3 Ways Home Cooks Make Air Fryer Donuts: 10–20 Min, Yeasted, or Mix
Yes, you can make soft, fluffy donuts in an air fryer, and you have three honest routes to get there: a biscuit or yogurt shortcut for speed, a from-scratch yeasted dough for bakery texture, or a prepared mix like ours for an easier middle ground. Most recipes run between 170°C and 180°C. We walk through exact timings for each method below.
TL;DR:
- Using a prepared mix simplifies the process, requiring only water and oil, and offers consistent results for both quick and slow methods.
- Shortcut doughs, like refrigerated biscuit or yogurt-based options, cook in about 7 minutes at 180°C, ideal for immediate snacks.
- Yeasted doughs need around one hour for rising and 6 to 8 minutes of air frying at 175 to 180°C for bakery-style donuts.
- Proper shaping and handling—such as chilling before cutting and avoiding overcrowding—are key to evenly cooked donuts without raw centers.
- Donuts are best enjoyed fresh but can be stored in the fridge for two days or frozen, then reheated in an air fryer to restore crispness.
Table of Contents
- Ingredients and equipment you need before you start
- The fastest route: 10 to 20 minute shortcut donuts
- From-scratch yeasted dough for bakery-style texture
- Cutting and shaping donuts (and donut holes) without fuss
- Dialling in your air fryer’s settings and timing
- Glazes, toppings and finishing touches
- Fixing problems, storing leftovers and reheating properly
- Why a prepared mix earns its place in your kitchen
- Which method should you actually pick?
- Get bakery-style donuts at home with Missy Lala
- FAQ
- Sources
Ingredients and equipment you need before you start
The shortcut route needs only a tube of refrigerated biscuit dough or self-raising flour and yogurt. The yeasted route needs flour, yeast, milk, sugar, egg and butter. Our Cook Islands Donut Baking Mix needs only water and oil, which cuts out the measuring and proofing guesswork entirely.
On equipment, you want a round cutter (or a glass) for the outer ring, a smaller cutter for the hole, a pastry brush for butter, and a wire rack for cooling glazed donuts without pooling.
- Shortcut: canned biscuit dough or self-raising flour plus plain yogurt.
- From-scratch: flour, instant yeast, warm milk, sugar, egg, softened butter, salt.
- Mix conversion: Missy Lala Cook Islands Donut Baking Mix plus water and oil only.
- Avoid aerosol nonstick sprays in the basket; a light brush or spritz of olive or coconut oil protects the coating better over time.
The fastest route: 10 to 20 minute shortcut donuts
When you want donuts now, canned biscuit dough or a two-ingredient yogurt dough gets you there fastest.
- Open a tube of refrigerated biscuit dough and separate the rounds, or mix self-raising flour with plain yogurt into a soft dough.
- Cut a hole in the centre of each round with a small cutter or bottle cap.
- Lightly oil the air fryer basket and arrange the rings with space between them.
- Air fry the yogurt dough variant at 180°C for about 7 minutes, flipping halfway for even colour, a method confirmed by Foursquare’s quick air fryer donut recipe.
- Brush warm donuts with melted butter, then toss in cinnamon sugar or dip in glaze while still warm.
Batch in twos or threes depending on your basket size, never edge to edge, so hot air can circulate around each ring.
Pro Tip: Brush donuts with melted butter the moment they leave the basket. Warm butter grabs sugar far better than a cooled donut does.
From-scratch yeasted dough for bakery-style texture
If you have the time, a yeasted dough gives you the pillowy crumb people associate with a real bakery donut. Warm your milk to 43 to 46°C before adding yeast. Any hotter and you kill the yeast; any cooler and it stays dormant. If you do not have a thermometer, the liquid should feel warm, not hot, on the inside of your wrist.
- Combine warm milk, yeast and a pinch of sugar, then let it foam for 5 to 10 minutes before mixing in the rest.
- Knead until smooth and elastic, then let the dough rise until roughly doubled, which usually takes about an hour in a warm kitchen.
- Shape into rings, then give the dough a second proof, either 40 minutes at room temperature or a slower prove overnight in the fridge for a firmer shape, both options supported by BBC Good Food’s air fryer doughnut recipe.
- Air fry large yeasted rings at 175 to 180°C for 6 to 8 minutes, and donut holes at the same temperature for 3 to 5 minutes, timings drawn from Preppy Kitchen’s air fryer donuts.
Dense or flat results almost always trace back to underproofing or liquid that was too hot for the yeast. Give the dough the full rise before you shape it, and check your milk temperature rather than guessing.
Pro Tip: A cold kitchen slows proofing considerably. Sit the bowl near (not on) a warm oven, or add 15 to 20 extra minutes to your rise time.
Cutting and shaping donuts (and donut holes) without fuss
You do not need a proper donut cutter. A wide glass or jar lid cuts the outer ring, and a bottle cap or small lid cuts the centre hole cleanly.
- Chill the dough for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting for sharper edges and less sticking.
- Save every centre cutout and air fry them separately as donut holes, so nothing goes to waste.
- Re-roll scraps once only, since over-handling toughens the dough and leaves heavier donuts.
- Line the basket with parchment or a silicone liner to stop ridged basket marks on the underside.
Dialling in your air fryer’s settings and timing
Most air fryer donuts cook well between 170°C and 180°C, though some stronger models run hotter and may need their timer trimmed by a minute. As a working range, small yeasted rings and holes cook in 3 to 6 minutes, while large yeasted rings need 6 to 8 minutes.
- Donut holes: 3 to 5 minutes at 175 to 180°C.
- Small rings (shortcut dough): 4 to 6 minutes at 175 to 180°C.
- Large yeasted rings: 6 to 8 minutes at 175 to 180°C, flipping halfway.
- Batch size: 2 to 4 per basket depending on capacity, with gaps between each piece so air circulates.
Air fried for 7 minutes at 180°C is the benchmark timing for the popular yogurt and self-raising flour shortcut dough, according to Foursquare’s air fryer donut recipe, which gives you a reliable starting point before adjusting for your own model. Cook one test donut first, then add or subtract 30 to 60 seconds for the rest of the batch.
Glazes, toppings and finishing touches
A classic vanilla glaze is roughly two parts icing sugar to one part milk, with a splash of melted butter for shine, whisked smooth and left to set for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
- Cinnamon sugar: brush warm donuts with melted butter, then toss in a bowl of cinnamon sugar.
- Chocolate: dip tops in melted chocolate, then add sprinkles before it sets.
- Filled donuts: cool completely before piping, use a long round nozzle, and choose a stable custard or whipped cream for the filling.
- Serve on a wire rack rather than a plate so glaze doesn’t pool underneath.
Fixing problems, storing leftovers and reheating properly
A raw, doughy centre usually means the ring was too thick or the temperature too low; flatten rings slightly before cooking and keep them under 2 centimetres thick. Overbrowning on top with a pale underside means the basket was overcrowded, blocking airflow underneath.
- Donuts taste best on the day they’re made, before the crumb firms up.
- Refrigerate glazed or filled donuts for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
- Unglazed donuts freeze well for longer storage; thaw before reheating.
- Reheat in the air fryer for 2 to 3 minutes to restore crispness, a method confirmed by Butter and Berries’ air fryer donut guide.
Pro Tip: Skip the microwave for reheating. It softens the crumb into a soggy texture instead of restoring the crisp exterior.
Why a prepared mix earns its place in your kitchen
Our donut baking mix needs only water and oil, which removes the measuring, yeast timing and proofing math from the equation while keeping flavour intact. It works for both the quick shortcut workflow and a more deliberate, dough-rested approach, depending on how much time you have.
- The mix suits busy households wanting consistent results without specialised baking knowledge.
- It doubles as a base for other treats, including Māori fried bread and coconut rolls.
- Our guide on improving boxed mixes covers finishing touches that lift any mix-based bake.
- Our post on mastering doughnut baking mix walks through texture troubleshooting specific to mix-based dough.
Which method should you actually pick?
Busy families do best with the mix or the biscuit shortcut: minimal mess, dependable results, done inside 20 minutes. Save a from-scratch yeasted batch for a weekend or a special occasion, when the longer proof and extra texture are worth the wait. Either way, your air fryer handles both beautifully.
— Jasmin
Get bakery-style donuts at home with Missy Lala
We built the Cook Islands Donut Baking Mix so you skip the yeast math and the trial-and-error entirely: add water and oil, shape your rings, and air fry using the timings above. Choose the 250g size for a single household batch, the 650g pack for a bigger family bake, or the 1300g pack when you’re feeding a gathering or event.
- Works in both the quick shortcut method and a slower, dough-rested method.
- One mix can be used for multiple treats.
- No yeast, no proofing guesswork, just water and oil.
If you want island-style donuts without reading a single proofing chart, browse our donut mix collection and pick the size that fits your kitchen.
FAQ
Can you do donuts in the air fryer?
Yes. Both shortcut dough and yeasted dough cook well in an air fryer, with most recipes landing between 170°C and 180°C depending on the size of the ring.
Do air fryer donuts taste the same as fried donuts?
They’re close but not identical. Air frying gives a lighter, slightly less greasy crumb than deep frying, while glazes and toppings taste much the same either way.
Can I make 3-ingredient air fryer donuts without yeast?
Yes, self-raising flour and plain yogurt make a simple dough with no yeast required, cooking at 180°C for about 7 minutes. It’s the fastest route when you want donuts without a proofing wait.
Can I make bakery-style donuts in an air fryer?
Yes, a yeasted dough or a prepared mix like ours gives you a closer match to bakery texture than a quick shortcut dough. Shape, proof if using yeast, then air fry rings for 6 to 8 minutes at 175 to 180°C.
Sources
- Air Fryer Donuts | Preppy Kitchen
- Air fryer donuts — Foursquare (NZ)
- Air Fryer Donuts | Butter and Berries
- Air fryer doughnuts | BBC Good Food
