Air Fryer Pumpkin Donuts with Brown Sugar Icing

What better way to embrace fall flavors than warm pumpkin-spiced donuts in the air fryer? These homemade treats topped with rich brown sugar icing will have you savoring every bite. Preheat your air fryer, and let’s get baking—your kitchen is about to smell like pure autumn bliss.

Supplies and Ingredients You Need to Make Pumpkin Donuts in the Air Fryer:

Next time you’re at the grocery store, pick up some pure pumpkin puree. But besides the pumpkin, the ingredients are simple and likely already sitting in your pantry, making it easy to whip up these donuts without a last-minute grocery run.

Donut Ingredients

• Dry Ingredients
  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking powder
  • Baking soda
  • Salt
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Pumpkin pie spice or make our homemade version
• Wet Ingredients
  • Vegetable oil (canola oil or melted coconut oil)
  • Light or dark brown sugar
  • Eggs
  • Fresh or canned pumpkin puree
  • Milk
  • Pure vanilla extract

Icing Ingredients

• Brown sugar
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Salt
• Pure vanilla extract
• Unsalted butter
• Milk

Supplies

• Air Fryer
• Silicone donut pan
• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Measuring spoons and cups
• Small saucepan

How to Make Pumpkin Donuts in the Air Fryer:

Step 1: Make the batter

First, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Be careful not to overmix the batter. Overmixing can cause the donuts to become dense and tough rather than light and fluffy. A gentle stir until the ingredients are just combined will give you that perfect, tender texture.

Step 2: Prepare donut pan

The best way to cook donuts in the air fryer is to use a donut mold. If your donut mold is too big to fit in your air fryer basket, simply cut it down to the right size. I can fit a mold with 4 donuts in my air fryer at one time. You can also use silicone baking muffins or donut cups.

Perfect Donut Tip:

Spooning batter into donut pans is messy, and it creates a lumpy top after they’ve been baked. My favorite way to have perfect-looking donuts without the mess is to make a piping bag. Snip the corner of a small ziplock bag, turn the top of the bag down, and spoon the batter inside. Squeeze the batter into the donut pan cavity. Voilà, evenly sized donuts, and no mess!

Watch how I prepare donut molds and the piping bag in this video.

Step 3: Air Fry

Preheat the air fryer to 400˚F (200˚C) for 2-3 minutes. Place the donut mold in air fryer and bake it at 330˚F (165˚C) for 6 minutes. Once the donuts reach 160˚F (71˚C) with an instant-read thermometer, remove them from the air fryer. The tops should be golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger.

Let the donuts cool for 2 minutes. Carefully push the donuts from the bottom to remove them from the mold.

Is it necessary to preheat the air fryer for donuts?

When baking in the air fryer, you’ll usually want to preheat it. Donuts are quick breads that need a quick burst of heat to rise correctly. Preheating helps them puff up properly and have a light, fluffy texture instead of dense and flat.

Preheating to a high temperature and baking at a low temperature helps the donuts bake properly in the middle without getting crispy.

How to Make Homemade Brown Sugar Icing:

Step 1: Make the icing

Combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for just a minute.

Step 2: Thicken the icing

Remove the mixture from heat, whisk in the vanilla extract, and sift the confectioners’ sugar until smooth and combined. If desired, add a pinch of salt to bring out more of the flavor.

Let the icing cool for 5 minutes to slightly thicken.

Step 3: Glaze the donuts

To avoid messy icing drips, place a wire rack on parchment paper or a baking sheet. Next, dip the tops of the donuts in the warm icing and place them on the wire rack. After about an hour, the icing will be set.

They can be stored on the countertop in an airtight container for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week. To reheat them, microwave for 8 seconds or place them in a warm air fryer basket for 1 minute.

Final Thoughts

The air fryer is the way to go to bake soft and fluffy donuts. I love air frying small batches or cooking faster than in the oven. These pumpkin donuts are another fun air fryer dessert you have to try! 

Want to make a spin on these Air Fryer Pumpkin Donuts? Here are some other fun variations to give a try:

• Add crushed walnuts, pecans, or chocolate chips.
• Instead of a brown sugar glaze, try a pumpkin cream cheese icing, cinnamon sugar topping, or a chocolate or caramel drizzle on top.
• Make mini donut sandwiches by slicing the donuts in half and filling them with whipped cream or pumpkin frosting.

There are countless ways to turn these pumpkin donuts into an anticipated seasonal family tradition!

Serve these as a dessert with one of our favorite air fryer holiday dishes:

• Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts Apple Pecan Salad
• How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole in the Air Fryer
• Quick & Easy Air Fryer Turkey Breast
• Air Fryer Rosemary Ranch Chicken

Looking for more pumpkin or fall dessert recipes?

• Pumpkin Pie Cake Bars in the Air Fryer
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Angel Food Cake Mix Recipe
• Mini Pumpkin Pies
• Dessert Hand Pies in the Air Fryer
• Mini Cheesecakes in the Air Fryer
• Apple Cobbler in the Air Fryer

Wondering How to Use an Air Fryer? I got you!

• Air Fryer 101
• Learn these common Air Fryer Mistakes!
• All about the Best and Worst Air Fryer Accessories
• How to Clean Your Air Fryer
• How to Cook Any Recipe in the Air Fryer

Air Fryer Pumpkin Donuts

Pumpkin donuts are a fun new treat that are so easy to whip up in the air fryer!

4.50 / 5 ( 2 Reviews )

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes minutes

Total Time: 31 minutes minutes

Serves: 8

Adjust Servings: 8

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Air Fryer

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour leveled
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ½ cup vegetable oil or canola oil or melted coconut oil
• ¾ cup brown sugar packed
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1 cup pumpkin puree fresh or canned
• ⅓ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Brown Sugar Icing

• ¾ cup brown sugar packed
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar sifted
• pinch of salt

Instructions

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then fold everything together gently just until combined and no flour pockets remain.
• Spoon the batter into the donut cavities or for ease, I highly recommend using a large zipped-top bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup, filling about halfway.
• Preheat air fryer at 400˚F/200˚C for 2-3 minutes. Place donut mold in air fryer and bake at 330˚F/165˚C for 6 minutes, or until internal temperature of donuts reads above 160˚F/71˚C. Remove from air fryer and let cool for 2 minutes in mold, then carefully remove donuts from the mold.

Brown Sugar Icing

• Combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 1 minute then remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract and sifted confectioners’ sugar until smooth and combined. Taste, then add a pinch of salt if desired– I always add a tiny pinch.
• Let the icing cool for 5 minutes to slightly thicken. Dip the tops of the pumpkin donuts into the warm icing. If icing is getting too thick as you’re dipping, add a little more milk or warm back up in the microwave or on the stove to thin out.
• Place dipped donuts on a wire rack placed on a baking sheet so any excess icing can drip off. Top with chopped nuts or other toppings if desired. If applied lightly, the icing will eventually set in about 1 hour so you can stack or transport the donuts.

Nutrition

Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 375mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 64g