Pumpkin Mochi Donut Holes Recipe

by Mochi Mommy on June 17, 2025

These easy mochi donuts are perfect for fall with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices! They’re also naturally gluten-free.

It’s been a while since I posted a mochi recipe, but I’m back stronger than ever with these pumpkin mochi donuts! They’re absolutely perfect for fall with all the flavors of pumpkin pie but the bouncy, chewy texture of mochi. Jump on down to the recipe below or read through the post for tips and tricks on how to get the best pumpkin donuts!

Mochi Donuts vs. Donut Holes

The mochi donuts you see in restaurants usually consist of 6-8 mochi balls in a ring. They’re made from a donut batter that’s pushed through a machine with a ring mold that drops the uncooked donuts directly into hot oil.

When trying a mochi donut recipe at home, you have to compensate for the lack of said machinery. This means you need to make a dough that you can mold with your hands into balls to then arrange in rings. Using a dough vs. a batter means you end up with a much drier donut that won’t last very long after it’s made.

The solution? Make donut holes! You can drop balls of batter directly into the hot oil to fry up. They’re more moist but still have that great golden brown surface area to chewy mochi center ratio. I based this recipe off of my sata andagi recipe, which is a type of Okinawan donut made the same way. I’ve seen mochi donuts made this way and labeled as “mochisadas” at Foodland in Hawaii. I’m not sure how accurate that name is (I don’t really find them that similar in texture or technique to malasadas…) but perhaps others see it differently.

Notes on Ingredients and Substitutions

As the Mochi Mommy, you know I am well versed in my mochi ingredients. For this recipe (and most of my other mochi recipes), you’ll need mochiko, a rice flour made from mochikome, a.k.a. mochi rice. You may also hear this called sweet rice flour or glutinous rice flour. However, you MUST use a flour that is labelled “mochiko.” There are other flours that can be made with this same rice, but depending on how it is milled, you can end up with very different products. The way it absorbs moisture and the end texture can be way off. My preferred brand of mochiko is Koda Farm’s Blue Star Mochiko, which you can find at most Asian grocery stores in the US or online.

To get that pumpkin spice flavor, I use a small amount of pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t already have some, you can easily make your own blend at home. Simply mix a combination of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, all spice, and ground cloves. The ratios are up to your tastes, but generally use the most cinnamon and smaller amounts of nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, as they’re very strong.