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Air Fryer Donuts

Rings cut from refrigerated biscuit dough cook in the air fryer until the center is baked through and not doughy. They are brushed with butter, tossed with cinnamon sugar, and dipped in a thin glaze.

Prep
10 min
Cook
12 min
Total
22 min
Servings
8
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to recipe
Glazed cinnamon donuts made from biscuit dough, stacked on a plate

Why you’ll love it

  • Biscuit dough bakes in the air fryer, so there is no pot of frying oil.
  • A hole in the center helps the middle bake through instead of staying doughy.
  • A single layer and a flip brown both sides.
  • The glaze goes on while the donuts are warm so it sets in a thin coat.

Ingredients

Servings8

Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.

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Instructions

  1. 1

    Separate the refrigerated biscuit dough into 8 biscuits. Cut a hole from the center of each with a small round cutter or the top of a bottle. Keep the holes. They cook too.

  2. 2

    Set the temperature to 350°F.

  3. 3

    Place the rings so they do not touch. Cook 3 minutes, then flip. Cook 3 to 4 minutes more. Keep a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook in batches rather than stacking.

  4. 4

    The donuts are done when the center is baked through and not doughy. Tear one open if you are unsure. The inside should look set, like a baked biscuit, with no wet dough.

  5. 5

    Brush the warm donuts with the melted butter. Stir the granulated sugar and cinnamon together and toss the donuts in it.

  6. 6

    Whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract into a glaze. Dip the tops, set the donuts on a rack, and let the glaze set a few minutes.

Pro tips

  • If the center still looks doughy, give that batch another 1 to 2 minutes. Do not serve raw dough.
  • Keep the layer single. Donuts stacked on each other stay pale and underbaked where they touch.
  • The little center holes bake faster. Check them a minute earlier than the rings.

Easy substitutions

Refrigerated biscuit dough
Refrigerated crescent dough, pinched so the seams do not split
Milk
Orange juice, for a citrus glaze
Cinnamon
A pinch of nutmeg in the sugar

Storage and reheating

Storage

Keep covered at room temperature up to 1 day. They stale quickly.

Reheating

Warm in the air fryer at 300°F for 2 minutes. Do not microwave or the glaze turns sticky and the centers toughen.

Nutrition

Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.

Calories
264
Protein
3 g
Carbs
36 g
Fat
12 g
Fiber
1 g

Budget friendly · Air Fryer

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Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.

  • A heavy 12-inch skillet

    Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.

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    The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.

  • A half-sheet pan

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  • A sharp chef’s knife

    These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.

  • A large cutting board

    Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.

  • Dry cups and a liquid cup

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  • An instant-read thermometer

    Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.

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Ingredients