These air fryer pumpkin donuts are delicious homemade donuts, perfect for the fall! Pumpkin flavored dough is air fried and dipped in pumpkin spice sugar for donuts that are crisp outside and fluffy inside.
These easy to make donuts make a wonderful treat as the days get longer and you are craving some pumpkin spice flavor. They go well with milk, coffee or apple cider and of course make an amazing Halloween treat.
Maybe you find making homemade air fryer donuts a little intimidating. And I get it – cheater air fryer donuts made with biscuit dough are delicious and super simple to make, like my chocolate glazed donuts or maple glazed donuts.
But if you want pumpkin donuts you really need to make them from scratch, because there are no pumpkin flavored biscuits you can buy! Luckily this recipe is easy even for novice bakers.
Why You Will Love Air Fryer Pumpkin Donuts
- When fall is in the air pumpkin spice is the ultimate flavor.
- These are cake donuts, so you don’t need any yeast, which eliminates the hassle of proofing yeast and waiting for dough to rise.
- To make these donuts even more pumpkin-y they are brushed with melted butter and glazed with a mixture of sugar and pumpkin spice. Yum!
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Key Ingredients
**For exact amounts needed see the recipe card below.
Pumpkin puree – Pumpkin puree keeps the donuts moist, adds flavor and gives them a little hint of orange color. You won’t need an entire can of pumpkin for this recipe, so store the extra in the refrigerator to use in another recipe.
Pumpkin pie spice – This is a key ingredient in many pumpkin recipes. You can buy it at the store or check out my recipe for an easy homemade pumpkin pie spice.
All the remaining ingredients are standard baking staples you probably already have – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, milk and oil.
How to Make Air Fryer Pumpkin Donuts
1. Mix
In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients, which are the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Whisk them all together.
Cut the butter into small pieces to make it easier to combine with the flour mixture. Then use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut the cubes of butter in until the mixture is the texture of coarse sand.
Add the pumpkin puree and 1/4 cup of milk to the bowl. Stir it until the dough starts to come together and form a ball. If it is too dry and crumbly and doesn’t clump then add more milk, one tablespoon at a time until if forms a ball.
2. Shape
Put the dough on a lightly floured cutting board and knead it until it is smooth. This should only take a couple of minutes.
Then separate the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a tube about 6 inches in length and connect the edges together to make a donut shape. Don’t worry if your circles aren’t perfect!
3. Cook
Preheat the air fryer to 370 degrees F. Then put the donuts into the air fryer basket, making sure they aren’t touching.
They will expand a little bit as they cook. Don’t overcrowd the donuts, you will need to cook these in 2 to 3 batches, depending on the size of your air fryer basket.
Either spray oil on the donuts with a spray bottle or use a pastry brush to brush the tops with a little oil. The oil will help give the donuts a nice crisp exterior which contrasts with the cakey insides.
Tip: Don’t use a commercial cooking spray because they contain preservatives which can damage the finish on the air fryer basket.
Cook the donuts in the air fryer for 8 minutes, until they are golden brown. Continue air frying batches of donuts until they are all cooked.
4. Coat
Let the donuts cool on a wire rack before adding the topping. Once they are cooked and cooled melt the butter and combine the remaining sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl.
Brush each donut with melted butter and then dip them into the bowl of sugar to coat them for a sugary pumpkin flavor.
How to Serve
Serve these tasty fall donuts with milk, coffee or cider. Or really go into pumpkin overload and make a pumpkin spice latte! These are delicious for breakfast or for lunch.
How to Store
These air fryer pumpkin donuts keep at room temperature for 2-3 days. Just store them in an air tight container.
Variations and Tips
You can also make these into pumpkin donut holes. Just roll the dough into about 36 small balls instead of forming it into donuts.
FAQ
This recipe uses less than a pumpkin puree can. You can use up the rest by making homemade pumpkin spice lattes to serve with the donuts! Or check out my recipes for blueberry pumpkin bread or pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, which also use less than a can of puree.
You can use 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg instead. You can also easily and cheaply make your own spice mix with this easy homemade pumpkin pie spice recipe.
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Air Fryer Pumpkin Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree not pie filling
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Topping
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- In a medium bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.1 ¾ cup flour, ¼ cup sugar, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, ½ teaspoon salt
- Cut the butter into small cubes. Then use a pastry blender or two forks to mix the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand.½ cup butter
- Add the pumpkin puree and ¼ cup of milk to the bowl. Stir until the dough begins to come together and clumps into a ball. If the mixture is too dry and crumbly, add more milk one tablespoon at a time.¾ cup pumpkin puree, ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured cutting board and knead until smooth.
- Separate the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece dough into a long tube and connect the ends to form a donut shape.
- Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees F.
- Place the donuts in the air fryer basket, making sure they’re not touching. They will expand a little as they cook. You should be able to fit 4-6 donuts in the basket, depending on your air fryer size.
- Brush each donut with vegetable oil. Use a pastry brush or a spray bottle of oil to coat the outside. Don’t use a commercial spray oil as those contain preservatives which can damage the non stick finish of the basket.2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Cook the donuts in the air fryer for 8 minutes, until they are golden brown.
- Continue cooking in batches until all the donuts have been cooked.
- Let the donuts cool on a wire rack before adding the sugar topping.
- To make the topping melt the butter. Then whisk together the sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl.2 tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- Brush each donut with melted butter and dip in the sugar mixture until coated.
Notes
- You can also make these into pumpkin donut holes. Just roll the dough into about 36 small balls instead of forming it into donuts.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
