These easy air fryer apple fritters with brown butter glaze are healthier than an old fashioned fritter, yet still a delicious and tasty air fryer dessert.
It’s still summer and well into the 80’s, but as we approach September, I can’t help but dream of all the delicious apple and pumpkin fall recipes…IT’S ALMOST APPLE SEASON PEOPLE!!!
Can you tell I’m a little bit excited???
These air fryer apple fritters are the perfect recipe to kick off Fall.
Made with fresh apples and an easy batter, the fritters are baked in the air fryer until the edges are crispy and golden, then drizzled with a brown butter glaze while still warm.
Hello Fall :).
Apple fritters are like a mix between a doughnut and cake. They’re cake like on the inside, but crispy and golden on the outside.
The dough doesn’t need to rise so they’re easy and quick :).
The apple fritter recipe is adapted from SmallTownWoman . Hers are the original fried version so if you want to try them the good old fashioned way, you can follow her recipe.
I must stress that because these are made in the air fryer and not actually fried, the texture is different than a regular apple fritter.
While they still have those crispy golden edges, the inside is light and cake-y.
I suggest using firm apples like Granny Smith or Honey Crisp apples for these apple fritters. You don’t want any thing too soft like a red delicious or Macintosh.
How to make apple fritters in the air fryer?
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 F (just set it to manual 400 F for 3-4 minutes until the basket inside is nice and hot).
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While air fryer is preheating, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine.
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Make a well in the center and add your wet ingredients (milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice). Stir just until combined then fold in your diced apples.
- Carefully line the basket of your air fryer with a piece of parchment paper (I like to cut it to fit) or use these handy air fryer basket liners (affiliate link) and brush or spray lightly with oil.
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Drop about ¼ cup of the batter onto your lined air fryer basket. Depending on the size of your air fryer you may only be able to fit 2 fritters at a time. (You don’t want to overcrowd or they won’t get crispy.)
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Lightly dab the tops of the fritters with oil (or spray with an oil sprayer!) and set your air fryer to 400 F for 4-5 minutes or until fritters are deep golden brown. Flip fritters over and repeat on the other side.
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Place on cooling rack and drizzle with brown butter glaze while still warm. (I place a piece of parchment underneath the cooling rack to catch the drippings).
*I also recommend getting an oil sprayer (affiliate link) instead of dabbing the oil with your brush. The sprayer gives you a more even and lighter coat of oil, helping to create that golden crisp :).
These homemade, no fry apple fritters are an easy air fryer dessert recipe. They take minutes to make and have way less calories than the traditional fried version.
If you don’t have an air fryer yet, I've recommended my favorite in the recipe card below :).
It has a digital display for easy use, and it comes in 3 different sizes, however I highly recommend the 5.8 or 7 QT so you can fit a lot more instead of having to cook in batches.
For other easy air fryer recipes check out:
For more Fall Dessert Recipes try:
Air Fryer Apple fritters with Brown Butter Glaze
These easy air fryer apple fritters with brown butter glaze are healthier than an old fashioned fritter, yet still a delicious and tasty air fryer dessert
Ingredients
Brown Butter Glaze
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- ¼ cup Butter, (½ stick)
- ½ tsp Vanilla
- 1 tbsp Milk, if needed
Apple Fritters
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ⅓ cup Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice, fresh
- 2 Eggs
- 2 large Apples (such as Honey Crisp or Green Apples), peeled, cored and diced small
- Canola or Vegetable Oil, for brushing/spraying
Instructions
Brown Butter Glaze
- Place butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Continuing melting the butter until it starts to foam and turn brown. Once browned, remove from heat to cool slightly. You should smell a nutty aroma and see brown specks in the butter.
- Add powdered sugar to a small bowl. Add browned butter, milk and vanilla whisking until smooth. (If mixture is too thin for your liking, simply add more powdered sugar.) Set aside.
Apple Fritters
- Preheat air fryer to 400 F (set temperature and let the inside basket get nice and hot for 3-4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in medium bowl.
- Make a well in the center and add milk, vanilla, lemon juice and eggs. Stir until evenly combined, then fold in the apples.
- Carefully line the basket of your preheated air fryer with a piece of parchment paper or air fryer basket liners (link below). I like to cut the parchment to fit the bottom so there's no overlapping over the edges. Brush lightly with oil or spray lightly with an oil sprayer (link below).
- Drop about ¼ cup of the batter onto your lined air fryer basket. Depending on the size of your air fryer you may only be able to fit 2 fritters at a time. (You don’t want to overcrowd or they won’t get crispy.)
- Lightly dab the tops of the fritters with oil using a pastry brush or oil sprayer. Set the air fryer to 400 degrees for 4-5 minutes or until fritters are a deep golden brown. Flip fritters over and repeat.
- Place apple fritters on cooling rack and drizzle with brown butter glaze while still warm. (I place a piece of parchment underneath the cooling rack to catch the drippings).
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
*Apple Fritter Recipe adapted from SmallTownWoman.
*These apple fritters are a bit more cake like inside than regular fried fritters since they are not actually being fried.
*If your glaze is too thin for your liking, simply add more powdered sugar or use less milk.
*Apple fritters are best eaten immediately but you can store the cooled, glazed leftovers in an airtight container room temperature for up to 2 days.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 fritterAmount Per Serving: Calories: 168Total Fat: 4.13gSaturated Fat: 2.36gUnsaturated Fat: 1.39gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 161mgCarbohydrates: 29.95gFiber: 1.2gSugar: 13.84gProtein: 3.12g
Tami
Can the batter be put together the night before and refrigerated?
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Hi Tami, I haven’t tried making the batter in advance but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! Let me know if you try it 🙂
Anonymous
Instead of parchment paper in the air fryer, can coffee filters be used ?
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
I don't recommend using coffee filters, they might burn inside the air fryer. If you don't have parchment you can just spray the bottom of the air fryer with a little cooking spray.
Khaden
What a great recipe! I love that it’s such a great apple to batter ratio. I used envy apples and left the peel on and they were amazing. I did need to spread the batter out a little in the air fryer. Def a more fluffy texture like a cake. A little extra spray of coconut helped crisp them up.
The brown butter drizzle is amazing and really elevates these donuts. So good.
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Thank you! So glad you liked them :).