Air fryer donut holes are sweet and cakey with a crunchy coating. A perfect treat with coffee or tea! Make them churro-style with cinnamon sugar or coat with regular sugar and add your glaze of choice.
Table of Contents
Cakey, crunchy air fryer donut holes are so easy to make! They have a 1-bowl batter and cook in just six minutes in the air fryer. You can make them your own by coating in cinnamon sugar or plain sugar and adding toppings of choice.
No matter how you customize them, these air fryer donut holes are a quick, easy treat. And they're so fun to make!
If you don't have an air fryer, I've included oven directions in the recipe card, as well.
💖 Why You'll Love this Recipe
- crunchy outside, cakey inside vegan doughnut holes
- versatile! Make them churro-style or use your toppings of choice
- quick and easy, 1-bowl, air fryer dessert
- naturally soy-free and nut-free with easy gluten-free option
✓ Ingredients and Substitutions
- flour - Use all-purpose flour or 1:1 gluten-free flour for the best results.
- sugar - For sweetness. Do not reduce or substitute! You also need sugar for the coating.
- cinnamon - To flavor the donut holes. If you are doing these churro style, you also need some to make the topping.
- baking powder and salt - Conditions the dough.
- egg replacer - We are using aquafaba or a flax egg to make these air fryer doughnut holes. Use what you have!
- fat - Use melted coconut oil or melted vegan butter. Melt, then measure.
🔪 How to Make Vegan Doughnut Holes
In a large bowl, combine the flour, ¼ cup of sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.
Add the aquafaba or flax egg, coconut oil or vegan butter, and the non-dairy milk. Mix well. I had the best results when I mixed with a fork, then got in with clean hands to knead the dough together for a few seconds when it got too stiff to beat with a fork. If the dough is too sticky, add extra flour until it's a cohesive dough. A little bit sticky is fine, but it shouldn't stick all over your hands.
When you're done, you should have a cohesive ball of slightly sticky dough. Stick the bowl of dough into the refrigerator for at least an hour or freeze for 20 minutes. You can even make the dough the night before. If you do this, store in an airtight container in the fridge.
In a shallow bowl, either add the sugar or mix the cinnamon and sugar together. Set this aside.
Cut a piece of parchment paper so it covers some of the bottom of your air fryer basket but doesn't cover it completely. Leave about ½" to 1" around the edges to let air flow.
Remove the dough from the fridge, and give it a quick knead. Divide into 12 pieces, forming the pieces into balls.
Dredge each ball in the sugar or cinnamon-sugar mixture, and arrange into a single layer on the parchment paper, leaving at least 1" of room around each ball. I air fried mine in 2 batches of 6 donut holes each.
Air fry at 370° F for 6 minutes. DO NOT SHAKE. Shaking these is a disaster. Trust me.
Let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes before removing from the basket. You want these cooled almost completely, and the total cooling time depends on how many you air fried at once and the size of your basket.
You can serve these plain or top them. I topped the sugar-coated ones with my super easy maple glaze.
💡 Helpful Tips
- The dough should be slightly sticky but not stick all over your hands. If needed, add more flour to reach this consistency.
- Do not skip lining the basket with parchment paper. These will stick if you don't line the basket.
- Seriously, do not shake these. Shaking the basket is a disaster, and you'll end up with misshapen donut holes.
- Don't try overcrowd your basket with donut holes to save time. They will plump as they cook, and they'll end up stuck together or to the bottom of the fryer. Better to do this in batches than to end up with stuck-together donut holes. Learn from my mistakes!
🫙 Storage Directions
Leftovers will keep for three to five days in an airtight container on the countertop. Make sure that these are completely cool before you seal them into the container. If you close the lid while they're warm, it can cause condensation to form, which may lead to spoilage.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
The air fryer gives these the crunchy-on-the-outside, cakey-on-the-inside texture of a cake donut hole, but without deep frying. And it takes half the time it would take to bake these in the oven!
I haven't successfully made full-sized donuts in the air fryer. Because of the size of the basket, you'd need to do tons of batches. You're better off making full-sized donuts in the oven.
No! These are basically little balls of cake coated in sugar. They're healthier than deep fried donut holes, but these are not broccoli.
Do not use aerosol spray oil in your air fryer. Spray oil and nonstick are a bad combination that can damage your basket. If you need to oil your basket, use a spritz oil sprayer instead or grease it with a paper towel.
In this recipe, greasing the basket isn't necessary. Line the basket with parchment paper instead.
You can! Bake at 375° F for 10 to 14 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Donut Holes Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons aquafaba Or 2 teaspoons flax meal + 1 ½ tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or melted vegan butter
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, ¼ cup of sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.
- Add the aquafaba or flax egg, coconut oil or vegan butter, and the non-dairy milk. Mix well. I had the best results when I mixed with a fork, then got in with clean hands to knead the dough together for a few seconds when it got too stiff to beat with a fork. If the dough is too sticky, add extra flour until it's a cohesive dough. A little bit sticky is fine, but it shouldn't stick all over your hands. When you're done, you should have a cohesive ball of slightly sticky dough.
- Stick the bowl of dough into the refrigerator for at least an hour or freeze for 20 minutes. You can even make the dough the night before. If you do this, store in an airtight container in the fridge.
- In a shallow bowl, mix together the cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set this aside.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper so it covers some of the bottom of your air fryer basket but doesn't cover it completely. Leave about ½" around the edges to let air flow.
- Remove the dough from the fridge, and give it a quick knead. Divide into 12 pieces, forming the pieces into balls. Dredge each ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and arrange into a single layer on the parchment paper, leaving at least 1" of room around each ball. I air fried mine in 2 batches of 6 donut holes each.
- Air fry at 370° F for 6 minutes. DO NOT SHAKE. Shaking these is a disaster. Trust me.
- Let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes before removing from the basket. You want these cooled almost completely, and the total cooling time depends on how many you air fried at once and the size of your basket.
Lauren Wright
These were so delicious! So easy and fast to make. Everyone loved them, including all my non vegan family!!
Becky Striepe
Oh I love to hear that, Lauren! Thank you for coming back to leave a comment!
Ming
Thanks for the recipe. Quick question. My batter wouldn’t stay roundish. Any tips?
Becky Striepe
I'd add more flour by the teaspoon until you get a cohesive dough.
Sylvia
I really love Churros but I don’t have Aquafaba doe I use one egg.
Melody
These are amazing! I used flax seed in place of aquafaba and it worked fine! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
Becky Striepe
Awesome! Thank you for coming back to share your experience. I definitely get asked about whether you can use other egg subs in place of aquafaba.
ANNA CASEY
Hello - please tell me what brand/model of air fryer you use. I want to buy one but afraid it won't work as well as most people say!
Thank you.
Becky Striepe
Of course! I use the ZenChef Pro XXL. Here's an affiliate link to this one on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2mToD6P
Lisa
I made the dough tonight. It was so easy, and dodn't even have to shop. Making a test batch before making it for a potluck.
Thank you!
Robin
Hi:
I was on the fence about buying an air fryer and your recipes have inspired me to get one ASAP!!
This will be one of my first recipes to try. I would like to make these gluten free. Is it possible? If so, any tips?
As a newbie, I appreciate any insights and really look forward to trying all your recipes.
Thank you,
Robin
Becky Striepe
Hi! Congratulations on the new air fryer. I have not tested this recipe with gf flours, so I can't say whether it will work out. I'm sorry about that! I have lots of other air fryer recipes that are naturally gf, so you may want to peruse my air fryer archives and see what appeals. :)
Renee
Did anyone use gluten free flour yet? My air fryer is scheduled to be delivered Friday. Super excited.
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite
I'd gladly shove these delicious things in my mouth as fast as possible.
Becky Striepe
Lol yessss!
Nicole Dawson
Those look awesome! I use to love churros but I love this healthier option.
Becky Striepe
I did, too! They'll forever remind me of the ice skating rink, where we'd dip them in cocoa when we got too cold.
Aimee | Wallflower Kitchen
I LOVE these "Chonuts"! I mean, how could I not?
Becky Striepe
Haha thank you, Aimee!
Dianne
These look like the perfect little snack!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Dianne!