Biscuit donuts are great using refrigerated Grands. Fluffy and sweet, they take less than 10 minutes to bake in an air fryer or fried in oil.

These biscuit donuts can be made in an air fryer or fried in oil. Either way they’re an easy breakfast idea that everyone will love. Best way to make refrigerated biscuits better! (affiliate links present)
- We will show you how to make donuts in an air fryer, as well as frying them on the stovetop or deep fryer.
Second to these we love making air fryer apple fritters. You should try both and see which you prefer.
If you love air fryer recipes too, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite Air Fryer is a Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more easy air fryer recipes here, we have Ninja Foodi recipes as well; bookmark them both!
- This is the best air fryer cookbook. It’s important to know and remember how to preheat air fryer for best results.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
- It has temp. and times for making the best frozen foods for air fryer too.
- Then join our Facebook page below where you can share and find more ideas you’ll love.

If you choose to fry in oil you can do that as well. I would use a cast iron pan and a thermometer. Optimal temperature should be 350 degrees F when you drop those babies in to get them nice and crispy.
Pillsbury Grands come in #1 followed by Annie’s organic flaky biscuit variety. Both can be found in the refrigerated section near the milk typically.
If you choose to fry your biscuit doughnuts then you’ll want a decent amount of Canola oil. It’s the best type with a high smoke point and has a nice neutral flavor. Vegetable oil works too.
We have done a lot with them! We’ve made peanut butter and donuts and you should make our garlic pull apart bread too.
Choose this style versus the smaller versions. They will come out fluffier and the size you’d expect when visiting Krispy Kreme or Dunkin’ Donuts. As of the toppings the world is your oyster. Use your imagination and go for it!

Another option if you want to make donut bites is to cut refrigerated cinnamon rolls into 4ths and air fry. For the classic shape you love you’ll need Grands though. They’re nice and flaky with a buttery taste.
I remember making these with my Girl Scout troop WAY back in the day.
Anything that made us smile that was easy to teach us how to do, and super cheap was the focus of our troop.
- Needless to say these bring back a lot of memories for me.
- I am sure you’ve had them before too, if not you’re in for a treat!
- Perfect Christmas brunch menu item or for Sunday breakfast.
Canned biscuit donuts

Here are simple step by step directions but there is a printable recipe card at the bottom as well.
Time needed: 15 minutes.
Biscuit donuts
- Prepare
Separate buttermilk biscuit dough pieces. Lay on cutting board. Use an apple corer to put a hole into the middle to get that donut shape.
- Preheat
Preheat air fryer to 330 degrees F, OR heat 2 inches of oil in a large skillet. Heat the oil until it reaches 350 degrees F. (could submerge in a deep fryer too) Spray air fryer basket with non stick spray.
- Cook
Lay 4 pcs into air fryer and close basket. Cook at 330 F for 4-7 minutes until outsides are golden brown. OR drop into hot oil and flip after about 2 minutes so both sides are browned.
- Cool
Remove and allow to cool on top of paper towels for 5 minutes.
- Top
Brush melted butter on top of each on, flip over and dip into shallow bowl of cinnamon and sugar (or just fine sugar) so it sticks. Alternatively you could melt a tub of frosting and top with that, or melt Wilton melts for chocolate.
If you wanted to do another round of donut holes go ahead and do that. These semi homemade donuts just rock!

How do you dip donuts?
Whether you just want fine sugar on top, melted chocolate or a glaze you’ll follow this same method. Hold donut with 3 fingers upside down and gently dip into donut frosting.
Twist and turn right side up. Put on rack to dry/stiffen up.
What can I put on a donut?
Once you have some butter or sticky glaze or frosting on top the possibilities for toppings are endless!
- Crushed peanuts
- Sprinkles
- Gummy bears
- Chocolate chips
- Powdered sugar
- Nerds for a fruity twist
- Cinnamon sugar mixture sprinkled all over
Use small bowls for each of these for easier dipping.

Now you have to decide how you want to “fry” these babies. I do not deep fry anything, ever.
I don’t like the aftertaste left from the oil, and it adds fat where it’s not needed.
- If you ask me how you should cook these, hands down I’d use an air fryer y’all.
- New to that method and apprehensive about it all? Don’t be!! It only took me a few times of following someone else’s recipe to get the hang of it.
- Now I use it literally every day to make air fryer cake and tons of air fryer breakfast recipes like this one.
Looking for other easy dessert recipes to make at home? We have a bunch but our easy monkey bread recipe and donut muffins might top the list!

Not done yet? Ready for a few more to try this week to see which one is your very favorite? Make sure you sign up for our newsletter below too because I share new ones each week too.
- We used refrigerated biscuits to make this cinnamon pull apart bread too. With apples inside, it’s amazing.
- Fresh apple monkey bread is fabulous too.
- Or you can make homemade baked pumpkin donuts in the Fall.
Last but certainly not least you should give our peanut butter and jelly donuts a whirl. Semi homemade like this one, it’s a kid fave.
- If you just want to make air fryer frozen biscuits we have directions for that too.
Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!
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Biscuit Donuts
Equipment
Instructions
- Separate biscuits. Lay on cutting board.
- Use an apple corer to push a hole into the center to get that donut shape.
- Preheat air fryer to 330 degrees F, or heat oil until it reaches 350 degrees F.
- Spray basket with non stick spray. Lay 4 pcs into air fryer and close basket.
- Cook at 330 F for 4-7 minutes until outsides are golden brown. OR drop into hot oil and flip after about 2 minutes so both sides are browned. Remove and allow to cool on top of paper towels for 5 minutes.
- Brush melted butter on top of each on, flip over and dip into small bowl of sugar so it sticks.
Linda
Saturday 26th of September 2020
Can you make the peanut butter and jelly donuts in the air fryer instead of using oil? If so, how long would you could them and what temperature?