Easy Maple Bacon Donuts

Made with refrigerated canned biscuits instead of fussing with yeast, this easy maple bacon donut recipe will have you enjoying soft donuts coated in an indulgent maple glaze topped with crispy bacon in less than 30 minutes! Try my baked apple cider donuts, easy cake mix red velvet donuts, baked carrot cake donuts next.

Let's talk about making the easiest maple bacon donuts ever.

They're soft, fluffy, sweet and savory, maple-y and bacon-y and remind me of Vermont. I suppose it helps that I used Vermont Smoke & Cure bacon and Grade A medium amber maple syrup from Vermont as part of this recipe. 

Here's the thing about these donuts… they're not really donuts at all. I cheated. I admit it.

Sometimes you just need a donut, and you don't have time to go through the arduous process of making them.  

Want to know the shortcut? Use canned biscuits. I'll give you a minute to pick your jaw up off the floor. 

It's so easy and requires very little effort! They end up lighter than what you would get with a cakey donut, but that's what I love about it.

Ingredients for maple bacon donuts

• Maple syrup: Real maple syrup. Grade A medium amber maple syrup, if you can get it.
• Unsalted butter: This is going to be melted into the maple syrup as part of that decadent glaze.
• Powdered sugar: Sifted, to prevent it from clumping and being difficult to mix into the glaze.
• Pure vanilla extract: This really rounds out the whole flavor of the donut glaze.
• Bacon: You'll want to fry or bake your bacon until crispy, then crumble it to use as “sprinkles” on top of the donuts.
• Oil: For frying – you want a high-temperature compatible oil like sunflower, grapeseed, canola, or vegetable oil.
• Refrigerated canned biscuits: Preferably a 16.3oz can of Grands! Homestyle Buttermilk. Those have always given me the best results with soft, fluffy layers.

How to make canned biscuit donuts

Step 1: In a small saucepan on low heat, whisk together maple syrup and butter until melted.

Step 2: Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk until completely combined. Set aside so that it will thicken as it cools.

Step 3: Cook your bacon in your preferred manner until crispy and then crumble it (I'm a big fan of baking bacon in the oven). Meanwhile, use a small round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to cut a hole in the center of each biscuit. Set aside the centers you removed, but don't discard them!

Step 4: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over high heat. Using tongs, carefully set each donut (and donut hole) in the hot oil for a few seconds until golden brown, then flip and brown the other side as well.

Seriously, don't forget the donut holes!

Step 5: Place donuts on wire racks (aff link) to cool completely. You’ll want to place parchment paper or paper towels underneath the racks to catch any drippings.

Step 6: Dip one side of each donut into the glaze and place it back on the cooling rack.

Step 7: Immediately sprinkle pieces of bacon over the glaze and leave them to set.

Tips and tricks for biscuit donuts

• Don't throw away the middles! You can turn those into adorable little donut holes. And we all love a box of homemade Munchkins, right?
• Use the right kind of oil. You want a high-temperature compatible oil like sunflower, grapeseed, canola, or vegetable oil.
• Don't use the super flaky kind of biscuits! That's asking for a bit of a disaster – I like to use the Grands! Homestyle Buttermilk. Those have always given me the best results with soft, fluffy layers.
• Use a small cookie cutter or donut hole cutter to remove the center of each biscuit. I have this donut hole cutter set and the whole set is pretty darn useful.

How to store maple bacon donuts

You actually want to eat these the same day – they don't hold up well to storage and will get dense and soggy by the next day.

Just look at those things. My mouth is watering looking at them, and I was just eating them.

I'm not even hungry, and I still want to shove at least two more in my face.

Have you run off to the kitchen yet? If so, you should probably come back.

You're not going to know how to make them if you don't grab the recipe card below!

Now go make them and spread the maple-y bacon-y joy.

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Easy Maple Bacon Donut Recipe

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 8 donuts

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Description

Made with refrigerated canned biscuits instead of fussing with yeast, this easy maple bacon donut recipe will have you enjoying soft donuts coated in an indulgent maple glaze topped with crispy bacon in less than 30 minutes!

Equipment

• Small saucepan
• High-sided sheet pan
• Aluminum foil
• Biscuit cutters
• Medium saucepan
• Wire cooling racks

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

Glaze Ingredients

• ¾ cup Grade A medium amber maple syrup
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 slices bacon, baked or fried until crispy, then crumbled

Donuts Ingredients

• 8 large biscuits, preferably a 16.3oz can Grands! Homestyle Buttermilk
• Oil for frying, I use sunflower oil

Instructions

Glaze

• In a small saucepan on low heat, whisk together maple syrup and butter until melted.
  3/4 cup Grade A medium amber maple syrup

  1/2 cup unsalted butter
• Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk until completely combined.
  1 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)

  1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Set aside so that it will thicken as it cools.

Donuts

• Preheat oven to 400°F and prepare baking sheet (that has a lip) with aluminum foil. Place bacon on prepared sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Carefully flip each piece and bake for another 10 minutes or until crispy.
  4 slices bacon
• Remove from baking sheet and place on plate covered in several paper towels to soak up the grease. Once cooled, crumble or dice bacon into small pieces.
• Use a small round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to cut a hole in the center of each biscuit. Set aside the centers you removed.
  8 large biscuits
• In a medium saucepan, heat oil over high heat. Using tongs, carefully set each donut (and donut hole) in the hot oil for a few seconds until golden brown, then flip and brown the other side as well.
  Oil for frying
• Place donuts on wire racks to cool completely. You'll want to place parchment paper or paper towels underneath the racks to catch any drippings.
• Dip one side of each donut into the glaze and place back on cooling rack.
• Immediately sprinkle pieces of bacon over the glaze and leave them to set.
• Serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

• Storage: Should be eaten the same day and they get more dense and somewhat soggy the next day.
• Glaze: Instead of dipping donuts in glaze, you could also place glaze in a pastry bag and drizzle it on top.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1donut | Calories: 543kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 668mg | Potassium: 237mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 362IU | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.

Pictures from when I originally published this recipe in 2015!