Can You Put Toaster Strudels/Pop Tarts In An Air Fryer? (read this first)

Whether you prefer toaster strudels or pop tarts, you’ll be happy to hear they can both be cooked in an air fryer. So you can give your family a tasty treat without causing hardly any mess and get that treat cooked in a short time too.

What’s The Difference Between Pop Tarts & Toaster Strudels?

Both of these are tasty breakfast treats and they’re both sweet and easy to eat. But are there any differences between them? They both seem pretty similar but there are a few differences. Namely;

• The pastry used to make them
  Toaster strudels are made from puff pastry, whereas pop tarts are made from shortcrust pastry.
• Their shelf life
  Toaster strudels need to be stored in a refrigerator and cooked before eating. Pop tarts are premade and can be stored in the food cupboard and eaten straight out of the packet.
• Where they are found
  Pop tarts are typically found in the cereal aisle or in with the baking goods. Toaster strudels are found in the chilled or frozen section.

How To Cook Frozen Toaster Strudels In An Air Fryer

Toaster strudels are available in several flavours including;

• Raspberry
• Strawberry
• Blueberry
• Apple
• Breakfast Scramble

Ingredients

• 2 Frozen Toaster Strudels

Method

1. Place the frozen toaster strudels in a single layer in the air fryer basket ensuring there is a gap around each one
2. Air fry at 180 C (350 F) for 4 minutes 
3. Turn the strudels over and air fry for a further 3 to 4 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is piping hot
4. Remove from the air fryer and spread the glaze
5. Serve

 Air Fryer Toaster Strudel Cooking Tips

• Cook directly from the freezer (no need to thaw)
• If you’re cooking in batches subsequent batches might take less time as the air fryer heats up
• Never overfill the air fryer basket-Always leave a space between each toaster strudel

How To Cook Homemade Toaster Strudels In An Air Fryer

If you have some frozen puff pastry sheets and some fresh fruit it is easy to make homemade toaster strudels.

Ingredients

• 2 Sheets of Thawed Puff Pastry
• 250g (2 cups) of Strawberries
• 64g (½ cup) of Granulated Sugar
• 2 tablespoons of Melted Butter
• 1 tablespoon of Corn Flour
• 1 teaspoon of Lemon Juice

Method

1. Cut each sheet of thawed puff pastry into 6 squares
2. Place the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and simmer on a medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes
3. Stir in the corn flour to thicken the filling
4. Remove from the heat and allow to cool
5. Place some of the cooled fruit onto 6 of the squares of puff pastry, keeping the fruit away from the edges
6. Place the other 6 squares on top of the ones with the filling
7. Use a fork to crimp all of the edges to seal them
8. Preheat the air fryer to 200 C (400 F)
9. Place the strudels in the air fryer basket in a single layer ensuring there is space between each one
10. Air fry for 6 minutes
11. Turn the strudels over and air fry for a further 4 to 6 minutes
12. Remove from the basket and serve with your homemade icing

How To Make Homemade Toaster Strudel Icing

Here’s an easy way to make your own toaster strudel icing: 

Ingredients

• 115g (4 ounces) cream Cheese
• 64g (½ cup) Icing Sugar
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 3 tablespoons of Milk

Method

1. Allow the cream cheese to reach room temperature
2. Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, blitz until smooth
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth

Air Fryer Homemade Toaster Strudel Cooking Tips

• You can use any fruit you like
• Cooking times may vary from air fryer to air fryer
• If you want the toaster strudels to look golden brown, you could brush with egg wash before cooking
• If the icing seems too thick add more milk, but add the milk slowly so that the icing doesn’t become too runny

How To Cook Pop Tarts In An Air Fryer

Pop tarts were designed to be cooked in a toaster but can just as easily be cooked in an air fryer as we found out when our toaster broke one fine morning.

Ingredients

• 2 Pop Tarts

Method

1. Place 2 pop tarts in the air fryer basket topping side up, ensuring there is space between each one
2. Air fry for 3 minutes at 200 C (400 F)
3. Remove from the air fryer 
4. Serve

Air Fried Pop Tarts Cooking Tips

• Remember to keep the pop tarts in a single layer allowing space between each one
• Do not flip the pop tarts because of the icing

If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day
But if you teach a kid how to cook pop tarts in the air fryer, your job as a parent is pretty much done! 😂

How To Make Homemade Pop Tarts In An Air Fryer

Homemade pop tarts are easy to make and you have complete control on all of the ingredients which means you can regulate the amount of additives your kids are eating.

Ingredients

• 250g (2 cups) of Plain Flour
• 200g (7 ounces) of Butter (cut into cubes)
• 1 tablespoon of Caster Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 tablespoons of Milk
• 9 tablespoons of Strawberry Jam
• 1 tablespoon of Corn Flour
• 200g (7 ounces) of Icing Sugar
• 1 teaspoon of Almond Extract

Method

1. Place the flour, caster sugar and butter into a large bowl and mix using a mixer
2. In a separate bowl, beat 1 of the 2 eggs in with the milk add this into the flour mixture until it forms a dough
3. Knead for a couple of minutes then cut into 2
4. Shape both pieces of dough into rectangles
5. Wrap in Cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
6. Mix the corn flour with 1 tablespoon of cold water until it forms a liquid
7. Mix into the jam
8. Remove the dough from the fridge roll the dough out into 2 A4 sized rectangles
9. Cut each sheet into 9 pieces
10. Place about 1 tablespoon of jam onto each of 9 rectangles and place the other rectangles on top as lids
11. Seal the edges using a fork all the way around
12. Brush with egg wash
13. Allow to cool in a refrigerator for a further 30 minutes
14. Preheat the air fryer to 180 C (350 F)
15. Place a baking sheet in the air fryer basket and arrange the pop tarts on the paper ensuring there is a space around each one
16. Cook for 4 minutes
17. Turn and cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes
18. Make the icing glaze by mixing the icing sugar, almond extract and a small dribble of water to make a paste
19. Brush onto the cooked pop tarts
20. Serve

Air Fryer Pop Tarts Cooking Tips

• You could use premade shortcrust pastry
• Substitute any jam you prefer
• You could use nutella instead of jam (omit the corn flour)
• All cooking times are approximate as all air fryers are different
• If you’re batch cooking, as the air fryer gets hot, cooking times will decrease

SEE ALSO:

• Can You Put Gammon In An Air Fryer?
• Can You Put Gammon Steaks In An Air Fryer?
• Can You Put Liver In An Air Fryer?
• Can You Put Kebabs In An Air Fryer?

Frequently Asked Questions