Fried Gluten Free Doughnut Recipe

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While making a homemade fried gluten free doughnut recipe is not difficult, there are a few secret must-dos when it comes to making traditional fried doughnuts. When you get it right, no one would ever know that these yummy, light and airy doughnuts were gluten free!

Follow my tips to ensure your doughnuts aren’t dense, soggy or oily (ew!).

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Don’t tell your friends, but it’s actually easy to make a great gluten free doughnut, you just need the right ingredients and these easy no-fail frying tips!

Gluten Free Fried Doughnut No Fail Tips

The most basic and most important, is to use the right gluten free flour. Using a gritty rice-based flour will leave you with a gritty gluten free doughnut (yuck!) and using a heavy flour will make your doughnuts more like bricks.

My award-winning gfJules™ Flour will get them light and fluffy, just like you want them.

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Second, don’t overwork your dough. Mix until incorporated, and then make your doughnut shapes and set aside to rise without futzing too much with the dough after that.

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Third, your oil must be consistently heated to the proper temperature — I go into this more in the instructions, so pay attention!

gluten free donuts in the fryer

And fourth, finish with mouth-watering glaze, powdered or granulated sugar, chocolate or sprinkles … any way YOU like it, anytime YOU want a great gluten free doughnut!

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Variations on Gluten Free Doughnuts

The beauty of baking a gluten free doughnut yourself — in addition to being able to satisfy a true donut craving any time you have one — is that you can make them just the way you like them.

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For example, celebrate May Day by honoring the tradition of Finnish Munkki: just add 1 teaspoon ground cardamom to gfJules Flour in this donut recipe and voilà! Happy May Day!

And mark your calendar for June 2 — it’s National Donut Day (can’t miss that)! Or just make Donut Day any ol’ day you need an excuse to bake happy!

gluten free fried doughnuts on tray with glaze

These gluten free doughnuts are really so easy to make, there’s no time like TODAY to make your day better with a doughnut!

I’ve given you some fun glaze options, or you can make an easy jam or cream-filled doughnut or Boston Cream filled doughnut (use my Boston Cream filling from this recipe). A simple powdered sugar dusting or glaze and sprinkles  … any combination is delish with a great doughnut!

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Need more gluten free doughnut ideas? Try baked donuts and get your donut fix without the oil. Hop over to one of my favorite recipes, Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Doughnuts!

Feeling chocolatey? Take on my Gluten Free Chocolate-Zucchini Donuts! Or healthier Gluten Free Donut Holes made with protein and coffee! Or search for lots of other fun Gluten Free Donut Holes recipes and others on my site – just use the search bar at the top of each page.)

Or try this recipe in an air fryer — it works beautifully! Check them out!

gluten free doughnut holes on rack close up

(If you’d like to make a New Orleans gluten free donut, aka Beignets, hop to my Gluten Free Beignet recipe! And just for fun, how ’bout Gluten Free Apple Fritters? They qualify as a doughnut, right?!)

All right already – time to make the donuts!

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If you love this recipe and don’t want to miss any other yummy ones, be sure to follow me on your favorite social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or on Instagram — and hashtag #gfJules or tag @gfJules – I love seeing your yummy recipes, too!

gluten free fried doughnut holes with bite

 

Gluten Free Fried Doughnut Recipe

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Gluten Free Donut Recipe

Yield: dozen full-sized doughnuts or 24 doughnut holes
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute
Total Time: 46 minutes

The beauty of baking a gluten free doughnut yourself -- in addition to being able to satisfy a true donut craving any time you have one -- is that you can make them just the way you like them. Fry in oil or bake in an air fryer!

Ingredients

Doughnuts

  • 3 2/3 cups (500 gr.) gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (if making as Finnish Munkki for May Day)
  • 1/4 cup shortening (I like Spectrum® Palm Oil Shortening)
  • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk (or egg substitute)
  • 1 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy)
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla paste or 5 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoon rapid rise yeast (or 4 packages rapid rise yeast, 1/4 oz. each) – Red Star® Quick Rise Yeast
  • High heat vegetable oil, for frying
  • Confectioner’s sugar for dusting or prepared glaze recipes (below)

Glazes / Toppings

  • 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 2-3 Tablespoons milk (dairy or non-dairy)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon milk (dairy or non-dairy)
  • 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (optional - for chocolate frosting)
  • 1 Tablespoon chocolate syrup (optional - for chocolate frosting)
  • 1/2 teaspoon beet powder (optional - for pink glaze)
  • gluten-free sprinkles (optional)

Cream Filling**

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add 1 cup gfJules Flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and shortening. Beat until the shortening is integrated into a mixture resembling small pebbles.
  2. Warm milk to just above body temperature (approximately 100°F) by heating in a small saucepan or in a microwave for 1 minute. Add vanilla paste, 1 tablespoon of sugar and yeast. Whisk to combine and set aside.
  3. After five minutes at rest, and when the yeast mixture has begun to bubble and rise, gently stir into the flour mixture with the eggs (whisk together first before adding). Add remaining gfJules Flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough is firm but slightly sticky.
  4. Lightly flour a clean countertop or pastry mat with gfJules™ Flour. Transfer the dough and pat it into a flat disk shape, then gently roll out to 1/2 inch-thick.
  5. To make donuts, flour (with gfJules Flour) a large round cutter (2-inches or larger) and press into the rolled dough. Use a small round cookie cutters to cut out the middles.
  6. To make donut holes, use a 1-inch or smaller size cookie cutter. Gently press scraps of dough together to re-cut so that all the dough is used.
  7. To make donut holes, roll each cut circle lightly between your palms until it is shaped like a ball. Once cut or rolled, place donuts onto baking sheets lined with parchment and cover with another sheet or parchment.
  8. Place in a warm location or oven turned on to 200°F and turned off. (Place a pot of boiling water in the oven with the dough to help the rise.) Allow the donuts to rise for at least 30 minutes.

To Fry:

  1. In a large saucepan, heat 2 inches of vegetable oil to 350°.  Add 3 or 4 donuts at a time, adjusting the heat to keep the oil between 325° and 350°.
  2. Fry the donuts until golden brown, flipping so both sides are cooked. This process can take less than 1 minute total with these yeasted doughnuts, so watch closely to ensure they are not over or under-cooked.
  3. Remove cooked donuts with a slotted spoon and let drain on a wire rack. If rolling in sugar, do so while the donuts are still hot; if using glazes, allow donuts to cool first.

To Air Fry:

  1. Set the machine to Air Fry at 350F and turn the timer on to start the machine (with my Cuisinart Air Fryer/Toaster Oven the timer must be running for the Air Fry setting to turn on). Put the baking tray on the pan onto rack position 2 (or follow instructions on your air fryer model).
  2. After about 4 minutes, take the doughnuts out — that’s it! They should be lightly browned and fully cooked inside. The first batch I let cook for 5 minutes, and it was a touch too long. I’m sure it depends on the size of your doughnut holes, but you don’t want them to get too brown or crunchy.

Glaze:

  1. To make glaze, whisk ingredients together in a small saucepan over low heat. Once integrated and warmed, dunk donuts into the glaze and set aside on a cooling rack covered with wax paper.
  2. To make chocolate glaze, whisk ingredients together until thick but still spreadable. Dip the tops of donuts into the glaze, then set aside on a cooling rack covered with wax paper until glaze is set. Add more or less milk or sugar until the consistency is right.

Cream-Filled:

  1. Beat whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy in a medium-sized bowl using an electric mixer with whisk attachment(s).
  2. In a separate bowl, whip cream cheese until creamy, then fold into the whipped cream mixture.
  3. To fill the donuts, once the doughnuts are fried and cooled, fit a large opening metal icing tip onto a pastry bag and fill with jam, preserves, frosting or cream as you withdraw the tip. Push the metal tip into the side of the donut hole almost into the middle, and squeeze the jam or cream inside the donut. For larger donuts, insert a pastry bag fitted with a long metal tip into the middle, then squeeze filling as you withdraw the tip.

As with any fried donut, these are best when enjoyed the day you make them.*

Notes

*If you don't intend to enjoy all the doughnuts the day they're made, don't glaze the any you're saving for another day. The glaze won't keep well. Store leftovers at room temperature for up to 2 days.

**for Boston Cream use this recipe

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment (and maybe even a picture!) below or share a photo on Instagram! Be sure to tag me! @gfJules

Make them the old-fashioned way in hot oil, or try them in an air fryer! You’ll love them either way!

Pin for later!

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  1. Oh my goodness, yum!! These look amazing. I haven’t had a donut in FOREVER. I’ve been wanting to make them at home for years. I’m def going to give this recipe a try 🙂

    Reply
  2. I melded this recipe with my traditional Fastnacht recipe and made GF Fastnachts. They are so delicious and have a perfect texture! It’s so exciting to have a real Fastnacht after so many years of missing them. Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Oh wow! What a fantastic idea, Kristy! I can’t wait to research Fastnacht history (one of my favorite past-times is researching food history!) and learn more. SO good to know they turned out exceptionally well! Thanks for letting me know!
      ~jules

      Reply
    • Kristy…I would love your recipe for gluten-free fasnachts. I am from aPennsylvania Dutch area where fasnachts are huge in fat tuesday. I have not had one for so very long. I absolutely love them and would really appreciate enjoying them once again.

      Reply
  3. Awesome recipe, donuts tasted great. I couldn’t find cookie cutters so used a wine glass for the outside cut and a knife to make the hole. Not the prettiest but they cooked up great.

    Reply
  4. Hi Jules,

    Hope this finds you well?

    Something went wrong on the way of this posting being sent out and the linking to the recipe.
    The subject says:
    Delish Gluten Free Waffle Recipe, but the recipe is for GF Doughnuts.

    Go Figure! Your Recipes may be misnamed/switches in your data base.
    Luv ya,

    Reply
    • haha – yes Esther, I noticed the subject line hadn’t changed from the email the day before. Did you get the email for waffles? If you want that recipe you can always just use the search bar at the top of the page and find it or any other recipe your heart desires! At least the picture still linked to doughnuts!!! Thanks for checking in!!
      ~jules

      Reply
    • You can use butter but understand that butter is 80% moisture; shortening is 0% moisture. With that in mind, the batter might be a little wetter than you’d expect and the doughnuts might be slightly heavier. You can add a bit more gluten free flour to offset this if the doughnuts aren’t turning out exactly right, but they’ll probably turn out. I just say that so you know since I wrote the recipe contemplating shortening instead. Let me know you if you try it with butter so I know whether to tell others that’s a workable option for them, too. Good luck!
      ~jules

      Reply
  5. what is the Vanilla Paste? In the recipe it calls for Vanilla Paste but in the ingredients there is no recipe or mention to it. Please Help Me!

    Reply
    • Hi Leith, the vanilla paste is listed in ingredients with the option to add vanilla extract instead. Vanilla paste is pretty much what it sounds like — paste made from the vanilla bean. It has an amazing aroma and little flecks of vanilla bean which are pretty in the finished doughnut dough. If you would rather use vanilla extract, simply use that ingredient in the listed amount instead. I hope that helps!
      ~jules

      Reply
  6. Making these for my hubby soon, its the one thing he has REALLY missed! Need to order another bag of your flour as mine is almost out.

    Reply
    • I can’t wait to hear what he thinks (and you too, Celeste!). Doughnuts are a guilty pleasure, but one no one should have to go without once in awhile! 🙂
      ~jules

      Reply
    • I was intimidated at the thought of it at first, but it’s super easy once you get the oil the right temp. I hope you try it!
      ~jules

      Reply
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