Oven Baked Donuts Without Yeast

This is an easy recipe for baked donuts without yeast. Nothing makes a weekend quite as special as a pan full of homemade oven-baked donuts glazed and ready for your family when they wake up in the morning.

These easy oven baked donuts without yeast go from bowl to glaze in under 40 minutes. You don’t wait for dough to rise, you don’t knead, and there’s no pot of hot oil. The batter mixes up like a cake, goes into a donut pan and bakes into soft, fluffy cake donuts. Then you dip them in a simple vanilla glaze.

I’ve made this recipe for weekend breakfasts, birthday mornings and plenty of “let’s make something fun” afternoons with the kids. It’s become my go-to whenever someone asks for a homemade doughnut recipe without yeast. If you can make muffins, you can make these.

This is one of our easy bread and biscuit recipes that you will want to bookmark for later.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

No yeast, no rising time. Baking powder and baking soda do the lifting, so you’ll have fresh donuts in about half an hour instead of half a day.

Baked, not fried. You skip the hot oil, the mess and the leftover frying smell. They bake at 375°F in just 10–12 minutes.

Soft, cake-style texture. Butter gives flavor, oil keeps them moist, and brown sugar adds a hint of caramel.

Pantry ingredients. Flour, sugar, eggs, milk and butter are probably already in your kitchen.

Easy to customize. Change the glaze color, add sprinkles, or swap in cinnamon sugar or chocolate glaze (see the variations below).

Kid-friendly baking project. Kids love piping the batter and dipping the donuts, and the recipe is forgiving enough for little helpers.

How to Make Oven Baked Donuts

Making homemade donuts doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s a lot like making cookies. You’ll mix the dry ingredients separate from the wet ingredients, beat the eggs a bit, and combine the two mixing bowls slowly.

Then you just fill your donut pan and bake them! Our oven-baked donuts recipe is pretty straightforward. Here are the details.

Ingredients for Oven Baked Donuts

• All-Purpose Flour. If you need to make gluten-free oven-baked donuts, substitute this ingredient using gluten-free one-for-one all-purpose flour.
• Baking Powder. For leavening.
• Baking Soda. Also for leavening.
• Unsalted Butter. Melted and cooled.
• Vegetable Oil. Canola oil will also work.
• Brown Sugar. Light or Brown Sugar will both work for this recipe.
• Granulated Sugar. White sugar.
• Large Eggs. Smaller eggs definitely make a difference.
• Vanilla Extract. Don’t be afraid to change this up! Maple, orange, lemon, or almond extracts will all be amazing.
• Milk.

Full recipe and measurements are in recipe card.

Ingredients for the Donut Glaze

• Powdered Sugar. This is basically white sugar turned into powdered form and it makes glaze smooth and silky instead of granular in texture.
• Heavy Whipping Cream. If you use milk instead, you may need to use less since the cream will make the glaze thicker.
• Vanilla Extract. To make a white glaze, use clear vanilla. Regular vanilla extract is fine too.
• Food Coloring. Optional.

Step-By-Step Instructions

The full recipe instructions for this copycat recipe are in the recipe card, below but here is a step by step overview.

Donut Glaze Instructions

1. Add powdered sugar to small bowl.
2. Next, add 3-4 tablespoons cream or milk and whisk, add more cream if needed to thin out glaze.
3. Add vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
4. Finally, add food coloring if desired.
5. Dip tops of donuts into glaze, shake off excess and immediately add sprinkles if desired.
6. Let set about 10 minutes for glaze to harden.
7. Serve or store in airtight container.

Tips for this homemade baked donut recipe

You can change up the flavor so easily with this recipe. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or cardamom for an interesting variety. Choose a different extract to use in either the donut or the glaze instead of vanilla such as maple extract or lemon extract.

For best results store in an airtight container at room temperature.

How Do You Make Donuts Without Yeast?

You swap yeast for chemical leaveners. This recipe uses baking powder and baking soda. When they mix with the wet ingredients and heat up in the oven, they release tiny bubbles that make the batter puff up and turn fluffy. Yeast does the same job, but it needs an hour or more of rising time. Baking powder works in the oven in about 10 minutes.

The result is a cake donut: tender and slightly dense, like a muffin or a Dunkin’ old-fashioned. It won’t be light and stretchy like a yeast-raised glazed donut. Cake donuts are the easiest kind to make at home because the batter comes together in one bowl, with no kneading, rolling or rising.

Topping Variations

Honestly, it is so easy to change these up with different icings.

• Classic vanilla glaze: the glaze in the recipe card below. Tint it with a few drops of food coloring for birthdays or holidays.
• Cinnamon sugar: mix ½ cup granulated sugar with 1½ teaspoons cinnamon. Brush the warm donuts with 3–4 tablespoons of melted butter, then toss them in the cinnamon sugar. This is the one topping you add while the donuts are still warm.
• Chocolate glaze: whisk 1 cup powdered sugar, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 3–4 tablespoons milk and ½ teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Dip the tops and add sprinkles right away.
• Maple glaze: whisk 1½ cups powdered sugar with 3–4 tablespoons pure maple syrup and a splash of milk. It’s perfect for fall.

FAQs

How long do you bake donuts at 375°F?
Bake these donuts at 375°F for 10–12 minutes. They’re done when the tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Start checking at 10 minutes, since overbaking is the main cause of dry donuts.

What is the secret to soft, fluffy baked donuts?
Three things: don’t overmix the batter, measure flour by spooning it into the cup, and don’t overbake. Using both butter and oil helps too. Butter adds flavor, and oil keeps the donuts moist for days.

How do you store baked donuts?
Store glazed donuts in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. After that, the glaze starts to soften and get sticky. Unglazed donuts keep for up to 3 days. Refrigerating them isn’t recommended because it dries them out.

Can you freeze baked donuts?
Yes, but freeze them unglazed. Let the donuts cool completely, freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet, then move them to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 30–60 minutes. If you like, warm them in the microwave for about 10 seconds, then glaze and serve.

Can I make the batter ahead of time?
It’s best to bake the batter right after mixing. The baking powder starts working as soon as it gets wet, so batter left too long bakes up flatter. If you’re baking in batches, the leftover batter is fine at room temperature for up to 30 minutes. To get ahead, bake the donuts the night before, store them unglazed, and glaze them in the morning.

Can I use milk instead of heavy cream in the glaze?
Yes. Milk makes a thinner, more translucent glaze, and cream makes a thicker, more opaque one. Start with 2 tablespoons of milk and add more a teaspoon at a time until the glaze is smooth and dippable.

Can I fry this donut batter instead of baking it?
No. This batter is thin and pourable, like cake batter, so it won’t hold its shape in hot oil. Fried cake donuts need a thick, rollable dough. This recipe is designed for a donut pan.

How many donuts does this recipe make?
This recipe makes 12 standard-size donuts, enough for two 6-cavity donut pans. If you have extra batter, bake another batch. A mini donut pan makes about 36 minis that bake in 7–9 minutes.

Common Mistakes When Baking Donuts (and How to Fix Them

Baked donuts are easy, but a few small slip-ups can turn them dense, dry or stuck to the pan. Here’s what to watch for.

Lumpy batter: your eggs or milk were cold, and they re-solidified the melted butter. Use room-temperature eggs and milk.

Dense or tough donuts: usually overmixing. Once the flour goes in, stir only until you can’t see dry streaks. Also spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour.

Dry donuts: they were baked too long. Start checking at 10 minutes. They’re done when the tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean. Baked donuts dry out quickly, so a minute or two makes a difference.

Lost the hole or baked into muffin tops: the pan was overfilled. Fill each cavity no more than ¾ full. A piping bag (or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped) keeps the batter neat and even.

Donuts stuck to the pan: grease every cavity well, including the center post. Let the donuts rest in the pan for 5 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack. If they’re too hot they’ll tear, and if they cool too long they’ll stick.

Pale tops: check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer. Light-colored pans also brown less than dark ones. Remember the underside of a baked donut is usually more golden than the top.

Glaze soaks in or slides off: the donuts were still warm. Let them cool completely before dipping.

Glaze too thin or too thick: too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time. Too thick, add cream a teaspoon at a time.

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I hope you loved this easy baked donut recipe.

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