Easy Crispy Air Fryer Corn Dogs From Scratch (+Video)

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These crispy and crunchy Air Fryer Corn Dogs are made from scratch without deep-frying! A healthy corn dog recipe that everyone loves! We’ve also included instructions on how to air fry frozen corn dogs in Ninja air fryer if you’d like to cook them straight from the freezer! Plus video tutorial.

Whether it’s for a game day, or you’re just looking for a quick meal or snack, this classic meal-on-a-stick is sure to be a big hit among children!

Air Fryer Corn Dogs Without Deep-Frying

Hand-dipped corn dogs are the ultimate comfort food, and kids love them at carnivals and fairs. But the traditional corn dogs are deep-fried and often leave me feeling completely weighed down.

Cooking them in the air fryer cuts down the calories significantly, and you get to skip out on all the mess that comes with deep-frying. Instead of using cups of oil, a few sprays do the trick and your corn dogs will come out perfectly crispy as always. This mini air fryer corn dogs recipe is so easy, it may just have you forgoing the deep-fried version for good.

Why You’ll Love Air Fryer Corn Dogs

• No deep-frying need: Not only is air frying a healthier option, but by cutting out the oil, it’s more economically friendly too. You can save all that oil you would have used to submerge the corn dogs. This also means there’s no chance of getting injured by oil splashing out of the deep fryer.
• Easy batter: The batter is made with pretty standard ingredients and simple instructions. Just mix and dip!
• Freezer friendly: The cooked corn dogs can be frozen and stored, just like the boxes you get from the grocery store.
• Reheats well: To reheat, just pop the corn dogs in the fryer until warm for a perfect snack, just as crispy as the first cook.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Hot Dogs – Use simple hot dogs like beef, turkey, or chicken hot dogs. I cut them into halves for mini air fryer corn dogs so that they can fit the diameter of the air fryer basket once the stick is on.
• Yellow Cornmeal – Use finely ground cornmeal for this recipe.  Avoid “course” or “medium” ground cornmeal.
• Flour – Use all-purpose flour.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda – Helps to make the corn dogs fluffy.
• Sugar & Salt – For flavoring.
• Buttermilk & Eggs – Helps the batter stick onto the hot dogs.
• Bread Crumbs – Use Panko bread crumbs for the best result.
• Cooking Spray – It makes the corn dogs extra crispy. If you don’t have cooking spray, you can brush the uncooked corn dogs with regular olive oil.

How to Make Air Fryer Corn Dogs

1. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.

2. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk and eggs.

3. Add the buttermilk and egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix to combine. Then transfer the batter to a tall glass.

4. Cut the hot dogs into halves, and skewer the mini hot dogs onto wooden sticks.

5. Roll the hot dogs in flour to coat, and shake off the excess.

6. Dip the floured hot dogs into the batter.

7. Cover the battered hot dogs with breadcrumbs. Press the breadcrumbs onto the hot dogs gently using your hands.

8. Place them in the basket in one layer, and spray with cooking spray. Make sure not to overcrowd your air fryer.

9. Set the temperature to 375ºF, and set the time to 8 minutes. After 4 minutes, take out the basket and flip the corn dogs.

10. Return the basket to the air fryer. After 2 more minutes, check every 1 minute until heated through. Serve with ketchup and mustard if desired. 

Tips for the Perfect Air Fryer Corn Dogs

• If you’d like to have bigger corn dogs, you can use the whole hot dog instead of cutting them halves.
• I also cut my skewers into halves so that they’re not sticking out too much. Make sure the skewered corn dog will fit into your air fryer basket.
• Use a tall drinking glass to keep things tidy when filling the batter. Leave enough room to dip the hot dog without overflowing the glass.
• If you see gaps in the dough after you dip the hot dogs in the batter, just re-dip.
• Make sure to flip the corn dogs halfway through for even crispiness.
• After a total cooking time of 6 minutes, check every minute to make sure your corn dogs are not burned.

How Long Does It Take to Cook Corn Dogs in An Air Fryer?

Your corn dogs can be ready in just 8 minutes in the air fryer! Plus the air fryer heat-up pretty fast! For all-around even crispiness, we recommend turning them once halfway through.

Can I Freeze Corn Dogs?

Corn dogs freeze SO well. If you love the convenience of having snacks in the freezer ready to be heated, but don’t love the idea of store-bought corn dogs, this is a great way to go. Follow the recipe as usual and once the corn dogs have completely cooled, place them in freezer bags, then pop them into the freezer.

How to Make Air Fryer Frozen Corn Dogs

For an even quicker meal or snack, you can use premade frozen corn dogs as well. You won’t believe how well they cook in the air fryer, getting the perfect crispy outside while still cooking thoroughly on the inside. Simply take the corn dogs out of the freezer and pop them straight into the air fryer, lying them in a single row. Be cautious not to overcrowd the air fryer. Then follow the same cooking instructions.

How to Serve Corn Dogs?

You can serve them as a main course or snacks with your favorite dipping sauce like ketchup and mustard.

Variations

• You can also make air fryer corn dog bites without the skewers.
• Use vegan hot dogs for air fryer vegan hot dogs.

If You Like This Recipe Try Out These Air Fryer Recipes

I hope you like this recipe. If you try it, please comment below and let me know how your Air Fryer Corn Dogs turn out!

Editor note: Originally published Jan 25 , 2021 and updated March 15, 2021.