These Glazed Air Fryer Donuts are moist, fluffy, and covered with a delicious vanilla glaze. You’ll love how easy it is to make these delectable treats from scratch with an air fryer.
If you’re looking for more amazing donut recipes, then you should try our old fashioned sour cream donuts and jelly-filled brioche donuts.

Table Of Contents
Recipe Details
I love making Air Fryer Donuts because they are healthier than deep-fried donuts, but have the same texture and delicious flavor. They’re also easy to make and such a treat with a morning coffee.
- TASTE: These donuts are sweet and yeasty, with a warm vanilla flavor.
- TEXTURE: These Glazed Donuts are so perfect. Light and fluffy inside with a fried crisp outside, then covered in a glaze that melts in your mouth
- TIME: This recipe takes 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- EASE: Follow the photos and instructions in this recipe and you’ll have no trouble making this simple glazed donut recipe every time.
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Yeast- We use dry active yeast in this recipe to give the air fryer donuts lots of light, airy texture. They will go through a double rise, but this ingredient is important for both flavor and texture.
- Warm Water and Milk- Yeast won’t activate unless it’s warm and has sugar. These two must be warm when combined with the yeast and sugar so the yeast froths before adding it to the dough.
- Powdered sugar, Milk, and Vanilla extract- These are the basic ingredients for the glaze. Powdered sugar is preferred as it combined smoothly because it is so fine.
- Corn Syrup- We use this ingredient in the glaze to help it stay smooth and syrupy. This way, it will hold better to the warm donuts.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Skip the corn syrup- If you prefer to not use the corn syrup, you can make the glaze with just milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Just add a little more sugar to thicken it and whisk well.
- Substitute gluten-free flour- Make these without gluten by substituting the flour for all-purpose gluten-free flour, 1:1.
- Make these with fillings- You can make these donuts without a hole in them and pipe in your favorite fillings, such as chocolate, bavarian cream, or Simple Cherry Pie Filling.
- Use other toppings- Top your donuts with sprinkles, Chocolate Ganache, crushed breakfast cereal, cinnamon sugar, caramel, chopped crispy bacon, or anything you like.
How to Make Glazed Air Fryer Donuts
- Froth the yeast. Mix the warm water and milk with the dry active yeast and a tablespoon of granulated sugar in a large measuring cup. Allow it to froth up and rise for about 5 minutes.
Pro Tip: Make sure the water and milk are warm or the yeast won’t activate and froth.
- Add everything into the mixer. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the rest of the sugar, melted butter, egg, egg yolk, vanilla, flour, and salt. Then pour the yeast mixture in and put on the hook attachment.
- Mix. Start by mixing on low until the flour has been incorporated. Then speed it up to high and beat for 5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl to get all the dough together. It should be slightly sticky, but not too much. If it is, add a tablespoon of flour to dry it a little, mix, and scrape again. Just be careful not to make it too dry.
- Let the dough rise. Now place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let it rise for about an hour, or until it doubles in size. Then punch it down and transfer it to a floured surface.
- Roll and cut the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch in thickness. Then cut out the shapes with a donut cutter or 2 different-sized biscuit cutters. When you’ve cut as many as you can, roll out the scraps and cut out more, continuing until all the dough is used up.
- Let it rise again. Place the cut-out donuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover lightly. Then, let them rise again for about 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat the air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 345 degrees Fahrenheit and spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
- Air-fry the donuts. Now place the donuts in the basket and spray them with the cooking spray. Do not allow them to touch. Then air-fry them for about 4 minutes, continuing in batches until all the donuts and donut holes are cooked. Place them on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
Make the donut glaze
- Make the glaze. In a large bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla.
- Dip the donuts. While the air fryer donuts are still warm, dip them into the glaze and put them on a cooling rack to set. (The warmth of the donuts gives the glaze that shiny appearance.) Now serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Use fresh yeast- If you find that your yeast is not frothing up after 5 minutes, then discard it and start over again with new yeast. It may be too old (or cold) to work.
- Double rise the dough- This takes some time, but it’s well worth it. Allowing the donut dough to rise twice will increase the air inside, resulting in light, airy, and delicious donuts.
- Absorb excess oil- Even though there isn’t much oil used in this air fryer recipe, unlike deep-frying, there is still some oil that can absorb into the donuts, making them soggy. So use a paper towel to absorb any unwanted oil after cooking.
- Glaze the air fryer donuts while warm- Doing this while they are still warm will give the glaze a lovely shiny appearance. Afterward, let them set before serving.
FAQs
Air fryers use hot air that is rapidly circulated to fry donuts. Deep frying, on the other hand, submerges the donuts in hot oil, allowing them to absorb it and take on a lot of grease and fat. Air fryer donuts are lighter and healthier, but still crisp and moist.
Donut glaze is usually made of powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla whisked together until smooth. This Glazed Air Fryer Donuts recipe also uses corn syrup to keep the glaze syrupy and thick. The donuts are then dipped into the glaze and allowed to set before serving.
Serving Suggestions
These Air Fryer Donuts are so versatile and have the perfect taste and texture. There are so many delicious ways to serve them for breakfast or as a snack.
- Meats: Make a sweet and savory combination with these donuts and Crispy Air Fryer Bacon, Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Gravy, or Savory Crepes with Chicken and Mushroom Filling.
- Eggs: Serve these air fryer donuts with Shakshuka, Eggs Benedict, Bacon and Hash Brown Quiche, or Easy Poached Eggs with Caramelized Onions.
- Fruit: These donuts can be served alongside Yogurt Parfait, Mini Fruit Tarts, Fruit Pizza, and Muesli Yogurt Parfait with Berries (VIDEO).
- Drinks: Enjoy this sweet treat with a cup of coffee, cold milk, or a specialty drink, like this Iced Caramel Macchiato or Caramel Frappuccino Recipe (Starbucks Copycat).
Make This Recipe in Advance
Make ahead: Because refrigeration slows down rising dough without stopping it entirely, you can start this recipe and then finish it up to 2 days later. Just follow the recipe for these air fryer donuts, Then once you finish cutting out the shapes, place them on a baking sheet in the fridge. They can stay overnight or for a couple of days. Just allow them to rest at room temperature for an hour before air frying
Storing: To store any leftovers of these air fryer donuts, place them in an airtight container at room temperature (out of direct sunlight) or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freeze: They can also be frozen for up to 3 months in a ziplock freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge and reheat in the air fryer or oven.
More Scrumptious Donuts!
Watch how easy it is to make them!
Full Recipe Instructions
Air Fryer Donuts (from scratch)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup warm milk
- 2¼ teaspoons dry active yeast
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (add more as needed)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Cooking spray
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Froth up the yeast
- 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.
- Let the yeast mixture froth up and rise for about 5 minutes. If it doesn’t froth up, discard it and start again with new yeast.
Add everything into the mixer
- 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 ½ teaspoon salt. Then pour in the yeast mixture and pace the hook attachment on.
- 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.
- 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 don’t want to add too much flour or the donuts will be too dry. They should have a slightly sticky texture to them.
Let the dough rise
- 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.
- When the dough is ready, punch it down to release air bubbles. Then transfer it to a floured surface
Roll the dough and cut out donuts
- 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 diamter.
Rise 1 more time, then air-fry
- 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.
- Preheat your air fryer to 345 degrees Fahrenheit. Then spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
- 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.
- Air fry the donuts for about 4 minutes. Repeat this process with the remaining donuts and donut holes. Then transfer the donuts onto a plate lined with paper towels.
Make the glaze and dip while the donuts are warm
- 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.
- 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 don’t want to let them cool down first.
Notes
Nutrition
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anonymous says
I didn’t think it would be this good 😋🍩
simplyhomecooked says
So happy to hear that! Makes me very happy when people love my recipes 🙂 I hope these air fryer donuts will be a repeat recipe in your home! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Dawn Norman says
Do you have any suggestions if you do not have a stand mixer to make these?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Dawn 🙂 You can mix the dough by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer. An electric hand mixer won’t work. By hand, it will take a little longer to mix the dough. Hope that helps and I hope you get a chance to make these air fryer donuts! Let me know how it goes 🙂
anonymous says
I tried this recipe with an electric hand mixer and it was sooooo good!!
simplyhomecooked says
Glad to hear these air fryer donuts turned out for you with that mixer! Thank you for the feedback 🙂
GLORIA GARIBAY says
Delicious and healthy donuts! your recipe is easier to follow up, I leave the donuts in my air fryer for 7 minutes and the donuts came out soft, for next time maybe I will add more sugar for a sweeter flavor.
I really appreciate your reply on YT,
Thank you,
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you so much Gloria! 🙂 Very happy to hear you loved these air fryer donuts 🙂 Every air fryer is slightly different and the bake time might be a tiny bit different. It also depends if you have to use different settings. I try to stay connected with my viewers 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave such an awesome review! I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Linda says
I’m a little behind the times. I don’t have an air fryer. Can I make these in the oven? If so, what temperature and how long?
Thanks!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Linda 🙂 Yes, you can use this donuts recipe to bake them in the oven. I have not tried to bake these myself but it should be like a standard baked donut. At 350 F for about 8-10 minutes. I hope that helps. Let me know how it goes 🙂
Janani says
Thanks so much for this recipe! The donuts are absolutely delicious. I’m so glad I stumbled upon your recipe when searching for donut recipes because I am always trying to limit frying in oil. This recipe has given me more satisfaction and I feel great because I was able to save my oil for something else and there’s less grease!!
simplyhomecooked says
You are very welcome Janani! So happy that you loved these air fryer donuts! It’s always a win when you don’t have to use all that oil 🙂 Thank you so much for your awesome feedback and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my food blog 🙂
Jessica says
What happens if you leave out the corn syrup? Just because I don’t have any, but have everything else to make these now and they sound delicious! Thanks
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Jessica 🙂 You can replace it with honey or agave nectar. I hope you love these air fryer donuts! 🙂
Jessica says
Great ideas, thanks!
simplyhomecooked says
You are very welcome 🙂
Judy says
I hate it when I click on an air fryer donut recipe and it says to use biscuits from a can. False advertisement and heartbreaking, lol! I made this recipe and was soooooo pleased with the results. I even made a Boston cream filled version with chocolate frosting and a berry fritters with raspberry glaze. I did have to add more flour (I used King Arthur all purpose). I had been curious to bake yeasted donuts in an oven because I refuse to fry foods the traditional way but have hesitated because I didn’t think they’d be as good as fried donuts. So I’ve been looking for an air fried donut recipe and hallelujah, I have found yours. I will definitely be making this recipe again and again. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
simplyhomecooked says
Yay! So happy that you loved my air fryer donuts so much! I love the fillings you used 🙂 I have noticed that some brands require a little bit more flour. It is normal for a lot of recipes to add a little flour depending on the dough. So happy that this will be a repeat recipe in your home 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to write such an awesome review! I really appreciate your support Judy 🙂
Abby Nuque says
I and my kids love how this recipe turned out. Very easy to make. We just add cinammon on the glaze. Love that we do not have to fry it in oil. Will definitly add it to our weekend snack.❤️
simplyhomecooked says
Yay! So happy to hear you and your family loved these air fryer donuts! 🙂 I love the addition of cinnamon to this recipe 🙂 Awesome to hear this will be a repeat recipe in your home! Thank you so much for your feedback and support 🙂
Tatiana Iara Gomes says
It’s an amazing easy and quick recipe. I loved it and so did my kids <3
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you so much Tatiana! It makes me so happy to hear that my recipes are easy to follow and delicious 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind feedback and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
zehra says
this recipe was really simple (although making dough does take some work- but i found it really fun) and the results were much better than i expected! i also kind of screwed up on the dough, mine was a little too sticky, but the donuts still turned out great! 100% recommend this recipe to anyone if you have an air fryer- and if you don’t, go buy one- totally worth it 🙂
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you so much Zehra! I really appreciate your feedback 🙂 So happy that you loved these air fryer donuts! I have noticed that different brands of flour can have an effect on the stickiness of the dough. I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Zoie Penick says
My sister and I made these today. They are delicious 😋 The glaze was so good 😜But, our dough was a bit sticky at first, so we had to add a little more flour to it. But overall, the recipe was so good 😋Thanks again 🙂
simplyhomecooked says
You are very welcome Zoie! Glad that you and your sister loved these air fryer donuts! I have found that different brands of flour can slightly change the consistency of the dough. Thank you for your feedback and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Leah says
Can you use almond milk instead of cow’s milk?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Leah, yes you can use almond milk 🙂
Eva says
This recipe is absolutely amazing! I only used one egg (instead of one egg and egg yolk) and added a bit more flour. And the donuts came out soft, sweet and delicious!
simplyhomecooked says
Yay! So happy to hear these air fryer donuts turned out so delicious! Thank you for your feedback Eva, and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Olivia says
Can I use Gluten free all purpose flour instead of normal flour?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Oliva, I have never tried it with AP gluten-free flour but a few of my readers have. They said it workes out great 🙂
Sandy Van Damme says
Firstly – how to store donuts…that’s funny. Mine will be gone in minutes (I’m making them now) my comment: I really appreciate you putting the amounts in the directions so I don’t have to go up and down all the time to check how much I need to add. Thank you for that!
simplyhomecooked says
Haha so true! It is in case 😉 You are very welcome Sandy! Glad that you loved the instructions for these air fryer donuts 🙂 I hope you love these donuts! 🙂
Brooke R. says
I love these donuts! I’m really picky and they have the exact same texture as a fried donut and the glaze is so good. I’ve made this recipe several times and it always turns out great!
simplyhomecooked says
That is so awesome Brooke! So so happy that you loved these air fryer donuts so much that you have made them multiple times already! 🙂 Thank you so much and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Jess says
Hi I’m planning to make these, I’m just wondering does the fat content of the milk matter? should I be using whole milk or will 2% work?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Jess, you can use any milk you have on hand. I always love to use whole milk. Full fat tastes better to me.
Patricia Robertson says
OMG 😳 these are amazing. The first 3 out of the fryer disappeared in minutes! I did have to add 3 tbsp more flour and my dough was still very sticky. . But after rising and dusting the dough with flour , I was able to roll and cut. I suggest dusting the parchment with flour so the cut donuts don’t stick while rising. Absolutely delicious!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you so much Patricia for your awesome feedback! Glad to hear you loved these air fryer donuts so much 🙂 The stickier the dough the better it will turn out. I have noticed that different brands of flour get different levels of stickiness. Once again thank you for your feedback and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Cindy says
I made these today I was just wondering if you cut them out and something else comes up if you can freeze them like that?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Cindy, you can definitely freeze these donuts after you cut them and before they get cooked. So you would cut them out and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze them until solid. Then transfer to a ziplock bag and keep frozen for up to 1 month. When ready to make, let them thaw and proof at room temperature on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for about 1-2 hours before. I hope this helps answer your question 🙂
Elsa says
Perfect donuts. Thank you so much for the recipe. I used a Tfal Actifry, and I had a few small donuts overcook, however the rest of the donuts came out perfectly.
simplyhomecooked says
You are very welcome Elsa! So happy that you loved these air fryer donuts 🙂 Different air fryers can have slight differences in bake times. Also, the size of the donuts will affect that as well. Thank you for your feedback 🙂
Ted says
The measurements seem way off. I measure everything exactly (I cook a lot so this is nothing new) and the dough was beyond sticky. I had to add another close ton1/2 cup of flour. Also, they tasted just like bread. Definitely, not donuts. Not sure if this was is just due to them being in the air fryer.
Thanks for the recipe though. Appreciate the details.
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Ted, thank you for the honest feedback. I have noticed that the brand of flour and the size of eggs can alter your results. But I think the biggest factor is making sure to mix the dough for a very long time. You want it to be slightly sticky (just tacky to the touch). The dough should have a smooth and elastic texture before putting it into the bowl to rise. Also, making sure the dough rises long enough will definitely give you fluffy and airy donuts. I hope you give this recipe another try!