These Air Fryer Hush Puppies are battered with cornmeal and buttermilk and then fried without all of the fat. Serve these fried fish and coleslaw.
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Table of Contents
What Are Hush Puppies
If you have Southern roots or frequented Long John Silvers back in the day you have heard of these! They are savory, deep fried balls that are made with battered cornmeal. I've always thought of them as deep fried cornbread. They are often served with seafood or other deep fried and battered foods, hence the Long John Silvers reference.
It's been said they get their name from hunters who would feed them to their dogs to keep them quiet. They are referred to as croquettes as well.
Recipe Ingredients
- Yellow Cornmeal
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Sweetener
- Salt
- Smoked Paprika
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Egg
- Buttermilk
Can You Use Wet Batter In An Air Fryer
Absolutely! It’s no secret that buttermilk works well in a dish like this. Try my Air Fryer Buttermilk Fried Chicken Wings, you will love them!
My real secret is to refrigerate the batter once you get it incorporated. Chilling the batter will keep it intact and help prevent it from coming off on the air fryer basket.
How to Make Air Fryer Hush Puppies
Detailed measurements and full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Combine the cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and sweetener in a large mixing bowl. Stir.
- Add in egg and buttermilk. Stir to combine the ingredients.
- Refrigerate the mix for at least 30 minutes.
- Line the air fryer basket with air fryer parchment paper.
- Once chilled, use wet hands and form balls about a heaping tablespoon each in size.
- Air fry.
- Add a beaten egg and breadcrumbs for the breading to separate bowls large enough to dip the hush puppies.
- Remove the hushpuppies from the air fryer and dip each into the egg first and then the breadcrumbs.
- Air fry.
Do You Have to Use Air Fryer Parchment Paper?
Air fryer parchment paper works great for wet battered food in the air fryer. If you don't use the parchment paper, you will have to use a little more force when removing the hush puppies from the basket (even with a well-oiled basket).
You risk them falling apart in the process. It's possible this won't happen to you, but it did happen to me. You can also use foil, but I find parchment paper works best.
Be sure the hush puppies are properly anchored over the air fryer parchment paper. If there are areas that aren't anchored the paper will fly around in the air fryer. You can read more about Tips on How to Use an Air Fryer here.
How to Properly Measure Flour
- Dump your flour into a bowl so that you can stir and loosen it up. You never want to stick your measuring cup directly into a bag of flour.
- Spoon the flour into a measuring cup.
- Level it off in the cup using a knife.
If you stick your measuring cup directly into the bag, it will pack flour into the cup and result in you using too much. The flour needs to have air when measuring. Check out more tips on How to Measure Flour here.
Air Fryer Temperature
I recommend 400 degrees.
How Long to Cook Them
You will only need to cook them for about 10 minutes each. First for 4 minutes, then you will bread them and cook for another 4-6 minutes.
How Do You Keep Them From Falling Apart
They won't fall apart if you chill the mix. That will thicken it up and make it much easier to handle. Once you combine the ingredients, the dough will form and become really sticky. Chilling that will help.
You should also not overmix your batter. If you've ever made homemade cornbread you have heard that before. If you overmix the batter it will cause cracks in the outer crust, on the hush puppies as they cook.
You should do a good mix of the dry ingredients first. When you add in the buttermilk and egg, mix the batter just enough to combine the ingredients.
How to Get Them Crunchy and Crispy
In order to get these crunchy in the air fryer you will need to use a beaten egg and breadcrumbs. You can use any breadcrumbs you like. I use regular, you can also use seasoned breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs.
You can also omit this step completely. The hush puppies will still taste great. If you omit the breadcrumbs, I find they just taste like cornbread, without the crunch.
How To Substitute Buttermilk
You can make your own buttermilk using 1 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon. Read more about How to Make Buttermilk here.
Additional Add-Ins
This is truly the fun part! You can turn these into the ultimate side dish or appetizer by adding in some of these!
- Corn
- Cooked Shrimp
- Cooked and crumbled bacon
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Jalapenos
How to Store Them
Store these in the fridge in an airtight container or bags for up to a week.
How to Reheat
Reheat these in the air fryer. That will give you the crunch you want. I like to use 350 degrees for a few minutes until warm. If you find they don't crisp, spritz with a little oil.
Freezer Tips
You can freeze these in sealable bags or airtight containers for up to 4 months. Defrost at room temperature or in the fridge overnight. Reheat in the air fryer.
Serve These With These Recipes
Air Fryer Catfish
Southern Coleslaw Recipe
Air Fryer French Fries
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
Keto Low Carb Coleslaw
Air Fryer Onion Rings
Air Fryer Shrimp
Air Fryer Fish Sticks
Air Fryer Potato Skins
Southern Potato Salad
Easy Spaghetti Salad
Air Fryer Scallops
Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders
Pair it With Chili
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Keto Low Carb Chili
Instant Pot Beef ChiliSweet Potato Chili
Leftover Turkey Chili
Creamy Seafood Chili
Similar Recipes
Homemade Southern Style Cornbread
Air Fryer Cornbread
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
Keto Low Carb Cornbread
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Click here for a complete list of Air Fryer Appetizer Recipes.
Air Fryer Hush Puppies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup yellow cornmeal
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons sweetener Optional. See notes.
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
Breading
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg Beaten
Optional Add Ins
- ⅓ cup shredded cheese I like to add this to half of the batch to switch it up.
- 1 fresh jalapeno Chopped; if you like spicy
Instructions
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir.
- Add in the egg and buttermilk. Stir to combine the ingredients. Do not overmix.
- Refrigerate the mix for at least 30 minutes. An hour is optimal. If you handle the mix without chilling it will be extremely sticky.
- Line the air fryer basket with air fryer parchment paper. This works a lot better than using just the basket and helps prevent sticking.
- Once chilled, use wet hands and form balls about a heaping tablespoon each in size. A heaping tablespoon means you don't level off the tablespoon. You pile enough of the dough into the tablespoon that it can hold. The dough will be sticky. I find the best way to work with it is to drop the dough onto the parchment paper directly from the spoon. Use your wet hands to shape it up into a circle.
- Air fry for 4 minutes on 400 degrees.
- Add your beaten egg and breadcrumbs for the breading to separate bowls large enough to dip the hush puppies.
- Remove the hushpuppies from the air fryer and dip each into the egg first and then the breadcrumbs.
- Place the hush puppies back in the air fryer basket. Air fry for 2 minutes on 400 degrees.
- Open the air fryer and spritz the hush puppies with cooking oil spray.
- Air fry for an additional 2-4 minutes until crisp.
Video
Notes
- You can use both self-rising cornmeal and self-rising flour and eliminate the baking powder if you wish.
- This serving does not result in sweet hush puppies. If you are looking for sweet use ¼ cup of sweetener or more.
- All air fryers cook at varying speeds. Watch yours closely and adjust the cook time as necessary.
- You can substitute buttermilk for any milk you wish, but it will impact the texture of both the batter and hushpuppies. It will result in a thinner batter that is a little harder to work with.
- You can make your own buttermilk using 1 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon. Read more about How to Make Buttermilk here.
- In order to get these crunchy in the air fryer you will need to use a beaten egg and breadcrumbs. You can use any breadcrumbs you like. I use regular, you can also use seasoned breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs. You can also omit this step completely. The hush puppies will still taste great. If you omit the breadcrumbs, I find they just taste like cornbread, without the crunch.
- You will need to chill the mix to keep them from falling apart. That will thicken it up and make it much easier to handle. Once you combine the ingredients, the dough will form and become really sticky. Chilling that will help.
- Do not overmix your batter. If you've ever made homemade cornbread you have heard that before. If you overmix the batter it will cause cracks in the outer crust, on the hush puppies as they cook. You should do a good mix of the dry ingredients first. When you add in the buttermilk and egg, mix the batter just enough to combine the ingredients.
- Air fryer parchment paper works great for wet battered food in the air fryer. If you don't use the parchment paper, you will have to use a little more force when removing the hush puppies from the basket (even with a well-oiled basket). You risk them falling apart in the process. It's possible this won't happen to you, but it did happen to me. You can also use foil, but I find parchment paper works best.
Nutrition (displayed with net carbs)
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Tiffani says
Oooooh this is right on time. I tried to make hush puppies for the first time a few weeks ago, to go with your air fryer fish, and they weren’t great. Super excited to try these next week!!
staysnatched says
I hope you enjoy these!
Julia Howell Barros says
Hi Brandi! I have to tell you I am guilty of trying your recipes and not reviewing. Everything of yours I have tried is delicious and your instructions are by far the best of any I have seen. Any question or doubt I have is ALWAYS answered in your notes. Thank you for being so thorough. I am so looking forward to trying these because your air fryer onion rings are so. damn. good. I know these will be incredible too. Thank you in advance!
staysnatched says
You're welcome! I hope you enjoy these.
Coby says
I’ve never had hush puppies before, and I’m so glad that my first experience was with this recipe! SO good! I’m air frying them right now to go with our dinner, but of course I couldn’t wait and had to sneak a taste. Great recipe, Brandi!
staysnatched says
I'm glad you tried them and enjoyed!
blue_12LL says
Loved this!
staysnatched says
I'm so glad to hear it!
Judith says
I made these with the jalapeños but rolled them in panko before frying. Served Texas style with peal and eat shrimp and TX Secret sauce. Yummm! I love that you explain everything with picture. Ditto Julia
staysnatched says
I’m glad you enjoyed them! That sounds delish!
Judith says
I have to add: I love that you use sweetener not sugar.
staysnatched says
Thank you!