These Air Fryer Biscuit Donuts are a tasty and simple treat perfect for breakfast or dessert. Ready in just about 5 minutes these donuts are a quick fix for any sweet tooth and craving!
You are going to love making air fryer donuts with biscuits! It's such a simple way to enjoy a tasty treat without having to drive to a shop for fresh donuts. Save time, money, and effort with this simple fix of a recipe.
We enjoy making biscuit donuts in the air fryer because it keeps us from driving 15 minutes to the nearest Dunkin Donuts and while it doesn't taste the same, it does taste delicious, especially when the donuts are still fresh and warm. Yum!
Why This Recipe Works
- You can customize your donuts. Top your donuts off with any number of glazes or toppings and they'll turn out great every time.
- The kids will love them! I mean, what kid doesn't love donuts? This recipe is so fabulous that you're sure to be the coolest parent at school.
- No yeast is needed! Because we use canned biscuits to make this recipe, we don't need to make any dough from scratch. This saves us hours of patience and effort!
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🥘 Ingredients
Canned biscuits- You will need a can of biscuit dough for this recipe. We prefer the flaky biscuits fo the best results.
Olive oil- This is optional but you can brush olive oil in your air fryer to help prevent sticking.
Optional Toppings:
Listed on the recipe card below are detailed instructions for making these glazes. Feel free to pick and choose any toppings that you want for your donuts. Enjoy!
- Chocolate glaze
- Maple glaze
- Strawberry
- Cinnamon sugar
- Powdered sugar
For specific quantities and topping instructions, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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- Air Fryer
- Pastry Brush
- Small circle cutter
🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make Air Fryer biscuit donuts with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Brush your Air Fryer basket with olive oil to grease it before use.
Preheat your Air Fryer by heating it to 360 degrees F for 2 minutes while you prep the donuts.
Use a small circle cutter to cut out the centers of the donuts. I use a kid's medicine cup as it worked out perfectly.
Place 2-4 donuts into your Air Fryer, depending on the size of your Air Fryer. you want at least 1 inch of space between them.
Cook the donut rings for 5 minutes. Cook donut holes for 3 minutes. DO NOT COOK HOLES AND DONUT RINGS TOGETHER. Work in batches.
Repeat until all donuts have been cooked and then give them the toppings of your choice.
📖 Variations (Toppings)
How to make Maple Glaze
- You can make a maple glaze by whisking together powdered sugar with maple syrup until thick and smooth. Slowly add in milk, as needed. You may not need it all. You should just want the glaze thick enough to drizzle because this means it will cling to the donut if dipped.
How to make Strawberry Glaze
- Whisk together your powdered sugar and milk until thick and smooth but still drizzling consistency. Add in a little strawberry extract for flavor and if desired you can whisk in some pink food coloring.
How to make Chocolate glaze
- In a microwave-safe bowl melt the chocolate chips and milk in 30-second intervals, in the microwave. Stir well between each until smooth. This should only take about 1 minute or so. Dip your donuts into the chocolate and then sprinkle with colorful sprinkles if desired.
How to make Cinnamon sugar coating
- In a bowl, whisk together the cinnamon and sugar until well mixed. Set aside. Melt your butter in a bowl and after the donuts come out of the air fryer use the pastry brush to brush the butter over the donuts. Roll in the cinnamon sugar until coated.
How to make Powdered sugar coating
- Melt your butter in a microwave-safe bowl and then brush over the donuts once cooked. Roll in powdered sugar. You may wish to roll twice if the first layer starts to dissolve.
🍴 Recipe Tips
What type of canned biscuits to use
You can use any brand of biscuits for these donuts. I like to make air fryer donuts with Pillsbury Grands because they're taller and flakier which makes a much more doughy good taste like a real fresh donut.
If you use a different brand, look for the larger donuts and not the tiny store brand ones. Even though the tiny ones are cheaper, they will burn and not cook up the same as the larger biscuits.
🍳Reheating
Just like with regular donuts, you can simply place a day old donut on a plate and microwave it for 5-10 seconds to warm them up and make them taste incredible again.
💭 FAQs
These donuts are best when eaten warm and fresh from the air fryer, but they can be kept safely stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. After that, they become a bit too stale and chewy to enjoy.
To be honest, they aren't the healthiest treat out there (mostly because of the canned biscuits having a high sodium content), but they are much less fattening than regular fried donuts and still taste pretty great!
No, I do not recommend using any aerosol spray cans inside of your air fryer as they have been known to cause the baskets to chip as they are made with harsher chemicals. Brushing olive oil over the basket is a great way to grease the basket without hurting it in the process.
More great air fryer recipes to check out soon
- Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
- Air Fryer Pizza Rolls
- Air Fryer Canned Cinnamon Rolls
- Air Fryer Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips
- Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Breasts
- Air Fryer Frozen Garlic Bread
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Biscuit Donuts
Equipment
- Small circle cutter
Ingredients
- Canned Biscuits ($2.00)
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil ($0.26)
Maple Glaze
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Milk, if needed
Chocolate glaze
- ½ cup Chocolate Chips
- 1 Tablespoon Milk
- Rainbow Sprinkles *optional
Cinnamon sugar
- ¼ cup Melted Butter
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Powdered sugar coating
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
Strawberry Glaze
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Milk
- ½ teaspoon Strawberry Extract
- 1 drop Pink Food Coloring *optional
Instructions
How to Make Donuts
- Brush your Air Fryer basket with olive oil to grease it before use.
- Preheat your Air Fryer by heating it to 360 degrees F for 2 minutes while you prep the donuts.
- Use a small circle cutter to cut out the centers of the donuts. I use a kid's medicine cup as it worked out perfectly.
- Place 2-4 donuts into your Air Fryer, depending on the size of your Air Fryer. you want at least 1 inch of space between them.
- Cook the donut rings for 5 minutes. Cook donut holes for 3 minutes. DO NOT COOK HOLES AND DONUT RINGS TOGETHER. Work in batches.
- Repeat until all donuts have been cooked and then give them the toppings of your choice.
How to make Maple Glaze
- You can make a maple glaze by whisking together powdered sugar with maple syrup until thick and smooth. Slowly add in milk, as needed. You may not need it all. You should just want the glaze thick enough to drizzle because this means it will cling to the donut if dipped.
How to make Strawberry Glaze
- Whisk together your powdered sugar and milk until thick and smooth but still drizzling consistency. Add in a little strawberry extract for flavor and if desired you can whisk in some pink food coloring.
How to make Chocolate glaze
- In a microwave-safe bowl melt the chocolate chips and milk in 30-second intervals, in the microwave. Stir well between each until smooth. This should only take about 1 minute or so. Dip your donuts into the chocolate and then sprinkle with colorful sprinkles if desired.
How to make Cinnamon sugar coating
- In a bowl, whisk together the cinnamon and sugar until well mixed. Set aside. Melt your butter in a bowl and after the donuts come out of the air fryer use the pastry brush to brush the butter over the donuts. Roll in the cinnamon sugar until coated.
How to make Powdered sugar coating
- Melt your butter in a microwave-safe bowl and then brush over the donuts once cooked. Roll in powdered sugar. You may wish to roll twice if the first layer starts to dissolve.
Notes
- Any canned biscuit will work, but you should look for the larger biscuit varieties as the smaller ones will not work out so well and may burn.
- You can freshen up stale donuts by heating them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds on a plate.
- These donuts are good for up to 2 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
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