Spudnuts are a simple glazed yeast donuts recipe made with mashed potatoes, which makes a soft and tender dough. These melt-in-your-mouth spudnut doughnuts are easy to make with a hint of lemon zest and nutmeg, and are dipped in a vanilla or chocolate glaze for the perfect finishing touch.
It’s hard to top a hot homemade donut dripping with chocolate or vanilla glaze. The secret to the most tender, soft and flavorful breakfast treats might sound a bit odd, but I promise you’ll thank me… Adding mashed potatoes makes the dough very soft and workable. These Spudnuts (spuds + donuts :)) are a classic recipe that you’d never know were made with potatoes, and are sure to be a family favorite.
With a few tips and tricks, you’ll be frying up a batch of donuts in no time!
Top Tips to Fry Perfect Doughnuts
- Let’s start with the oil. It’s best to fry in oil that is very neutral and that has a “smoke point”. The smoke point is the temperature at which a given oil starts to smoke; it can catch fire if it gets much hotter than that. Canola oil has been my favorite so far. Peanut oil browned the donuts beautifully, but I didn’t like the strong flavor that it left on my lovely spudnuts. Check out Saveur for their article “Five Oils for Frying”.
- Use a large heavy pot or dutch oven. The pot needs to be deep enough to hold at least 2 inches of oil along with the frying donuts. The pot should be able to hold around 2 quarts of oil.
- A clip-on thermometer to measure the heat of the oil is essential. Here’s why: The oil needs to be heated to 350℉ and that temperature needs to be maintained throughout the entire frying process. Don’t worry if the heat goes up to 360-365℉. Once the donuts are dropped into the oil the temperature may go down. As long as the temperature is between 330 – 360℉, the donuts will cook perfectly. If the temperature drops below 350℉, bring the temperature of the oil back up to 350℉ before frying additional donuts.
- Properly draining the oil from the donuts. Each fried donut is actually drained three times. First) When lifting the donuts from the oil, hold the donut above the pot and let the oil drip from the donut for about 10 seconds. Second) Place cooked donut on a prepared baking sheet that has a few layers of absorbent paper towels. Let the donuts to drain on the paper towels for 30-60 seconds. Third) Remove the donuts from the paper towels and place them on a wire rack to completely cool. This ensures a nice crisp outer layer that will absorb the glaze beautifully.
How to Make Old Fashioned Potato Donuts Step By Step
Make the Yeast Donut Dough
- Add the yeast to 1/2 cup warm water. Stir to dissolve then set aside.
- In a saucepan, add butter, milk, sugar, salt, and mashed potatoes. This is why they are called “Spudnut” doughnuts.
- Set the pan over medium heat. Heat until mixture is very warm approx 110-115℉. The butter will begin to melt, but probably not completely. Remove from heat.
- Pour the warm mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer.
- Mix the eggs slightly and mix them into the warm milk mixture.
- Add the reserved, dissolved yeast.
- Mix in 3 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and ground nutmeg. (Fresh ground if available)
- Add remaining dough 1 cup at a time. Mix well after each addition. Add flour just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I used 6 1/2 cups on this batch dough. You may need more or you may need less. Just follow the consistency of your dough more than the amount the recipe calls for. The dough should look like the pictures above. It’s just a bit sticky. Not much. You will notice that the addition of potatoes will make the dough very smooth and oh so nice.
Let the Yeast Dough Rise
- Lightly oil a very large bowl. Transfer the dough into the oiled bowl. Turn the dough over so the dough is oiled on all sides.
- Cover the bowl with a clean dry cloth. Set aside and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours depending upon the temperature in your home. The photo above is what the dough should look like once it has risen for a couple of hours. Go ahead and punch it down.
Roll the Dough, Cut the Donuts, One More Rise
TIP: Before rolling out the dough, I like to sprinkle a clean dish towel with about 1/3 cup flour.
- Divide the dough in half and work with one half at a time. The dough is soft enough that it can be gently pulled into a rectangle.
- Roll out the dough until it is about 1/2-inch thick. Lightly flour a donut cutter. I found this dandy wood donut cutter somewhere in Vermont several years ago. I love Vermont. ❤️🍁
- Cut out several donuts.
- You will have one donut and one donut hole.
- Place the donut and the donut hole onto the prepared dish towel.
- Cover the rolled out donuts with another clean cloth and allow the donuts to rise for about 30-40 minutes. This is a good time to clean up the kitchen and prepare the glazes.
Make the Vanilla and Chocolate Glazes
TIP: I found that I needed to double the batch for the vanilla glaze. I just always seem to run out.
- In a medium-size mixing bowl add the powdered sugar, cream of tartar, corn syrup, vanilla, and warm water.
- Mix well until there are no lumps and the glaze is smooth.
- The glaze will be quite thin.
- Pour the glaze into a shallow dish. This will make it easier to coat the cooked donuts. Cover with plastic wrap because a thin crust will form on the top if you don’t. Set aside.
To make chocolate glaze follow the directions above but add 1 tablespoon cocoa powder to mixture in step #1. The chocolate glaze will be thicker than the vanilla glaze. Pour into a shallow dish for dipping donuts.
Fry the Spudnuts
- Prepare baking sheets: Line a baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels for draining the fried doughnuts. Line 4 more baking sheets with parchment paper and place a cooling rack on top. One of the baking sheets and rack will be used to transfer donuts before dipping in glaze. The other lined baking sheets with cooling racks are for glazed spudnuts doughnuts to drip and dry from glazing.
- The donuts and the donut holes should have risen to double their original size. Place a large heavy bottom pot/Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 inches of oil to the pot. Heat the oil to 350℉. Try to maintain a temperature of 350-360℉ at all times.
- Drop a donut hole into the hot oil as a tester. Donut holes should begin to bubble and sizzle around the edges. Turn several times to brown on all sides. Adjust the heat up or down at this point. If the donut hole browned too quickly, the heat may need to be lowered. This will prevent the donut from being doughy on the inside. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet.
- Carefully drop the rings of dough into the hot oil. Only fry 3 donuts at a time.
- Use a chopstick to turn the potato donuts over. (Chopsticks are the perfect tool for turning donuts without ruining the shape!). Turn 3-4 times while they are cooking. When the outside is a light golden color, carefully lift out of the hot oil using a chopstick. Hold the cooked donut over the hot oil and allow it to drip for about 10 seconds.
- Place on a prepared baking sheet lined with a paper towel. Let sit on a paper towel while other donuts are cooking. After a minute or so transfer cooked doughnuts to the baking sheet with a cooling rack on top. Allow to drain one more time before glazing. Repeat.
TIP: After dropping the donuts into the hot oil turn them often. Flip the donuts 3-4 times in the hot oil. Flipping them often results in even browning on both sides. Frying the donut holes is a bit more challenging. Those babies like to flip all over.
How to Glaze Homemade Doughnuts
- Have a baking sheet with a wire rack ready to place the glazed doughnuts on.
- While the donut is still hot, dip in the prepared glaze. Completely coat the entire donut in the vanilla glaze. Allow a little extra glaze to drip off.
- Only glaze the top of the donut when using chocolate glaze.
- Place on a wire rack to allow the glaze to dry. Sprinkles can be added before the glaze dries.
Frequently Asked Questions
The classic spudnuts recipe is made with cooked and cooled mashed potatoes. “Regular” donuts are made with a similar yeast dough, minus the taters.
No, unfortunately, either type of donut is not healthy. Both varieties are deep fried, which makes a delicious but not-at-all-good-for-you treat.
It is best to use the glazes shortly after whisking up. They will begin to harden after being left in the open air. This is why I suggest covering the dish with a lid or plastic wrap if it will be more than 30 minutes before dipping.
Keep them in a sealed container at room temperature for a day or two. You can refrigerate them for longer storage, but this will change the tender doughnut texture.
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Spudnuts (Potato Doughnuts with Glaze)
Spudnuts are a simple glazed yeast donuts recipe made with mashed potatoes, which makes a soft and tender dough. These melt-in-your-mouth spudnut doughnuts are easy to make with a hint of lemon zest and nutmeg, and are dipped in a vanilla or chocolate glaze for the perfect finishing touch.
Ingredients
Spudnuts:
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon dry yeast
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3 eggs beaten
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup mashed potatoes salt before cooking
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 6-7 cup all-purpose flour
- Oil for frying shortening, canola oil
Vanilla Glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1/4 cup warm water 1 tablespoon at a time
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon warm water or more
- 2 – 3 teaspoons cocoa
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
Instructions
Make Spudnut Dough
-
Add the yeast to 1/2 cup warm water. Stir to dissolve then set aside.
-
In a saucepan, add butter, milk, sugar, salt, and mashed potatoes. This is why they are called “Spudnuts”.
-
Set the pan over medium heat. Heat until mixture is very warm approx 110-115℉. The butter will begin to melt, but probably not completely. Remove from heat.
-
Pour the warm mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer.
-
Mix the eggs slightly and mix them into the warm milk mixture.
-
Add the reserved, dissolved yeast.
-
Mix in 3 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and ground nutmeg. (Fresh ground if available)
-
Add remaining dough 1 cup at a time. Mix well after each addition. Add flour just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I used 6 1/2 cups on this batch dough. You may need more or you may need less. Just follow the consistency of your dough more than the amount the recipe calls for. The dough should look like the pictures above. It’s just a bit sticky. Not much. You will notice that the addition of potatoes will make the dough very smooth and oh so nice.
Let the Yeast Dough Rise
-
Lightly oil a very large bowl. Transfer the dough into the oiled bowl. Turn the dough over so the dough is oiled on all sides.
-
Cover the bowl with a clean dry cloth. Set aside and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours depending upon the temperature in your home. The photo above is what the dough should look like once it has risen for a couple of hours. Go ahead and punch it down.
Roll the Dough and Cut the Donuts
-
Divide the dough in half and work with one half at a time. The dough is soft enough that it can be gently pulled into a rectangle.
-
Roll out the dough until it is about 1/2-inch thick. Lightly flour a donut cutter.
-
Cut out several donuts.
-
You will have one donut and one donut hole.
-
Place the donut and the donut hole onto the prepared dish towel.
-
Cover the rolled out donuts with another clean cloth and allow the donuts to rise for about 30-40 minutes. This is a good time to clean up the kitchen and prepare the glazes.
Make the Vanilla and Chocolate Glazes
-
In a medium-size mixing bowl add the powdered sugar, cream of tartar, corn syrup, vanilla, and warm water.
-
Mix well until there are no lumps and the glaze is smooth.
-
The glaze will be quite thin… It should easily flow off of a spoon.
-
Pour the glaze into a shallow dish. This will make it easier to coat the cooked donuts. Cover with plastic wrap because a thin crust will form on the top if you don’t. Set aside.
To make chocolate glaze follow the directions above but add 1 tablespoon cocoa powder to mixture in step #1. The chocolate glaze will be thicker than the vanilla glaze. Pour into a shallow dish for dipping donuts.
Fry the Doughnuts
-
Prepare baking sheets: Line a baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels for draining the fried spudnuts. Line 4 more baking sheets with parchment paper and place a cooling rack on top. One of the baking sheets and rack will be used to transfer spudnuts before dipping in glaze. The other lined baking sheets with cooling racks are for glazed spudnuts to drip and dry from glazing.
-
The donuts and the donut holes should have risen to double their original size. Place a large heavy bottom pot/Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 inches of oil to the pot. Heat the oil to 350℉. Try to maintain a temperature of 350-360℉ at all times.
-
Drop a donut hole into the hot oil as a tester. Donut holes should begin to bubble and sizzle around the edges. Turn several times to brown on all sides. Adjust the heat up or down at this point. If the donut hole browned too quickly, the heat may need to be lowered. This will prevent the donut from being doughy on the inside. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet.
-
Carefully drop spudnuts into the hot oil. Only fry 3 donuts at a time.
-
Use a chopstick to turn spudnuts over. (Chopsticks are the perfect tool for turning donuts without ruining the shape!). Turn 3-4 times while spudnut is cooking. When the spudnut is a light golden color, carefully lift out of the hot oil using a chopstick. Hold the cooked donut over the hot oil and allow it to drip for about 10 seconds.
-
Place on a prepared baking sheet lined with a paper towel. Let sit on a paper towel while other spudnuts are cooking. After a minute or so transfer cooked spudnuts to the baking sheet with a cooling rack on top. Allow to drain one more time before glazing. Repeat.
Glaze the Spudnuts
-
Have a baking sheet with a wire rack ready to place the glazed doughnuts on.
-
While the donut is still hot, dip in the prepared glaze. Completely coat the entire donut in the vanilla glaze. Allow a little extra glaze to drip off.
-
Only glaze the top of the donut when using chocolate glaze.
-
Place on a wire rack to allow the glaze to dry. Sprinkles can be added before the glaze dries.
Recipe Notes
Keep them in a sealed container at room temperature for a day or two. You can refrigerate them for longer storage, but this will change the tender doughnut texture.
Top Tips to Fry Perfect Donuts
👉🏻Use a large heavy pot or dutch oven. The pot needs to be deep enough to hold at least 2 inches of oil along with the frying donuts. The pot should be able to hold around 2 quarts of oil.
👉🏻A clip-on thermometer to measure the heat of the oil is essential. Here’s why: The oil needs to be heated to 350℉ and that temperature needs to be maintained throughout the entire frying process. Don’t worry if the heat goes up to 360-365℉. Once the donuts are dropped into the oil the temperature may go down. As long as the temperature is between 330 – 360℉, the donuts will cook perfectly. If the temperature drops below 350℉, bring the temperature of the oil back up to 350℉ before frying additional donuts.
👉🏻Properly draining the oil from the donuts. Each fried donut is actually drained three times. First) When lifting the donuts from the oil, hold the donut above the pot and let the oil drip from the donut for about 10 seconds. Second) Place cooked donut on a prepared baking sheet that has a few layers of absorbent paper towels. Let the donuts to drain on the paper towels for 30-60 seconds. Third) Remove the donuts from the paper towels and place them on a wire rack to completely cool. This ensures a nice crisp outer layer that will absorb the glaze beautifully.
Grew up eating spudnuts from the shop in el dOrado, ar. They were the only ones my dad would eat. True spudnuts, which are still trademarked are made with a potato flour mix, never mashed potatoes. Sadly the mix RECIPE was proprietary and when the parent company was closed flour mix production stopped. No one truly knows the recipe, though many claim to have it. My favorite was always the powdered ones fresh from the fryer.
Thank you for sharing the history.
Can I use butt i of milk?
The question did not come through completely, but I assume you would like to use buttermilk instead of regular milk? Yes, you can substitute the milk in the spudnut recipe with buttermilk. You shouldn’t have any trouble or have to make any adjustments. Please let me know if you have any other questions. XJanet
I’m going to try these this weEkend. Does it matter what kind of potato i use? I was thinking rUssets would produce a fluffier Donut than a yukon. Also, im not yelling at you, Commenting doEsn’t Give the option to use lower case letters. 😉
I’m sorry about the font in all caps. It doesn’t appear when I receive the message in all caps. You are correct in using russet potatoes for a fluffier donut. Please let me know how you like the donuts and if you have any other questions.
Hey quick question … im in tge process of making these now could i ise half the dough fOr now and REFRIGERATE the other half for tomorrow ?
Absolutely. The dough will roll out really well when chilled. You’ll just need to plan on a little longer rise time. I hope you love the Spudnuts.
janet:i love this! I’M OPENING A SMALL DONUT SHOP,AND WILL B MAKING50-100DZ. PER DAY. cAN I USE PATATOE FLOUR IN THE PLACE OF MASHED PATATOES? WOULD BE HARD TOMAKE ENOUGH FOR MY USE.IF SO HOW MUCH FLOUR FOR THE RECIPE? HOW MUCHFLOUR FOR ICUP .THANKSmy email should only be small letters,i guess the c ap is locked
Wow! What an exciting venture. I wish you all the best with your donut shop. I have never tried using potato flour, but I think it’s a great idea. I have often thought of substituting potato flour myself but just haven’t taken the time to play with it. This recipe can make as many as 100 if you don’t make donut holes. I think that adding 1/2 to 1 cup potato flour should be ample. I believe it can be exchanged equally by weight. Please let me know how they turn out. Congratulations on this amazing endeavor.
aS A YOUNG BOY (AROUND 8 OR 10) i SOLD SPUDNUTS DOOR TO DOOR IN THE PANHANDLE OF TEXAS. I REMEMBER WELL THE TASTE OF VANILLA ONES. WE SOLD THEM FOR .25 CENTS A HALF DOZEN AND US KIDS MADE 5 CENTS
What a fun story and great memories. I bet they were delicious sputnuts!
Here in PA we call mashed potato donuts Fasnauts. Even have a Fasnauts day. Which us the day before ash WEDNESDAY. The Dutch used all the fat, flour, sugar and potatoes up before Lent. Never heard of spudnuts.
How fun! I’ve never heard of Fasnauts. I love hearing about traditions with food from around the country. Thank you so much for sharing. I will look up fasnauts for sure.
I haven’t made these, but they arevery similar to PA Dutch faStNaucHs…Donuts made with mashed potatoes!! The best donuts ever!
They are just as gOod as the photos make them out to be!
Yum! Thank you so much. They are delicious!
Thank you Carol for your comment. Best family business ever! I hope you have the family recipes for the Spudnuts made in your shop. What a treasure.
Love this recipe. My family actually had a Spudnut Shop when I was in junior high school. Best donuts you will ever have, and I believe the franchise was started in Utah. Thanks for the recipe.
I grew up in a small town in Texas that had a Spudnut shop. I have longed for a recipe every since. Is this like the commercial ones?
Yes they are just like donut shop donuts. You will be amazed how delicious they are.
I made these spudnuts today, and they were fantastic! I scaled down the recipe, as I didn't need 40 spudnuts. Thanks for this recipe and the great instructions.
Had heard stories from my mother and older siblings about spudnuts. I decided to try my hand today. Thank you for the very clear instructions and delicious recipe. Entire family loved them. I will definitely keep making these lovely little gems.
Thank you for your kind comments. I'm so happy your family approved.
I made these this weekend and they were a loved by all! Thank you so much, I am so glad you are back. I missed your Christmas chocolates post this past year. Welcome back!!!!
Thank you so much. I really missed doing my Christmas post. I'll get it together for next year.
nice post, i feel hungry
Great pics, clear instructions and very good tips!
I have heard that if you use canola oil you need to slice up 2 big potatoes and cook them
till golden brown in your oil first. Pull them out and now cook the spudnuts. Something about the
"used" oil and starch maybe? Keeps the oil from soaking into the dough before it cooks.
They look great !
Fabulous tip! Thank you so much. I will definitely try it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you I have been looking for recipe for a while, your pictures are gorgeous (am a visual learner) and you explain everything so well. am eating a donut in Sicily, Italy and remembering the donuts my mom used to make and when she passed away I lost the recipe, this is it!! thank you so much!
I'm so jealous.
jealous? why? btw my husband and in-laws loved the spudnuts!
You're in Italy! It's a dream of mine to say that I'm eating a donut in Sicily. 🙂 I'm so happy the spudnuts were a hit.
So excited to make these but I must've done something wrong… the dough doesn't seem to have risen at all and it's been 1hr 55min. Should I proceed with the recipe or any ideas what I might have done wrong?
thank you!
Your dough should be ready within an hour or so. Was your yeast fresh? Let me know if the dough ever raised enough. I hope it did.
I am so making these! Halloween has been pushed to Monday in my area because of Hurricane Sandy, so I have the weekend to prepare. Thank you for sharing!!
I'm sorry you had to deal with Sandy, but happy you have an extra few days to prepare. Good luck.
Thank you so much for this fabulous post!
In Richland, WA (I'm from the area known as the Tri-Cities), we still have a spudnuts shop. But I can't tell you how excited I am to have this recipe so that no matter where I move, I can continue to have my spudnuts! Thanks again!
I used to live above a Spudnut Shop. Torture! I don't know if there are any left, but I'm so happy to have the recipe! Thank you!
They look amazing!!
Hats off your all hard work! You put all step-by-step pics for our convenience that really appreciable! The end result is really mouth watering.
btw, can you please tell me which brand of your pan that you used for vanilla glaze? Thank you. 🙂
The pie plate I used was called "Pure" by Chantal. I love the neutral color. Thanks for you comments.
Hi Janet, I asked about that stainless steel pot/pan that you used for making vanilla glaze 🙂
I'm just bit confuse, which doesn't take much. I made the glaze in a glass anchor hocking 8-cup measuring cup/bowl. The stainless steal pan that I used to mix the milk mixture is All-Clad. Did I answer correctly???
Sorry Janet about all confusion. It's my mistake. But now, all is clear. Thanks! 🙂
These look amazing! I love a good homemade doughnut! Your step by step instructions are awesome. I will be trying these very soon. I love your blog. 🙂
Please share your success once you try. thank you so much for your comment.
Those look scrumptious!! And not too horrible difficult. I may have to try this one!!
~April
All it takes is a little extra time in the kitchen. Thanks for stopping by.