You don't need to deep fry to make crunchy, cozy hush puppies. Air fryer hush puppies are a snap to make. They're perfect little balls of cornbready goodness!
Long, long ago, I asked folks on Instagram to tell me what air fryer recipes they'd like to see. My friend, Ian, had a few requests, and air fryer hush puppies was among them.
Ian, you probably thought that I forgot about you, but your suggestion has been on my to-do list all this time. And they're finally to-done!
Table of Contents
Recipe notes
This is a super easy, one-bowl recipe, and the resulting hush puppies are crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside perfection.
Start by mixing up your dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then, add your wet ingredients, and mix until you have a thick batter.
Now, here's the important part: you need to chill that batter.
To make air fryer hush puppies that are moist but hold their shape, chilling that batter is crucial. Chilling will firm up the batter enough to hold its shape in the air fryer without needing any kind of mold or mini muffin tin.
There is one other critical part of this recipe: line your air fryer basket. To do this, just use scissors to cut a piece of parchment paper so it almost-but-not-quite covers the bottom. Leave a bit of space all around to allow air to flow.
Please do not use foil to line your air fryer basket! Most air fryers have a nonstick coating on the basket, and foil will scratch it, ruining your air fryer.
Now, scoop tablespoons of your chilled batter into your air fryer basket, and cook.
You'll likely need to cook these in two batches. Stick the bowl of batter into the fridge while batch one is cooking, so the batter stays nice and cold.
Oven option
No air fryer? No problem! You can definitely bake these.
Scoop the batter onto a lined baking sheet, and bake for 18-20 minutes at 400° F.
Your hush puppies are ready when the tops are golden brown.
How to serve and store
Anything that would be nice with a side of cornbread is lovely with air fryer hush puppies instead. Try these with:
- three-bean chili
- tofu chili
- BBQ tofu and your favorite green veggie
- vegan beef stew
- corn chowder
To store, transfer cooled hush puppies to an airtight container. They'll keep on the countertop for four to five days.
Make sure that they are completely cool before storing. If they're even just warm, they'll cause condensation to collect in the container, and that can cause them to get moldy. No, thanks!
📖 Recipe
Air fryer hush puppies recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup cornmeal
- ½ cup white wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup soy milk
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon flax meal
- 1 tablespoon vegan sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl, and mix until you have a thick batter.
- Place the bowl into the freezer for 20 minutes. You will likely have to do two batches to get all of the batter cooked. Place the bowl into the refrigerator in between rounds of cooking.
- Line your air fryer basket with a piece of parchment paper cut to size. Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to scoop up rounded balls of batter. Place them on the parchment paper, leaving about ½" of space between each ball.
- Air fry at 400°F for 10 minutes.
JT
How do you get them to stick together? I tried making these last night and they just don’t stick together. When I did manage to get 3 into the fryer, they cooked, but when I tried to pick them up, they just turn back into cornmeal.
Becky Striepe
So weird! I wonder what's causing this issue for you. If they're that dry, I suggest adding more soymilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get a proper dough.
Sarah De la Cruz
My grandpa grew up in rural Mississippi! I feel like I owe it to him to give these a try! <3
Becky Striepe
You dooooooo!
Katie Koteen
Now I must get an air fryer! I love hush puppies, but never thing to make them.
Becky Striepe
Ooh you should go for it! It’s worth it for the tofu and potatoes alone. Everything else is a delicious bonus!
Cadry
Oh, I'm so excited to see this! When I was a kid, Long John Silver's was my favorite restaurant. Obviously, I've grown up since then and gone vegan. But I would still love a dinner of Gardein fishless filets with malt vinegar & air fryer hush puppies to take me back!
Becky Striepe
Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing! It’s so comforting to recreate those nostalgic meals.
Mel | avirtualvegan.com
I am obsessed with cornbread (there's some in the oven as we speak) but I had never heard of Hush Puppies until now (except for the shoes ;0) . These and a delicious dip would last 2 minutes with me!
Becky Striepe
Ooh I love them with a dip!
Don howes
these are horrible first off with these ingredients (1 egg instead of aqua----) the batter is too soupy to form balls. Tried adding flour (which is in every hushpuppy recipe I've ever seen. Finally shaped the m and cooked for 10 min hard as a rock and lousy taste.
Don
April
Thank you for a "VEGAN" version of hushpuppies! LOVE THEM!
Becky Striepe
I'm so glad that you enjoyed them!
Amanda
Do you have to use aquafaba or could a flax egg be used? I love your podcast and recipes!! Thanks for all you do!
Becky Striepe
You might be able to use a flax egg. I haven't tested but don't see why not. Thank you for reading and for listening!
Jenn
I haven't had hush puppies in ages. These sound perfect!
Becky Striepe
Aah you’re going to love them!
Sandi
Instructions day add sugar but no sugar listed on ingredients?
Becky Striepe
Oh no! I’ll add that in now. I must have skipped a line when I was transcribing from the book!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
I've never had a hush puppy before, but if I can make it in my air fryer, I definitely want to try it!
Becky Striepe
Enjoy it, Amy!!
Dianne
I love this book! I haven't tried this recipe yet, but your photos look so yummy – I need to make it soon!
Becky Striepe
You’re goin to love them!
Mary Ellen | VNutrition
These look so delicous! I fell in love with hush puppies when I went to New Orleans before going vegan. So excited to have a version I can eat again!
I'm going to need a copy of this book as well. :)
Becky Striepe
Yay! Enjoy them, Mary Ellen!