These homemade pop tart pastries are so, so much better than the ones in a box. They’re made with your favorite fruit spread, and flaky pie crust, and topped with that iconic pink frosting and plenty of sprinkles.
Why You Should Try These
These homemade pop tarts take a bit more effort than the normal kind, but they make the perfect breakfast with a cold glass of milk and some fresh fruit on the side.
You can make things even better by serving up some crispy air fryer bacon, and making yourself a homemade pumpkin spice latte!
Want another made-from-scratch challenge? Try our recipe for Air Fryer Donuts next.
List of ingredients
For the Poptarts
- Pie Crust: To make things simple, pick up a box of refrigerated pie crust dough. We’ll use both rolls of dough.
- Jam: Cherry Jam, Raspberry Jam, Strawberry Jam, or any other type of fruit spread that you like!
For the Icing
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- Pink Food Coloring: Try another color if you’re feeling adventurous!
- Sprinkles: Options but totally recommended!
Steps to make Our homemade Poptarts
- Unroll the pie crusts out onto a lightly floured surface and cut out as many 2×3” rectangles as you can– you should be able to get about 6 per crust. Then gather any scraps of dough and re-roll them to an ⅛” thick. Cut out as many rectangles as you can again– you should be able to get about 4 more.
- Place two teaspoons of jam in the center of one piece of dough.
- Then top with another rectangle of dough.
- Pinch the edges closed, then use a fork to create a vent, and to decoratively seal the edges fully.
- Add 2 or 3 pastries to the air fryer basket, being sure not to overcrowd them. Brush the tops of the Pop-Tarts with egg wash.
- Air fry for 8-10 minutes in the preheated air fryer, cooking in batches until you’ve cooked all of them. Allow the Pop-Tarts to cool completely before icing them.
- To make the frosting, combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and a drop of pink food coloring.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled pop tarts and top immediately with sprinkles. Let the icing set and enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Tricks 🪄
- Air Fryer Pop Tarts can be filled with any type of jam or spread that you like! Try them with Nutella, Peanut Butter, Apple Preserves, Apricot Jam, or Blueberry Jam. The possibilities are endless!
- This recipe uses refrigerated pie crust dough from the grocery store, but it will work with your favorite homemade pie crust recipe as well.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket. You will need to air fry these in batches to cook them all.
- Be careful removing the cooked pop tarts from the air fryer. Use a spatula to get them out without burning your fingers.
- The sugar glaze should be thin enough to drizzle, but no so thin that it runs over the edges of the pop tarts. Start with just one tablespoon of milk, and only add more if you need it.
FAQs
Keep them covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can reheat these Pop-Tarts in the toaster or in the air fryer, for just a minute or two.
The best part about making your own homemade air fryer Pop Tarts is that you can choose whatever flavor you like to go inside of them! I made this batch with cherry jam and strawberry jam.
Be sure to seal the edges of the pies very well so that the filling stays inside. It’s also very important to poke a few holes in the top of the Pop-Tarts so that steam can easily escape. If you’ve done those things and the filling is still coming out, you may have overfilled the pastries. Just 2 teaspoons is the perfect amount!
You can! The air fryer will do anything that a toaster or a toaster oven can do. To heat pre-made pop-tarts in the air fryer, cook them at 400°F/200°C for 2-3 minutes. Easy!
Air Fryer Pop Tarts
Equipment
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
For the Pop Tarts
- 1 box refrigerated pie crust 2 crusts
- ⅓ cup jam raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, or your favorite
- 1 large egg
For the Frosting (Optional)
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk as needed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 drop pink food coloring optional
- 2 tablespoons sprinkles
Instructions
For the Pop Tarts
- Preheat the air fryer at 375°F/190°C for 5 minutes.
- Unroll the pie crusts out onto a lightly floured surface and cut out as many 2×3” rectangles as you can– you should be able to get about 6 per crust.
- Gather any scraps of dough and reroll them to an ⅛” thick. Cut out as many rectangles as you can again– you should be able to get about 4 more.
- Place 2 teaspoons of jam into the center of one piece of dough and then place another rectangle on top. Pinch the edges to seal in the jam. Poke the top of the pop tart with a fork to create a vent and then crimp the edges with a fork to make sure they are fully sealed. Repeat with the remaining pop tarts.
- Beat the egg with a splash of water to form an egg wash and then brush the egg wash over the top of each pop tart.
- Place a few pop tarts into the prepared air fryer, making sure not to overcrowd the basket– you may need to cook multiple batches. Cook at 375°F/190°C for 8-10 minutes or until the pop tarts are golden brown and crisp.
- Transfer the pop tarts to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before frosting.
For the Frosting
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk, vanilla extract and food coloring. If the frosting is too thick, add the second tablespoon of milk.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled pop tarts and immediately top with sprinkles.
- Allow the frosting to set completely– about 10 minutes. Enjoy.
Notes
- Air Fryer Pop Tarts can be filled with any type of jam or spread that you like! Try them with Nutella, Peanut Butter, Apple Preserves, Apricot Jam, or Blueberry Jam. The possibilities are endless!
- This recipe uses refrigerated pie crust dough from the grocery store, but it will work with your favorite homemade pie crust recipe as well.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket. You will need to air fry these in batches to cook them all.
- Be careful removing the cooked pop tarts from the air fryer. Use a spatula to get them out without burning your fingers.
- The sugar glaze should be thin enough to drizzle, but no so thin that it runs over the edges of the pop tarts. Start with just one tablespoon of milk, and only add more if you need it.
