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How to make the most delicious Italian Ricotta Doughnuts. They’re soft and fluffy with a delicious orange flavour and dusted in powdered sugar. Made with an easy yeast-free batter these doughnuts take no time at all to make and taste incredible.
Unlike traditional doughnuts that are made with yeast and take a few hours to make, these ricotta doughnuts can be whipped up from start to finish in just 30 minutes.
The batter uses basic pantry ingredients and takes about 5 minutes to mix up then they’re dropped into hot oil and fried for a few minutes until they’re a deep golden brown, it couldn’t be easier!
Once cooled dust them in a generous amount of powdered sugar or drizzle with honey.
See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below
Ingredients – what you need
See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make these ricotta doughnuts plus some important tips on ingredients!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It- Ricotta – use whole milk ricotta (full-fat) for added flavour.
- Egg – use large eggs.
- Orange – zest and a small amount of juice (around 1 tablespoon). You can also use lemon.
- Flour – you can use Italian 00 flour or all-purpose flour.
- Sugar – caster sugar (superfine) although granulated will also work.
- Baking powder – make sure you baking powder hasn’t expired or it won’t work.
- Salt – just a pinch of fine salt is all you need.
- Sunflower oil – for frying.
- Powdered sugar – (also known as icing sugar UK) used for dusting on the doughnuts once cooled.
Step by step photos and recipe instructions
Preparation Tips!
- Heat your oil in a heavy-based pot and use a themometer to bring it to 355F (180C).
- Get a plate ready lined with paper towels for draining.
Step 1) Mix the ricotta, eggs and orange zest and juice together in a large mixing bowl until smooth (photos 1 & 2).
Step 2) Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl then fold them into the wet ingredients to form a sticky batter (photos 3 & 4).
Step 3) Drop tablespoon amounts of dough into hot oil in batches (3-4 at a time). Fry for 5 minutes, the doughnuts will naturally turn themselves in the oil as they fry. Drain on kitchen paper, once cooled dust with powdered sugar (photos 5-8).
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Flavour options – you can add a tablespoon of liquere such as rum, strega or amaretto to the batter for extra flavour and use orange or lemon zest. Vanilla can also be added.
- Use a thermometer – it’s really important to use a thermometer for consistent results. If the oil is too hot the doughnuts will brown too quickly and still be raw on the inside.
- Don’t overcrowd the pot – make sure you fry the doughnuts in batches of 3-4 max or it will cool the oil down too much and they won’t cook evenly.
- Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop – a tablespoon or tablespoon-sized cookie scoop is the perfect size for these doughnuts. Use another spoon to drop the batter into the oil.
- Use paper towels – it’s important to drain the doughnuts on kitchen paper after frying to remove any excess oil.
No, the batter needs to be mixed up just before frying and can’t be made in advance but it only takes 5 minutes to whip up.
The ricotta doughnuts are best eaten the same day but can be stored for up to 2 days.
Serving suggestions
There are many different ways of serving these ricotta doughnuts. We like to serve them with a generous dusting of powdered sugar but you could also serve them drizzled with honey or warmed up nutella.
If you’ve tried these Italian Orange Ricotta Doughnuts or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW US on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST or sign up to our NEWSLETTER to see more of our delicious food.
The post was first published on July 13th 2016 but has been updated and adapted for user experience.
Step By Step Photos Above
Most of our recipes come with step by step photos, helpful tips and tricks to make it perfectly first time and even video!
Italian Ricotta doughnuts
Equipment
- Candy thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 loosely packed cup Italian 00 flour or all-purpose flour, (130g)
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Zest of 1 orange and 1 tablespoon of juice
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, (250g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 pinch salt
- powdered sugar (icing sugar) , for dusting
- 35 fluid ounces sunflower oil, (4 cups/ 1 litre)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a heavy-based pot until it reaches 355F (180C). Get a plate lined with paper towels ready for draining.
- Add the eggs, ricotta, orange zest and juice to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.1 cup ricotta cheese, 2 large eggs, Zest of 1 orange and 1 tablespoon of juice
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder) then add to the wet ingredients. Fold everything together to form a smooth and sticky dough.1 loosely packed cup Italian 00 flour or all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons caster sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 pinch salt
- Use a tablespoon to drop the dough into the hot oil (do this in batches about 3-4 doughnuts at a time). Fry each doughnut for 5 minutes until a deep golden brown then drain on kitchen paper.
- Once cooled, dusted with powdered sugar and serve.
Video
Notes
- Flavour options – you can add a tablespoon of liqueur such as rum, Strega or amaretto to the batter for extra flavour and use orange or lemon zest. Vanilla can also be added.
- Use a thermometer – it’s really important to use a thermometer for consistent results. If the oil is too hot the doughnuts will brown too quickly and still be raw on the inside.
- Don’t overcrowd the pot – make sure you fry the doughnuts in batches of 3-4 max or it will cool the oil down too much and they won’t cook evenly.
- Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop – a tablespoon or tablespoon-sized cookie scoop is the perfect size for these doughnuts. Use another spoon to drop the batter into the oil.
- Use paper towels – it’s important to drain the doughnuts on kitchen paper after frying to remove any excess oil.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These were really good and so easy to make. I loved that they weren’t overly sweet which can be adjusted to taste with the honey. I used a cookie scoop (instead of a tablespoon to drop into the oil) which resulted in 15 doughnuts.
never tried a herb in a dessert. great idea
well this sounds completely delightful… ricotta in a donut sounds AMAZING!!!
I love the use of ricotta and I can only imagine how delicious and creamy they are… until I make them 🙂
Oh, boy! This sounds like something I would love to serve for our next brunch — I’d have to do it with guests around because otherwise, I’m sure I’d eat them all myself!
Orange and ricotta is such a delicious combination, and even better with a doughnut. Love the herbal note to the honey too.
These loook sooo good!! Love the fact that they dont have the typical hole,..and the flavor combination sounds perfect!
Thank you so much 🙂