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. Don’t have an air fryer? Don’t worry, you can make them in your oven too.
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 awhile treat.
How to Make Your Own Powdered 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.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whole Earth Sweetener Co.
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.
How to Make Air Fried Vegan Beignets 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. 
How to Store Leftover Beignets
Air fried vegan beignets are best eaten fresh out of the air fryer, but you could under cook 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 left over 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 anytime of the day, but especially in the morning.
Another my 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.
Air Fried Vegan Beignets with an Oven Option
These beignets have a pillowy texture and are rich from the coconut milk. These have half the sugar of regular beignets because we're using Whole Earth Sweetener Baking Blend that's ½ raw cane sugar and ½ stevia. Their baking blend makes an amazing powdered sugar too!
Ingredients
For the powdered baking blend:
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. (Or you can substitute regular powdered sugar later 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 your 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. Then add the flour a cup at a time.
- Once the flour is mixing 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 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 mixing bowl and cover with a clean dish towel and let rise for 1 hour.
- Sprinkle some flour over a large cutting board and pat out the dough into a rectangle that's about ⅓ inch thick. Cut into 24 squares and let proof for 30 minutes before you cook them.
- Preheat your air fryer to 390 degrees. Depending on the size of your air fryer you can put 3 to 6 beignets in at a time.
- 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.
- Preheat 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!
Notes
If you don't eat stevia, go ahead and substitute organic powdered sugar in the recipe.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 102Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 2mgCarbohydrates 15gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 3g
Nutrition information is provided from nutritionix.com as a close estimate. If you have specific health issues please put the recipe information, including the exact ingredients you use, into the nutritional calculator your Dr. recommends.
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.
More Vegan Air Fryer Recipes To Try
- Spiralized Vegan Latkes with Red Cabbage and Apple
- Vegan Air Fryer Southern Fried “Chicken” Soy Curls
- Air Fryer Sesame, Ginger and Garlic Edamame
Susy
HI! this sounds so good! I was wondering, what else can i use instead of Aquafaba?
Thanks!
Kathy Hester
You could use 1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 2 tablespoons warm water.
Nancy
Can this be made gluten-free??
Kathy Hester
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
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
They are pretty solid. But if you try that let is know how it works.
Jennifer Zertuche
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
Yes – that’s it!
Megan
How would you sub in sugar for the baking blend? 1 to 1 or…?
Kathy Hester
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
I tried this recipe using instant yeast and they tasted sour and gross. What did I do wrong?
Kathy Hester
The yeast shouldn’t have done that. What sweeteners did you use?
Ella
Can i substitute vegan butter for the coconut oil?
Kathy Hester
Vegan butter should work.
Bri
i don’t have baking blend, coconut milk, coconut oil, nor aquafaba, what alternatives do you recommend? these look amazing <3
Kathy Hester
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
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
You should be able to, though you may only be able to cook 2 at a time.