Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

One of my favorite food days is almost here guys, National Donut Day is this Friday, June 5th! Whoever is responsible for making a special day for the donut deserves a raise, get it? raise-yeast-donut.

A fried savory donut with basil pesto hummus and mozzarella cheese

Okay so I’m no comedian, but I can make donuts and when I’m challenged to make a savory donut with Sabra Hummus, you can bet your sweet pants that I’ll come up with one somehow! Savory donuts are totally a thing, I never knew but it makes sense. As long as you dress your savory donut in a savory style then it’s a win-win. Instead of rolling my donut in sugar, I switched it out for dry aged Parmesan Cheese and my savory hummus donut challenge was perfected. I used Sabra’s Basil Pesto Hummus and added grated mozzarella cheese to the dough.

fried basil and pesto donut with Parmesan cheese

Don’t throw those donut holes away either my friends, those will make a great appetizer and are awesome for dipping in some of the leftover basil pesto hummus. This is your chance to freak out your friends when they come over for dinner because they’ll think you’ve went crazy, until they start popping them in their mouths.
There’s so many things you could do with savory donuts but I wanted to stay with the classic basil pesto flavor of the hummus so a mozzarella caprese donut sandwich seemed like the legit way to go. All it needed was a splash of balsamic vinegar and more fresh basil leaves.

Happy National Donut Day!

Fried basil and pesto donut with mozzarella and tomato

As a tastemaker for Sabra, compensation was provided for this delicious donut creation. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

A fried savory donut with basil pesto hummus and mozzarella cheese

Savory Basil Pesto Hummus Donut

Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 2 minutes
Author: Gerry Speirs
A savory fried basil pesto hummus donut lightly dusted with dry aged Parmesan cheese.
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 quart of canola oil
  • 1 teaspoons envelope of quick rising dry yeast 2 1/4
  • 2 tablespoons warm water
  • 3 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup Sabra Basil Pesto Hummus
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 oz stick Soft butter 2
  • 1 cup dry Parmesan Cheese *see notes*
  • 2 slices ripe tomato
  • 2 slices thick mozzarella cheese
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • leaves Fresh basil

Instructions

  • Pour the canola oil into a large deep 2 qt pot.
  • In a small bowl mix the yeast with warm water until dissolved.
  • Add the flour, hummus, milk, grated mozzarella butter and yeast mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer.
  • Mix on low speed until the dough comes together, Scrape down and continue mixing for 5-6 more minutes.
  • Rub the inside of a bowl with about 1 tablespoon of the oil. this will prevent the dough from sticking to the sides on it's first rise.
  • Dump the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead into a ball shape. Transfer to the bowl and cover with a clean towel.
  • Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 -1/2 hours or it has doubled in size. *see notes*
  • Dump the dough back out onto the table and roll out until it's about 1 inch thick.
  • Using a 3 inch circle cutter, cut out the donuts.
  • Use a smaller punch for the center, an upside down pastry tip usually works best for me and cut out the donut holes.
  • Dust a 9 x 13 baking tray with some flour and lay each donut on it making sure to leave some space between them.
  • Save the donut holes and lay on the baking tray also.
  • Cover the tray with the towel and let rise again for about 45m - 1 hour depending on how warm your kitchen is.
  • Heat the oil to a temperature of 375 degrees making sure to use a thermometer for accuracy.
  • Once the donuts have finished their second rise place one or two into the hot oil, being careful not to deflate them while lifting them from the tray.
  • Fry each donut for about 45-55 seconds per side.
  • Transfer the donuts to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
  • Once cool, roll the tops of the donut in the Parmesan Cheese including the donut holes.
  • You can eat them like this or slice the donuts in half and fill with the tomato slices, mozzarella and 2-3 fresh basil leaves.
  • Drizzle with some balsamic vinegar and serve at once.

Notes

To make the dough rise faster, I usually turn on my oven to 200 degrees and then switch it off again. Set the towel covered bowl in the warm oven and let rise.
The cheese you need is the dry shelf-stable Parmesan cheese, not fresh refrigerated Parmesan.