Our Air Fryer Chocolate Glazed Donuts are a copycat recipe of the famous Krispy Kreme donuts that everyone loves. Learn how to make yeasted donuts from scratch, in your air fryer, then top them with creamy chocolate frosting.
recipe overview
These scratch-made yeast donuts with chocolate frosting are so chocolatey and delicious! If you love Krispy Kreme donuts, you’ll be thrilled at how easy it is to make these amazing, melt-in-your-mouth copycats at home.
Donuts are traditionally a deep fried food, but I’ve figured out how to get that same slightly crispy yet super soft texture that donuts are known for, right in the air fryer. Just a quick spritz of cooking oil does the job, rather than a whole pot of oil. Try our Air Fryer Donut Holes too, they are adorable and perfect to pop into your mouth.
Just 7 simple ingredients and a few hours – because proofing yeast dough takes time – and you’ll have tender and sugary donuts that the whole family will love.
ingredients you’ll need
- Milk – Warm your milk on the stovetop until it’s 100°F. The warm milk will wake up the yeast.
- Active Dry Yeast – You’ll need 2 1/2 tsp. This is slightly more than a packet of yeast holds, so you’ll either need to borrow some from a second packet or buy your yeast in a jar for easy measuring. Make sure to keep your yeast in the fridge once it’s been opened.
- Sugar – Sugar adds a delightful sweetness to the donuts and also feeds the yeast in the dough to create air.
- Egg – Egg holds everything together.
- Butter – One stick of melted butter adds so much moisture and that perfect mouth-feel.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is perfect here.
- Chocolate Frosting – You can use a canned chocolate frosting, or make your favorite chocolate glaze. I’ve put some recipes and ideas below.
how to make them
- In a mixing bowl, gently stir warm milk, yeast, and a tablespoon of sugar together. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes or until it starts foaming.
- Add egg, melted butter, and remaining sugar. Stir until completely combined.
- Using a dough hook in an electric mixer, add the flour slowly, mixing on low. Once mixed, increase speed and knead until dough forms into a ball.
- Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Allow the dough to double in size. This will take about an hour.
- Remove dough and roll out on a floured surface until dough is 1/2 inch thick. Using a circle cutter or a wide-mouth jar, cut out 10-12 donuts. Using a smaller cutter, punch out a center hole in each donut.
- Place donuts on a rack that has been placed on top of a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the donuts to rise for 20 minutes.
- Place 2 or 3 donuts in the air fryer basket, allowing them room to expand. Spray donuts with oil and air fry as directed in the recipe below. Flip over halfway through cooking time.
- Remove the donuts from the air fryer using a fork and dip just the top half of each into the chocolate frosting. Place on a rack to cool and set.
how to make chocolate glaze
I’m not adding a specific glaze recipe in the recipe card, because I want you to have the freedom to use whatever sort of chocolate (or not chocolate) frosting that you like.
Here are some suggestions:
- Canned cake frosting– The fudgy chocolate kind is perfect here. Pop the frosting in the microwave for about 30 seconds until it warms up and gets a bit runny. It will be the perfect consistency for dipping!
- Donut Glaze – Try this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
- Chocolate Ganache – A simple mixture of heavy cream and chocolate is smooth and delicious.
- Melted Chocolate – Yep, just melt your favorite chocolate chips or wafers and dip the donuts right in!
donut breakfast ideas
These air fryer donuts are perfect for breakfast! Serve them with Air Fryer Sausage Links and Air Fryer Bacon. Go big or go home, right?
Air Fryer Chocolate Glazed Donuts (Krispy Kreme Copycat)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Milk warmed to 100F
- 2 1/2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 stick Butter melted
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 1/2 cups Chocolate Frosting
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, gently stir warm milk, yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar together. Wait 10 minutes for it to start to foam.
- Add egg, melted butter and remaining sugar. Stir until completely combined.
- Using a dough hook in an electric mixer, add the flour slowly allowing it to mix on low. Once mixed, increase speed to medium and knead it until dough forms into a ball.
- Once dough has risen, remove and roll dough out to ½ inch thick on a floured surface. Using a circle cutter or a wide mouth mason jar, cut 10-12 donuts out. Using a smaller hole cutter, punch out a hole in each donut.
- Place donuts on a rack that has been placed on a baking sheet, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the donuts to rise for 20 minutes.
- Place two or three donuts in air fryer basket leaving them room to expand. Spray the donuts with oil and cook on 350F/176Cfor 4 minutes on each side.
- Remove donuts and using fork, dip the donuts halfway into the frosting. Place back on the rack to let sit.
Video
Notes
- Pro Tip: This recipe can be made in the air fryer unit with a basket or the air fryer oven. If you are using the air fryer oven, use the middle rack and select the “Air Fry” function.
- Microwave the frosting for 30 seconds or so to loosen it up and make it easier to dip.
Nutrition Information
Yum!! I can’t wait to make these this weekend, the kids are going to be so excited to have fresh donuts. We don’t have a krispy kreme nearby anymore, so this is awesome.
Thanks Lisa! I hope they were a hit with your family!
In step 2 you say add flour and then step 3 you say add flour slowly. I believe step 3 is correct.
You are correct, I am sorry about that typo. #3 was correct, I removed flour from #2 :). Sorry for the confusion but thank you for letting me know so I can correct it 🙂
Do you have to have a dough hook for mixing the dough or can you use a different attachment? Thanks!
Hello 🙂 You actually can do it by hand. If you don’t have a dough hook or can’t find it, I would it by hand. I would be afraid to use another attachment and it would bogg down the machine :). https://handletheheat.com/how-to-knead-dough