Air Fryer Pumpkin Biscuits (Soft, From Scratch)

These air fryer pumpkin biscuits are tender, lightly sweet pumpkin biscuits made from scratch with canned pumpkin, cold butter and heavy cream. They bake at 350°F in about 15 minutes. The pumpkin gives them a warm orange color and a soft, moist crumb, and the cold butter makes the flaky layers.

Serve them warm with a swipe of spiced apple butter for breakfast, or put them in the bread basket next to my air fryer potato rolls for Thanksgiving dinner.

What Makes These Pumpkin Biscuits Different

• No oven needed: They bake in batches in the air fryer, which frees up the oven on busy holiday days.
• Made from scratch: No canned dough or mix, just pantry staples and a can of pumpkin.
• Moist, not dry: Pumpkin puree adds moisture, so these stay tender longer than plain biscuits.
• Lightly sweet: A little brown sugar balances the pumpkin, so they work for breakfast or as a side for dinner.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Biscuits

• All-purpose flour: Spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off. Packed flour makes heavy biscuits.
• Brown sugar: Adds light sweetness and a hint of caramel.
• Baking powder: Make sure it’s fresh. Old baking powder is the most common reason biscuits don’t rise.
• Kosher salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out the pumpkin flavor.
• Unsalted butter: Very cold or frozen. Grating frozen butter on a box grater is the easiest way to keep it in small, even pieces.
• Pumpkin puree: Use 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced.
• Heavy cream: Keep it cold until you need it.
• Optional spices: A teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon makes these taste more like fall.

How to Make Pumpkin Biscuits in the Air Fryer

Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and any spices together in a large bowl.

Step 2: Cut in the butter. Add the cold or grated butter. Work it in with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse sand with some pea-size pieces of butter left. Those pieces make the flaky layers.

Step 3: Add the pumpkin and cream. Stir in the pumpkin puree and heavy cream with a spatula until just combined. The dough should look shaggy and barely hold together. Stop as soon as there’s no dry flour left.

Step 4: Pat and cut. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently pat it into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. For extra layers, fold it in half and pat it out again once or twice. Cut out biscuits with a 2½-inch cutter, pressing straight down without twisting so the sides rise evenly. Gather the scraps gently to cut the rest.

Step 5: Air fry. Line the basket with parchment or spray it lightly. Place the biscuits in a single layer with space between them. Air fry at 350°F for about 15 minutes, working in batches.

Step 6: Check doneness and serve. The biscuits are done when the tops are golden, the bottoms are browned and the sides look set and flaky, not doughy. Brush with melted butter if you like, and serve warm.

Tips for Flaky Air Fryer Biscuits

• Keep everything cold. If the dough gets soft or sticky while you work, chill the cut biscuits for 10 to 15 minutes before air frying. Cold butter creates steam in the air fryer, and that steam lifts the layers.
• Adjust for wet pumpkin. Canned pumpkin varies by brand. If the dough is too sticky to pat out, dust in a tablespoon of flour at a time.
• Don’t crowd the basket. The hot air needs room to move around each biscuit so the sides brown and set.
• Check the first batch at 12 minutes. Air fryers run hot or cool depending on the model, and smaller baskets usually bake faster.

If you like the technique, the same cut-in-butter method is behind my plain air fryer baking powder biscuits. They’re a good everyday biscuit for when pumpkin season is over.

How to Make a Half Batch

The full recipe makes 12 biscuits. For 6, halve everything: use ¾ cup pumpkin puree and half of each remaining ingredient. The bake time stays the same.

Spiced Apple Butter and Other Toppings

Pumpkin and apple are a classic fall pairing. For a quick spiced apple butter spread, beat ½ cup softened butter with ¼ cup apple butter, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg until fluffy. Spread it on the biscuits while they’re warm.

More ways to serve them:

• Cinnamon honey butter: Whip softened butter with honey and a pinch of cinnamon. If you love honey butter, it’s also the best part of my air fryer copycat Marie Callender’s cornbread with honey butter.
• Maple glaze: Whisk powdered sugar with maple syrup and drizzle it over cooled biscuits.
• Breakfast sandwiches: Split them and fill with sausage, egg and cheese.
• Alongside soup: They’re excellent with chili, butternut squash soup or beef stew.

How to Air Fry Pumpkin Biscuits from Frozen

These biscuits freeze well before baking, so you can have fresh ones in less than half an hour.

1. Cut the biscuits and freeze them on a parchment-lined tray until firm, about 2 hours.
2. Wrap them tightly or transfer them to a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 2 months.
3. Air fry straight from the freezer: 250°F for 10 minutes, then 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden and set.

Storage and Reheating

• Room temperature: Keep baked biscuits in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
• Freezer: Freeze cooled, baked biscuits in a freezer bag for up to 2 months.
• Reheat: Warm them in the air fryer at 320°F for 3 to 4 minutes. Frozen baked biscuits need 5 to 6 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use canned pumpkin? Yes, canned pumpkin puree is the easiest choice and gives consistent results. Make sure the label says 100% pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.

Can I use fresh pumpkin? Yes. Roast it until tender, puree it until smooth, and drain it in a fine-mesh strainer for 30 minutes. Fresh pumpkin is wetter than canned, so you may need a little more flour.

Can I add pumpkin pie spice? Yes. Add about 1 teaspoon to the dry ingredients. Cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger on their own work too.

Can I make the dough ahead? Yes. Cut the biscuits, cover them and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Air fry them straight from the fridge, adding a minute or two if needed.

Why didn’t my biscuits rise? The usual causes are old baking powder, warm butter, overmixing, or twisting the cutter, which seals the edges. Keep everything cold and handle the dough as little as possible.

Can I make them gluten-free? A 1:1 gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum is the closest swap. The biscuits will be a little more tender and crumbly.

Can I make mini biscuits? Yes. Use a smaller cutter and start checking at 8 to 10 minutes.

Can I bake other breads in the air fryer? Yes. Quick breads bake well in a small pan that fits the basket. My air fryer strawberry quick bread is a good one to try next for a brunch table.