Cure your craving for donuts in under 15 minutes with this Quick Air Fryer Doughnuts Glazed & Cinnamon Sugar recipe. Chocolate or vanilla coated, your sweet tooth will be satisfied and all it takes is a couple of ingredients.
Quick Air Fryer Doughnuts Glazed & Cinnamon Sugar
I am going to show you how to make very simple doughnuts quickly and easily, using your air fryer and Mealthy Crisplid.
Doughnuts are one of the finer things in life. Fresh out of the fryer coated and then placed into the shops glass case. Imagine having fresh hot Air Fryer Doughnuts right in your own home, at any time of the day?
This recipe is a quick version and since it is not deep fried, won’t be greasy and as light inside, but, it will sure cure that craving you have right away. Plus, you can stay in your pajamas.
Cast of Ingredients for Quick Air Fryer Doughnuts
The possibilities are endless.
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Ingredients to Quick Air Fryer Doughnuts
- Jumbo Flaky Refrigerated Biscuits
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
- Instant Pot Ghee or Coconut Oil
- Glaze of your choice
Punch Out the Doughnut Hole
Well, the carb and sugar count is still there, but there is no deep fat frying. That’s something, right? They will still have the creamy, soft and bouncy interior. But when you take a bite, it won’t be greasy, which is a huge plus
Now, Air Fryer Doughnuts clearly are not deep fat donuts, but they are so darn good and will cure that sweet, warm, delicious doughnut craving.
How to Make Quick Air Fryer Doughnuts
- Remove the biscuits from the can of refrigerated biscuits.
- Grab your biscuit cutter and punch out a hole.
- Prepare the air fryer and cook the biscuit dough. Save the doughnut holes and we will cook those last.
The Biscuit Cutters are great to make my Southern Style Old Fashion Buttermilk Biscuits too, so if you love Biscuits……..!
Place Doughnuts into Air Fryer Basket
Learn how to Properly Season your Air Fryer Basket with this article I wrote. It will ensure your food does not stick to your air fryer basket..
What Oil Works Best for Air Fryer Doughnuts?
- Coconut Oil
- Grapeseed Oil
- Olive Oil
Make sure to never use Pam! It leaves a coating on the basket and it will not clean up nicely.
Why This Air Fryer Doughnut Recipe Works:
- I’ve showed you the proper way to season an air fryer basket.
- You know to never use Pam.
- A good air fryer is important to use. The air fryer I use cooks very evenly throughout the whole cooking area. It heats up very quickly.
Brush w/Melted Butter and Roll in Cinnamon Sugar
Desserts are so easy in the air fryer. Another yummy Dessert to try is my Air Fryer Peanut Butter Banana Bites.
What You’ll Need for Air Fryer Sugar and Cinnamon Doughnuts
- White Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Milk
- Vanilla Extract
Carefully melt the butter on the stove or in your microwave. Make sure it does not burn. Butter will melt very fast. With a silicone basting brush, lightly brush on a little Melted Butter.
Mix together the Cinnamon and Sugar. Dunk the warm doughnut into the cinnamon and sugar. Kick it up with a dash of freshly ground black pepper for a more intense taste!
Orange Glazed Doughnuts!
How to Make Glazed Doughnuts
Add powdered sugar to a bowl and add a teaspoon of milk at a time.
Whisk together and add more milk until you get the perfectly consistency. The glaze should be very thick, but not too thick that it is not pourable.
Flavor Varieties
- Orange Glaze – use orange juice instead of milk.
- Chocolate Glaze – add a touch of cocoa to the powdered sugar, before you add the milk.
- Vanilla Glaze – add 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Doughnut Holes
Doughnut holes are fun to eat. I use my biscuit cutter to cut a hole in each biscuit as I love the doughnut holes.
They bake quicker, so make sure to keep your eye on the air fryer.
Quick Air Fryer Orange Glaze and Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts
With a cup of coffee and a few Air Fryer Doughnuts, you are in for a real treat.
How about my Totally Fool Proof Lemon Curd for filled doughnuts? That would be wonderful!
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Ultrean 8.5 Quart Air Fryer
- Mealthy Crisplid
Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons - Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Rösle Stainless Steel Flat Whisk– a MUST have, probably my most used utensil
- Olive Oil Sprayer / Mister for Cooking
- Biscuit Cutters
- Silicone BBQ Basting Brush
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 can Grands Jumbo Refrigerated Dough Biscuits Flaky is best
- Avocado Oil coconut oil or ghee
- 1 Silicone Basting Brush
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 1/2 cup White Sugar
- 1.5 tsps Ground Cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons Milk
- 1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Open package of Biscuits and place on a flat surface. Use a 1 inch Biscuit Cutter to cut holes in the middle.
- Lightly spray air fryer basket or tray with oil. Place dough on to prepared air fryer basket/tray.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 5-6 minutes (or until lightly brown). For doughnut holes, cook for 3-4 minutes.
- In a flat bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar. For an even better taste, add one grind of black pepper.
- Remove from air fryer and lightly brush with melted butter.
- Roll doughnuts into cinnamon/sugar mixture to coat or use a sugar glaze.
To Make The Glaze
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla to a small bowl. Drizzle in milk slowly, until thick paste consistency. (You may not need all the milk.)
- Dip hot doughnuts into glaze and place on baking rack until glaze has hardened and then serve.
Mealthy Crisplid
- Same directions as for the air fryer, but reduce temperature to 325.
Notes
Flavor Varieties
- Chocolate Glazed Doughnuts - add 1/2 tsp Cocoa Powder to the Powdered Sugar and drizzle in Milk.
- Orange Glazed Doughnuts - substitute Orange Juice for the Milk and add a bit of Orange Zest.
- For a deeper flavor, add a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper to the cinnamon and sugar mix.
Nutrition
PIN this Quick Air Fryer Doughnuts [Glazed & Cinnamon Sugar]!
Quick Air Fryer Doughnuts
Originally published 2016. Republished May 18, 2019.
Do you flip the donut half way?
I’m not a hùge donut fan, but my wife is. We had a half can of Walmart flakey biscuits left over and needed to use them soon. I thought I’d surprise her (or use her for as a testdummy). Using just sugar and cinnamon. I dutifully took the first sample bite . Needless to say, I then needed to summon restraint so my honey could try some. These aren’t really donuts (fine with me), but they are a quick easy tasty treat..
Hehehe, Dave, I love your comments. Thank you so much. Jill
These are NOT doughnuts, but they are biscuits with holes in the center and sweet stuff piled on top. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE. You can basically just skip the putting a hole in the center step and just cook some biscuits and throw sweet stuff on top of them…. Putting a hole in the center just makes them LOOK like a doughnut, so it may fool stupid people and give a slight placebo effect.
Awesome
Her recipes are always spot on
I haven’t made this recipe but we use canned biscuit dough when we go glamping for donuts (you make a lot of camping friends that way!!)
I was wondering if you think it’s worth getting an air fryer though…
Thanks!
OMG, Judy, definitely. I love the one that I use (see link in recipe). It is the best brand I have ever tried. Jill
These were AMAZING! The Pillsbury package came with 8 so we made 4 with cinnamon and sugar today and tomorrow we are going to make the remaining 4 and try with a Bavarian creme custard inside! 🙂 thank you for the recipe!
Thank you, Jamie. I adore Bavarian crème. Jill
They taste like biscuits with icing!
Perfect, that is exactly what they are and helps to cure a sweet tooth! Enjoy. Jill
I made these this morning in my new air fryer. They were delicious and didnt last long! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
We loved these; SO easy. I used the Grands Honey Butter biscuits and cinnamon sugar. Gone in minutes:)
Great to hear, Susan, thank you. Jill
I’m going to try the cinnamon biscuits I’ll let you know how it comes out.
Thanks for the great recipes
Do you have a recipe for the dough made from real ingredients? These commercial biscuits taste too much of chemicals to me.
Why never use Pam?
going to try these, just so happens i bought a can of the flakey ones this past weekend.
Hi! Your recipe inspired me to try the donut recipe I always make on Fat Thursday in my newly acquired air fryer and it worked really well! Previously Fat Thursday was the only reason I ever used my deep fat fryer.
First off I should say that I haven’t seen any kind of donut dough in the UK at all, and also I can’t eat gluten, so I have to make donuts from scratch.
The donuts I make are often sold in Poland and are based on churros – they call them Spanish donuts. I found a gluten free recipe for churros (Gluten Free on a Shoestring) a few years back and all I needed to do was pipe the churro dough in circles on baking parchment, the way the Polish bloggers do – but this time I tried one in the air fryer – just to see. I piped the churro dough on the parchment with prestamped holes and then sprayed with one cal oil – it worked far better than expected! So much so I did the whole batch that way and even my husband really liked them.
After a few minutes in the fryer the churro dough firms up enough that you can tip the donuts clean off the paper and continue cooking right on the bottom of the pan. The donuts don’t puff up quite as much as the traditionally fried ones do and don’t have the line round the middle, but I’m really happy with the result- the deep fat fryer is now officially redundant!
Without your inspiration I would never have tried this and I’m really grateful. Your recipes for the Instant Pot and Air Fryer are really brilliant! Thank you so much!!
Hi Jacqui. That sounds wonderful and I am glad you are enjoying your Air Fryer. Churros are wonderful. I am originally from Miami, so I grew up with Churros. Jill
Why can’t I use Pam?
It makes a gummy residue on non stick surfaces and ruins the non stick surface.
Can this be cooked in an Actify?
You can try it by removing the paddle part of the Actifry. You may have to move the donuts around half way through cooking time since the back part of the Actifry is hotter.
. My biscuits Bell Park/separated as flaky biscuits tend to do. Is there a better brand then Piggly Wiggly which is what I used for this? Or maybe a trick or technique to lessen that?
Great fun except except my biscuits fell apart/separated as flaky biscuits tend to do. Is there a better brand than Piggly Wiggly that won’t do that? Or maybe a trick?
Hi Tina. I used Pillsbury. Non flaky work too. Jill