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Air Fryer Biscuit Donuts

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Making donuts in the air fryer with canned biscuit dough is a game changer! It’s way faster and easier than making donut dough from scratch and even the kids can help you make them! Treat your family to hot fresh donuts in minutes! It’s amazing what you can whip up with a small appliance!

A doughnut sitting on top of a cake stand, with pink glaze and sprinkles.

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How to make the easiest Air Fryer Donuts with Canned Biscuits:

Close up of Air Fryer Donuts made with canned biscuits

Makes 8 donuts and 8 donut holes

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (8ct) of Grands Original Flaky Layers or Buttermilk Biscuits
  • 2 tablespoons of melted butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 2 cups of powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4-5 tablespoons of milk, whole or low fat

Instructions:

Open your can of biscuits and separate each biscuit onto a cutting board. Cut out a 1″ donut hole in the center of the biscuit.

Donuts cut out

Set the holes aside to be cooked later.

Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter. Flip over and repeat on the other side. This will help make the biscuits brown and taste more pastry like.

Next, preheat your air fryer to 350° for 2-3 minutes.

Once preheated, add your biscuit donuts, in a single layer to the air fryer basket.

Leave a couple of inches between each donut to give them room to rise while frying.

Depending on the size of your fryer, you may need to cook the donuts in 2-3 batches.

Fry the donuts for 6-7 minutes, flipping halfway through. The donuts are done when they’ve risen significantly and are golden brown.

Golden Brown Biscuit Donuts

Making The Glaze

While your biscuit donuts are baking away in the air fryer, set up your glazing station.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and 4 tablespoons of milk, in a bowl. Make sure to select a bowl that’s big enough for dipping donuts.

Whisk the ingredients together until the mixture is combined, smooth, and will easily pour off a spoon. You want the glaze to be about as thick as heavy cream. Add more milk a tablespoon at a time to thin if necessary.

The correct consistency for the vanilla icing

Next, set a wire cooling rack over a sheet of parchment paper or a cookie sheet. This is where you’ll set the donuts after glazing. The parchment paper will collect any icing drips.

Glaze the donuts

Once the first batch of donuts is done frying, working quickly, dunk the hot donuts one at a time, into the bowl of vanilla glaze.

Dunk the donuts in vanilla glaze

Use a fork to flip and toss the donut gently in the glaze until completely coated.

Carefully lift the donut out of the bowl and allow excess glaze to drip off. Place the dipped donut on the wire rack to set.

Repeat dipping each donut until they are all coated and on the cooling rack.

Donuts cooling on the cooling rack

Finish Frying The Donuts

Add your second batch of biscuit dough to the air fryer and fry until cooked through.

Repeat the same glazing process with your second batch of hot donuts.

Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to repeat this process a third time.

Air fryer donut holes

To cook your donut holes, toss the biscuit nuggets in the remaining melted butter from the big donuts.

Add the buttered donut holes to the air fryer basket and fry for 3 minutes until puffed and browned. Once cooked, coat the donut holes in the remaining vanilla glaze and transfer to the wire rack to set.

Once the glaze has set on your donuts, serve and enjoy!

Cutting Donuts without a donut cutter

You can simply cut out the centers of each biscuit with a 1″ round cookie cutter. But, if you’re like me and don’t have a cookie cutter that small, you can use the wide end of a large pastry tip, a cannoli tube, a paring knife, or a clean bottle cap! I’ve also seen people cut out donut holes using a spoon.

What’s the temperature to air fry donuts?

I use 350° for this recipe. If your air fryer model doesn’t have a 350° option, setting the temp to 360° works well too. Just adjust the cooking time accordingly, you may need to shave off a minute or two.

Optional Toppings for your Biscuit Donuts

Additional Toppings for Air Fryer Biscuit Donuts

I love coating these donuts in vanilla glaze because it really gives them that classic Krispy Kreme/donut shop taste. However, these air fried biscuit donuts are so versatile you can really top them with anything you like, the sky’s the limit!

Consider giving these toppings a try:

  • classic cinnamon sugar
  • plain granulated sugar
  • chocolate glaze
  • strawberry frosting
  • toasted coconut flakes
  • your favorite breakfast cereal like Fruity Pebbles or Cocoa Krispies

If you are using a chocolate glaze or strawberry frosting for these donuts, spoon the glaze over the top of each biscuit after it’s cooled (so it doesn’t melt off).

For a cinnamon sugar or plain sugar coating, you’ll need to brush the donuts with additional melted butter to get the sugar to stick. Brush the donuts after they come out of the air fryer, and while each biscuit is still warm. Once the donuts have been buttered, immediately toss them in the sugar coating and set them on a cooling rack to finish cooling.

If using toppings like coconut, sprinkles, nuts, or fruity cereal, you’ll need to spoon a glaze or icing of some kind over the top of the donuts to get the desired toppings to stick. Make sure to add the toppings to the icing before it hardens.

What biscuits do I need for this recipe?

I like the Pillsbury Grands brand of canned biscuits. I mostly use the “Original Flaky Layers” variety, but their Buttermilk biscuits work really well in this recipe too!

How long will these air fryer donuts last?

Air fryer donuts are best eaten the day they’re made.

Any leftovers will keep 1-2 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

What do air fryer donuts taste like?

Two glazed doughnuts stacked, with a pink cake plate full of doughnuts in the background,.

I was shocked, but these air fryer biscuit donuts taste just like a regular freshly fried donut!

The inside of the donut is light and fluffy, while the exterior is perfectly brown, buttery, and crispy.

These donuts are coated in a sugary vanilla glaze while they’re still hot, so it gives them a delightfully crisp exterior and makes them taste just like the Krispy Kreme donuts we all love.

Is it easy to make air fryer donuts with canned biscuits?

Yes! I love using canned biscuit dough for these donuts because I don’t have to spend a ton of time making homemade dough. No yeast, no eggs, and pretty much no effort are required for these easy donuts!

And because these are cooked in the air fryer, I don’t need to worry about bringing any oil up to temperature and I don’t have a huge mess to clean up afterward.

Lastly, these donuts cook super fast, so they’re perfect when I want a special treat in the morning, without having to get up at the crack of dawn to make them!

Are air fryer donuts healthy?

I would say no. Even though these donuts are not deep fried, the canned biscuits they’re made with do not provide a great source of vitamins or nutrients. These donuts are also coated in a sugary glaze, which doesn’t offer any nutritional value either. Just like traditional donuts, these air fryer biscuit donuts are a treat and should be consumed in moderation, alongside a healthy smoothie or lean protein.

Tips for making air fryer donuts

  • Do not overcrowd the air fryer basket. The biscuits will rise significantly as they cook, so allow a couple inches in between each biscuit for expansion. I can fit about four donuts in my 6qt air fryer
  • Coat the donuts in vanilla glaze while they’re still hot. This will give the exterior of the donut that crackly sugar coating we all love. It will also allow the icing to set on the donut without becoming sticky
  • Make sure the vanilla glaze is thin enough to pour off a spoon (heavy cream consistancy). If it’s too thick, it won’t coat the donut well.
  • Use a milk instead of cream or half and half for the vanilla coating–the lower the fat content the better. It will allow the icing to set on the donut without becoming sticky
  • When using a frosting or thicker glaze like a chocolate or a strawberry, spoon that over the top of your biscuits after they’ve cooled. If the biscuits are too hot the topping will melt off.
  • When you want just the tops of your donuts iced, apply the glaze or icing with a spoon rather than dipping. The flaky layers caused the tops to pull off into my bowl when I tried dipping them.

Other Recipes You Might Like:

Air Fryer French Toast Sticks

Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes

Glazed Vanilla Bean Scones

Air Fryer Biscuit Donuts

Air Fryer Biscuit Donuts

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Total Time: 17 minutes

Easiest ever homemade donuts made in the air fryer using canned biscuits. Add your favorite toppings to create the perfect breakfast treat in minutes!

Ingredients

  • 1 can (8ct) of Grands Original Flaky Layers or Buttermilk Biscuits
  • 2 tablespoons of melted butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 2 cups of powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4-5 tablespoons of milk, whole or low fat*

Instructions

  1. Open your can of biscuits and separate each biscuit onto a cutting board.
  2. Cut out a 1" donut hole in the center of each biscuit. Set the holes aside to be cooked later.**
  3. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter. Flip over and repeat on the other side. This will help make the biscuits brown and taste more pastry like.
  4. Next, preheat your air fryer to 350° for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Once preheated, add your biscuit donuts, in a single layer to the air fryer basket.
  6. Leave a couple of inches between each donut to give them room to rise while frying.
  7. Depending on the size of your fryer, you may need to cook the donuts in 2-3 batches.
  8. Fry the donuts for 6-7 minutes, flipping halfway through. The donuts are done when they've risen significantly and are golden brown.

Making The Glaze

  1. While your biscuit donuts are baking away in the air fryer, set up your glazing station.
  2. To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and 4 tablespoons of milk in a bowl. Make sure to select a bowl that's big enough for dipping donuts.
  3. Whisk the ingredients together until the mixture is combined, smooth, and will easily pour off a spoon. You want the glaze to be about as thick as heavy cream. Add more milk a tablespoon at a time to thin if necessary. Set aside.
  4. Next, set a wire cooling rack over a sheet of parchment paper or a cookie sheet. This is where you'll set the donuts after glazing. The parchment paper will collect any icing drips.

Glaze the donuts

  1. Once the first batch of donuts is done frying, working quickly, dunk the hot donuts one at a time, into the bowl of vanilla glaze.
  2. Use a fork to flip and toss the donut gently in the glaze until completely coated.
  3. Carefully lift the donut out of the bowl and allow excess glaze to drip off. Place the dipped donut on the wire rack to set.
  4. Repeat dipping each donut until they are all coated and on the cooling rack.

Finish The Remaining Donuts

  1. Add your second batch of biscuit dough to the air fryer and fry until cooked through.
  2. Repeat the same glazing process with your second batch of hot donuts.
  3. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to repeat this process a third time.

Air fryer donut holes

  1. To cook your donut holes, toss the biscuit nuggets in the remaining melted butter from the big donuts.
  2. Add the buttered donut holes to the air fryer basket and fry for 3 minutes until puffed and browned. Once fully cooked, coat the donut holes in the remaining vanilla glaze and transfer to the wire rack to set.
  3. Once the glaze has set on your donuts, serve and enjoy!

Notes

*Do not use heavy cream or half and half for the glaze, it doesn't set fully and makes the donuts sticky.

** You can use a 1" round cookie cutter, a paring knife, a spoon, the wide end of a pastry decorating tip, or a clean bottle cap to cut out your donut holes!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 189Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 142mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 0gSugar: 28gProtein: 1g

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