Sweet citrus flavored Glazed Lemon Donuts are delicious for breakfast or for a simple dessert. These lemon donuts are made with canned biscuits for easy prep! The lemon glaze transforms these donuts into a whole new level of deliciousness.
Sometimes you have to splurge and make donuts for breakfast. This lemon donut recipe is one of my favorites for spring and summer. If you want a fall and winter flavored donut, try my apple cider donuts!
Also check out my lemon poppyseed cake and my lemon tart for more citrus dessert ideas.
This Glazed Lemon Donuts recipe is...
- Made with 5 ingredients
- Glazed with homemade lemon glaze
- Made with canned biscuit dough
- Topped with lemon zest
- Great for breakfast or dessert
How to Make Glazed Lemon Donuts
- Heat your oil in a deep pan over medium high heat until it reaches 350°F.
- While the oil is heating, cut the centers out of the biscuits.
- Fry each biscuit donut in the hot oil.
- Place donuts on a cooling rack to drip off excess grease.
- Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl.
- Dip each donut in the glaze and place back on cooling rack.
- Garnish with more lemon zest and serve.
Full directions for how to make Glazed Lemon Donuts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Tips & Tricks for Lemon Glazed Donuts
Flatten Dough
Before you cut out the center of your biscuits, make sure to stretch and flatten the biscuits a little bit. This will give you a thinner donut that is easier to cook.
Deep Pan
When you fry the donuts, use a deep-sided pan. This will keep the oil from splattering everywhere when you go to flip the donuts while frying.
Oil Temperature
Optimal oil temperature for frying donuts is 350°F. Getting the oil to this temperature is important, because if the oil gets too hot, it will overcook the outside of your donuts and leave the centers doughy.
Variations to Glazed Lemon Donuts
Glaze
You can use any flavor of glaze you want for your donuts. Mash up some strawberries for a pink glaze, whip up a lime glaze, etc. Feel free to change it up if you want!
Sprinkles
After you dip your donuts in the lemon glaze, add some fun white or yellow sprinkles. This is a fun addition for little kids who enjoy colorful sprinkled donuts.
Bake vs Fry
You can bake or air fry your donuts instead of frying them. I do find that frying the dough gives the biscuits a more donut-like texture and flavor, though. Whatever method you choose to use, just make sure that your donuts are fully cooked!
Glazed Lemon Donuts FAQs
Which are better—baked or fried donuts?
Baked donuts are going to be a bit healthier as they are not fried in oil. However, as mentioned earlier, fried donuts tend to have a more classic donut texture. Either way, just remember that all donuts are made with carbs, so eat in moderation.
How should you store leftover donuts?
Donuts are best served fresh. If you happen to have leftovers, they will store at room temperature for 1–2 days. The longer the donuts sit out, the more they will dry out. To give them a fresher texture, warm your donuts up in the microwave for 5–10 seconds before eating.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz canned biscuits typically 10 biscuits
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 lemon zested; optional
- oil for frying (see note)
Instructions
- Place a cooling rack over top of a baking tray and set aside.
- On a flat surface, lay out the biscuits. Cut out the center of each biscuit and then stretch each biscuit a bit wider (stretch by about ½").
- Pour your frying oil into a large deep-sided pan and heat over medium-high heat. Use a candy thermometer to ensure you bring the oil to 350F, for best results. Once oil is hot, fry each donut individually for about 1 minute per side, until they are golden brown.
- Set each fried donut on the cooling rack to allow excess oil to drip off.
- Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl.
- Whisk in the lemon juice.
- Then add in most of the lemon zest (reserve a little zest for garnishing).
- Dip each donut into the lemon glaze.
- Then place back on the cooling rack.
- Garnish with additional lemon zest. Allow to sit until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.
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