Spudnuts – Potato Donuts

These Potato Donuts are so light and airy, tossed in a sweet glaze, and basically just irresistible. And if potato donuts sound strange to you, just know that there’s a rumor that the famous ‘krispy’ donut contains potato too!

When we first moved to the city I now live in, my husband tried selling me on it with the local donut shop. He knows that donuts rank high with me.

My chocolate glazed donuts are a major hit around here!

The thing is, these donuts are made from potatoes and I’m sorry, but no. Take me home, I want to move back in with my mama, where the donuts are made from normal things like flour and sugar.

I finally gave one of the potato donuts a shot, though. And, well, here I am making and sharing my own version with you.

Mashed potatoes add moisture to the dough and helps make them so light and fluffy. And no – these don’t taste like potatoes – they just taste like delicious donuts that you won’t be able to stop eating!

Ingredient Notes:

Potatoes – We use russet potatoes, but any variety that mashes well should work.

Dry Ingredients – We’re using the usual mix of flour, sugar, yeast, and spices in these donuts.

Wet Ingredients – We’re using an egg, along with the water we boil the potatoes in.

Active Dry Yeast – Don’t be scared, I’ll walk you through it if you’re new to working with yeast! It’s easy!

Oil – We are deep frying these donuts. I like to use a vegetable oil, such as canola or corn oil for frying. Peanut oil would also work well, but I find it’s a bit pricey.

How to:

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Potatoes: Wash, peel, and boil your potatoes. Save the water you boiled the potatoes in for later and then mash or rice the potatoes. You’ll need 3/4 of a cup.

Yeast: Take a couple of tablespoons of leftover potato water and add the yeast. Let that bloom for about 5 minutes. This just means you’ll sprinkle the yeast over the top and wait for it to get bubbly.

Combine: Add the mashed potatoes, a bit of flour, and egg to a stand mixer. Add the potato water back to the pot with some sugar, butter, and salt and heat that until the butter has melted. Add to your potato mixture along with the spices and yeast mixture and start mixing.

Dough: While your mixer is running, add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time just until the dough comes together and is clearing the sides of the bowl. Let knead for 5-10 minutes. The dough should be somewhat stiff and not sticky to the touch. It should be easy to handle. You may not need all of the flour.

Rise: Let the dough rise in a greased bowl for an hour. It should double in size.

Shape & Rise: Punch the dough down and roll it out. Use a donut cutter to cut out the donuts and place them on 3 inch squares of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Let rise for 1 more hour or until doubled in size.

Fry: Heat a pot with 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees. Try to keep the pot right around 365-385 while frying to ensure you donuts cook evenly and don’t end up greasy (too cold) or burnt outside and raw inside (too hot). Let the donuts drain on a paper towel lined plate.

Donut Glaze:

Making a donut glaze is simple! You’ll need:

• Powdered Sugar
• Milk
• Vanilla

Warm the milk and then stir everything together until smooth. Dunk the mostly cooled donuts into the warm glaze and let sit.

You can dunk both sides of the donut to coat or just dunk the tops and let it drip down.

Other Donut Toppings:

Half the fun of making donuts is getting creative with the toppings!

While we think these potato donuts are absolutely perfectly with a simple glaze, you can feel free to experiment!

Chocolate Glaze: Mix together 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and 2-3 tablespoons of milk until smooth.

Cinnamon & Sugar: Whisk together 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon. The cinnamon sugar mixture sticks best when the donuts are still warm, so toss them in this mixture as soon as you’re able.

Powdered Sugar: Place 1 cup of powdered sugar in a brown paper bag. Once donuts are cool enough to handle, add them to the bag one or two at a time and shake until fully coated in the powdered sugar. If the powdered sugar is melting, your donuts are too hot. Cool longer and try tossing them again.

Air Fryer

We’ve only tested these donuts by frying them, and honestly think that’s how they’ll work best. I wouldn’t try these in the air fryer myself.

That said, if you hate frying, try these air fryer donuts instead!

Working with Yeast:

If you’ve never worked with yeast before, it can be a bit intimidating the first time. Just trust the process and you’ll find it a very satisfying and simple process, that mostly just involves waiting for dough to rise.

A few tips:

• When adding yeast to liquid, make sure the liquid is between 100- 120 degrees. Too hot and the yeast will die, too cool and it won’t activate.
• Yeast hates salt. Mix salt in with the flour, not with the liquid you mix with the yeast.
• Yeast loves sugar. Go ahead and add a bit of sugar to your warm water to give the yeast something to eat. It’s not necessary in this recipe since we’re using potato water.
• Store yeast in the fridge or freezer to maximize it’s life. It only lasts for around 6 months in the pantry.

If yeast is just a no go for you, try our donut recipe without yeast.

FAQ’s: