place of Ricotta cheese?
I have made these twice and if we weren’t trying to watch our “fried” intake i would have them weekly. I buy fresh ricotta weekly as it is a wonderful cheese that is low in fat so when i found this recipe and made them i did not feel so guilty eating them because “they are cheese”.
They were extremely easy to make, they fry so very easily, keep well on a cake plate and dont go soggy although they dont last long enough to go soggy.
I will be making them for friends for our annual Good Friday Lunch
These were not nice to eat at all. They were bland in taste and very dry. I followed the recipe exactly and made sure not to do anything different because I wanted to have this donut the way others would have it. What a waste of ricotta.
I’m sorry you didn’t like these doughnuts, Reign!
I make these very often and I haven’t had a problem with dryness but you can always fill them. I’ve filled these ricotta doughnuts with lemon curd and cheesecake mixture before. That will definitely add more flavor and moisture. If you’d like to give them another shot, here are some recipes for filled doughnut holes and you can use the same ricotta doughnut recipe of regular doughnut holes recipe:
https://gesundheitsreport2.org/2017/06/bacon-brown-sugar-cream-doughnut-holes.html%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://gesundheitsreport2.org/2016/08/lemon-curd-filled-doughnut-holes.html%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Could these be baked at 350 degrees instead of fried?
Try putting a few drops of anise oil and have an Italian castinoli. After sprinkling the powdeer sugar drizzle with honey.
Oh I can practically smell it!! Great suggestion 🙂 Thank you!
Thank you for this recipe! It looks delicious. I will be making the Ricotta Doughnuts!!!!!
Has anyone tried making these with Gluten Free flour?
Judi, I’ve been meaning to try it out. Unfortunately, I have not had the chance yet. If you do, please let me know how it goes. Stay tuned!
I make them all the time with gf 1:1 flour either from Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur’s but I find I have to adjust the amount of flour to get the right consistency (not too wet, not too dry). My favorite is finishing them with a pumpkin glaze or match/powdered sugar mix. My family prefers these to any store-bought doughnuts. Great recipe!
Thank, Lindy! So happy you were able to adjust the recipe so you can still enjoy it! 🙂
Wow, these look so good and SO easy. Why don’t I make donut holes more often? So much easier than a shaped donut. I love the ricotta and now I’m really curious about Farmer’s cheese! Where can you find it?
Thank you, Karen! That’s the goal! Check your local grocery stores. Whole Foods and Publix should carry it. Enjoy!
Can you put jam inside a ricotta donuts?
Hi, Maria! I’m sorry the late response, but yes you can put jam in them. Just use a pastry filling tip (long and thin) and be careful not to overfilL! Sounds amazing. Good luck!
These look amazing and I look forward to making them. I have one question, how do you measure 10 ounces as ricotta cheese as it comes in 8 or 10 ounce containers? Thank you
These are not very sweet (a good thing!), nice flavor. You add the sweetness from whatever you put on top. I’d recommend cinnamon/sugar instead of the powdered sugar. Does take awhile to fry.
Love the receipe and will give it a go. Could you please let me know if you use plain flour or self raising.
Kind Regards
Rosetta.
This looks similar to what is known here in Germany, as quarkbällchen! Thanks for the recipe anyway.😀
Thank you, Rosemary! I love cultural foods 🙂
They look wonderful, how long do they keep for and how do uou store them? I would love to make these in advance for a party!
Hey Cass!
I actually have not tried storing them. We’ve eaten them within a day every time I’ve made these doughnuts. They do get stale as they sit, just like with any fresh-made doughnuts. I wouldn’t recommend making them much ahead of time, they are best fresh. If you just want to make them a few hours ahead, then it’s best to store them in an air-tight container once they are completely cooled. But again, they are best fresh. I hope you enjoy them! Thank you 🙂
Holy cow these look amazing. Thank you Lyuba (and thanks to your Mom for the recipe)!
Of course!It’s my pleasure to share.
Thank you, Jeff!
Yum to all the doughnuts. Thank you. Merry Christmas.
Thank you, Liz!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
What a treat these doughnut holes are. I do love a soft and fluffy doughnut, especially for breakfast.
It’s always a pleasure!
Thank you, Joshua!
I love your recipes. My Grandmother used to make these doughnuts when I was little. Haven’t seen them since then. Thanks for the memories.
That’s awesome!!
I hope you’ll try them too 🙂
Thank you!