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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
You can have delicious, hot doughnuts in a flash at home, all you need isa package of biscuit dough, sweet cinnamon sugar and an air fryer!
Serve your finished doughnuts with our Brown Sugar Sauce, Raspberry Sauce, or Chocolate Sauce to add a little something special!
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: These are so easy to make that even kitchen novices will find them a breeze!
- Total Time: These mini doughnuts are the perfect snack or sweet treat—ready in 6-10 minutes!
- Variations: Try topping your doughnuts with powdered sugar, cocoa powder, cherry icing glaze, or sprinkles as fun alternatives to cinnamon-sugar as a coating!
- Tools For This Recipe: You will need an air fryer, a small biscuit cutter or piping tip (to cut the doughnut holes) and a pair of kitchen tongs (to make sure you don’t burn yourself taking these from the air fryer).
What You’ll Need for Ingredients
Refrigerated Biscuit Dough: One 16.3 oz package of refrigerated flaky biscuit dough (Like Pillsbury™ Grands!™ Flaky Layers) will do the job perfectly!
Melted Butter: The melted butter in this recipe helps toppings like cinnamon sugar (or cookie crumbs) stick! You can either melt your butter in a pan on the stove, or in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup for ease. Karlynn’s Tip: If you’d rather top your doughnuts with a glaze, powdered sugar, or cocoa powder, save the butter for another recipe, like our Easy Salted Caramel Sauce!
Toppings: The sky’s the limit when it comes to topping your doughnuts! Beyond the classic cinnamon sugar mixture listed in this recipe, you could use powdered sugar, cocoa powder, finely-crushed cookie crumbs, glaze, or sprinkles as your heart desires! Let us know your favourite flavour combinations in the comments below!
How to Make Air Fryer Doughnuts
This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- While your air fryer preheats, melt your butter in a small bowl or microwave-safe measuring cup. Prepare your cinnamon-sugar mix in a separate bowl and set aside.
- Separate your biscuit dough into individual biscuits and cut out the centres using a biscuit cutter or icing tip to create doughnut shapes. Air fry for 4-6 minutes, flip, and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
- Dip the cooked doughnuts into melted butter, coating completely.
- Finally, roll in cinnamon-sugar and enjoy while hot!
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Air Fryer Doughnuts
- Convenience is King: There are recipes out there that will give you the rundown on how to make your own dough from scratch, but since this recipe is all about quick convenience, we advise using ready-to-go ingredients! You can use crescent roll dough as a substitute in a pinch, but expect a lighter texture instead of the classic, chewy doughnut experience.
- How To Tell When Your Doughnuts are Cooked: The best way to check if your doughnuts are cooked is, sadly, to break one in half and check inside. A cooked doughnut will be soft and pillowy, with plenty of air pockets inside. Flipping the doughnuts after the initial cook and giving them another 2-3 minutes will help make sure they’re done all the way through.
Storage Instructions
As with all doughnuts, these taste best fresh out of the (air) fryer! However if you’ve made too many and want to keep some for later in the short term, here are a few tips on how to store them.
Room Temperature: After letting your doughnuts cool and before coating them with your topping of choice, you can seal your plain doughnuts in airtight storage bags or containers and keep them in a cool, dry place for 1-2 days. When you’re ready to eat them, simply place them on a plate and microwave for 10 to 15 seconds, then top as desired.
In the Fridge: Again, make sure you let your doughnuts cool completely and don’t add toppings just yet! Seal your plain doughnuts in an airtight bag or container and keep them in the fridge for up to 7 days. Whenever you’re ready to serve them, let them warm up to room temperature before microwaving them for 10 to 15 seconds, then top as desired.
More Delicious Air Fryer Recipes
- Pair your doughnuts with Air Fryer Corn Dogs for a fun lunch that’ll remind the whole family of a day out at the fair!
- Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwiches are great for a quick lunch the kids can make on their own.
- Air Fryer Pizza Rolls are another delicious, quick, and customizable snack or party appetizer!
There you have it—doughnuts done quick, easy, and oh so sweet! Recipes like this one really show off how versatile an air fryer can be!
Give these doughnuts a try, and tell me how they turn out for you in the comments below!
Happy Baking!
Karlynn
Air Fryer Doughnuts
Equipment
Ingredients
- One 16.3 oz package refrigerated flaky biscuit dough, (Like Pillsbury™ Grands!™ Flaky Layers)
- ¼ cup butter, (melted)
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer (if it's a model that needs preheating) to 350°F.
- Melt your butter in a small bowl or microwave safe measuring cup.
- In a medium sized bowl add the melted butter. In a second medium sized bowl combine white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Separate the biscuit dough into individual biscuits and cut out the centers using a biscuit cutter, or an icing tip to create a doughnut shape.
- Place the prepared doughnuts in the air fryer basket so they are not touching and have room to expand.
- Air fry at 350°F until golden brown, for 4 to 6 minutes. Flip the doughnuts and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the doughnuts from the air fryer and place them onto a plate.
- Dip each doughnut into the melted butter (making sure to coat top, bottom, and the sides), then dip into the sugar-cinnamon mixture until completely coated.
- Serve while warm and enjoy!
Notes
- Try different refrigerated biscuits to see what texture you get with the doughnuts.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Jill says
So simple and a great way to crush the donut craving!
Karlynn Johnston says
Glad you enjoyed them!
Geri Reski says
Will this work for a vanilla glaze too?
Karlynn Johnston says
Absolutely! You can glaze them with any glaze that works on baked goods!