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!

• 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

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.

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.

More Italian desserts to try

• Zeppole di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph’s Pastries)
• Bomboloni – Italian Doughnuts
• Torta Caprese (Flourless Italian Chocolate Cake)
• Chocolate Budino (Budino al Cioccolato)
• Cenci di Carnevale (Chiacchiere, Crostoli, Bugie) Italian Fried Pastries