Air fryer jelly filled donuts with biscuits are so easy to make for breakfast or a quick dessert. Coated with powdered sugar stuffed with your favorite jam, custard, chocolate or pie filling like our Air Fryer Lemon Filled Donuts. These are fun to make with kids on the weekend.
Jelly donuts cheater style (I call them) are so fun, a favorite treat my kids came up with one day. With just 3 ingredients and a package of refrigerated Grands biscuits you too can make this family friendly easy air fryer recipe this weekend! (affiliate links present)
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What is a jelly-filled donut?
It is literally exactly what the name says. A doughnut covered with chocolate, sugar or glaze but with an ooey gooey sticky center. You can use any fruit flavor you love, jam works too with bigger chunks of strawberries or raspberry seeds inside.
We make this whole creation even easier by following our idea for Biscuit Donuts, but without the hole in the middle. I mean who needs the hole anyway?? “Baked” fluffy inside means there is room in there for something and why not something we all love?
Ninja Foodi Jelly Donuts
You can make these as a Ninja Foodi recipe too with the bake button or air crisp and the lid that is attached. You do NOT preheat the machine for this one which is not typical but the cook time reflects this.
Air Fryer Donuts with Biscuits
We chose Grands to make these as the “regular size” is quite small and not much could fill the centers but that is up to you. With the smaller ones we have made Air Fryer Donut Balls without a filling but in a similar manner that were super fun as well on a Sunday morning.
Ingredients
- Pillsbury Grands biscuits
- Your favorite jelly or jam
- Butter melted
- White sugar or confectioners sugar
How to Make Air Fryer Jelly Filled Donuts
You can use a small piece of parchment paper in the bottom to make things easier for this one, just to cover the bottom. Lay 4 inside, or number that will fit without touching because they will spread a bit. You’ll need about 10 minutes flipped halfway to get golden brown and fluffy. Then fill, dunk in butter and roll into your favorite outer coating. Done!!
I will be honest. Air Fryer Biscuits from Scratch are amazing but to make these I will say that the buttermilk version of refrigerated biscuits seem to have more air in them to create more of a cavity you can fill. Just my 2 cents.
How to fill donuts without piping bag
This is possible but it is messier. Many times I have been in this position where I either don’t have a bag or more likely, the tip that goes into it. Literally a pint size freezer bag works the same as these bags, the tip is something else entirely. If you just have the Ziploc, fill it, get rid of the air, zip closed and snip the corner off (just a bit). Make a hole with the end of a spoon to make space and push this inside to fill, pulling out slowly as you squeeze!
What can you fill donuts with?
I mean all the things y’all. You don’t have to stop with just this. Think about 2 things together you love! Just like our Peanut Butter and Jelly Donuts with Crescent Rolls you could squeeze a bit of PB in there too for a great duo.
What kind of jam is in jelly donuts?
I mean the choice are endless. When you buy them at a donut store or bakery typically they will fill with strawberry or grape. I am guessing since those are the most popular and cheapest overall. When making them semi-homemade like this you can use any flavor you like which is the bestest!
I mean fresh is best for sure. You could prep it in the morning to enjoy later in the day but I wouldn’t make any earlier than that or the texture won’t be ideal. You can bake the doughnuts, cool, and store in an airtight container and have jelly in pastry bags set in the fridge. When ready fill, and enjoy together.
Other doughnut recipes you’ll love
- Chocolate Cake Mix Donuts
- Fried Biscuit Donut Holes
- Cake Mix Pumpkin Donuts
- Pressure Cooker Donuts
- How to Make Powdered Sugar Donut Holes
Air Fryer Jelly Filled Donuts
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 1 pastry bag with tip, or freezer bag
Ingredients
- 1 roll grands biscuits
- 1/2 c jam
- 1/2 c butter, melted
- 1/2 c powdered sugar, or white sugar
Instructions
- Spray the bottom of the air fryer basket with cooking spray or use an air fryer liner. Open biscuit can. In two batches place four biscuits in a single layer into the air fryer. (do not preheat)
- Cook on the bake setting or at 330 degrees for 5 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 3-4 minutes or until they are golden brown and very center is no longer sticky.
- While biscuits are cooking melt butter and carefully pour into a bowl then pour sugar into a shallow dish. Place star tip onto pastry bag add jelly, and set aside.(you could fill a pint size freezer bag too and snip off the corner, but it is messier)
- Carefully remove biscuits from the air fryer once they are golden brown. Repeat the cooking method with the four remaining biscuit dough. Use the end of a spoon to pierce the biscuit and create a hole for the jelly making sure not to go through the donut.
- With medium pressure fill the donut while simultaneously drawing the pastry tip out of the donut.
- Dip the donut into melted butter, making sure to coat both sides then toss into sugar so it sticks well. Repeat steps 6-8 with the remaining biscuits. Enjoy immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The donuts came out perfectly golden and crispy on the outside, with a soft and fluffy interior that was bursting with sweet jelly. It was a fun and easy recipe to follow, and the results were so scrumptious that they disappeared in minutes!
Never would have thought it would be this easy! Thanks for sharing.
Sounds easy and fun. We have had issues now finding plastic bag to pipe with as a lot of the brands have gone to stand up style bags that aren’t as easy to use as a pipping bag.
Don’t buy the stand up style, you can’t snip the corners to work with those. Buy ziploc pint size freezer bags that are thicker and has a point in the corner that can be snipped.