These Pineapple Fritter Rings are a delicious combination of a donut shop apple fritter and an onion ring, but with pineapple! Use fresh fruit in the summer and canned fruit when it’s not in season, so you can make this easy dessert treat all year round!
After many requests from my husband, I finally adapted my popular Apple Fritter Rings into Pineapple Fritter Rings. They were a huge hit, of course! Such a fun and delicious treat right now when fresh pineapple is in full force at the grocery store.
Ingredients needed for Pineapple Fritter Rings
- Pineapple
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg
- Salt and Baking powder
- Egg, Buttermilk, and Vanilla
- Vegetable oil
Can I use pancake batter instead?
You can, which would definitely simplify things. But it’s not my preference, since my homemade recipe (below) has so much more flavor. Plus, it’s so easy to whip up!
Can I make the batter ahead of time?
You’ll want to use the batter within 1 hour of preparing it. After that, the batter thins out and won’t produce a nice fluffy coating.
The reason: baking powder. It reacts quickly, releasing most of its gas in a short period of time. And adding more baking powder won’t help, but instead lend an unpleasant chemical taste to the fritters.
Can I use canned fruit for Pineapple Fritters?
Yes! I prefer fresh pineapple in the summer, but when it’s not in season, canned pineapple rings can absolutely be used. You’ll need 2 (20 ounce) cans of pineapple rings. Make sure to drain the fruit and pat it dry.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure the pineapple is completely drained and patted dry, or the batter won’t stick.
- Keep the oil at an even 350 degrees F. If it’s too hot, the fritters will burn and if it’s too low, they won’t crisp up properly.
- Don’t overcrowd your pan. If you fry too many rings at once, the heat from the oil will create steam and you won’t get that golden color and crispy exterior.
- These are best served warm. If you want to serve them all at once, you can place the cooked rings on paper towel-lined baking sheets and keep them in a 225 degree F oven until you finish making all of the rings. Once they’re all done frying, sprinkle each pineapple ring in the cinnamon-sugar.
Can I make these in an Air Fryer?
I have never tried this, so I’m not sure what the results would be. But, my understanding is that the batter won’t work. You could, however try the pineapple rings simply coated in the cinnamon-sugar or spice cake mix. Placing parchment paper into the bottom of the air fryer, spray with nonstick spay. Air-fry in the 350 degree F preheated fryer for 5 minutes. Flip fritters and cook until golden, about 5 minutes more. IF you try this and it works, come back and let me know!
Other Pineapple Recipes We Love!
- (Foil Packets) Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Pineapple Coconut Rice
- {3-Ingredient} Pineapple Smoothie
- Pineapple Dip
Watch the video for Pineapple Fritters
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Pineapple Fritter Rings
Ingredients
Pineapple Fritter Rings
- 2 small fresh pineapples
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
- splash of vanilla
- vegetable oil , for frying
For the Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Peel, core, and slice the pineapples into 1/4-inch thick rings, pat dry. Set aside.
- Line a baking sheet with paper towels; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Add in the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla; stir until just combined.
- Add about 2 inches of oil to a large heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat, until it reaches 350 degrees F.
- Dip each pineapple ring into the batter, shaking off any excess. Carefully lower the ring into the oil. Fry pineapple rings 3 or 4 at a time, but don’t allow them to touch, for about 1-2 minutes per side, or until golden.
- Using tongs, transfer them to the paper towels.
- While still warm, dredge them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Repeat the process with the remaining pineapple slices.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For recipe tips and variations, please refer to the full article and watch the video!
- Calorie count is per ring and does not include the oil, since amount will vary and the majority of what is needed will remain in the pan. A rough estimate is 1/2 tablespoon of oil is used per ring, which would be an additional 62 calories, for a total of 158 per ring.
Nutrition
Other Notes
Can I do it in my air fryer instead?
I love this recipe! If you do use canned pineapple, reserve the juice and make pineapple syrup to drizzle over the pineapple fritters.
can they be frozen and then warmed and put on cin/sugar coating.
Thinking of a summer brunch and would use the canned pineapple and this would be a hit. Sounds wonderful. but I like to losts of just preheaing or warming specials.I do bake an egg omle/sufflo tha i prepare the night before and just pop in oven for 35-40 min!!
Hi Giagia! These are best served fresh out of the fryer, of course. I’ve never tested freezing them, so I can’t say, sorry.
I’m dairy free. What’s an alternate to buttermilk? Coconut milk?
Hi Karen! I’ve never tested the batter with a dairy free liquid. Unfortunately, coconut milk (or almond milk) will make the batter too thin.
The closed dairy free version I’d suggest is oat milk.
So delicious! What a fun treat and great use of pineapple.
These were SO good!! I just used all cinnamon since I didn’t have any nutmeg.
Is this also your apple fritter recipe? If so, do you just add chopped up apples and fry?
I wonder do you think these can be made in the air fryer?
I have no buttermilk, and no milk, can you use maybe a condensed milk for this? Or evaporated milk?
I use evaporated milk and vinegar to make my own ALL the time
Can these be fried in a deep fryer?
I can’t see why not.
Can this be vegan like use plant milk and butter
Hi Andrew – without a lot more recipe testing, I can’t say how the ingredients should be varied with good results, sorry!
Is it possible to add some type of spice to give more heat to the pineapple. Years ago when I visited Hawaii I had the opportunity to have spiced pineapple rings. They were excellent. They were not deep fried they just dipped in a hot spice
Hi Dave – you could try adding a little cayenne pepper to the cinnamon-sugar topping. I bet it would be delish!
I think you may be talking about Lihing powder. It’s spicy and often used on fresh fruit like pineapple or mango in Hawaii.
I used a spice cake mix to coat them. Delish!
I haven’t made this yet, but I have a question If you do use pancake mix can you put the nutmeg and cinnamon in the pancake batter?
Yes, that’s fine!