These coconut-flavored donuts come out soft and fluffy. They are easy to make and only need 3 ingredients for the donut dough. The donuts don’t require any yeast, eggs or butter. They can also be made dairy-free. The dough takes only a few minutes to prepare and you can have fresh, homemade donuts in just 15 minutes.
Everyone in my family loves coconut so I’ve been trying to make more coconut treats. These donuts are great for breakfast, brunch or even dessert. The donuts are so easy to make.
Ingredients
- Self-rising flour
- Coconut Greek yogurt (or dairy-free yogurt)
- Shredded coconut
Self-rising flour: These donuts use self-rising flour. Self-rising flour is flour already premixed with baking powder and salt so it saves a few extra steps. You can also make your own self-rising flour if you don’t have self-rising flour on hand.
Coconut Greek yogurt: I used coconut flavored Greek yogurt to flavor the dough to help give it coconut flavor. You can substitute with vanilla Greek yogurt if you can’t find coconut flavored. You do need to use Greek yogurt or a very thick yogurt that is like Greek yogurt. If you use regular yogurt you will have to add too much flour to the dough which will make the donuts very dense and bready.
If you need a dairy-free substitute, this can also be made with coconut milk yogurt but make sure you use a thick one that has a consistency like Greek yogurt.
Shredded coconut: Just using coconut yogurt doesn’t give the donuts enough coconut flavor so I also added shredded coconut to the dough. I used unsweetened but you can also use sweetened if you want a sweeter dough.
How to Make Coconut Donuts
The flour, yogurt and coconut are mixed together until a dough forms. You want to add only enough flour until the dough is no longer too sticky to work with. Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and roll between your palms to form a smooth round ball. Repeat with remaining dough.
The dough is then ready to be cooked. For these to taste like classic donuts, you will need to fry them. You can also bake or air fry them but the donuts won’t have the same texture as traditional donuts.
Topping Ideas
The donuts can be eaten as is. But if you want to decorate them or make them sweeter, here are some ideas:
- Coat them in glaze
- Dust powdered sugar on top of the donuts
- Serve them with a side of coconut condensed milk to dip in
- Roll them in glaze and top with toasted coconut
For these donuts, I dipped them in a glaze and then sprinkled unsweetened shredded coconut on top.
More Easy Donut Recipes
3 Ingredient Coconut Donuts
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120 g) coconut flavored Greek yogurt see note regarding dairy-free substitution
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (84 g) self-rising flour see note
- 2 tbsp (11 g) unsweetened shredded coconut can also use sweetened
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add yogurt, self-rising flour and shredded coconut. Stir with a spatula until a thick dough forms. The dough should be tacky but not so sticky that you can't roll it between your hands. Because different yogurt brands have different yogurt consistency, the amount of flour needed will vary. If you use up all your flour and you still find the dough too sticky to work with, you can add a little more flour until the dough is workable. If you find your dough is too dry, add a little more yogurt.
- Scoop 1 tbsp of dough. I used a 1 tbsp cookie scoop but you can also just use a regular 1 tablespoon measuring spoon. Lightly flour your palms. Roll dough between palms to form a round ball. Place dough ball on a counter or board lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Frying method (recommended method): Add 2 inches of cooking oil (canola or vegetable) to a medium saucepan. Bring to medium heat, 350°F (177°C).
- When oil is ready, add a few dough balls into the preheated oil. I recommend working in small bacthes (2 or 3 batches) when cooking the donuts. Adding too many in at once will lower the oil temperature too much which can cause the donut dough to spread out instead of puffing into nice round balls. Cook donuts until both sides are golden brown, flipping halfway through. The donuts should take around 3-4 minutes to cook. Remove donuts from oil and place onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil.
- Air fryer method: Preheat air fryer to 350°F (177°C). Lightly spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil spray and place your donut balls onto the air fryer basket, spacing them 1 inch apart. Spray the tops of the donuts with cooking oil spray (you can cook them without but I recommend spraying the surface of the donuts so that they have a golden brown finish). Cook donuts for about 5 minutes in preheated air fryer. You only want to cook the donuts until they are just cooked. If you cook them too long, the outside will become like a thick crusty bread.
- Oven method: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a large baking pan with parchment paper. Place dough balls onto baking pan, spacing donuts 1 inch apart. Lightly coat the the surface of the donuts with cooking oil spray (this helps them have a more golden brown finish rather than remaining pale). Cook donuts for about 12 minutes in preheated oven or just until the inside is cooked. If you cook them too long, the outside will develop a thick crust that will make them taste more like crusty bread.
Notes
- Self-rising flour amount. There are 2 main kinds of self-rising flour sold in the US. One that is a lower protein (2 grams per 1/4 cup serving) flour and one that has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup). Brands like King Arthur Flour and White Lily make the low protein flour. Brands like Gold Medal and Amazon Fresh contain a regular protein amount. The amount of protein affects how much liquid is absorbed. For this recipe, I tested it with Amazon Fresh self-rising flour (regular amount of protein). If you are making this recipe with a low protein self-rising flour, you will need more flour to get the dough to not be sticky. You will likely need around 3/4 cup total.
- Homemade self-rising flour: Whisk together 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Do not use the full amount. Only use the amount needed for the recipe (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp). Also make sure your all purpose flour has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup). Most brands in the US contain this amount but there are some out there that contain more protein or less protein than the standard.
- Dairy-free yogurt: This recipe does work with dairy-free yogurt. But you do need one that has a similar consistency to Greek yogurt. I found So Delicious coconut milk yogurt to be too runny. Cocojune (their sweetened ones) and Siggi's (plant-based coconut blend) are good options.
- Optional glaze: For the glaze used in the photos, add 2 cups powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl. Add 4 tbsp of coconut milk. Whisk until a glaze forms. If you want a thinner glaze you can add a splash more of milk. If you want a thicker glaze, you can add a little more powdered sugar. After dipping the donuts in glaze, I also sprinkled unsweetened shredded coconut on top.
- If you want the donuts to taste like classic donuts, you will need to fry them. You can cook them in the air fryer or bake them but the donuts will taste more like baked donuts. Fried donuts are best consumed within 1-2 hours after they are finished cooking. If you save them too long they will become more dense and a little oily.
- Air fryer or baked donuts are best consumed soon after they are done. I recommend glazing/decorating as soon as they are cool enough to touch and eating them while they are still warm. Once they have cooled they will be more bready.
- Products used to make this recipe:
- Chobani Coconut Greek Yogurt*
- Amazon Fresh Self-Rising Flour*
- Let's Do Organic Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
- OXO 1 tbsp cookie scoop*
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Nutrition estimate is for the donut dough only and does not include oil absorbed during frying as it is difficult to determine the amount of oil absorbed. It also does not include the optional glaze.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
