Maple bacon air fryer donuts create fresh treats with no yeast required! This recipe uses canned biscuits dough for an easy shortcut that lets you enjoy them at home in no time.

Air Fryer Maple Bacon Donuts with bacon crumble


 

This recipe is a semi-homemade way to enjoy maple bacon doughnuts without having to leave the house. 

We’ve made homemade donuts before, our baked carrot cake donuts, and mini lemon poppy seed donuts are always a hit, but this time we wanted to give the air fryer a try, and boy are we glad we did!

While these air fryer donuts do not have the same texture as donuts that use a yeasty batter, they are super tasty, fluffy and packed with sweet and savory flavor.

It’s a change from the usual muffins and pancakes that we usually made for a weekend brunch or breakfast. It’s the perfect indulgence to ease into a lazy Saturday but impressive enough to serve at any holiday brunch gathering.

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ingredients to make Air Fryer Maple Bacon Donuts

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Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need to make these maple bacon flavored donuts in the air fryer.

  • Flaky biscuits – The biscuits create a simple dough for the donuts. 
  • Butter – The butter helps prevent the donuts from sticking to the air fryer.
  • Confectioners sugar – The sugar helps to create the glaze for the donuts.
  • Maple flavors – You’ll need both maple syrup and maple extract. If you can’t find maple extract you can substitute with 1 additional teaspoon of maple syrup but the maple extract definitely packs more of a punch of flavor.
  • Bourbon – Bourbon adds extra flavor to the glaze.
  • Heavy whipping cream – You should not substitute with milk or other dairy.
  • Kosher salt – You can use regular table salt or sea salt.
  • Finely diced cooked bacon – Pick your favorite flavor of bacon and cook it before making the donuts. This is a great way to use leftover bacon if you have it.

Do I Have to Use Bourbon?

Bourbon adds a great flavor, especially combined with maple syrup BUT you don’t have to use bourbon if you prefer not to use alcohol. Just skip those two teaspoons and follow the rest of the instructions for the glaze.

Instructions

Here’s what you need to do to make air fryer doughnuts with no yeast.

Air Fryer Maple Bacon Donuts made with biscuit dough

Step 1 – Prepare the biscuits. First, remove the biscuits from the can and place on a baking sheet or parchment paper. Use a 1” biscuit cutter to remove the center of the biscuit. If you do not have a biscuit cutter, you could use the cap from a cooking spray bottle or whipped cream in a pinch! Anything small and circular with a thin edge will do just fine.

Air Fryer Maple Bacon Donuts made with refrigerator biscuits

Step 2 – Fry the biscuits. Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F for 5 minutes.

Lightly brush the melted butter onto the bottom of the air fryer basket but don’t overdo it! You want just enough to keep them from sticking to the basket as they bake.

Place 3 to 4 donuts into the basket. This will depend on the size of the biscuits you use. You do not want the donuts to touch, so multiple batches may be necessary. 

Cook for 4 minutes, flip, and cook for an additional 4 minutes.

glazing Air Fryer Maple Bacon Donuts

Step 3 – Make the glaze. While the donuts cook, prepare the glaze in a medium sized bowl. Add the confectioners sugar, maple syrup, maple extract, bourbon, heavy cream, and salt to the bowl and whisk to combine.

Carefully dip the cooked donuts into the glaze and immediately top with a sprinkle of bacon bits. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Air Fryer Maple Bacon Donuts with a bacon crumble

Make Donut Holes Too! 

You can make donut holes too so don’t throw away the centers that you removed from the dough. 

After the donuts finish cooking, add a little more butter to the fryer basket and place donut holes in the basket. You only need to cook for 3 minutes before removing them from the fryer. Finish them by drizzling with the glaze and sprinkling with bacon bits.

Optional Topping 

If everyone in the house doesn’t want maple bacon donuts, you can make a simple alteration. Dip cooked donuts or donut holes in melted butter and then roll in cinnamon sugar. You can make the mix with 1 cup of granulated sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon.

Air Fryer Maple Bacon Donuts stacked

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Servings: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes

Maple Bacon Air Fryer Donuts

Maple bacon air fryer donuts create fresh treats with no yeast required! This recipe uses canned biscuits dough for an easy shortcut that lets you enjoy them at home in no time.
Air Fryer Maple Bacon Donuts with bacon crumble
Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Ingredients

  • 16.5 ounce Can flaky biscuits
  • 2 tablespoons Butter, melted
  • 2 cups Confectioners sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon Maple extract
  • 2 teaspoons Bourbon
  • 2 tablespoons Heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ¼ cup Finely diced cooked bacon

Instructions

  • Remove biscuits from the can and place on a baking sheet or parchment paper. Using a 1” biscuit cutter, remove the center of the biscuit. (if you do not have a biscuit cutter, we have also used the cap from cooking spray, or whipped cream in a pinch! Anything small, and circular with a thin edge will do just fine.
  • Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees F for 5 minutes.
  • Lightly brush the melted butter onto the bottom of the air fryer basket. Don’t overdo it you want just enough to keep them from sticking to the basket as they bake.
  • Place 3-4 donuts into the basket (depending on the size) You do not want the donuts to touch, so multiple batches may be necessary. Cook for 4 minutes, flip and cook an additional 4 minutes
  • While the donuts cook, prepare the glaze. Add confectioners sugar, maple syrup, maple extract, bourbon, heavy cream, and salt to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
  • Dip donuts into the glaze, then top with a sprinkle of bacon bits. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1donut, Calories: 413kcal, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 13mg, Sodium: 782mg, Potassium: 152mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 33g, Vitamin A: 144IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition Disclaimer: We are not certified nutritionists. Nutrition facts are an estimate and are provided as a courtesy. They are generated by an online API which recognizes ingredient names and amounts and makes calculations based on the serving size. Results may vary.
Author: Kat Jeter & Melinda Caldwell
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: air fryer donuts, air fryer donuts no yeast, ir fryer donuts biscuits
Handwritten signature for Kat & Melinda