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Just three ingredients are needed for these delicious Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Donuts! They’re so good, you’ll make them over and over again!

Close-up of a cinnamon roll donut.

When I was little, I remember my mom making super easy cinnamon donuts from a tube of biscuit dough. They were such a yummy breakfast treat, but I recall my mom disliked working with the hot oil. (I can concur – I really don’t enjoy frying anything!)

So one day when I saw a refrigerated tube of cinnamon rolls, I wondered if they’d be any good in the air fryer! Well after the first time I made these, I knew that “good” would be quite the understatement!! And since we’re not deep frying these babies, they’re a healthier alternative to classic donut and will still satisfy that sweet tooth!

Two Cinnamon roll donuts stacked on each other with icing dripping down.

Why I love this donut recipe

  • No donut molds needed
  • Simple ingredients that are easy to find
  • No worrying about hot oil and the perfect oil temperature
  • Don’t have to work with active dry yeast (or instant yeast)
  • Cooking time is super short
  • Very few dirty dishes
  • The vanilla glaze is included in the tube of rolls
Ingredients needed for air fryer cinnamon roll donuts.

Ingredients

  • Cinnamon Rolls – Starting with refrigerated cinnamon roll dough gives great cinnamon flavor and keeps it super simple! I use a tube of 8 small cinnamon rolls.
  • White Sugar
  • Ground Cinnamon

How to Make Easy Cinnamon Roll Donuts

Open a tube of refrigerated cinnamon rolls and lay them out on a cutting board. Set the icing aside as we’ll use that later.

Use a small circle cookie cutter (or even a shot glass) to cut a donut hole out of the center of the roll.

Cutting the donut hole.

Place a few of the donuts (and donut holes) into the air fryer. I recommend keeping about 1 inch between donuts so they have room to grow.

Donuts ready to cook in the air fryer.

Air fry at 350F for about 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Please note that there are big variations between air fryers, so pay close attention to the first batch and see how long it takes.

Spritzing donuts in an air fryer with cooking spray.

Once the donuts are cooked, give them a little spritz of vegetable oil cooking spray (or brush with melted butter) and then dunk them in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar; place on a wire rack.

Dunking a donut in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

Drizzle the frosting over the top of each donut and enjoy! I find that the best way to do this is using a ziploc baggies and cutting the tip off a corner for a makeshift piping bag.

Piping icing onto a Cinnamon roll donut.
How to Serve Cinnamon Roll Donuts

I recommend serving these Cinnamon Roll Donuts right away so they’re warm out of the air fryer! Grab a hot cup of coffee and a donut and your day will be off to a great start!

What if I don’t have an Air Fryer

You can also bake these in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake them on a greased sheet pan for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Proceed as the recipe instructs. You can also opt to place these in a greased donut pan and bake if you want a more even shape.

How to Store Leftovers

These are truly best warm right out of the air fryer. However, if you do have leftovers, first let them cool to room temperature. Then, place them in an airtight container or a ziploc bag.

What to Serve with Donuts

Though I could make a full meal out of these donuts, I probably should balance them out a bit, ha! They’re a great addition to my hearty Sheet Pan Breakfast Bowls and also go well with a frozen fruit cup or Blueberry Avocado Smoothie!

Overhead view of a few Cinnamon roll donuts on a wire cooling rack with icing.

Variations of these Delicious Donuts

Pumpkin Spice Donuts – Use pumpkin pie spice in place of the cinnamon and use a cream cheese icing on top

Iced Donuts – Skip the cinnamon sugar coating and instead dunk these in a powdered sugar icing for glazed donut cinnamon buns

Cinnamon roll donut holes with icing dripping off them
Don’t forget to cook the donut holes, too!!

Love the recipe?? I’d love it if you’d give it a review and a five star rating below!! Your reviews and rating mean the world to my small business and I appreciate them more than you know! <3

Other Donut Recipes To Try

French Crullers

Strawberry Filled Biscuit Donuts

Apple Cider Doughnut Holes

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air fryer cinnamon roll donuts with frosting drizzled over them on a wire cooling rack.

Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Donuts

Author: Kelsey
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
8 donuts
Just three ingredients are needed for these delicious Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Donuts! They're so good, you'll make them over and over again!

Equipment

  • Air Fryer

Ingredients
 

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 12.4 ounce tube refrigerated cinnamon rolls

Instructions

  • In a bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
  • Open the tube of cinnamon rolls and place them on a cutting board; set aside the icing packet.
  • Use a small round cookie cutter (or shot glass) to cut out the center of the donut.
  • Place a few donuts and donut holes into the air fryer leaving about 1 inch of space between each. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you'll need to do this in couple batches.
  • Cook them in the air fryer at 350°F for 5-7 minutes or until they're golden brown.
  • Give them a quick spritz of cooking spray and then immediately dunk them into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
  • Place the donut on a wire cooling rack and repeat with remaining donuts.
  • Scoop the icing into a small resealable bag and cut off the tip of one of the corners (this will be your makeshift piping bag).
  • Squeeze the icing on top of the donuts and enjoy warm!

Notes

I’ve noticed quite a bit of variation between air fryer brands.  Keep a close eye (especially on that first batch) to get a better idea of how long they’ll take to cook.

Nutrition

Calories: 194.57kcal | Carbohydrates: 36.36g | Protein: 1.93g | Fat: 4.96g | Saturated Fat: 1.43g | Trans Fat: 1.89g | Sodium: 342.93mg | Potassium: 2.35mg | Fiber: 0.87g | Sugar: 21.86g | Vitamin A: 1.87IU | Vitamin C: 0.06mg | Calcium: 17.31mg | Iron: 0.89mg
“Dance Around the Kitchen” is not a dietitian or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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One Comment

  1. I happened to look up a recipe for air fryer donuts made with cinnamon rolls and got on your site. Im glad i did and only 3 ingredients. They were so good! Thank you for the recipe! So much healthier too than frying in grease.