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Master the art of making perfectly crisp, golden baklava in the air fryer with this easy recipe in less than 30 minutes. It’s faster and easier than traditional baklava, but packed with the same sticky-sweet flavor and crispy texture!
Baklava is one of those things when I see on a restaurant menu, I try to save room for it! If you love crisp, flaky, syrup-soaked baklava but find the idea of making it from scratch a bit daunting, let the air fryer do the heavy lifting.
Traditional baklava takes quite a while to assemble and bake. For this recipe, instead of a big tray of sweets, we’re folding each piece of phyllo dough into its own individual piece of baklava (it’s quick and easy, and I show you the whole process with step-by-step photos – and it’s fun to do with kids!). Also, using the air fryer instead of the oven cuts down on cook time while still delivering that perfect golden crunch.
If you’re looking for more easy air fryer dessert recipes, don’t miss air fryer oatmeal cookies!
Why Make Baklava in the Air Fryer?
Using an air fryer for baklava has several advantages:
- Faster cooking time – Traditional oven-baked baklava can take up to an hour to bake, while the air fryer does it in less than 10 minutes.
- Perfectly crisp layers – The hot circulating air ensures even browning without over-baking.
- Energy efficient – No need to heat up your whole oven just for one dessert! Bookmark this recipe for summer when you want a sweet treat that you don’t have to use the oven to make.
- Small batch-friendly – Sometimes you just don’t need a huge tray of baklava on hand, right?!
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Cinnamon Syrup Ingredients
- Sugar and water – Here we’re making a simple syrup flavored with cinnamon to soak the baklava bites. Depending on the region, honey is a traditional addition to baklava syrup. However, with a simple syrup, these baklava triangles are still sticky-sweet, and simple syrup is a more economical option than honey. If you like the flavor of baklava made with honey, reduce the sugar and water to 1/4 cup each, and add 1/4 cup of honey.
- Cinnamon stick – Instead of 1 cinnamon stick, you can use 1/8 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
Filling Ingredients
- Nuts – This is optional; if you have a nut allergy or just don’t like them, baklava without nuts is still delicious! If you want to use nuts, good options are walnuts, pistachios, or almonds. Make sure they’re finely chopped.
- Sugar – Use regular granulated white sugar here.
- Ground cinnamon – Cinnamon is a key flavor component in traditional baklava.
Other Ingredients
- Phyllo dough sheets – These are paper-thin sheets of dough. Look for them in the frozen aisle of the grocery store.
- Salted butter – Butter adds rich flavor and helps create crisp, flaky phyllo layers. Unsalted butter will also work fine, but I like the little bit of salt from salted butter to help balance the sweetness.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1: How to Make Cinnamon Simple Syrup
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring up to a boil, and then cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
2: How to Fold Baklava Triangles
- Lay 1 piece of phyllo dough out on a flat surface. Brush it with 1/2 tablespoon melted butter and sprinkle on 1/2 tablespoon filling (if you added nuts to your filling, sprinkle on about 1 tablespoon of the filling).
- If you’ve ever made a paper football, you’ll have a good idea for how to fold baklava into triangles! It’s just like origami. Starting with a long side, fold 1/3 of the dough over onto the middle.
- Then fold 1/3 of dough from the other side over onto the middle. You’ll end up with a long strip of dough.
- Fold the lower right corner of the dough strip up to form a triangle.
- Fold the triangle up.
- Continue folding the triangle up for the entire strip of dough (the piece shown in photo 6 needs to be folded one more time). Continue assembling the baklava this way (you’ll have enough for 12 baklava triangles).
3: How to Air Fry Baklava
- Lightly brush both sides of each baklava triangle with the remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350F. Once hot, add the baklava in a single layer.
- Air fry until golden on both sides, flipping once halfway through (it takes about 2 to 3 minutes per side for a total of about 6 minutes).
4: Pour the Cooled Syrup Onto the Hot Baklava
Drizzle the room temperature cinnamon syrup onto the hot baklava. You can eat it now, but it’ll be even better in a couple hours (or the next day)!
Storage
Once cooled, store baklava in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, in the fridge for up to 10 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Re-Heat Baklava
After refrigerating, baklava has the tendency to become chewy. If you want to re-crisp it, you can pop it into a preheated 325F oven (for approximately 5 minutes) or 300F air fryer (it takes about 2 to 3 minutes).
Pro Tips For the Best Air Fryer Baklava
- You can use any type of nuts you like. Keep it classic with walnuts or pistachios, or switch it up with something like macadamia nuts or hazelnuts. Or skip the nuts if you prefer!
- A trick I learned while living in the Middle East is that the syrup should be cooled to room temperature and the baklava should be hot (right out of the oven) when you pour on the syrup. This allows for maximum absorption and minimum sogginess!
- Don’t let the phyllo dry out. Phyllo dough dries out quickly, so keep the sheets covered with a piece of plastic wrap topped with a damp towel while you work.
FAQs
Butter is key for the crispy texture, but you can use a neutral-flavored oil or dairy-free butter for a vegan version.
Yes! This paper-thin dough should be thawed completely before using.
The best way to thaw phyllo dough is in the fridge overnight. About an hour before you want to assemble the baklava, let the dough sit at room temperature right in its package (so it doesn’t dry out).
Absolutely! Baklava actually tastes better the next day after the syrup has fully soaked in and the flavors have had the chance to blend.
If You Like Cinnamon Desserts, You’ll Love These Recipes
- Cinnamon Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding
- Chewy Cinnamon Apple Cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Sourdough Discard Scones
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Air Fryer Baklava Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
Cinnamon Syrup:
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cinnamon stick or 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Filling:
- 6 tablespoons finely chopped nuts such as walnuts, pistachios, or almonds (optional)
- 4 1/2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Other:
- 12 sheets phyllo dough (if frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge and then thaw 1 hour at room temperature before using)
- 7 tablespoons salted butter melted
Instructions
For the Cinnamon Syrup:
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring up to a boil, and then cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
To Assemble the Baklava:
- Stir together all ingredients for the filling in a medium bowl.
- Lay 1 piece of phyllo dough out on a flat surface. Brush it with 1/2 tablespoon melted butter and sprinkle on 1/2 tablespoon filling (if you added nuts to your filling, sprinkle on about 1 tablespoon of the filling).
- If you’ve ever made a paper football, you’ll have a good idea for how to fold baklava into triangles! It’s just like origami. Starting with a long side, fold 1/3 of the dough over onto the middle, and then fold 1/3 of dough from the other side over onto the middle. You’ll end up with a long strip of dough.Fold the lower right corner of the dough strip up to form a triangle. Fold the triangle up, then continue folding the triangle up for the entire strip of dough.Continue assembling the baklava this way (you’ll have enough for 12 baklava triangles).
- Lightly brush both sides of each baklava triangle with the remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter.
To Air Fry the Baklava:
- Preheat the air fryer to 350F. Once hot, add the baklava in a single layer. Air fry until golden on both sides, flipping once halfway through (it takes about 2 to 3 minutes per side for a total of about 6 minutes).
To Finish:
- Drizzle the room temperature cinnamon syrup onto the hot baklava. You can eat it now, but it'll be even better in a couple hours (or the next day)!
Notes
- Nutrition Information: The nutritional information for this recipe was calculated using walnuts as the nuts.
- Storage: Once cooled, store baklava in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, in the fridge for up to 10 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you want to re-crisp your baklava, you can pop it into a preheated 325F oven (for approximately 5 minutes) or 300F air fryer (it takes about 2 to 3 minutes).
- Nuts: You can use any type of nuts you like. Keep it classic with walnuts or pistachios, or switch it up with something like macadamia nuts or hazelnuts. Or skip them if you prefer!
- Syrup Temperature: A trick I learned while living in the Middle East is that the syrup should be cooled to room temperature and the baklava should be hot (right out of the oven) when you pour on the syrup. This allows for maximum absorption and minimum sogginess!
- Help Prevent the Phyllo From Drying Out: Phyllo dough dries out quickly, so keep the sheets covered with a piece of plastic wrap topped with a damp towel while you work.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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