Healthier Air Fryer Donuts 2 Ways + Tutorial

Donuts may be one of the hardest temptations to resist and yet they seem to be everywhere. At your local coffee shop, favorite donut shop, school functions, the office. Seriously peeps, I cannot remember the last time I attended a morning business meeting that did not include donuts.

And sadly traditionally made sugar donuts come loaded with fat and calories. Making them a guilty pleasure that is not to be indulged in on a regular basis.

Easy Air Fryer Donuts

But folks, the air fryer has changed all that. You can make donuts in the air fryer using the smallest amount of oil. Or using just a very light coating of no-calorie cooking spray. How is this possible, you ask?

Besides being a healthier version of our favourite sweet treat, Air Fryer Donuts are also really quick and easy treat to make. This post includes two ways to make Air Fryer Donuts: the super easy biscuit method using pre-made biscuit dough, or making your own dough from scratch.

And if you like desserts then check out these Air Fryer Apple Fritters, delicious Air Fryer Fried Oreos, these best ever Air Fryer Beignets and of course Air Fryer Apple Chips.

Whichever option you choose, cooking your Air Fryer Donuts only takes 4-5 minutes, which means you can whip up a batch anytime, without the hassle or the guilt.

Air fryers work by circulating heat around all sides of the donuts. This allows you to ‘fry’ your delicious donuts without all that grease. And when donuts aren’t bobbing around in an oil bath, they contain much less fat and calories overall.

Why Make This Recipe

• Quick and easy – if you use canned biscuit dough you can make this in less than 15 minutes.
• Healthier – since these are air fried and not deep fried in hot oil.
• Lots of toppings – you can make glazed donuts, or coat them in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar etc.

Ingredient Notes

Using the easy method

• Oil spray – use olive oil spray or coconut oil spray or which ever flavor your prefer.
• Canned Biscuits – use your favorite refrigerated biscuits like Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Biscuits.
• Toppings – like a maple glaze or cinnamon sugar.

From Scratch

• Flour – this recipe calls for all purpose flour.
• Sugar – use granulated sugar.
• Yeast – makes it nice and fluffy.
• Nutmeg (or vanilla extract) – or use your favorite flavoring.
• Salt – `Lifts up the flavor.
• Milk – For the best result use whole milk.
• Melted butter – Unsalted melted butter works best.
• Egg – use a large egg.

So, are you ready to learn how easy it is to make delicious Air Fryer Donuts? Then gather up your ingredients and let’s get started……

How to Make Air Fryer Donuts Step By Step (The Easy Biscuit Way)

Making donuts in air fryer is super easy.

1. Separate the biscuits and lay them on a flat surface.
2. Use a small (1-inch) round biscuit cutters (or a donut cutter) to remove the donut holes center from one biscuit. Then repeat with the remaining biscuits.
3. Preheat air fryer to 350F / 180C and spray the basket with cooking spray.
4. Place half of the donuts in a single layer inside air fryer basket, and air fry for 4-5 mins until golden brown.
5. Repeat with remaining donuts and holes.

A few simple steps and minutes to your Air Fryer Biscuit Donuts……

How to Make Air Fryer Donuts From Scratch

Make homemade donuts from scratch is not difficult,

1. Combine flour, sugar, yeast, nutmeg (or vanilla extract), salt in a large bowl using a wooden spoon.
2. Add in the warm milk, butter, and egg and stir into a soft dough.
3. Transfer donut dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of mins until smooth.
4. Transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, cover it loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for the dough rise (until doubled in size).
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll into 1/4-inch thickness.
6. Cut out 7-8 doughnuts using a 3-inch round cutter. Then use a 1-inch round cutter to cut holes in the center.
7. Place both the donuts and donuts holes on a lightly floured surface, cover loosely with a cloth and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size (approximately 30 mins).
8. Pre-heat air fryer to 350F / 180C and spray the basket with cooking spray.
9. Place half the donuts in single layer in the air fryer basket, and cook for 4-5 mins until golden.  Remove the Air Fryer Donuts. Repeat with remaining donuts and donut holes.

Air Fryer Donuts Tips

• Do not stack your donuts in the air fryer. Allow enough room for the air to circulate around your donuts so they cook evenly.
• For best cooking results, make sure your Air Fryer doughnuts are the same size. But you can have fun any vary the size of your donuts from batch to batch.
• Clean out the air fryer basket between batches to make sure there are no pieces of dough remaining and to avoid and burning.
• Let cool on a cooling rack and drizzle or sprinkle on your preferred topping.

Are Air Fryer Donuts Healthy?

Yeap, using the air fryer to cook donuts is much healthier than the traditional frying method. The made from scratch version of this Air Fried Donuts recipe has only 4g of fat per serving.

What is the Correct Temperature to Cook Donuts in the Air Fryer?

I found that cooking the donuts at 350F / 180C gave me the perfectly golden results I was looking for.

As air fryer temperatures can vary depending on the make and model, this recipe includes a range of suggested cook times.

Customising Your Air Fryer Donuts

Since it is so quick and easy to cook donuts in the air fryer, you can focus on fun ways to customise them. Some ideas:

Create a DIY donut decorating station. My mini chefs looooove to set out tons of bowls filled with every imaginable color of sprinkles, different candies. They have so much fun creatively mixing and matching all sorts of unique topping combinations. A great activity for a kids’ birthday party.

For a sophisticated twist, try topping your donuts with dried edible flowers. There is a wide variety to choose from, such as elderflower, calendula, chamomile and lavender. Even Miniature Rose Petals, which are sooooo pretty. Edible flower air fryer donuts make a stunning centerpiece for your next ladies brunch or a sweet treat with afternoon tea in the garden.

I love the fact that you can make so many different flavour variations. Here are just a few of my favourites:

• Cinnamon Sugar: skip the glaze and combine equal parts sugar and cinnamon to cover your air fryer donuts.
• Gingerbread: add ginger to your glaze mixture and then top the iced donuts with pieces of candied ginger. Perfect for Christmas breakfast!
• Chocolate Almond: drizzle chocolate sauce on your donuts and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

How to Make Maple Bacon Donuts in the Air Fryer

One of my American friends introduced me to this amaaaaaazing combination and let me tell you, if you haven’t had it yet then you are seriously missing out.

OH recently had some friends over to watch the big game so I decided to really put the air fryer to the test and made a big batch of Maple Bacon Air Fryer Donuts.

Cooking bacon in the air fryer gives you perfectly crispy bacon strips (check out my Air Fryer Bacon post for complete instructions and a video tutorial). And by using the super easy biscuit way to make my donuts in the air fryer meant they were ready in no time.

To finish them off, I made a simple maple-flavoured glaze and then topped each donut with lots of crumbled bacon. The only problem? They were gone so fast I wasn’t able to get any photos! 

Storage

Store – These are best served fresh, but Store cool treats in an airtight container on the counter for up to 1 day.

More Air Fryer Desert Recipes

• Air Fryer Apple Fritters.
• Air Fryer Banana Bread.
• Air Fryer Apple Chips.
• Air Fryer Chocolate Cake.
• Air Fryer Churros.
• Air Fryer Gingerbread Man Cookies.
• Air Fryer Monkey Bread.
• Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls with Bacon.
• Air Fryer Fried Ice Cream.
• Air Fryer Dessert Recipes.

More Air Fryer Recipes

• Air Fryer Chickpeas.
• Air Fryer Zucchini Fries.
• Air Fryer Whole Chicken.
• Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings.
• Air Fryer Baked Potatoes.
• Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts.
• Air Fryer Chicken Breasts.
• Air Fryer Chicken Thighs.

Weight Watchers Points

There are 10 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving.

Thank you for reading my Air Fry Donuts recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, UK food blog.

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