Baked Donuts filled with jelly are incredibly soft, airy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Just like our donut holes, this homemade donut recipe is easy and always gets rave reviews!

Donuts are the ultimate comfort food. The aroma from the oven and the little hint of jelly peeking out of the side make these irresistible. I am a sucker for classic home-baked treats like blueberry muffins or chocolate chip banana bread and these baked donuts do not disappoint!

stack of 3 baked donuts

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Baked Donut Recipe:

Baked donuts are cotton-candy soft and fluffy. I remember my Mother making apple piroshki (Russian fried doughnuts) after school and it is one of the food memories I will always treasure. Baked yeast donuts are even easier and is a tradition I’m continuing with my own family.

I’ll take one of these over a Krispy Kreme any day because they are way more satisfying – the perfect balance of fluffy center to sugar coated surface without the greasy mouth feel and my belly is always happier eating a homemade baked donut!

Ingredients for yeast baked donut recipe

Is it Donuts or Doughnuts?

Which is the correct spelling? This is heated debate because donuts… mmm doughnuts! There’s even a National Donut Day and it’s the first Friday of June. It is the ultimate comfort food. The real question is – when were doughnuts invented? ‘Doughnut’ is the original old-school spelling but ‘donuts’ took off when Dunkin’ Donuts launched in 1950.

Most people will search for “donuts” online and it is the clear winner in popularity. The dictionary now recognizes ‘donut’ as a variant of doughnut so the word doughnut came first but both terms are technically correct.

Here’s our argument – old school doughnuts are deep fried, but these are new school baked donuts so we called them so.

Are Baked Donuts Healthy?

To put it delicately, baked donuts are the healthier option compared to traditional deep-fried donuts. They don’t leave you feeling as guilty about your choices. You only need 1 Tbsp of melted butter to coat all 12 donuts! Are donuts good for you? In the end, they are still sugar covered carbs… glorious carbs! Eat responsibly.

Donuts (doughnuts) on a baking rack coated in sugar

What is the Best Filling for Donuts?

We enjoy changing up the type of jelly in these baked donuts; strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, huckleberry,.. you name it! Whether you are using jam, preserves or jelly, pick one that is:

  • Thick – a thick jelly won’t run out of the donut as easily
  • Fairly Smooth – so the piping tip doesn’t get clogged
  • Your favorite flavor – these are, after all, for you!

Jelly filling inside of a baked donut

How to Make Cream Filled Donuts:

For a cream filling, you will need a stable, thick cream that won’t ooze out. The pastry cream from our eclairs is easy and excellent. Let the cream cool then fill the pastry bag fitted with a sharp tip and generously pipe into each donut.

For Cinnamon Sugar Donuts:

If you choose to omit the jam inside, you can add more flavor with a cinnamon sugar coating. In a small bowl, stir together and roll hot buttered donuts in this mixture:

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Love Glazed Donuts?

We enjoy these without glaze but if you desire glazed donuts, you can skip brushing with butter and rolling in sugar. Once donuts are cool enough to handle, dip into this glaze mixture then place on racks until glaze hardens:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk or water
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Sugar coated jelly filled donuts

More Classic Home-Baked Treats:

How to Ensure Super Fluffy Donuts?

The correct balance of wet to dry ingredients is critical in any dough recipe. Be sure to measure the ingredients correctly. Stir your flour with a spoon then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup. Pushing a measuring cup into a flour bin can result in 25% more flour than is called for which will result in dense donuts.

Also, be sure to allow your dough to proof in a warm room (never more than 110˚F) or you will deactivate the yeast and the donuts will not rise properly.

Baked Donut Video Tutorial:

Watch Natasha make this easy and super fluffy baked donut recipe. P.S. There’s a guest star in this episode!

I hope this becomes your go-to baked donut recipe! They are irresistibly soft and there is nothing like warm homemade donuts.

Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

Baked Donuts Filled with Jelly

4.93 from 266 votes
Author: Natasha Kravchuk
stack of 3 baked donuts
Baked Donuts are incredibly soft, airy and melt-in-you-mouth delicious. This homemade donut recipe is easy and always gets rave reviews! The little hint of jelly peeking out of the side makes them irresistible.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 11 minutes
Rising Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 41 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 12 donuts
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for dusting*
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast, quick acting, (1 packet = 7 grams)
  • 2/3 cup warm milk, 110˚F - microwave 35 sec.
  • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup jelly or jam, (no large fruit pieces)
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar , to roll donuts

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) instant yeast and 1/4 tsp salt.
  • Add warm milk, 3 Tbsp melted butter, 2 egg yolks and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and whisk vigorously to combine well.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature 10 minutes, until some bubbles form on the surface.
  • Add remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, adding just enough until dough holds together and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl (Add the last 2 Tbsp of flour only if needed) and knead in the bowl 5 minutes. If dough is really sticking to your hands, dust lightly with flour then continue kneading with clean dry hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a 100˚F oven for 45 min or at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 375˚F with rack in the center of the oven.
  • Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll the dough out to just under 1/2” thick. Cut circles using a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter. Re-roll scraps if needed to make 12 donuts total. Place donuts on prepared baking sheet, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a 100˚F oven for 20 min or at room temperature 45 min, or until puffed. Bake uncovered in the center of a preheated oven at 375˚F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on top.
  • Right out of the oven, brush a hot bun all over with remaining 1 Tbsp melted butter and roll in a bowl of sugar to coat lightly with sugar. Cut a deep slit in the side of each donut and pipe jam with a pastry bag into each one. 

Notes

*For best results, be sure to measure the flour correctly - spoon it into the cup and level off the top for an accurate measure. 

Nutrition Per Serving

211kcal Calories37g Carbs3g Protein5g Fat2g Saturated Fat43mg Cholesterol60mg Sodium63mg Potassium1g Fiber15g Sugar175IU Vitamin A0.8mg Vitamin C27mg Calcium1.4mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
Baked Donuts Filled with Jelly
Amount per Serving
Calories
211
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
5
g
8
%
Saturated Fat
 
2
g
13
%
Cholesterol
 
43
mg
14
%
Sodium
 
60
mg
3
%
Potassium
 
63
mg
2
%
Carbohydrates
 
37
g
12
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
15
g
17
%
Protein
 
3
g
6
%
Vitamin A
 
175
IU
4
%
Vitamin C
 
0.8
mg
1
%
Calcium
 
27
mg
3
%
Iron
 
1.4
mg
8
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: baked donut recipe, baked donuts
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $
Calories: 211

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen

Enjoy your home-baked donuts and “Do-nut Worry, be Happy!” I couldn’t resist! 😉

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

Read more posts by Natasha

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • Nifla Shameel
    August 22, 2019

    Hi natasha! Can we add margarine instead of butter for the donuts?
    Thanks in advance !
    Have a nice day!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      August 23, 2019

      Ni Nifla, I honestly haven’t tested that and since baking is so much a science, I can’t make that recommendation without experimenting first. If you try that out, please let me know how it goes.

      Reply

      • Lisa
        October 25, 2019

        Another hit and house full of happy kids. These turned out great. We made a dairy free version with soy milk and they were light, fluffy and oh so yummy. I had been looking for a good baked donut recipe and tried a few which were disappointing. Thank you for this recipe!

        Reply

        • Natashas Kitchen
          October 26, 2019

          That is the best when kids love what we moms make, Lisa. That’s so great!

          Reply

  • Suzan
    August 6, 2019

    Hi Natasha,
    Could I use this recipe to make mini ball donuts? Will they be as fluffy? And what would I have to alter (cooking temperate, cooking time, rise time)

    Reply

    • Natasha
      August 6, 2019

      Hi Suzan, I have baked the scraps and they were about the size of the ball donuts and also very good. I’d keep the rising times and bake temperatures the same but they do bake up a little faster.

      Reply

      • Suzan Saban
        August 6, 2019

        Thankyou.
        I was thinking more like a mini size. Think ‘ping pong ball’ size. Unfilled. As a mini dessert station for an event in little cups

        Reply

    • Amber Ashworth
      September 5, 2019

      I mad the recipe as it stated however after I added the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour it did not form together and was still a sticky gooey mess any suggestions I had to add more flour but I haven’t baked them yet to see how they turn out

      Reply

  • Patricia Pinney
    August 3, 2019

    Natasha, I follow your recipes like a religion! Can’t wait to try these. Keep ’em coming, love your videos!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      August 3, 2019

      I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!

      Reply

  • Elena Hall
    July 27, 2019

    I tried to do with the fast way leading the door is in the oven and it was an epic fail I will make another attempt and let it rise at room temperature. Is there a way to make this the night before so I could pop it in the oven in the morning. PS I love your recipes and enjoy watching you make them

    Reply

    • Natasha
      July 27, 2019

      Hi Elena, Oh what a bummer… My first thought is maybe the dough was overheated. If the temperature goes above 100˚F, it will deactivate the yeast and they won’t rise or bake up properly. I’m so glad you enjoy our video recipes. Thank you for that great feedback!

      Reply

  • Anita
    July 11, 2019

    I made this recipe and they didn’t rise after I cut them with a 21/2″ cutter even tried a second batch with similar results will be deleting this recipe

    Reply

    • Natasha
      July 11, 2019

      Hi Anita, this is one of our most popular desserts and I am always happy to help troubleshoot. The most common reasons for the dough not to rise are either too much flour (see our tutorial on measuring ingredients), also inactive yeast or old yeast, or inactivated or dead yeast due to overheating the yeast while proofing. The dough should never go above 100˚F or the yeast will inactivate and the dough will not rise. This is true of all yeast doughs. I hope that helps to figure out what went wrong.

      Reply

      • Kim
        July 16, 2019

        Hello, Natasha. May I use regular active dry yeast? If I do, besides letting the yeast proof and not mixing directly in with the dry ingredients, what else should I do differently?

        Reply

        • Natashas Kitchen
          July 16, 2019

          Hi Kim, I have always made these with instant yeast, but typically, when substituting with active dry, you would use 25% more active dry yeast and you would need to let it proof first in the warm milk for 7 minutes or so. Mix the other dry ingredients together in step 1 (except for the yeast). Add warm milk to a bowl and sprinkle the top with yeast and let that sit for 7 minutes then add remaining wet ingredients and whisk together per the recipe. Here is an article that helps with understanding the various types of yeast and how to substitute.

          Reply

          • Kim
            July 16, 2019

            Thank you for responding so quickly. I hope the article also clarifies how to work out how much more 25% of ADY will be, I’m bad at math 😜. I want to try these tomorrow, they look so good. I have some lemon curd I’d like to fill them with.

  • Aisha
    July 5, 2019

    Hi nathasha, I’ve been trying to find the easiest jam filled donuts recipe forever and your’s is the best and it’s so easy to make , I tried it and it was so perfect 😍 thank you so much for sharing such an amazing recipes ❤️

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 5, 2019

      Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Aisha!

      Reply

  • Emma
    June 10, 2019

    Hi natasha,
    These look amazing. I’m wondering about making a big batch ahead of time for our family get together and freezing them, unstuffed.How will they freeze? Or am I better to do them as close to the time as possible,
    Thanks!
    Emma

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      June 10, 2019

      Hi Emma, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe

      Reply

  • V
    May 30, 2019

    I remember reading a while back that red currant jelly is the jelly used for DD. Also, I would suggest using super fine sugar to roll the donuts. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      May 30, 2019

      I’ll need to look for some red currant jelly. That sounds really good!

      Reply

  • Amber McHone
    May 24, 2019

    I made this recipe and these are delicious! The doughnuts lasted less than a day in my house 🙂

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      May 24, 2019

      Sounds like you found a new favorite! Thank you for sharing your feedback with me Amber!

      Reply

  • Cooking Mama
    May 1, 2019

    Hi Natasha, absolutely love your blog. Delicious food followed by stunning photos. Making these Donuts today, I used only 2 cups of flour and my dough is not sticky at all, and kinda feels like to much flour. Is it supposed to be a little sticky? It’s rising right now, I’ll let you know how they gonna turn out. Thank you for all your hard work 🙂

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      May 1, 2019

      It’s hard to say without being there. The only thing that comes to mind is in the way flour is measured – if you scoop your measuring cup into the bin, it can compact the flour and you can end up with up to 25% more flour than what the recipe calls for so be sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off the top.

      Reply

  • Bee
    April 18, 2019

    OMGosh, Natasha! These are so creative! My son LOVES jelly, so I am going to go pick up a bag just to make these for him. 😉

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      April 18, 2019

      I hope you love this Bee! Thank you for that awesome review!

      Reply

  • Fay Stone
    April 15, 2019

    Yum! I just made these modified to use my bread machine. I did not do steps 1 and 2 – just added ingredients in the order that works with my breadmaker. – used 300 grams of AP Flour (all at once) – let go on dough cycle – skip to step 5.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      April 15, 2019

      Thank you so much for sharing that these baked donuts can be made in a bread maker!! That is awesome!

      Reply

  • Ginka
    April 9, 2019

    Hi, Natasha, can I make the dough in a bread maker ? Thank you,I am looking forward to making the donuts, my kids love them!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      April 9, 2019

      Hi Ginka, I honestly haven’t tried the dough in a bread maker but I imagine it could work fine to put the mixture in on the dough setting and let it run through the full dough cycle. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes!

      Reply

  • Miranda
    March 20, 2019

    These look so good! I love your easy videos! I had I question, if you wanted to double the portion do you have to double the time they rise?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      March 20, 2019

      Hi Miranda! I haven’t tested that but it may require more time. I would follow the recipe steps. If you experiment please let me know how you like that!

      Reply

  • Monique
    March 17, 2019

    This recipe is a keeper. Made this today and they turned out really soft and fluffy. Delicious. Thanks Natasha. You did it again.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      March 17, 2019

      I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!

      Reply

  • Marion
    March 16, 2019

    I tried to make these for the first time and they did not rise after I cut them out with the cookie cutter. They stayed at about 1/2 “ thick.
    I will bake them now, it’s been 1.5 hrs since I cut them out

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      March 16, 2019

      Hi Marion, it is difficult to say without being there, was the flour measured correctly, yeast not expired? They should be light and airy. In my testing, I did notice when I skipped the kneading of the dough or didn’t let the dough double or puff up per the instructions here, they didn’t rise as well. Hope that helps to troubleshoot.

      Reply

  • Sandy
    March 16, 2019

    How many donuts does this recipe make?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      March 16, 2019

      Hi Sanday we have that listed on the print out list 🙂 This recipe makes 12 donuts

      Reply

  • Chrystyna
    March 15, 2019

    I’m generally not a fan of doughnuts, however I made the cinnamon sugar version last week and everyone loved them. I used the refrigerated leftovers a day later to make baked French Toast…amazing!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      March 15, 2019

      That’s so great, Chhrystyna! Thank you for that wonderful review!

      Reply

  • Jody
    March 14, 2019

    Love this recipe, so easy to follow! Everyone ate up the donuts so quickly♡

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      March 14, 2019

      I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!

      Reply

  • Scarlet
    March 14, 2019

    I didn’t know you could do baked stuffed donuts. I never even thought of it. Yours look amazing and I can’t wait to try this recipe.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      March 14, 2019

      Hi Scarlet! I hope you can make these soon! I look forward to your feedback!

      Reply

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