Did you know that you can make sweet treats in your Air Fryer?
My Air Fried Vegan Beignets are full of richness from the full-fat coconut milk and perfect with a cup of coffee or cafe au lait.
Don’t have an air fryer? Don’t worry, you can make them in your oven too.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whole Earth Sweetener Co.
What Are Beignets?
These air fried vegan beignets are just rectangle yeast donuts that are usually drowning in powdered sugar.
At Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, you’ll find them with up to an inch of powdered sugar!
Are Beignets Vegan?
Usually beignets are not vegan because they contain eggs and dairy. The famous Cafe du Monde beignets are NOT vegan.
You can snag some vegan and gluten-free beignets if you go to Disney World at the Port Orleans at the Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory.
You will need to ask for the vegan ones and they will send the chef to chat with you.
But if you make my easy beignet recipe you’ll have plenty of vegan beignets to eat. They are a great treat to celebrate Mardi Gras.
Can You Make Beignets in the Air Fryer?
You can make lots of things in your air fryer and beignets are one of them.
When you’re air frying instead of deep frying in oil batter often need to be a little thicker.
It takes longer for the air fryer beignets to firm up in a convection oven or air fryer while it gets solid the minute it hits the oil.
Can You Bake Beignets in the Oven Instead of Frying Them?
That’s the other option in this recipe – to cook the beignets right in your oven.
Baked beignets are still healthier than deep-fried ones even if they are more of a once in a while treat.
How to Make Your Own Confectioners’ Sugar
If you are out of powdered sugar but still have some granulated sugar or evaporated cane juice and a little organic cornstarch you can make your own.
Add about 1 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon corn starch and blend until powdery.
Wait a few minutes before you open the lid or you’ll end up breathing some of it in.
Store in an airtight container.
How to Make the Powdered Sugar Stevia Blend I Used
I made my powdered sugar is with Whole Earth Sweetener Baking Blend
It’s made up of just two ingredients: Raw Cane Sugar and Organic Stevia Leaf Extract.
It’s Whole Earth Sweetener Co, gluten-free, and contains zero preservatives, so you know you’re working with a great product.
I took a cup of the baking blend pictured above and mixed with a small amount of organic cornstarch. Then I blended to make the powdered delight you see at the bottom of the photo.
The best part is that Whole Earth Sweetener’s Baking Blend has the round mouth-feel that you get from traditional powdered sugar with 1/2 the calories and sugar!
Use the leftover powdered baking blend to make a quick and easy glaze: just add a little non-dairy milk or extract to a small bowl of this powdered baking blend and make icing for cinnamon rolls, cookies, and even cupcakes!
You’ll find yourself using it all the time once you have it in your pantry.
What do you need to make vegan beignets?
For this recipe, I make a lower-sugar version of powdered sugar with Whole Earth Sweetener Baking Blend and organic corn starch, but you can use a regular vegan powder sugar instead if you don’t want to include stevia.
Then for the dough, we can use white flour, whole white wheat flour, or a gluten-free flour mixture blend.
Add in coconut milk for richness, baking yeast, coconut oil, and aquafaba.
How to Make homemade air fryer beignetsFrie From Scratch
The dough will be softer than a normal bread dough and will be a little shiny from the coconut milk and oil.
While it is softer, it should still not stick to your hands very much. 
Once the dough has risen, you’ll pat, press, and pull it into a rectangle shape about 1/2 inch thick.
Then, cut into 24 rectangles as evenly as you can. Remember that homemade treats are not about perfection.
Then put some preforated parchment paper in your air fryer basket so the dough won’t stick to it. When you turn them over you can remove it.
How to Store Leftover Beignets
Air fried vegan beignets are best eaten fresh out of the air fryer, but you could undercook them and finish them off right before serving.
Any leftover beignets that you’ve finished cooking will store for a day or 2 covered on your counter. If you want to purposefully save some for another day, cook them halfway, then freeze.
How to Reheat Beignets
If you know ahead of time, you will have undercooked the vegan beignets so they won’t overcook when you put them back in your air fyer or oven.
If you freeze your leftover dough, just thaw the night before and cook the rest of the way in your air fryer before serving.
You can also freeze any leftover cooked beignets, but I would only keep pre-cooked ones in the freezer for a week or two since they will dry out the longer you keep them there.
Do You Eat Beignets for Breakfast or Dessert?
Well, to me anytime is the perfect time for a beignet. Once you make a batch you may find yourself eating them all day long!
They are great with a Middle Eastern Iced Coffee or a hot coffee with Homemade Coconut Oat Vanilla Nut Vegan Coffee Creamer, any time of the day, but especially in the morning. Try pairing them with my Plant-based London Fog Ice Cream!
Another favorite air fryer breakfast is my Vegan Air Fryer Nutty French Toast. It’s covered with an oat and nut coating that comes together fast.
I like them for dessert topped with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream and drizzled with Blackberry Syrup, Vegan Butterscotch Syrup, or Lavender Syrup. Yum!
If you need a faster air fryer dessert try this quick and easy Air Fryer Blueberry Apple Crumble, Vegan Air Fryer Southern Fried “Chicken” Soy Curls, and Air Fryer Sesame, Ginger, and Garlic Edamame.
Some of my favorite savory air fryer recipes are Spiralized Vegan Latkes with Red Cabbage and Apple,
Get even more air fryer recipes in my post The Big List of Vegan Air Fryer Recipes to Make Right Now!, or buy my new cookbook, Vegan Cooking in Your Air Fryer to get even more vegan air fryer recipes!
Need help picking out your first Air Fryer or looking for some accessories?
Be sure to check out my article on My Favorite Air Fryers and Accessories.
Air Fried Vegan Beignets with an Oven Option
Ingredients
For the powdered baking blend:
- 1 cup Whole Earth Sweetener Baking Blend
- 1 teaspoon organic corn starch
For the proofing:
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk from a can
- 3 tablespoons powdered baking blend
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active baking yeast
For the dough:
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons aquafaba the drained water from a can of chickpeas
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups unbleached white flour with a little extra to sprinkle on the cutting board for later
Instructions
- Add the Whole Earth Baking Blend and corn starch to your blender and blend until powdery smooth. The cornstarch will keep it from clumping so you can store it if you don’t use it all in the recipe.
- Heat the coconut milk until it's warm but cool enough that you can stick your finger in it without burning yourself. If it's too hot, you will kill the yeast. Add it to the bowl of a stand mixer with the sugar and yeast. Let sit 10 minutes, until the yeast begins to foam.
- Using the paddle attachment, mix in the coconut oil, aquafaba, and vanilla to the yeast mixture. Then combine flour in to the mixture a cup at a time.
- Once the flour is mixed in and the dough is coming away from the sides of the mixer, change to your dough hook if you have one. (If you don't, keep using the paddle.)
- Knead the yeast dough in your mixer for about 3 minutes. The dough will be wetter than if you were making a loaf of bread, but you should be able to scrape out the dough and form a ball without it staying on your hands.
- Place dough in a large bowl and cover with a clean dish towel and let rise for 1 hour.
- Pat out the dough into a rectangle that's about ⅓ inch thick on a floured surface. Cut into 24 squares and let proof for 30 minutes before you cook them.
- To Cook in Your Air FryerPreheat your air fryer to 390 degrees. Place parchment in the bottom of your preheated air fryer basket – either poke hole or use perforated parchment cut in the shape of your basket.Depending on the size of your air fryer you can put 3 to 6 beignets in the basket of the air fryer at a time, but make sure to place beignets in a single layer.
- Cook for 3 minutes on one side. Flip them, then cook another 2 minutes. Since air fryers vary, you may need to cook yours another minute or two for them to get golden brown.
- Sprinkle liberally with the powdered baking blend you made in the beginning and enjoy!
- Continue cooking in batches until they are all cooked.
- To Cook in Your OvenPreheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the beignets on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle liberally with the powdered baking blend you made in the beginning and enjoy!
Susy says
HI! this sounds so good! I was wondering, what else can i use instead of Aquafaba?
Thanks!
Kathy Hester says
You could use 1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 2 tablespoons warm water.
Nancy says
Can this be made gluten-free??
Kathy Hester says
I would think so. I haven’t made these gluten-free, but you could try a gluten-free blend that works well with yeast.
Katherine says
Hi! This looks like what I’m thinking of but I thought I should ask. Are these kind of hollow on the inside? Would I be able to fill them with one thing preferably without cutting them in half? Thanks! Gorgeous pictures btw
Kathy Hester says
They are pretty solid. But if you try that let is know how it works.
Jennifer Zertuche says
Are you thinking of sopapillas? They look similar but are more of a fry bread eaten with butter and drizzled with honey (or at least that’s how I grew up eating them). I’ve also seen them dusted with powdered sugar. ☺
Kathy Hester says
Yes – that’s it!
Megan says
How would you sub in sugar for the baking blend? 1 to 1 or…?
Kathy Hester says
I would sub to taste, so start with 1/2 the amount of sugar, then taste the batter. Add the other 1/2 if it’s not sweet enough.
Madison says
I tried this recipe using instant yeast and they tasted sour and gross. What did I do wrong?
Kathy Hester says
The yeast shouldn’t have done that. What sweeteners did you use?
Ella says
Can i substitute vegan butter for the coconut oil?
Kathy Hester says
Vegan butter should work.
Bri says
i don’t have baking blend, coconut milk, coconut oil, nor aquafaba, what alternatives do you recommend? these look amazing <3
Kathy Hester says
Honestly, that’s too many things to change up in one recipe and still have it come out the same. I would do another search for vegan beignet recipe and find one that you have more of the ingredients called for.
isabelle says
Would I be able to use an insta pot air fryer lid with this recipe? Will the dough not drop through the holes in the basket? Thanks!
Kathy Hester says
You should be able to, though you may only be able to cook 2 at a time.