Why deal with hot oil on the stove when you can make delicious apple fritters from scratch using your air fryer?

Traditional apple fritters are a deep fried donut of sorts, filled with apples, cinnamon and sugar and topped with sweet glaze. But who feels like pulling out a big pot, filling it with oil and taking chances on potentially burning yourself? Not me! Which is why I created these air fryer apple fritters!

Air fryer apple fritters sit on a blue plate with a red and white checkered napkin. Apples and cinnamon sticks surround them.

I was really late to the air fryer train. We purchased one last year and I regret not getting it sooner, because that appliance is amazing. Now we use it at least once a week, but I finally got around to seeing if I could bake in it.

A plate stacked high with air fryer apple fritters

What's the difference between a fritter and a donut?

A fritter is a dessert coated in batter (and usually deep-fried), while a donut is dough that can be fried and either coated in sprinkles or sugar or filled with jams, custards or chocolate.

ingredients for air fryer apple fritters

🥘 Ingredients for this recipe

all purpose flour
sugar
eggs
vanilla
apple pie spice
salt
baking powder
apples
apple cider
powdered sugar

How do you make apple fritters from scratch?

Combine your dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and apple pie spice in a bowl.
Whisk your wet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk eggs, apple cider and vanilla.
Create the batter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Fold until combined, adding in chopped apples.
Fry your fritters. Line your air fryer with a sheet of parchment paper and set it to 400 degrees. Use a cookie scoop to drop fritters into the air fryer and air-fry for 5-6 minutes each, flipping over halfway.
Whip up some glaze and pour it on! Whisk apple cider with powdered sugar until a glaze forms. Drizzle over the warm apple fritters.

Air fried apple fritters drizzled with glaze sit on a cooling rack

Is an air fryer apple fritter healthy?

These fritters come in at 170 calories and 1g each of fat and saturated fat. While they aren't healthy persay, they are healthier than the deep-fried versions which are full of fat and calories, usually coming in around 17g of fat and 400+ calories.

Love apples? Check out some of my other favorites:

Air Fryer apple fritter with a bite taken out to show the pieces of apple in the fritter

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Recipe

Print Recipe

3 from 1 vote

Air Fryer Apple Fritters

Why deal with hot oil when you can make apple fritters in the air fryer instead?

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Baking, Donuts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: air fryer recipes, apple fritters

Servings: fritters

Calories: 170kcal

Author: NicholeL

Equipment

Air fryer

Ingredients

2 large apples
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tsp apple pie spice
½ tsp salt
½ cup apple cider divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Peel, core and finely dice your apples.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, apple pie spice and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together ⅓ cup apple cider, eggs and vanilla.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients bowl and add in the wet ingredients. Fold in, adding in apples until combined.
Line your air fryer with a sheet of parchment paper. Heat to 400 degrees.
Use an ice cream scoop to drop 2-3 apple fritters onto the parchment paper. Air fry for 5-6 minutes, flipping over once.
Transfer fritters to a cooling rack.
Combine remaining apple cider and powdered sugar together to create a glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the slightly cooled apple fritters.

Notes

Substitutions: Apple pie spice can be replaced with cinnamon and apple cider can be replaced with apple juice or milk. (Please note replacing cider will change nutritional values)

Nutrition