How to make the BEST Air Fryer Donuts

These Glazed Air Fryer Donuts are moist, fluffy, and covered with a delicious vanilla glaze.

The BEST Air Fryer Donuts

TOOLS USED IN THIS VIDEO

โž–Air Fryer-
โž–Donut cutters-
โž–Rolling pin-
โž–Bosch mixer-

OUR FAVORITE KITCHEN TOOLS

โž–Measuring cups-
โž–Measuring spoons-
โž–Mini prep bowls-
โž–kitchen aid mixer-
โž–Bosch mixer-
โž–Spatulas-
โž–zester-
โž–Nonstick pan-
โž–Cast Iron Pan-

๐Ÿฅ‘๐Ÿ“๐Ÿฅฆ๐Ÿ‰๐Ÿ‹ INGREDIENTS ๐Ÿฅ”๐Ÿฅš๐Ÿซ๐Ÿง๐ŸŽ‚๐Ÿฐ

For the donuts:

  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1/4 cup warm milk
  • 2ยผ teaspoons dry active yeast
  • โ…“ cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon
  • ยผ cup unsalted butter melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (add more as needed)
  • ยฝ teaspoon salt
  • Cooking spray

For the glaze:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • ยผ cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1ยฝ teaspoons vanilla extract

๐Ÿ“ƒ๐Ÿ“„๐Ÿ“ƒ๐Ÿ“„๐Ÿ“ƒINSTRUCTIONS ๐Ÿ“ƒ๐Ÿ“„๐Ÿ“ƒ๐Ÿ“„๐Ÿ“ƒ๐Ÿ“„

  1. In a large measuring cup, add 1/2 cup warm water, 1/4 cup warm milk (108 degrees Fahrenheit), 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast, and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
  2. Let the yeast mixture froth up and rise for about 5 minutes.
    • If it doesnโ€™t froth up, discard it and start again with new yeast.
  3. Now in a stand mixer, add 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup unsalted melted butter, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled off), and ยฝ teaspoon salt.
    • Then pour in the yeast mixture and place the hook attachment on.
  4. Begin mixing on low speed until the flour is incorporated into liquids.
    • Then take the speed up to high and beat for 5 minutes.
    • Then scrape down the sides of the beater bowl.
  5. If the dough looks too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time.
    • Make sure to mix well and scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition of flour. You donโ€™t want to add too much flour or the donuts will be too dry.
    • They should have a slightly sticky texture.
  6. Now place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
    • Let the dough rise for about one hour or until it doubles in size.
  7. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release air bubbles.
    • Then transfer it to a floured surface
  8. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch in thickness.
    • Use a donut cutter or 2 different-sized biscuit cutters to cut out as many donuts as you can.
    • Then reshape the scraps and cut out some more donuts.
    • Continue doing this until you have no more scraps left.
    • My larger biscuit cutter was 4 inches in diameter and the smaller one was 1 1/4 inches in diameter.
  9. Now place the cut-out donuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper then cover them lightly and let them rise again for about 20-30 minutes.
  10. Preheat your air fryer to 345 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Then spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
  11. Now place a few donuts into the air fryer basket and spray them with some more cooking spray.
    • Make sure that the donuts are not touching.
  12. Air fry the donuts for about 5-6 minutes. Repeat this process with the remaining donuts and donut holes.
    • Then transfer the donuts onto a plate lined with paper towels.
  13. To make the glaze, in a large bowl combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 1 tablespoon light corn syrup, and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
  14. While the donuts are warm dip them in the glaze and let them set on a cooling rack.
    • The glaze sets shinier when the donuts are hot, so you donโ€™t want to let them cool down first.

โฑ Video Time Stamps โฑ

  • Intro – 0:00
  • Froth up the yeast – 0:29
  • Add all ingredients into a mixer – 0:57
  • Rise the dough – 2:15
  • Punch it down – 2:42
  • Roll and cut the donuts – 2:49
  • Reshape the scraps and repeat – 3:54
  • Let them rise again – 4:11
  • Air-fry the donuts – 4:18
  • Make the vanilla glaze – 4:43
  • Dip donuts into the glaze – 5:23
  • Fry and dip the donut holes – 5:38
  • Conclusion/taste test – 6:11

#airfryerdonuts #donuts #simplyhomecooked

This recipe contains affiliate links.

61 Comments

  1. As a vision impaired cook, I really found your description perfect. Thanks not many presenters are as good with descriptions.

    1. So so happy to hear that this was helpful ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you for your feedback and I hope you get a chance to try these air fryer donuts ๐Ÿ™‚

    2. Same here…Vision impaired and this was a joy to watch and hear. Also the high contrast shots are very appealing and professional. Very well done video

    3. Same here. I wish content providers would take this into account when providing demos/directions. So glad I found this channel.

    4. Thank you @Tanesha Richardson!! Very happy to hear that people appreciate all the work I put into making these videos for my viewers ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you so much for your feedback!

    5. Thank you @Jack_K2!! I always try to think of my viewers when creating content and I try to make is as user friendly as possible! ๐Ÿ™‚ A lot of people want to create quantity and skip the quality since it takes more time. Thank you for your awesome feedback ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. These were great! The only thing I have to say is that if you have a different sized/brand air fryer than her, you may need to experiment with how long the cooking time should be. For me, my Ninja fried them perfectly at 3-4 minutes on 345 since 5-6 minutes was too long, over cooking them. Also if you want them sweeter, double dipping them does the trick. Great recipe! Fam loved them.

    1. So happy you loved these air fryer donuts! Thank for your feedback ๐Ÿ™‚ Yes different brands/sizes may affect the bake/cook time. For mine I needed 5-6 minutes. I tried a minute less and it was under cooked. Double or even triple dipping will definitely add some sweetness ๐Ÿ™‚

    2. I think for a thicker glaze you just need less liquid or more powder sugar. Double dipping might work too, but this type of glaze is better used quickly as it dries up

    3. Hey what setting did you put your ninja air fryer at- because on mine there air crisp roast etc

  3. I didn’t see many comments saying how the recipe turned out so I figured I’d leave my review. It worked really well and I was kinda skeptical when the dough didn’t quite rise as much after I cut them out but they baked perfectly in the air fryer. The glaze is a bit basic and you need a pretty thick coat to actually taste it but they’re delicious. Took a good 4 hours but half of the time I was just waiting for it to rise or bake. I would definitely recommend doing as long as you have to time to. They also don’t feel as unhealthy since they weren’t deep fried.

    1. A glaze I’ve done is just powdered sugar vanilla extract and melted butter

    2. @Praise LordCthulhu Oh that sounds like it would work pretty well actually. I’ll try that next time, thank you

    3. @Im SepT Well, I do have adhd so that would’ve taken off about 30 minutes, but half of the time you just go do something else while it rises.

  4. Iโ€™m proud to say Iโ€™m going to subscribe, you look like you love doing this and your video is very well done. I love the way you talk about the process of cooking and the way you value your viewers. Iโ€™m looking forward to watching the rest of your videos and seeing you grow. You deserve it:)

    1. Marcus, thank you for your incredibly kind words and welcome to the channel, happy to have you here! I hope you find may more recipes you love ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Just made these – they came out so well! My tip – make sure not to roll the dough too thin or they’ll loose their shape when being placed in the air fryer. Oh and I added sprinkles ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Thank you for the tip Adam, it will be helpful to others! I love the idea of sprinkles ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. I havenโ€™t seen many reviews on how they taste, they are amazing the glaze is amazing except the first time I cook them in my air fryer they overcooked I found that if you cook a single one at 3:45 For three minutes it turns out perfect I would really recommend if youโ€™re looking for a good recipe I love it

    1. Thank you for the great and honest feedback. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. I made the donuts today… so delicious ๐Ÿคค. Mine werenโ€™t pretty to look at, not two looked the same, but they tasted exactly as you described.
    As in some other comments I had to adjust the frying time but otherwise I followed your recipe- perfect ๐Ÿ‘Œ… thank you so much for this.
    Next on my list: your banana chocolate muffins

    1. Thank you for your feedback, I’m so glad you enjoyed the donuts๐Ÿ˜Š You’re going to love the muffins, I can’t wait till you make them!

  8. I’ve tried this recipe multiple times now and I must say I’m impressed. In the past, I’ve made donuts how you are supposed to make them, but they never turned out well. But these were amazing! They had the signature donut texture and they tasted delicious. It’s not too complicated, and they’re actually really fun to make, other than the fact that they four hours. Honestly I’d say this the best donut recipe I’ve ever encountered.

    1. Priscilla, thank you for your wonderful comment and feedback. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe and that it worked out great ๐Ÿ˜Š

  9. I just made these tonight and here is my take. Note: I have limited experience on my fryer only having used it for fish, potatoes, beef, and a few other minor things. This was my first donut attempt.

    First, they are tasty but are not like a deep fried donut. They are more like a baked soft sweetbread. The browning effect and flavor is different than when I do deep fried ones, but they are healthier and the recipe worked to create something that was more like a pan fried fluffy bread without the oil in terms of flavor.

    I found that adding the oil on the top before putting them in the fryer made no difference in taste or texture so I stopped doing it half way through the batch. I didn’t need to spray the fryer between batches. I cut mine into diamonds as they more easily fit into my square fryer.

    For my fryer, I found that 5 minutes worked well and flipping them over after 3 improved the evenness of the cooking process. I didn’t pre-heat the fryer but found that once it was on for about 10 minutes, the donuts increased in volume more in a hot fryer so I recommend a pre-heat.

    What I found worked the best was the donut holes. I dropped them in for 3 minutes and iced them. They were quite good and we liked them better than the donuts themselves in part because of the ratio of crispiness to inner texture and that per gram they hold more icing.

    1. Hi, thank you for your feedback ๐Ÿ™‚ Deep fried donuts do have a different texture and flavor since they are deep fried in oil. This is the same recipe that would be deep fried, baked in the oven, or baked in an air fryer.

      Every air fryer is slightly different so it may need to be adjusted for the cooking time.

      The glaze is where a lot of your sweetness comes in. You can also double dip them for extra sweetness ๐Ÿ™‚

      Hope that helps clarify ๐Ÿ™‚

    2. @Simply Home Cooked That’s cool. I liked them and didn’t feel guilty eating them. I appreciate the recipe. Thank you.

  10. I tried these today and I was actually really surprised at how good they turned out. I was a bit skeptical at first, considering this was my first time working with yeast on my own. It took me much longer than average; only because something came up in the middle of proofing the bread, although they still turned out great! For proofing, since my house is slightly colder than normal (it being winter), I took a large-ish bowl of hot water and put it in the oven along with my bowl of dough, and it rose a lot. Although I put a little bit too much oil in the bowl, so after it was very oily when I had to take it out; I just dried it a bit with paper towels. While cutting out the shapes, I didnโ€™t have either biscuit cutters nor doughnut cutters, and, me being me, I wasnโ€™t about to go out and buy them, so I just used a glass cup and the back end of a piping tip. Last, for glaze, since I didnโ€™t have corn syrup, I just used maple syrup, and let me tell you, it tasted really delicious. Although I think the 2 cups of powdered sugar was a bit much, I could really taste the powdered sugar in it, though putting less it would probably make the glaze more watery. Also I think it was because of the different brands of air-fryers, but my doughnuts turned out slightly more browned than hers (nothing to complain about though, they were amazing nonetheless). I was initially worried they would burn but nope! Overall, they turned out really delicious and soft. It really helped me break through my original fear of working with yeast, all the waiting and rising, but now Iโ€™m inspired to bake a lot more things with it! Thank you for the recipe! ๐Ÿ˜Š

    1. Thank you so much for all of those helpful tips and all of that feedback, this will be super helpful to others. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and that it turned out good ๐Ÿ˜Š

    2. I like to rise dough in my oven set to the lowest temp(if your oven doesn’t go to 100f, probably a bad idea. It makes things rise like crazay!

    3. @K Karall Also, if it has an incandescent light bulb, leave it on and that warms the oven just a tiny bit. Enough for proofing.

    4. Great tip thanks. My dough wasn’t rising and it’s a little cold here today. So popped in the oven with the proofing temperature on. Worked like a charm.

    5. If you don’t mind…What name brand is your Air Fryer? Mine is a Cosori 5.8 and I love it, but I haven’t baked anything yet ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿณ
      Thanks for sharing your story with us ๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿ’•

  11. SO! GOOD! I needed to add a lot more flour to my mix but they turned out perfect ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿผ I tried making Nutty Donuts but I couldnโ€™t get the crushed peanuts to stick to the glaze very well. Definitely making again though!!

    1. Abigail, I’m so glad you enjoyed the donuts, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment ๐Ÿ˜Š

  12. Just finished making these, and they’re great. Did them in a ninja foodi grill with an air crisp feature, a full size oven with an air fry setting, and also deep fried some. All turned out great! Make sure you add the salt and let the yeast froth properly though. I messed that up and they did end up not as fluffy as I’d hoped.

  13. Just made these and they were AMAZING ~ I only had one cup of OP flour so I added the rest cup and a half of cake flour and they were fluffy as a cloud ! Everyone loved them and Iโ€™ll definitely be making them again โœจthank you for sharing this awesome recipe.

    1. I’m so glad they turned out great and you enjoyed them, thank you for taking the time to comment your feedback ๐Ÿ˜Š

  14. Wow wow wow wow! I made this recipe this morning, and all me and my husband have to say is BEST DONUTS EVER! better than Krispy Kreme and we loooove Krispy Kreme but omg these were absolutely amazing and perfect. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Saving it to my go-to recipes for breakfast.

    1. That is awesome, I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback ๐Ÿ˜Š

    2. Donโ€™t lie to yourself. Krisly kream cant be beat. Why are people so eager to just praise any old bullshit they see on YouTube.

  15. If you use honey to replace the corn syrup it tastes even more amazing! Thanks for the tasty recipe =)

    1. You are very welcome ๐Ÿ™‚ Yes, honey is one of the replacements that you can use for the glaze ๐Ÿ™‚

  16. Just finished making these donuts….so easy and they taste wonderful!!! Very light and airy and the best of all they air fried so they are not greasy at all!!! Love this recipe…will be making it again and again!!!!

    1. Glad you like them, thank you very much for taking the time to share your feedback!

  17. Making these rn! Thanks so much for this recipe. I finished cooking and it is finger licking good. Glaze compliments it perfectly and not to sweet I did add 1/4 cup of melted butter to the glaze but only because I like that buttery flavor. and the donut itself has that bakery fluff to it. Definitely worth making

    1. I am so happy to hear that, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback ๐Ÿ˜Š

  18. Thank you so much for this recipe! It was so easy to follow and the doughnuts came out PERFECT!! They were light, airy and delicious!

    1. Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you liked the recipe so much. If you can could you please leave this review on my website ๐Ÿ˜Š

  19. I can’t believe there’s a recipe here worth coming back for!! There’s this big event and I’m making this for the second time after absolutely loving how it turned out the first time โ™ก my new favorite chef to be honest haha. Love you Dina you’re doing a great job ๐Ÿ‘

    1. Thank you so much! I’m so glad you love this recipe so much! If you can could you please leave this review on my website, it would really help me out๐Ÿ˜Š

  20. Hello from Australia, thank you for sharing your doughnut recipe, ive never made dough before, it’s never worked out for me until today lol, I made them today for me and my family and we all loved them. I had to add a bit extra flour because it was sticking to my hands, but they still came out amazing ๐Ÿ˜Šโค will definitely make them again.

    1. Thatโ€™s wonderful! Iโ€™m so happy to hear they come out so great for you๐Ÿ˜Š

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