Air Fryer Sopapillas – Easy Must Try Recipe | Cooks Dream (2024)

In need of a light, crispy, and flaky air fryer sopapillas recipe? If so, you’re in the right place! In today’s post, we’ll be going over how you can make the most delicious air fried sopapillas right from the comfort of your own home. Though sopapillas are known for being deep fried, this lighter take on this beloved bread is a bit healthier.

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Table of Contents

• What Are Sopapillas?
• Can You Cook Sopapillas in an Air Fryer?
  • Why Do Air Fryers Work So Well When Cooking Sopapillas?
  • What Are the Pros and Cons of Cooking Sopapillas in an Air Fryer?
• How to Make Sopapillas in Air Fryer
  • Sopapillas Air Fryer Recipe
  • How to Make Sopapillas With an Air Fryer
• Why Didn’t My Sopapillas Puff Up in the Air Fryer?
• How Do I Get My Sopapillas to Be Crispier in an Air Fryer?
• Can You Cook a Frozen Sopapilla in an Air Fryer?
• Can Sopapillas Be Reheated in an Air Fryer and How?
• Air Fryer Sopapilla: Easy, Healthy, and Delicious!
• FAQs

What Are Sopapillas?

Sopapillas are a type of quick bread that originated in various regions of the Americas amongst those of Spanish heritage. It is usually fried crisp and has a donut-like consistency due to its “puff”. Sopapillas can be served up and covered in sugar and honey or can be stuffed with meat for a savory dinner. Either way, this (typically) deep fried bread has many swooning.

But can it be made any healthier by using an air fryer?

Can You Cook Sopapillas in an Air Fryer?

As it turns out, you absolutely can make air fryer sopapillas. In fact, there are some who may prefer making sopapillas this way because of the light, crispy, and flaky texture it yields.

But the texture isn’t the only area in which an air fryer sopapilla recipe shines. Air fried sopapillas will be much lower in fat and calories given that they aren’t made of deep fried dough. Instead, sopapilla air fryer recipes will use only a smidge of oil which is used to “fry” up some of the lightest, flakiest, and most delicious sopapillas imaginable.

Why Do Air Fryers Work So Well When Cooking Sopapillas?

Air fryer recipes for sopapillas tend to work well due to the way the air frying process works. Instead of dropping whole dough into fryer oil, an air fryer works to distribute a scant amount of oil along with plenty of heat and air to deliver crispy and delicious sopapilla results.

In case you aren’t aware of how an air fryer truly works, air fryers circulate hot air around the entirety of a sopapilla to cook it from all sides. This fast-moving air works to rapidly fry food without the need for much oil. This is a major plus for those looking to cut down on fat, oil, and calories in their diet. It can also be a life-saver if you love eating sopapillas on a daily basis and want to keep them as light and healthy as possible.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Cooking Sopapillas in an Air Fryer?

Although air fryers cook sopapillas very well, it is imperative that you get the timing and temperature just right. Overcooking your sopapillas will lead to charred bread and will ruin the texture.

And though it may be tempting to turn up the heat when making air fryer sopapillas, it really is best to keep the heat at a consistent moderate temperature.

I recommend you aim for 375 degrees F when cooking your sopapillas in the air fryer. Otherwise, you may not get stellar results.

Note: There will be slight discrepancies between the way an air fryer vs deep fryer cooks up a sopapilla. I’d advise you to experiment with both and pick the option that gives you the best results.

How to Make Sopapillas in Air Fryer

Ready to learn how to make sopapillas in an air fryer? I hope so because we’re ready to dish up the details!

Sopapillas don’t take long to air fry and doing so is a much healthier cooking method than the deep frying approach. By following the steps on how to make sopapillas in an air fryer below you can offer up some of the best-tasting sopapillas your friends and family have ever tasted.

Let’s dive into the steps on how!

Sopapillas Air Fryer Recipe

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup of hot water
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of sugar (optional-use as a topping)
• Other toppings (cinnamon, maple syrup, fruit, whipped cream)

How to Make Sopapillas With an Air Fryer

1. Preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees F.
2. As your air fryer heats, mix 1 ½ cups of your all-purpose flour along with 1 tsp of baking powder and your salt to a large bowl. Sift your flour and baking powder first if required.
3. In a separate bowl, mix your wet ingredients (the hot water and olive oil).
4. Once incorporated, pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients a little at a time. Be careful, as dumping in too much at once may make it difficult to mix as the loose dough forms.
5. Once a loose dough has formed, use your hands to pick up the dough and knead it. Do this for about 5 minutes.
6. Afterward, roll the dough into a large ball. From this ball, divide the dough into four tinier balls.
7. Place the dough balls into a bowl. Let the dough rest for at least 20 minutes.
8. Once the 20 minutes is up, flatten each dough ball using a rolling pin. The dough balls should be flattened to about a fourth inch in terms of thickness. From here, cut the dough into fourths, both vertically and horizontally.
9. At this point, you can go ahead and spray cooking oil in your preheated air fryer basket. For crispier sopapillas, lightly coat each side of the sopapilla with a bit of olive oil as well. Doing so will help the sopapilla expand better. It can also help the sopapilla cook through more easily.
10. Cook the sopapillas on each side for 4 minutes or until they are an enticing shade of golden brown.
11. Continue on air frying the rest of your sopapillas this way. Make sure you don’t put too many sopapillas in the air fryer basket at once as this will hinder them from becoming as crispy as you’d like.

Why Didn’t My Sopapillas Puff Up in the Air Fryer?

Although sopapilla recipes often turn out great when air fried, they sometimes may not come out as “puffed” as you may have desired. When sopapillas don’t puff up in the air fryer, there are usually several reasons it didn’t.

Consider the following reasons your sopapilla recipe may have “fallen flat” when placed in an air fryer:

• The sopapillas weren’t fried long enough
• Your dough was too watery
• You over-kneaded the mixture
• You under kneaded the mixture
• You didn’t allow the air fryer to preheat
• The air fryer temperature was too high
• The air fryer temperature was too low
• You didn’t spray oil on the sopapilla or apply oil on the sides to promote expansion
• You didn’t allow the dough to rise

How Do I Get My Sopapillas to Be Crispier in an Air Fryer?

If you want your sopapillas to be extra crispy, consider adding a bit of additional oil to your their sides. You can also consider adding a bit of sugar to your sopapillas as this will help with the taste and cause them to caramelize.

Some people like to increase the temperature of their air fryer to make their sopapillas a bit crispier. You can try this, but if you do, you will need to keep a very close watch on the cooking times. In addition, you will need to ensure that your sopapilla is indeed all the way cooked through before biting into it.

Because cooking at a lower temperature allows steam to cook the inside of a sopapilla, cooking sopapillas at a high temperature for a shorter cooking time may spell disaster. That’s because it is likely that the outside of your sopapilla will be cooked while the inside remains raw.

Have these facts gotten you a little worried about placing your sopapilla dough in an air fryer? Never fear! Follow our recipe for how to make the best air fried sopapillas around. And if something goes amiss, it’s okay! Everything is a learning process.

Can You Cook a Frozen Sopapilla in an Air Fryer?

Yes, it is possible to cook a frozen sopapilla in an air fryer. To do so, you’ll want to take one of two routes.

First, consider using the “defrost” option on your air fryer to get your sopapilla prepped for the actual frying process. Without completing this step, you may end up with either soggy or overly cooked sopapillas. Most air fryers come with these defrost settings. When using this air fryer function, try to limit the defrosting time to 2 minutes.

The other method is to simply let your sopapilla thaw at room temperature. Afterward, place the sopapilla in the air fryer to be cooked. Your sopapillas probably won’t take longer than 30 minutes (if that) to thaw. Thus, this method is still viable for cooking frozen sopapillas in an air fryer –even when you’re crunched for time.

Can Sopapillas Be Reheated in an Air Fryer and How?

When it comes to how to reheat sopapillas in air fryer, things couldn’t get easier. Simply allow your air fryer to preheat to 350F. Once hot, carefully lay your sopapillas in the air fryer container. Air fry your sopapillas for about 2 minutes on each side. Serve hot (you may need to allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before handling). Enjoy!

Air Fryer Sopapilla: Easy, Healthy, and Delicious!

Cooking air fryer sopapillas isn’t only easy, but it is a much healthier way to enjoy this popular Spanish bread. Using only a fraction of the amount of oil typically used for deep frying, you end up with sopapilla bread that is golden brown, flaky, crispy, and delicious. Serve sopapilla bread with savory meat or garnish it with sugar, honey, and optional cinnamon for a delightful treat.

Hopefully, this answers the question, “Can you cook sopapillas in an air fryer?” See you next time!

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