These puff pastry air fryer donuts are wonderfully flaky and delicious! They are so quick and easy to make in the air fryer and require just 5 ingredients. Be warned, they are going to disappear quickly!
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Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the
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blog post.
There’s nothing quite like homemade donuts, but these ones are truly out of the world! Made with puff pastry, they are so wonderfully fluffy and flaky, and because they are cooked in the air fryer, they don’t require any oil.
Rolled in cinnamon sugar, make them even more amazing when topped with my blueberry compote and whipped cream.
Ingredients You Will Need
- Puff Pastry Sheets
- Egg
- Melted Butter
- White Sugar
- Cinnamon
How To Make Flaky Air Fryer Donuts
- Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured countertop and brush egg on one side of each pastry.
- Lay the pieces of puff pastry on top of each other, making sure the sides brushed with egg are touching each other.
- Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. This step will make your donuts rise high while they cook.
- After 15 minutes, remove pastry from the freezer and use a donut cutter or two cookie cutters to cut out donut shapes. I left some donuts without holes to be filled.
- Place in air fryer basket and cook on 330 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, until the pastry has risen and is browned a bit.
- While the pastry is cooking, combine white sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
- Once the pastry is finished cooking, brush with melted butter and dip in cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Why make donuts with puff pastry?
It’s so easy to make these homemade donuts. They require very little prep and they are so easy to cut out and shape, unlike the traditional dough. The result is the most perfectly flaky donut, just look at those layers! You could also use other dough, such as store bought biscuit dough, but I found those to be a little saltier than puff pastry dough.
Can you make them ahead of time?
I like to serve these when they are still warm so that the texture is at it’s best. You can keep the cooled donuts in an airtight container and they will be good for about 2 or 3 days.
You can cut out the donut shapes, and keep them covered in the fridge on a baking tray for up to 24 hours until you are ready to air fry them.
Why make donuts in an air fryer?
I love my air fryer and I’m so pleased with how these donuts came out! The air fryer eliminates the need for deep frying with lots of oil, it’s easier, less messy and healthier. The results are amazing!
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Be sure to freeze the pastry together for at least 15 minutes.
- A large air fryer will be able to hold about 6 donuts at a time. Place remaining cut donuts in the refrigerator or freezer so they remain cold while the donuts are air frying. The dough needs to be cold to rise properly in the air fryer.
- Preheat the air fryer for the most flakey donuts.
- The donuts should be placed in a single layer in the basket and not touching.
More Easy Air Fryer Recipes
Flaky Air Fryer Donuts
Ingredients
- 2 puff pastry sheets defrosted
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 4 Tbsp melted butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured countertop and brush egg on one side of each pastry.
- Lay the pieces of puff pastry on top of each other, making sure the sides brushed with egg are touching each other. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, remove pastry from the freezer and use a donut cutter or two cookie cutters to cut out donut shapes.
- Place in air fryer basket and cook on 330 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, until the pastry has risen and is browned a bit.
- While the pastry is cooking, combine white sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
- Once the pastry is finished cooking, brush with melted butter and dip in cinnamon and sugar mixture.
- Serve and enjoy.
Suggested Tools
Notes
- Be sure to freeze the pastry together for at least 15 minutes.
- A large air fryer will be able to hold about 6 donuts at a time. Place remaining cut donuts in the refrigerator or freezer so they remain cold while the donuts are air frying.
- Preheat the air fryer for the most flakey donuts.
- The donuts should be placed in a single layer in the basket and not touching.
DIANA LEHNE
Thursday 7th of January 2021
I tried this and it did not work! I could not cut these with a cookie cuter so I cut them with a knife and they did not puff up like the picture.
Rae
Sunday 8th of November 2020
I made this for my roommates and I, and they LOVED IT, as did I!! They jokingly said I should try selling it but I could not take credit for this fabulous recipe! They said it tasted like how they imagined Princess Tiana's beignets did in the Princess and the Frog :) thank you for this awesome recipe!!
Tanya
Monday 9th of November 2020
lol, what a compliment :) Thank you, so glad you all enjoyed it :)
Hillary
Saturday 26th of September 2020
Alrighty... I JUST made these 10 minutes ago. I was thrilled to give my new airfryer a test drive. I made a grave error of too much egg on puff pastry. Mine came out with a thin layer of steamed egg. It tasted like egg and cinnamon-sugar and puff pastry. I was disappointed but again, I'm sure it was on me. My advice is don't do what I did. :) I love your blog & recipes. I'm going to delve into more of your creative genius. Thank you! xx
Hillary
Friday 9th of October 2020
@Tanya, WILL Do, Tanya. Thank you! xx
Tanya
Sunday 27th of September 2020
Thanks so much Hillary! I'd def try again with a little less egg on top. These donuts are delicious.
Carol
Wednesday 3rd of June 2020
I don't have an air fryer. Can they be baked?
Tanya
Friday 5th of June 2020
Yes! Here's a recipe for puff pastry donuts that are baked. https://pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/baked-puff-pastry-donuts-raspberry-glaze/
Dana McCurdy
Sunday 10th of May 2020
These look so easy, and I am sure my guys would devour.