Our homemade Air Fryer Hush Puppies are soft, pillowy air fried corn fritters with the perfect savory seasonings. These are a gluten-free, low-fat, and delicious side dish.
Recipe Overview
Hush Puppies are a Southern specialty that often accompanies fried fish like my Air Fryer Catfish. These fluffy corn fritters are perfectly crunchy on the outside and steamy and fluffy
Typically deep-fried, these little cornbread bites are made a bit healthier by using the air fryer rather than frying in oil.
Enjoy homemade air fryer hush puppies as a snack, or serve these fluffy corn fritters as a side dish with your favorite air fryer main dishes. Everyone loves these in my house, and they’re typically gone as soon as the plate hits the table!
Ingredients that you’ll need
- Yellow cornmeal: Choose a gluten-free cornmeal if you’re making these gluten-free with me. Otherwise, your favorite brand will work.
- All-purpose flour: I am gluten-free, so I prefer Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour. You can also use regular all-purpose flour.
- Granulated sugar: A small amount of sugar adds some sweetness that balances the savory flavors and complements the corn flavor.
- Baking powder: This adds leavening to our air fried hush puppies and gives them a fluffy texture.
- Baking soda: This also adds leavening. Soda and baking powder work together in this recipe to make the perfect cornbread bites.
- Salt: These bites are a little bit salty and a little bit sweet.
- Garlic powder: A good starting place To pump up the savory flavors of our hush puppies
- Onion powder: Onion powder adds a sweet and savory flavor note.
- Paprika: We get a lot of color from paprika as well as a mild pepper flavor.
- Green onions: Sliced green onions are beautiful inside of the hush puppies.
- Egg: Without the egg, you won’t have a binder to hold the hush puppies together in the air fryer.
- Buttermilk: This thick, tangy dairy product adds flavor and moisture to the batter.
- Tartar sauce: I can’t have hush puppies without a classic tartar sauce to dip them in.
How to make them
- Combine the cornmeal, flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together to evenly combine the dry ingredients.
- Mix in the green onions to coat with the flour mixture.
- Whisk in the egg and buttermilk until combined.
- Let the batter sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. Then, whisk again.
- With wet hands, shape the dough into small balls about the size of ping pong balls. You should get about 18 balls. Place 6-8 balls into an air fryer basket that has been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Spray the tops of the balls with cooking spray as well.
- Cook in the air fryer at 370F for 6 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Repeat with the remaining dough.
how to serve
Hush puppies are a perfect match with any type of fish recipe. Try these alongside a fish dish like Air Fryer Catfish, Air Fryer Salmon Patties , or Air Fryer Tilapia.
Air Fryer Chicken Legs would also pair really well with these!
Dip your hush puppies into some Tofu Chili for an awesome vegetarian meal.
Recipe Tips
- Unlike some batters, lumps are ok here! Don’t overmix the batter or you’ll end up with hard, rubbery hushpuppies.
- Give them space. You want to make sure that each dough ball has some room to expand and that none of them are touching each other. I needed to do three batches to cook all of them.
- Wait for the dough to thicken. You need to give the batter time for the liquid to absorb the flour and cornmeal. If after waiting your dough isn’t thick enough to roll into balls, add a bit more flour until it is.
- Watch your food. Keep in mind that when you’re making the 2nd and 3rd batches of hush puppies, the air fryer will already be hot, so the cooking time for those batches will likely be shorter than the first one.
- Line with parchment. The hush puppy batter will drip through the holes at the bottom of the basket and make a mess. Lining with regular parchment paper will save you some cleaning time.
Add-ins to try
This basic air fryer hush puppy recipe can be tweaked and changed for every meal. Have fun with this! Here are some other items you can add into your mix:
- Canned or frozen corn
- Cooked bacon or sausage
- Minced garlic
- Cayenne pepper
- Shredded cheese
- Diced jalapeño
- Paprika
- Diced onions
- Red pepper flakes
FAQs
From what I can tell by looking online, they are called hushpuppies because little bits of fried cornbread were given to dogs to hush them up. Simple, right?!
Recipes are always versatile, but much of that classic flavor comes from the buttermilk. If you’re fresh out, I recommend making your own! Just mix a cup of regular milk together with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for the same effect.
Air Fryer Hush Puppies
Equipment
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal gluten free
- 3/4 cup gluten free flour blend
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
- 1 egg large
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Combine cornmeal, flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder in a large bowl. Whisk together.
- Mix in the green onions.
- Whisk in the egg and buttermilk until combined.
- Let the batter sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. Whisk again.
- With wet hands, form dough into small balls, about the size of ping pong balls. You should get about 18 of them.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper into the air fryer basket. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Working in batches, place the dough balls into the air fryer, leaving at least an inch between each one. Spray the tops with additional nonstick cooking spray or oil.
- Cook in the air fryer at 370F for 6 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.
Video
Notes
- Allow room around each hushpuppy in the air fryer. I can typically fit 6-8 in mine at a time. Cook in multiple batches. Watch the 2nd and 3rd batches carefully as they may cook more quickly than the first.
- 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.
- Pro Tip: Check your food as it cooks. Each air fryer runs a bit differently. Sometimes airfying is a trial and error process. Check your food as it cooks to learn your air fryer better! When cooking a new recipe or food items be sure to check your food often to help avoid over/under cooking.
Nutrition Information
yum! I’ve been wondering if I could make these in the air fryer rather than frying in oil. These look perfect!