These incredibly soft and fluffy pistachio donuts are filled with delicious pistachio cream. Fried til golden brown, this recipe is a pistachio lover’s dream!
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You’ll love biting into these pistachio donuts and tasting their slightly crisp exteriors and soft, fluffy centers filled with pistachio cream!
Fried donuts may not be something you’ll make all the time, but they’re so worth making! They are fried to perfection and taste even better than donuts from a bakery!
Pistachio fans will adore these donuts as much as my pistachio ricotta cake and chocolate chip and pistachio cookies.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Soft and fluffy– They’re light and fluffy inside with crisp, sugar coated exteriors! I adapted this recipe from my lemon filled donuts recipe.
- Perfect treat- They’re perfect for a weekend brunch or afternoon treat!
- Fresh tasting– Donuts taste best when they are fresh. That means these are so much better than anything you can buy in a store or a bakery since you’re making them fresh!
- Pistachio filling- The creamy pistachio paste filling will keep you coming back for more bites! You can make homemade pistachio paste or cream, but I like to keep the filling simple with some store-bought pistachio spread since we are making the donuts from scratch.
Ingredients
- Flour- Bread flour or all-purpose flour. Bread flour will give you the best soft, chewy texture. If you don’t have bread flour, you can swap in all purpose flour. Make sure to measure flour carefully so you don’t add too much.
- Milk- Use whole milk or 2 % milk.
- 2 Large Eggs- Eggs add flavor, moisture and richness.
- Unsalted butter- Room temperature butter makes donuts soft and adds flavor.
- Active dry yeast- Active dry yeast is what makes the donuts rise. You can also use instant quick rise yeast. If you use instant yeast, you can just add it directly to the mixing bowl. You won’t need to add it to warm milk.
- Lemons (optional)- Use 1 tablespoon of lemon zest (from 1 medium lemon) for the lemon sugar coating.
- Pistachio paste- I use storebought pistachio paste (also known as pistachio spread) such as Pistakio or Pisti brands for the filling to save time. You can definitely swap in homemade pistachio paste or pistachio cream if you prefer! Since the donuts require several steps, I usually grab store-bought pistachio spread.
- Vegetable oil or canola oil– For frying.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Swap in 2% milk or your favorite non-dairy milk instead of whole milk.
- Skip the sugar coating if you prefer.
- If you don’t have parchment paper, set the donuts on a baking sheet lightly sprinkled with flour.
Instructions
Step 1 (Photo 1 above): Heat the milk to 105 F -115 F. Stir in the yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar til yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, add the flour, salt, butter, eggs and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add the yeast. Beat on low until a soft dough forms then beat on medium speed 10-15 more minutes or until the dough passes the windowpane test. The windowpane test is when you can stretch a piece of the dough between your fingers til it is thin enough that you can see light through the dough before it tears.
Step 2 (Photo 2 above): Transfer dough to a large greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a draft free place at warm room temperature til doubled in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours. Once it has doubled in size, punch dough down to remove excess air.
Step 3 (Photo 3 above): Turn dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Roll out dough til dough is 1/2 inch thick. Use a 3 inch donut cutter to cut out as many rounds as possible.
Step 4 (Photo 4 above): Set 12 squares of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Place each donut on a square. Cover with a clean towel.
Step 5 (Photo 5 above): Add about 3 inches of oil to a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Heat it to 350-355 ℉. When the donuts have puffed up, gently place about 3 donuts with the parchment paper at a time into the pot. Use metal tongs to remove the parchment paper. Fry for around 1 minute or minute and a half on each side, or until golden brown.
Step 6 (Photo 6 above): Remove donuts from oil and set on on paper towels briefly then roll the donuts in granulated sugar or granulated sugar mixed with lemon zest while donuts are still warm. Cool to room temperature before filling them.
Step 7 (Photo 7 above): Insert the end of a spoon (not the end you eat with) into the side of a donut to create some space for the curd.
Step 8 (Photo 8 above): To fill donuts, transfer pistachio cream into a pastry bag with a wide tip.
Expert Tips
- Use a candy thermometer. Keep the oil temperature between 350°F to 355°F while frying.
- Don’t try to fry too many donuts at once. If you overcrowd the pot, it’s hard to keep the set temperature. For best results, fry 3 donuts at a time.
- I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
- Roll the donuts in sugar immediately after frying to help it stick to the doughnuts.
Recipe FAQs
The best oil is oil that has a neutral flavor and high smoke point such as canola oil or vegetable oil.
The oil should be between 350 F and 355 F.
Yes of course. I use store bought since we are making the doughnuts from scratch. Using store bought pistachio paste cuts down on some of the steps, but you’re welcome to use homemade.
Fried donuts are definitely best enjoyed the day they are fried. If you wish to store them, store unfilled donuts at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Store filled donuts in the fridge for up to 2 days.
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Pistachio Donuts
Equipment
- Candy thermometer
- Pistachio paste
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (177.44 ml) whole milk or 2%, heated to 105 F- 115 F
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g) one package active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons (36 g) granulated sugar divided
- 3 ¼ cups (406.25 g) all purpose flour or bread flour
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) salt
- 2 (2) large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter room temperature, sliced into tablespoons
- vegetable oil or canola oil, about 6 cups, for frying
- ¾ cups (150 g) granulated sugar for lemon sugar coating
- 1 tablespoon (2) lemon zest optional, for lemon sugar coating
- pistachio paste store bought (such as Pistakio or Pisti brands) or homemade for filling
Instructions
- Heat the milk in the microwave til it reaches 100 F -110 ℉. Stir in the yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar til yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.*
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, add the flour, salt, butter, eggs and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
- Once the yeast is foamy, add it to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Beat on low until a soft dough forms. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 10-15 more minutes or until the dough passes the windowpane test-*Take a piece of dough about the size of a walnut. Gently stretch it between two hands as far as possible. If it tears easily, kneading it a bit longer. You should be able to spread it to where it’s thin enough to can see light pass through. Once you get to that point, you can stop mixing.
- Lightly grease a large mixing bowl with oil or butter and transfer dough to that bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let dough rise in a draft free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours. Once it has doubled in size, punch dough down to remove excess air.
- Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin til dough is 1/2 inch thick. (Lightly flour both your rolling pin and donut cutter). Use a 3 inch donut cutter to cut out as many rounds as possible. Set 12 squares of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Place each donut on a square.
- Cover donuts with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft free room at room temperature until they appear slightly puffed, about 30 minutes.
- About 15 minutes before the donuts finish rising, add about 3 inches of oil to a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and heat it to 350-355 ℉.
- While the oil warms, line a plate with paper towels and take out a slotted spoon or spider strainer. Add the sugar (for coating the fried donuts) to a bowl. If adding lemon zest, zest the lemon into the sugar then rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingertips. Set aside. Take out everything else you'll need for frying the donuts and set everything next to your stovetop so you have them handy.
- Once the donuts have puffed up, carefully place about 3 donuts with the parchment paper at a time into the pot. Use metal tongs to remove the parchment paper. Fry for around 1 minute or minute and a half on each side, or until golden brown.
- Recheck the temperature of the oil periodically as you go, so as not to let the oil get too cool or too hot. Adjust temprature of oil as needed.
- Drain on paper towels briefly then roll the donuts in granulated sugar or granulated sugar mixed with lemon zest while donuts are still warm. Set donuts on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Cool to room temperature before filling them.
- To fill donuts, transfer pistachio cream into a pastry bag with a wide tip. Insert the end of a spoon (not the end you eat with) into the side of a donut to create some space for the curd.
- Gently squeeze pistachio cream into each donut. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
jamal
it was lit
Natalie Ward
Thank you!