Making donuts from scratch usually means yeasted dough, a rise time, and a fair amount of patience. This recipe skips almost all of that, starting instead from a can of refrigerated biscuit dough and turning it into warm, golden donut holes in about twenty minutes, start to finish.

Each biscuit gets cut into smaller pieces, fried until puffed and golden, then rolled while still warm in a coating of cinnamon and sugar. The result tastes remarkably close to a real bakery donut hole — crisp on the outside, soft and slightly doughy in the center, coated in that classic cinnamon-sugar crunch.

It’s the kind of recipe that turns a can of biscuit dough most people already have a use for into breakfast, dessert, or a Sunday morning treat, without needing to plan ahead or wait for anything to rise.

This is the recipe to reach for on a lazy weekend morning when a real bakery run isn’t in the cards, but the craving for something warm, fried, and cinnamon-sugared absolutely is.

A Little Bit of History

Refrigerated canned biscuit dough has been a pantry shortcut in American kitchens since the mid-20th century, originally marketed purely as a fast alternative to homemade biscuits. It didn’t take long before home cooks began finding other uses for it beyond its intended purpose — as a pizza crust base, wrapped around hot dogs, and, as in this case, fried into a quick stand-in for yeasted donut dough.

Cinnamon sugar donuts themselves have deep roots in American baking, closely tied to the cider donuts and fair-food donuts that have been a fall and carnival staple for generations. The combination of a hot, freshly fried dough tossed immediately in cinnamon and sugar while still warm is a technique that predates this particular shortcut by decades, borrowed directly from more traditional yeasted donut recipes.

This biscuit dough version represents one of the more popular hacks to emerge from the broader trend of using canned biscuit dough as a base for other desserts — it delivers a genuinely donut-like texture and flavor with almost none of the time investment a traditional yeasted dough would require.

Shortcut recipes built around canned biscuit dough have become something of their own genre within home cooking over the past several decades, spanning everything from savory pigs-in-a-blanket to sweet monkey bread and, in this case, donut holes. What unites them is the same basic appeal: a reliable, pre-made dough that eliminates the most time-consuming part of a from-scratch recipe, letting home cooks focus on the fun finishing steps instead.

Why This One Works

Refrigerated biscuit dough already contains the leavening agents needed to puff up when it hits hot oil, since biscuit dough relies on baking powder rather than yeast for its rise. That means there’s no proofing time required — the moment the dough pieces hit the oil, they begin to puff and brown, mimicking the texture of a traditional fried donut in a fraction of the time.

Cutting each biscuit into smaller pieces before frying, rather than frying whole biscuits, gives a higher surface-area-to-volume ratio, which is exactly what produces that classic donut-hole shape and texture — crisp exterior, soft interior, with more surface available to soak up the cinnamon sugar coating once fried.

Tossing the donut holes in cinnamon sugar while they’re still warm, straight out of the oil, is essential to how well the coating sticks. The residual oil and heat on the surface of each piece helps the sugar adhere evenly, which is why this step works so much better fresh than if the donut holes are allowed to cool first.

It’s worth understanding why oil temperature specifically matters so much more here than in many other frying recipes. Because these pieces are small, they cook very quickly — often in under two minutes total — which means there’s very little margin for the oil to be at the wrong temperature. Too cool, and the dough sits in the oil longer than it should, soaking up excess grease before it has a chance to properly puff and brown. Too hot, and the outside can scorch before the inside has a chance to cook through.

What You’ll Need

• 1 16.3 oz can refrigerated biscuit dough
• Vegetable or canola oil for frying
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

A Closer Look at Each Ingredient

The biscuit dough. A standard can of refrigerated biscuit dough, the kind that pops open with a light tap on the counter, provides the base for these donut holes. Flaky-layer varieties and standard buttermilk biscuits both work, though flaky-layer dough can produce a slightly more textured, craggy surface once fried.

The frying oil. A neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as vegetable or canola oil, is ideal for frying — it won’t impart any competing flavor and can handle the heat needed to fry the dough quickly without burning.

The cinnamon and sugar. A simple mixture of granulated sugar and ground cinnamon coats the warm, freshly fried donut holes. The ratio here can be adjusted to taste — more cinnamon for a spicier coating, more sugar for a sweeter, milder one.

Equipment You’ll Need

A deep, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet is essential for frying, since it distributes heat evenly and gives enough oil depth for the dough to puff and cook through properly. A kitchen or candy thermometer takes the guesswork out of monitoring oil temperature, which is genuinely the most important factor for getting these right. A slotted spoon or spider strainer makes lifting the fried pieces out of the hot oil safe and easy, and paper towels are useful for a quick drain before coating.

How to Make Them

1. Heat the oil. Pour about 2 inches of oil into a deep pot or skillet and heat to 350°F (175°C).
2. Cut the biscuits. Open the can of biscuit dough and cut each biscuit into 4 smaller pieces.
3. Mix the coating. In a shallow bowl, combine the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.
4. Fry the dough. Fry the biscuit pieces in small batches for 1–2 minutes per side, until golden brown and puffed.
5. Drain briefly. Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on a paper towel for a few seconds.
6. Coat while warm. While still warm, toss each piece in the cinnamon sugar mixture until fully coated.
7. Serve. Serve warm, ideally within a few minutes of frying.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

My donut holes turned out greasy instead of crisp. This usually means the oil temperature was too low, causing the dough to absorb excess oil while frying rather than cooking quickly on the surface. Use a thermometer and keep the oil steady around 350°F.

My donut holes browned too quickly on the outside but stayed raw inside. This means the oil was too hot. Lower the heat slightly and fry a test piece to check the timing before frying the full batch.

My cinnamon sugar coating didn’t stick well. This happens if the donut holes cooled too much before coating. Toss them in the cinnamon sugar mixture as soon as they’re cool enough to handle, while they’re still warm and slightly oily on the surface.

My donut holes are unevenly sized and cooked. Cutting the biscuits into roughly even pieces before frying helps ensure they all cook at a similar rate. Uneven pieces will finish frying at different times, so keep a close eye on smaller pieces that may brown faster.

My oil started smoking during frying. This means the oil is too hot, beyond a safe frying temperature. Lower the heat immediately and let the oil cool slightly before continuing, checking the temperature with a thermometer.

My donut holes tasted raw or doughy in the center. This usually means the oil was too hot, browning the outside before the inside had time to cook through. Lower the heat slightly and fry a test piece first, cutting it open to check for doneness before frying the full batch.

Serving Suggestions

These donut holes are best enjoyed warm, ideally within a few minutes of frying and coating, when the outside is still slightly crisp and the cinnamon sugar coating is at its freshest. A simple platter piled high, still warm from the pan, is really all the presentation these need.

They pair naturally with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, especially on a cool morning, and make for an easy, crowd-pleasing addition to a weekend brunch spread. Because they’re bite-sized, they’re also easy to serve at a casual gathering without needing plates or forks.

For a slightly more indulgent presentation, serve with a small bowl of warm chocolate sauce or caramel for dipping alongside the classic cinnamon sugar coating, giving guests the option to customize each bite.

These donut holes also make a fun, hands-on breakfast activity for a family morning, since the frying and coating steps happen quickly enough that everyone can be involved without a long wait between start and finish — a genuinely good option for a weekend when you want something a little more special than a typical breakfast.

It’s also worth talking about frying safety, since this recipe does involve hot oil and deserves a bit of caution. Never leave the pot unattended while frying, keep a lid nearby in case the oil needs to be smothered quickly, and add dough pieces gently rather than dropping them in from a height, which can cause hot oil to splash. Frying in smaller batches, rather than crowding the pot, also helps maintain a steady temperature and reduces the risk of oil bubbling up unexpectedly.

A Few Ways to Make Them Yours

Make-Ahead Tips

These donut holes are genuinely best made fresh and served immediately, since their appeal relies heavily on that just-fried crispness and warmth. That said, the cinnamon sugar coating can be mixed ahead of time and stored in an airtight container, saving a small step for whenever you’re ready to fry.

If you do need to make these ahead, a brief reheat in a warm oven or air fryer for a few minutes can help revive some of the crispness, though they won’t be quite as good as fresh from the fryer.

A Note on Dietary Adjustments

This recipe can be adjusted for a few common dietary needs. For a lower-fat version, the air fryer variation listed above significantly reduces the amount of oil involved while still producing a good, crisp texture. Standard refrigerated biscuit dough typically contains dairy and gluten, so this recipe isn’t naturally suited to dairy-free or gluten-free adaptation without sourcing a specialty biscuit dough product formulated for those needs.

For those managing sugar intake, the cinnamon sugar coating can be made with a granulated sugar substitute designed for baking, though results can vary by brand, so it’s worth testing a small batch first if trying a substitute for the first time.

For those managing portion sizes, these donut holes are rich and satisfying enough that a small handful — four or five pieces — makes a genuinely enjoyable serving, especially if paired with coffee or another beverage alongside them.

For those tracking sugar intake, most of the sweetness here comes from the cinnamon sugar coating rather than the biscuit dough itself, so using less sugar in the coating mixture, or a granulated sugar substitute, is the most straightforward way to reduce the overall sugar content without changing anything else about the method.

Storage

These are best enjoyed fresh and warm, within an hour of frying. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a day, and reheat briefly in a warm oven or air fryer to help restore some crispness before serving.

Common Questions

One last thing worth mentioning: this recipe is a genuinely reliable one to keep in your back pocket for a spontaneous treat, whether that’s a weekend morning craving or a last-minute addition to a brunch spread. A single can of biscuit dough, a hot pan of oil, and about twenty minutes are all it takes to get there.