Grinch Donuts
Quick and easy homemade donuts that are dunked in green frosting with a red heart sprinkle make these Grinch Donuts fun and easy to make. The perfect addition to a Christmas breakfast, Grinch party or just because they are fun!
Today we’re combining a Christmas classic, the Grinch, with easy biscuit donuts for a fun holiday treat your family and friends will love! These adorable Christmas donuts are so easy to make and a great project to do when the kids are home during the holiday school break.
Using refrigerated biscuit dough makes this recipe a breeze to make and older kids can even learn to fry them on their own if they’re comfortable. We love to turn on one of the Grinch movies and make Grinch Crafts while we make these green donuts with festive sprinkles and adorable donut holes. I know a Christmas doughnut isn’t the most traditional, but it’s so much fun plus your family can make it a new tradition!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Grinch green doughnuts are made with canned biscuit dough so there’s no mixing and no mess.
- We’re making both donuts and donut holes – nothing goes to waste.
- Once the donuts are fried, the kiddos can help with the frosting and decorations. Oh, and the eating, of course! It’s my kids favorite part.
Ingredients
- Canned biscuits – You will need 10 biscuits rounds for this recipe. One can of Flaky Layers biscuits should do it!
- Vanilla frosting – Buy two 16-ounce cans to create the Grinch green icing.
- Sprinkles – White sprinkles and red heart sprinkles will make the perfect Grinch themed donuts.
- Green gel coloring – Because what other color represents the Grinch? Gel food colouring is most vibrant, so I recommend that.
- Vegetable oil – You can also use canola oil for frying the donuts if tha’s what you have on hand.
How to Make Grinch Doughnuts
Heat the cooking oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Meanwhile, remove the biscuits from the package and punch a hole in the center of each so you have ten donuts plus ten donut holes.
Fry the donuts and donut holes in batches of three to four. Turn them every 30 to 45 seconds so they cook evenly. Once they are golden brown all over, transfer them to a wire rack to cool. Repeat this process with the rest of the batch.
While the fried donuts cool, prepare the frosting. Place the containers in the microwave and warm them for 45 seconds.
Add the food coloring to one container and stir until the color is uniform. Combine the green frosting and the other container of vanilla frosting in a large mixing bowl.
Dip each biscuit and biscuit hole in the green vanilla frosting. Place them on a rack once they are coated in frosting. Once the frosting is set, you may want to dip them again so the coating is even and thick.
Chill the green Grinch doughnuts in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to set. Decorate them with sprinkles.
Enjoy them right away or store them in an airtight container for later.
Pro Tips
- When I make these with my family, either my husband or I am in charge of the frying, but the kids can help cut out the donuts, frost them, and add the decorations.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan when you are frying the donuts. If you try to fry too many at once, it will make it difficult to turn them quickly. It will also lower the oil temperature which can make the donuts greasy.
- These Grinch donuts taste best the day they’re made, but you can fry them a day in advance and store them in a container to decorate the next day. This helps when it’s busy!
I just love these cute grinch donuts! They’re a fun way to celebrate the season – I hope you give them a try this year and include them as part of your family’s Christmas traditions.
Grinch Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups vegetable oil
- 10 refrigerated biscuits (1 can)
- 2 cans vanilla flavored frosting 16 oz each
- 1/8 teaspoon green gel food coloring
- Red heart sprinkles
- White sprinkles
Instructions
- Remove biscuit dough from the cans and set aside.
- Pour the vegetable oil into a large saucepan and heat over medium high heat.
- Cut a hole into the center of each of the biscuits with a small cookie cutter. Repeat with each biscuit until you have 10 biscuits and 10 biscuit holes.
- Add donuts and donut holes to the hot grease a little at a time. We recommend adding only 3-4 biscuits at a time to the hot oil so that cooking and turning the biscuits is easy. The biscuits will cook fast, so make sure to turn them every 30-45 seconds to make sure they are cooking evenly.
- Remove the biscuit donuts and donut holes to a wired cooling rack. Cool completely.
- While the donuts are cooling, place the containers of icing into the microwave and heat for 45 seconds.
- Add the food coloring to one container and stir until the color is uniform. Combine the green frosting and the other container of vanilla frosting in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the green frosting and white frosting to a large bowl and stir to combine. Use the bowl for dipping the donuts.
- Dip each donut and donut hole into the green vanilla frosting. Once they’ve all been frosted, place them back onto the cooling rack and allow them to cool before adding an additional coat of frosting, if desired.
- Place the biscuits into the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the frosting to cool and harden.
- Decorate the donuts with sprinkles.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Storage
Store leftover donuts in an airtight container at room temperature in a single layer for up to 3 days.
Fridge: Leftover donuts will stay fresh in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one week.
More Christmas Recipes For Kids
- Make a batch of Reindeer Food for Christmas Eve! This is really fun project that makes great gifts, too.
- Have some fun with Grinch Fruit Kabobs. Great for any time of the day for a sweet snack, plus kids love to eat just about anything off of a stick.
- Quick and easy, no-bake Christmas Tree Pretzels are a delicious salty and sweet snack you can serve and enjoy all holiday season long.
- Nothing is as cute and as delicious as a Melting Snowman – plus this is an easy no-bake recipe that the whole family can help with. Chocolate covered Oreos with salty pretzels and a soft marshmallow hat make for an adorable treat. And don’t forget the M&M buttons!
Did a Christmas in July party and made these to start the day with. They were such a hit! Saving this page to make again during the holidays!
So glad you enjoyed them Brandy! Thanks for commenting on this recipe!