When Krispy Kreme announced its new Pokémon Doughnut Collection for Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, it was hard not to want to try them. The limited-edition collection features six donuts inspired by Pokémon favorites including Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff, along with a Poké Ball design. Each one has its own flavor and decoration, from Pikachu’s lemon Kreme filling to Jigglypuff’s strawberry topping and the classic red-and-white Poké Ball. (Fast Company) But if you don’t have a Krispy Kreme nearby—or simply want to have some fun in your own kitchen—you can make a Pokémon-inspired version at home. With a simple homemade yeast donut, colorful icing, a few easy decorations, and freshly whipped cream made with a nitrous oxide canister, you can create your own Pokémon donut collection without trying to make every detail look perfect.
Why I Wanted to Make Pokémon Donuts at Home？
The Krispy Kreme collection is a great starting point, but what caught my attention was how easily the idea can be adapted at home. You don’t need professional decorating skills or a dozen different recipes. A basic soft donut can become Pikachu, Jigglypuff, or even a Poké Ball with nothing more than colored icing and a few simple toppings.
For me, that’s the appeal of making themed desserts at home. They don’t need to look exactly like the originals. A slightly uneven line or a pair of imperfect chocolate eyes somehow makes the finished donuts feel more homemade—and usually gives everyone something to laugh about when you’re making them with family or friends.
What You Need
For the Donuts
For about 10–12 donuts, use all-purpose flour, sugar, instant yeast, warm milk, an egg, unsalted butter, salt, and a little vanilla extract. You’ll also need neutral oil if you’re frying the donuts.
A fried yeast donut works especially well here because the inside stays soft and airy while the outside provides a smooth surface for icing and decoration.
For the Pokémon Decorations
You’ll need powdered sugar, milk or cream, food coloring, melted chocolate, and a few toppings such as cookie crumbs or sprinkles.
Yellow icing is perfect for Pikachu, pink works for Jigglypuff, and red and white icing can quickly turn an ordinary donut into a Poké Ball. For small facial details, melted chocolate or a fine piping bag is much easier to control than trying to use a large amount of frosting.
For the Whipped Cream
For the filling, I like keeping things simple with cold heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. A whipped cream dispenser and food-grade nitrous oxide canister make it easy to turn the mixture into light, fluffy whipped cream without standing over a bowl with a hand mixer.
How to Make the Donuts？
1. Make the Dough
Combine the warm milk, yeast, and sugar, then let the mixture sit for a few minutes. Add the egg, softened butter, vanilla, flour, and salt and mix until a soft dough forms.
Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. It may feel slightly sticky at first, but resist the temptation to add a lot of extra flour. Too much flour can make the finished donuts dense instead of light and fluffy.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise until it has roughly doubled in size.
2. Cut and Proof the Donuts
Gently roll the dough out to around 1/2 inch thick and cut out the donut shapes. A standard donut cutter works well, but you can also use two round cutters if that’s what you already have in the kitchen.
After cutting, let the donuts rest for another 30–45 minutes. This second rise is important because it gives the doughnuts a lighter texture and helps them puff up nicely during frying.
3. Fry Until Golden
Heat the oil to around 350°F (175°C) and fry the donuts in small batches. Turn them once so both sides become evenly golden.
Don’t overcrowd the pan. Too many donuts at once can lower the oil temperature and leave you with greasy, heavy donuts.
Transfer the finished donuts to a wire rack or paper towels and let them cool completely before decorating.
How to Turn Them Into Pokémon Donuts？
Pikachu Donuts
Start with yellow icing and coat the top of the donut. Once the icing begins to set, add chocolate eyes, a small mouth, and Pikachu’s signature red cheeks.
For the filling, lemon whipped cream is an easy homemade version of the lemon Kreme used in Krispy Kreme’s Pikachu Doughnut. A little lemon zest in the whipped cream gives you plenty of flavor without making the filling too complicated.
Jigglypuff Donuts
For Jigglypuff, use pink strawberry icing and add large chocolate eyes. A few crushed strawberry cookies on top provide both color and crunch.
Krispy Kreme’s Jigglypuff version combines strawberry buttercreme with strawberry cookie crumbs, so this is one design that’s particularly easy to recreate at home.
Poké Ball Donuts
This may be the easiest design of the whole collection.
Cover half of the donut with red icing and leave the other half white. Once the icing has set slightly, pipe a thin chocolate line around the middle and add a small white circle in the center.
It doesn’t need to be perfectly symmetrical. As long as you have the red, white, and black elements, everyone will recognize it immediately.
Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle
If you want to make a complete Pokémon collection, the same donut base can be used for all three.
Bulbasaur can be decorated with green icing and purple details, Charmander works well with orange icing and chocolate filling, while Squirtle can use blue icing with a light-colored cream filling.
The original Krispy Kreme collection gives each character a different flavor and topping, but at home, I’d focus on the character’s recognizable colors and choose fillings you actually enjoy.
How to Make Whipped Cream With a whipped cream charger
Keep Everything Cold
Cold heavy cream whips much more easily, so I always start with cream straight from the refrigerator. If you have time, chilling the dispenser before use can also help keep the finished whipped cream firm.
Mix the cold cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until everything is evenly combined.
Charge the Dispenser
Pour the cream mixture into a compatible whipped cream dispenser without exceeding its fill line. Attach a food-grade nitrous oxide canister according to the manufacturer’s instructions, then charge the dispenser.
Shake the dispenser as directed and test a small amount before filling the donuts.
The texture should be light and smooth, which makes it particularly nice for filling homemade donuts. Compared with manually whipping cream, the dispenser also makes it much easier to pipe consistent portions.
Fill the Donuts
Once the donuts have completely cooled, make a small hole on the side and pipe the whipped cream into the center.
Don’t overfill them. A little cream is usually enough, especially if the donuts are already covered with icing and toppings.
I also prefer filling them shortly before serving. The cream stays at its best when it’s freshly prepared and kept cold.
A Few Tricks That Make a Difference
Don’t Add Too Much Flour
A slightly sticky dough isn’t necessarily a problem. Adding too much flour is one of the easiest ways to make homemade donuts heavy.
Let the Donuts Cool Completely
Warm donuts can melt your icing and quickly soften whipped cream. Give them enough time to cool before decorating or filling.
Keep the Decorations Simple
You don’t need to recreate every tiny detail from the Krispy Kreme originals. Pikachu’s yellow color and red cheeks, Jigglypuff’s pink face, or the red-and-white Poké Ball design are enough to make the theme immediately recognizable.
Decorate With Kids or Friends
This is one of those recipes where perfection isn’t really the goal. Set out different colors of icing, chocolate, sprinkles, and cookie crumbs and let everyone create their own Pokémon.
The results may not look identical, but that’s part of the fun.
How Many Calories Are in One Pokémon Donut?
There isn’t one fixed calorie count because the number depends on the size of the donut, how much oil it absorbs, and how much icing, whipped cream, chocolate, and other toppings you add.
As a rough estimate, a standard homemade glazed donut may fall around 200–300 calories, while a generously decorated or filled Pokémon donut can easily reach 300–400 calories or more.
The whipped cream itself doesn’t necessarily add a huge amount if you use a modest portion, but the toppings can add up quickly. A thick layer of icing, cookie crumbs, chocolate, and a cream filling can turn a relatively simple donut into a much more substantial dessert.
So I wouldn’t worry too much about making these “light.” They’re meant to be a fun treat, and one homemade Pokémon donut is a lot more enjoyable when you aren’t obsessing over every calorie.
The Fun Is in Making Your Own Pokémon Collection
Krispy Kreme’s Pokémon collaboration is a fun reminder that a familiar donut can become something completely different with a little creativity.
At home, you can take the same idea and make it your own. Start with one soft donut recipe, choose a few Pokémon designs, and use colorful icing and homemade whipped cream to bring them to life.
You don’t need professional equipment or perfect decorating skills. In fact, the slightly imperfect homemade look is part of what makes these donuts fun. And with a nitrous oxide canister and a whipped cream dispenser, you can also make fresh, fluffy cream fillings in just a few minutes—making the whole project feel a little more special than an ordinary batch of homemade donuts.