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, 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 donuts come loaded with fat and calories. Making them a guilty pleasure that is not to be indulged in on a regular basis.

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?

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

Besides being a healthier version of our favourite sweet treat, Air Fryer Donuts are also really quick and easy 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.

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 Fryer Donuts Tools

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)

1. Separate the biscuits and lay them on a flat surface.
2. Use a small (1-inch) round cookie cutter to remove the centers.
3. Pre-heat air fryer to 350F / 180C and spray the basket with cooking spray.
4. Place half of the donuts in single layer inside air fryer basket, and cook for 4-5 mins until golden.
5. Repeat with remaining donuts and holes.

How to Make Air Fryer Donuts Step By Step (The From Scratch Way)

1. Combine flour, sugar, yeast, nutmeg, salt in a bowl.
2. Add in the 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 and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured 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 remove center.
7. Place the 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 air fryer basket, and cook for 4-5 mins until golden. Repeat with remaining donuts and holes.

Tips for Making Air Fryer Donuts

• 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 donuts 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.

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 Fryer 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! 

More Air Fryer Recipes

Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Wings.

Air Fryer Chicken Breasts.

More Air Fryer Desert Recipes

4 Air Fryer Dessert Recipes.

Weight Watchers Points in Air Fryer Donuts

There are 10 Freestyle Points in one serving of Air Fryer Donuts.

Thank you for reading my Air Fryer 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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5 from 6 votes

Air Fryer Donuts 2 Ways

Air Fryer Donuts are a healthier version of your favourite sweet treat that is fun and easy to make!

Prep Time40 mins

Cook Time5 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American, Western

Keyword: Air fryer, Air Fryer Donuts, Donuts

Servings: 8

Calories: 241kcal

Author: Recipes From a Pantry

Ingredients

From Scratch Way:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1.5 tsp fast action yeast
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk at room temperature
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted
• 1 large egg beaten

Easy Biscuit Way:

• 1 can of biscuits 8 biscuits, flaky kind

Glaze:

• 1 cup (about 4 oz) powdered sugar
• 4 tsp tap water
• various sprinkles and edible dried flowers

Instructions

To Make The From Scratch Way:

• Combine flour, sugar, yeast, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl.
• Add in the milk, butter, and egg and stir into a soft dough.
• Place donut dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of mins until smooth.
• Transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, cover it and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness.
• Cut out 7-8 doughnuts using a 3-inch round cutter. Then use a 1-inch round cutter to remove center.
• Place the 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).
• Pre-heat air fryer to 350F / 180C and spray the basket with cooking spray.
• Place half of the donuts in single layer inside the air fryer basket and cook for 4-5 mins until golden. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and holes.

To Make the Super Easy Biscuit Way:

• Lay the biscuits on a flat surface. Use a small (1-inch) round cookie cutter to remove center.
• Pre-heat air fryer to 350F / 180C and spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
• Place the donuts in a single layer inside the air fryer basket (do not stack) and lightly spray the donuts with oil.
• Cook for 4-5 mins until golden. Repeat with remaining donuts and holes.

To Make The Glaze:

• Whisk together powdered sugar and water in a bowl until smooth.
• Dip the donuts and donut holes in the sugar glaze, then place them on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet to allow excess glaze to drip off.
• Top donuts with sprinkles and edible flowers.
• Let donuts stand until glaze hardens (about 10 mins) before serving.

Notes

Tips for Making Air Fryer Donuts

• 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 donuts 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.

Weight Watchers Points

There are 10 Freestyle Points in one serving of Air Fryer Donuts.

Nutrition

Calories: 241kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 2.9% | Calcium: 2.5% | Iron: 8.6%