Sweet Potato Rice Donuts
Rice donuts made with sweet potatoes and glutenous sweet rice flour. These Korean style sweet potato rice donuts are easy to make with just a few ingredients and yields soft and chewy texture. You can make them gluten-free donuts if you omit the wheat flour in the recipe.
I recently decided to venture into making Korean-style sweet potato rice donuts, which I don’t do very often. Let me tell you, these little rice donut treats turned out to be pure chewy, doughy bliss.
All it took was a mixture of sweet potatoes and rice flour, some frying action until they turned a beautiful golden hue, and a generous dusting of cinnamon sugar.
As I savored each bite, I couldn’t help but pair them with a cup of warm Korean barley tea for the perfect afternoon indulgence. Along with Korean twisted donut (kkwabaegi), these rice donut is another popular Korean desserts.
And guess what? When my son came home from school and took his first bite, his enthusiastic thumbs-up gesture said it all – these donuts were a hit!
Notes on Key Ingredients
- Korean Sweet Potatoes: These purple skinned sweet potatoes infuse the donuts with their natural sweetness and adding a touch of earthy flavor. Not only do they provide a vibrant orange hue, but they also contribute essential nutrients, making these donuts a guilt-free indulgence.
- Rice flour: This is the key to the donut’s signature chewy bite. Unlike wheat flour, rice flour creates a tender, mochi-like texture that makes Korean sweet potato donuts unique.
- Optional all-purpose flour: Adding a small amount of wheat flour lightens the dough, giving the donuts a softer, fluffier bite alongside the chewiness from rice flour. If you prefer a gluten-free version, simply leave it out — the donuts will turn out chewier, with a mochi-like texture that’s equally delicious.
- Milk: Feel free to use regular cow’s milk or explore alternatives like almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk to suit your dietary needs. While the taste may be subtly influenced, rest assured that these variations will still result in delicious rice donuts.
How to make Sweet Potato Rice Donuts
Cook sweet potatoes
Cook the sweet potatoes using any method you prefer: boiling, steaming, microwaving, or baking in the oven.
Peel the potatoes and mash them without mercy.
Prepare Rice donut dough
In a large bowl combine rice flour, 1/3 cup of wheat four, sugar, baking powder and salt. Omit wheat flour if making gluten-free rice donuts.
Add the mashed sweet potatoes to the rice flour, and start rubbing them together with your hand.
You will soon see them forming fine crumbs.
Add the scalding hot milk, about 3/4 cup first. The amount of milk varies depends on the moisture level of your sweet potatoes.
Mix with a spoon. Add more milk, if needed, and start kneading by hand.
Knead the dough until it forms a bread dough-like consistency, about 1 minutes. Rice doesn’t have any gluten so you don’t need to knead them long.
Roll them into 1 to 1 -1/4 inch size balls.
Deep-fry the rice donuts
Heat oil but not overly hot. You want to fry these balls a little lower temperature than usual deep frying recipes. If the oil is too hot, it will burn the outside while the inside is still raw.
You need to roll them around in oil with a metal utensil so they can be browned evenly.
Pro Tip: When deep frying, you can tilt your stir-fry pan to one side, creating a deeper oil space. This nifty trick allows you to use less oil while still ensuring adequate pan coverage. It’s a simple technique that helps save oil without compromising on the frying process.
Keep rolling in oil, about 5 minutes, until they form a brown crust outside.
Done! Your rice donuts are fried to perfection. Lift them out carefully and place them on a paper towel–lined plate to drain any excess oil.
Here’s a neat fact: rice flour absorbs noticeably less oil than wheat flour when deep-fried. That’s why rice donuts feel lighter and less greasy while still crisp on the outside. It’s one of the reasons I love making them — you get all the indulgence without the heaviness.
Cinnamon sugar coating
When the donuts are still hot, roll them in a generous amount of cinnamon sugar, ensuring they are evenly coated all over.
Serving Suggestions
While they can be enjoyed immediately, I personally prefer to let them cool to room temperature. As they cool, the chewiness of the donuts develops even more, creating a delightful texture that is simply irresistible.
Sweet Potato Rice Donuts
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb (340 g) sweet potato, cooked and peeled
- 2 cup (250 g) sweet rice flour (chapssal-garu), glutenous rice flour
- 1/3 cup (40 g) all-purpose flour, can omit for gluten-free
- 1/3 cup (65 g) sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1-1 1/3 cup (240-320 ml) hot milk, almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk
- oil , for deep-frying
For the cinnamon sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Equipment
Instructions
- Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mash sweet potato and add to the flour mixture and rub together until the flours become fine crumbs.
- Slowly add hot milk (1/4 cup of milk each time) to the mixture and mix together with a spoon first, then using hand bring the dough together to form a ball shape. The amount of milk depends on the moisture level of your potatoes. It should resemble the bread dough consistency.
- Make them into 1-inch balls with the dough. Set aside and cover with a towel.
- Heat oil in a wok or fryer over medium low temperature. Drop a few dough balls and start rolling with a metal utensil to brown them evenly, about 5 minutes. Make sure your oil is not too hot. About 145ºC is ideal temperature.
- Transfer the donuts to a plate lined with paper towel to remove extra oil on the surface. Roll the donuts in cinnamon sugar and coat evenly. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Sounds yummy 🙂 Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for such an amazing recipe.
I made these using the gluten free version and eveybody loved it more than any gluten donuts or Loukoumades. Thank you
Can we say delicious???? OMG! These sweet potato donuts are SO GOOD!!! Made this for my church and everyone loved them and couldn’t stop eating them. These are very addicting. Thanks Holly!
Made them this morning. Wasn’t sure how many sweet potatoes to use since I don’t own a kitchen scale. One picture showed 2 and another showed 3. I went with 2. I fried them in batches of 5. First batch was still doughy inside. It’s very difficult to determine when the donuts are “done.” All in all, very good donuts! Even my skeptical husband, who saw the sweet potatoes being added, liked them.
I am trying this today!!! =D
Wow can’t believe I found this recipe. Been craving for this! Would love to try and recreate it. Have you try freezing the dough? Do you know long the dough would keep or whether we can freeze the the doughnut after frying and reheating it to get the same chewy texture?
Thanks so much for your answer!
I have not tried freezing the dough, so I can’t tell you how it will turn out. I would say it would be okay as long as you thaw out completely.
Hi holly
How long do these dough last and how to store it? Can I prep the dough ahead of time for tomorrow or it has to be used as soon as I’m done making the dough?
Thank you.
Yes, you can make the dough ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. It will make the crust more crisp. Thanks.
I know this recipe is from an old post, but thanks for posting it! My son has severe milk and lactose allergies, and as such has been restricted from many baked goods, including donuts. Due to the moist consistency of the sweet potatoes, I’m going to try this recipe for him by substituting rice milk for the regular milk, and hope the texture will remain true to the original recipe. I’ve had a hard time substituting milk alternatives in other donut and baked good recipes because rice, soy, almond, and coconut milks are much waterier than milk. This one’s worth a try! I hope it will be a keeper for our family!
Hi, I totally understand the pressure you have on food restriction due to the allergies. I have a good friend who is Celiac and it was not easy to go out and pick any restaurant to dine in or pick any food to eat at the parties. She always has to watch carefully for what she eats.
Rice donuts are very forgiving, and any milk can be used if you don’t mind the slight flavor change. Rice milk will work greatly with this recipe. Hope it will turn out great, and your son will like these little yummies. Thanks!
Good looking sweet rice/sweet potato Chewy Balls – have been making Sesame Balls/vietnamese, who where chewy in a really good way;) instead of all purpose-flour they used Potato Flakes (used make instant potao mash),- same amount as flour – this makes it gluten free. This recipe is one of my favourite.
Looking foreward to make your Chewy Sweet Potato Balls who looks really good!
Wow! I’m so glad I found your website. I made these donuts along with the hotteok and they both came out delicious and the best part is that they’re vegan!
Thanks for the recipe! Mum was mind blown that a sweet potato donut exists ahha. To begin, I was skeptical as to it’s minimal oil retaining properties but found that only the outer edge, which constitutes less than 1mm forms a crisp crust that when you drain each donut, literally no oil comes out!! In Australia the grocers sell the orange kumera sweet potato- these hold a lot more moisture- I added virtually no milk, though I would have liked for them to be sweeter.
Thanks for the amazing recipe I used Okinawa purple sweet potato and rolled it in just sugar and it was awesome 🙂
Thank you for this awesome easy-to-follow recipe and beautiful pictures! I don’t think I could have made these without the pics because my potatoes were so watery. I just eye-balled everything so it looked like your step-by-step photos and my family devoured the finished product. I’ve eye-balled this recipe a few times now and it works every time. Such a great treat that my body loves.
If anyone is attempting a “clean” diet I can recommend the following substitutions. Because my sweet potatoes had so much moisture I tried substituting potato starch for the flour (and because I wanted a GF product) and it worked out! My KorAm family is a big fan of dduk so we LOVED the end texture. I also added maple syrup to the sweet potatoes instead of sugar to the flour mixture and put some extra syrup on the side for dipping. I fried them in organic extra virgin coconut oil using your pan tip and you’re right, this recipe uses very little oil! I’ve also used either unsweetened almond milk or whole milk and they both work great.
Thanks again!! >.<
I love the sweet and creamy taste of Korean sweet potatoes. My kids and I had fun making them together today. They were delicious – crispy on the outside yet soft and chewy inside. Even my husband, who is generally not a big fan of sweet potatoes, couldn’t resist. Do you think it would be possible to make these with a filling similar to Ho-ddoek? I think you’re a culinary goddess! Thank you.
Hi bmint
yes, you can add the hotteok fillings inside and eat the donuts while they are hot to enjoy the hot syrup inside.
Usually Koreans like to add sweetend red bean paste or white bean paste filling inside.
Thanks for your compliment. Do you see my cheeks are turning red out of shyness? Haha!
Can you bake these sweet potatoe donuts too?
Thanks for your time.
Darlene
I am not sure if baking these donuts will work. They will puff but with very dry surface. You can try a few first to see how they turn out.
Can you bake these instead of frying?
It is hard to say. I haven’t tried with baking yet, so I can’t tell you. However You will need to coat with a little oil to get the crisp texture on the outside. Give it a try. It might work.
Just did these delicious donuts and they’re soooo good ^^. Thank you Holly for sharing this recipe 🙂
Hello,
I wanted to make a simply yet healty-ish treat for a friend I haven’t seen for a while. If i make the donuts tonight, do you still think it will still taste the same if I bring it to my friend tomorrow? Or if I pre-made the dough, refrigerated, and then fry it in the morning, is the frying process still the same?
It is better to make the donut on the same day you want to serve. Otherwise they get hardened if left too long.
Thank you for the recipe. I used Trader Joe’s all-purpose gluten free flour, light brown sugar + unsweetened almond milk; it turned out great! 🙂
Tried to make this today however it didn’t turn out well :(. Idk what I did wrong as I followed the recipe well.
Sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out well. May I ask what kind of flour you used?
You mentioned about being gluten free to omit 1/3 cup of wheat flour. Should I add 1/3 cup of glutinous rice flour to replace the wheat flour?
Yes. Just add 1/3 cup more of glutenous rice flour in place of wheat flour.
Can i use sweet rice flour i don’t know if it’s the same but it’s the only thing i could find
Yes, you can use sweet rice flour.
hey holly it me and my mom are making the recipe but it is becoming to soupy because of the milk what should I do please help reply back asap
Did you use glutenous rice flour? I wonder you used regular rice flour. They are different. Regular rice flour won’t give the right texture.
I wonder why it turns our so soupy. Was your sweet potatoes have lots of moisture in them?
I would say if your dough seems very soupy, add more rice flour and the sweet potato (if you have more). A little sticky dough are fine to make these donuts, but no so soupy. Let me know if you need more help.
o yea can u answer all my questions from my previous comment if u don’t
no it is fine have a blessed day
hi im 12 years old and im making these for my social studies class on Friday may 17 2013 we are in the unit of japan and Korea and u have to make a japan or Korean dish i am planning to make this but said they taste better warm but mine cant be warm because i have school now that i have that out the way i have 6 questions
1. how do these donuts taste cold
2. do u think my class will like them btw they are 12 and 13
3. where do find rice flour
4.do you have any suggestions to make this recipe better
5. what is the serving size and how many calories are in there
6.is there any mistakes that u made that u can tell me what not to do
thank you for this recipe i would like u to reply ASAP because its coming up soon
Hi Kalisea
Wow, I am so impressed that you are going to try these donuts. My daughter is 12 years old as well and I need to tell her that she needs to up-notch her cooking skill (She can barely make grilled cheese sandwich!) 🙂
Anyway here are my answers to your questions.
1. These donuts actually taste better in the room temperature. Therefore you can make ahead and take them to school. (DO NOT keep them in the fridge though, otherwise they will get hard) They can go stale next day so I suggest eat them same day you make.
2. They are rice donuts which has very different texture (very chewy and sticky yet soft) than donuts made with the usual wheat flour. So some kids who are not used to the chewy-sticky texture might not like them.
3. Any Asian grocery store should carry them. Look for glutenous rice flour or Mochiko flour. If using Mochiko flour, add a little more milk.
4. These can be gluten free donuts if you omit the little amount of wheat flour in the recipe. Just take out the wheat flour and replace with the same amount of rice flour.
5. The recipe will yield about 3 dozen donut balls. I think one person can easily eat 2-3 balls. So I would say 10-15 servings?
6. I didn’t make any mistake but I need to warn you to be VERY CAREFUL when you make these. They need to be deep-fried. Make sure a grown-up is supervising there for you or doing the deep-frying job for you. Please, be very careful, Okay?
Have fun making these donuts. Hope you and your classmates like them. keep me the update posted. I would love to hear how they turn out!
Hi, you mentioned sweet bean paste in the middle. How do you make that, please? Thanks!
Making red bean paste for donut filling isn’t difficult, but it does take some time. Here’s how to do it:
1) Soak the red beans in water for 8 hours or overnight.
2) Drain the soaking water, then add fresh water (about 2.5 times the volume of the beans) and a few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring frequently, until the beans are soft. Add more water if needed to keep the beans moist but not submerged in water.
3) Add sugar, using 25-50% of the beans’ weight. Start with a smaller amount and adjust to your taste. Stir well and simmer until the sugar fully dissolves.
4) Mash the beans for a chunky texture or puree them for a smooth paste, based on your preference.
5) Let the paste cool, then store it in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for longer storage. Enjoy!
Oh, Thank you very much! Do you think making the paste, instead of buying pre-made, makes an appreciable difference? I know that pumpkin puree that we buy at the store is as good as homemade. What are your thoughts on bean paste? Is there a specific brand that you prefer?
Thanks, again! Happy Holidays!
Do you mean adding homemade bean paste as a filling for the donut balls? If so, homemade red bean paste works perfectly—just make sure it’s thick enough to use as a filling. For store-bought options, any canned product will work depending on your preference for creamy, smooth filling or whole bean filling. Personally, I prefer the creamy version when using it for donut fillings. Hope this helps. Thanks!