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Soft, fluffy and absolutely glorious, these Air Fryer homemade donuts are totally worth the effort!
Making the perfect, pillowy-soft donuts from scratch has never been easier. This recipe simplifies it for you, and before you know it, you’ll have the most delectable, no-fried donuts ready! Top them with some homemade cinnamon sugar for some extra yumminess!
The perfect air fried donuts have a slightly crispy outside and a soft, fluffy inside, and all this while, I always thought that could only be achieved by deep frying.
That is, until I tried this recipe. These homemade donuts (just like my Air Fryer rolls) came out perfect in the Air Fryer, and I’ve made them so many times now, I’ve almost become a pro at them. I love topping them with a nice maple glaze and topping them with some of my crushed Air Fryer candied bacon, but there’s SO many more ways to enjoy them.
Quick Look At This Recipe
✨ Flavor: Soft, fluffy, sweet and absolutely irresistible.
⏱️ Prep time: 20 minutes.
🔥 Cook time: 3 minutes.
⏲️ Total time: 23 minutes + 2.5 hours proofing time.
👥 Servings: 10 donuts and 12-15 donut holes.
🥄 Tools: Air Fryer, mixing bowl, stand mixer, biscuit cutter, rolling pin, cookie sheet + parchment paper.
❄️ Freezer friendly: Yes.
👩🏻🍳 Tip: Don’t want to make the dough from scratch? Check out my Air Fryer donuts recipe, which uses packaged biscuit dough.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- These air fried homemade donuts are an excellent lighter alternative to the classic deep fried donuts.
- Making them from scratch is actually easier than you’d think. You’ll just need a bit of time and patience.
- Just like my Air Fryer churros, these have the perfect taste, texture and yumminess, despite using way less oil!
Table of Contents
Recipe Ingredients
- Bread flour: I went with bread flour this time instead of the classic all purpose flour which I use for my Air Fryer bread recipe.
- Sugar: I used granulated sugar, powdered sugar and some cinnamon sugar for the topping!
- Vanilla: For the flavor and aroma.
- Butter: I used unsalted butter here (and in my Air Fryer homemade biscuits recipe). This adds a nice bit of richness to the homemade donuts.
- Active dry yeast: To help the dough rise and the donuts get nice and fluffy.
- Milk: Whole milk is best.
- Egg yolks: For the color and richness.
- Salt: Just a dash, to balance out the sweetness.
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations
- Love chocolate? You can skip the sugar icing and just use some Hershey’s chocolate syrup to drizzle over the donuts, like I did when I made my Air Fryer twinkies.
- If you’re making festive donuts, you can add a drop or two of food coloring to the icing.
- You can also experiment with toppings like crushed Oreos, chocolate chips (like in my Air Fryer chocolate chip cookies) and even just some classic sprinkles.
How to Make Air Fryer Homemade Donuts
- Warm up 3/4 cup of the milk and stir in the yeast. Add 3/4 cup of bread flour, mix, cover and set it aside to rise.
- After about 30 minutes, the dough will rise and become fluffy.
- In another bowl, combine the remaining warm milk, egg yolks and vanilla. Now add in the proofed dough.
- To this, add the remaining flour, salt and sugar. Mix on low using a dough hook for 30 seconds and keep adding butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover and let it rise for 30 minutes. Punch it down, cover again and refrigerate for an hour. Then, roll it about 1/2 inch thick on a flat surface and cut out the donuts using a cookie cutter.
- Cut the donut holes using a 1″ cookie cutter and arrange them all on a lined cookie sheet. Let them proof again for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the Air Fryer at 350 degrees. Grease the basket with cooking spray and arrange the donuts (and donut holes) in the basket leaving room between them. Grease the donuts with cooking spray and air fry for 2-3 minutes.
- While the donuts are cooking, combine powdered sugar, vanilla, milk and salt in a bowl. This will be the icing for the donuts.
- Once the donuts are done, get them out and let them cool down on a wire rack. Ice them while they are still slightly warm.
- Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon sugar over them before serving.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
These sugary, iced Air Fryer homemade donuts are great to serve at any occasion. I love teaming them up with my Air Fryer chocolate chip muffins or my favorite Air Fryer two ingredient bagels when I’m making these for breakfast, along with classics like Air Fryer sausage patties and Air Fryer scrambled eggs.
You can also make and serve these as a snack along with some Air Fryer cinnamon roll bites and Air Fryer chocolate croissants.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- This is a multi step recipe and it takes a bit of time. Make sure you let the dough proof enough. This will ensure the donuts come out soft and fluffy.
- Making sure you flour the surface well before you roll out the donut dough. This will help keep the dough from sticking. I realized this when I made my Air Fryer soft pretzels.
- Keep enough room between the donuts and donut holes, especially when you’re air frying them, or they’ll end up sticking. You may need to cook them in multiple batches.
- To make things quicker, you can skip making the icing from scratch and use packaged icing instead. I usually have some leftover after making my Air Fryer cinnamon roll bunnies, and I keep them handy to use when I’m making these homemade donuts.
- If you’re making these donuts during fall, you can also mix in some homemade pumpkin pie spice to get the perfect warm and aromatic air fried donuts.
Recipe FAQs
A good way to check if the dough has proofed and the donuts are ready to be air fried is to gently press them with a finger. If they spring back too quickly, they need some more time to proof!
You can store the leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container, or in the refrigerator if you want it to last longer.
You can use a wide mouthed glass for the outside, and a small shot glass for the inside of the donuts.
More Air Fryer Sweet Treats
Desserts
Air Fryer S’mores Crescent Rolls
Desserts
Air Fryer Cherry Pie Bombs
Breakfast
Air Fryer Blueberry Muffin Bites
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a STAR ⭐️ RATING in the COMMENTS 📝 SECTION below.
Air Fryer Homemade Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup whole milk, divided
- 3 cups bread flour, divided
- 3 egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, slightly melted
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp milk, (more if you like a thinner glaze)
- ⅛ tsp salt
Instructions
- Warm up 3/4 cup of the milk and stir in the yeast. Add 3/4 cup of bread flour, mix, cover and set it aside to rise.
- After about 30 minutes, the dough will rise and become fluffy.
- In another bowl, combine the remaining warm milk, egg yolks and vanilla. Now add in the proofed dough.
- To this, add the remaining flour, salt and sugar. Mix on low using a dough hook for 30 seconds and keep adding butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover and let it rise for 30 minutes. Punch it down, cover again and refrigerate for an hour. Then, roll it about 1/2 inch thick on a flat surface and cut out the donuts using a cookie cutter.
- Cut the donut holes using a 1″ cookie cutter and arrange them all on a lined cookie sheet. Let them proof again for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the Air Fryer at 350 degrees. Grease the basket with cooking spray and arrange the donuts (and donut holes) in the basket leaving room between them. Grease the donuts with cooking spray and air fry for 2-3 minutes.
- While the donuts are cooking, combine powdered sugar, vanilla, milk and salt in a bowl. This will be the icing for the donuts.
- Once the donuts are done, get them out and let them cool down on a wire rack. Ice them while they are still slightly warm.
- Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon sugar over them before serving.
Notes
- Keep enough room between the donuts and donut holes, especially when you’re air frying them, or they’ll end up sticking. You may need to cook them in multiple batches.
- Making sure you flour the surface well before you roll out the donut dough. This will help keep the dough from sticking.
- To make things quicker, you can skip making the icing from scratch and use packaged icing instead.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
