These Air Fryer Garlic Knots are soft, fluffy, and topped with a homemade garlic-butter sauce! Using a 5-minute homemade pizza dough (or store-bought if you're short on time), these will disappear from the table before you know it!
One of the most popular pizza night appetizers! These babies are made using a from-scratch pizza dough recipe and only take 7 minutes to fully cook in your air fryer. I had another pun about these, but I decided knot to keep it in the post. Okay, okay - I'm done! Just try the recipe and let me know what you think in the comments.
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.23
- Total Cost (16 garlic knots): $0.90
- Those Other Guys: $8.99 per serving
Ingredients
- Active Dry Yeast - The recipe for my No Rise Homemade Pizza Dough uses 1 packet of active dry yeast. Don't be intimidated with this ingredient... I show you one of the easiest (and quickest) ways to make pizza dough - without a mixer, too!
- All-Purpose Flour - You need a good amount of flour for the dough and to roll it out on a countertop or cutting board. If you're using store-bought pizza dough, we'll still need a little flour for the surface.
- Minced Garlic - No garlic powder here; we want that savory bite that comes from minced garlic. You can mince cloves yourself or use the jarred stuff if that's the only kind you have on hand.
- Butter & Olive Oil - This is probably the best part of a soft and fluffy garlic knot. We brush a garlic-butter glaze on the knots twice - once before baking, then once after. There's enough left for dipping too!
- Seasoning Blend - A mixture of salt, onion powder, and Italian seasoning is mixed into our garlic butter sauce for extra flavor.
How to Make Garlic Knots in the Air Fryer
See my 5-minute no rise pizza dough recipe for step-by-step photos on how to make the dough. You can always use store-bought pizza dough in a pinch!
Step 1: Start by diving the pizza dough into 16 even-sized pieces. I like to start by halving the dough ball, then keep halving each piece until I get to sixteen.
Step 2: Roll out each piece into a log. Use a kitchen knife or something similar for measuring.
Step 3: Wrap the dough rope around two fingers, then loop it around to create a knot. You can either tuck in the ends of the dough or leave them out.
Step 4: Add each knot to your air fryer basket and brush with garlic butter. After baking, brush once more.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Use a double dose of garlic butter. Brush the garlic butter on the knots before baking and afterwards. This helps that tasty sauce soak into every bite!
- Top with a little extra oomph. While the garlic knots are fresh out of the air fryer, I like to top with grated parmesan and freshly chopped parsley. It looks amazing and the saltiness from the parmesan pairs well with the other flavors.
- Use tools to make it easier on yourself. When cutting the dough, I recommend using a dough scraper or pizza cutter for ease. You can also weigh your dough using a food scale, divide by 16, and use that number to get perfectly even pieces.
Recipe FAQs
Nope, you can hand knead this pizza dough! If you prefer using a stand mixer, make sure to grab a dough hook attachment and knead for about 4 minutes, then knead by hand for another 4, or until smooth.
Yes! You can use pizza dough (although you'll get a much better taste with my homemade recipe.) Simply skip the first 5 steps in the recipe card and go straight into shaping the premade dough.
It's pretty similar to making a knot in a shoelace or string. Be gentle when it comes to "tying" - you don't want to pull so tight that you break your rope of dough.
Of course. Follow the assembly instructions as written, then bake on a parchment-lined sheet tray at 350°F for 20-22 minutes until golden brown.
Yes - I put the instructions in the recipe notes below, but can explain here as well.
If you're freezing the ball of pizza dough, add to a freezer-safe bag and remove all of the air. Seal, and store for up to 3 months.
If you're freezing the raw garlic knots, shape the knots as directed. Add them to a parchment-lined pan, and pop in the freezer until the raw knots are solid and no longer sticky. Then store in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Bite-Sized Appetizers You'll Love!
If you tried this Air Fryer Garlic Knots Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Air Fryer Garlic Knots
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Silicone Spatula
- Dough Scraper
Ingredients
No-Rise Homemade Pizza Dough
- 1 cup warm (not hot) water
- 1 packet active dry yeast (0.25 oz or 1 ½ tsp.)
- 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour about 275 grams
- 1 teaspoon salt
Garlic-Butter Sauce
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
Making the Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, pour in the warm water.1 cup warm (not hot) water
- Add the active dry yeast and sugar; let sit for 5 minutes until the mixture is frothy.1 packet active dry yeast, 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
- Pour in 1 tbsp. of olive oil and gently stir with a sptaula until combined.1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Add in the flour and salt; mix with the spatula until a slightly sticky ball forms. Create a dough ball (using a bit more flour if needed.)2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt
- Transfer your dough ball to a floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth.
Baking the Garlic Knots
- Preheat your air fryer to 330°F. Line the air fryer tray with parchment paper.
- Slice pizza dough into 16 sections using a dough scraper. I start by halving the dough circle, then halving those halves, etc. until I get to 16 pieces.
- Roll out each piece of dough into a long rope. Aim to make them at least the length of a kitchen knife. Take each string of dough and "tie" them into knots.
- In a small bowl, mix the olive oil and melted butter with the minced garlic, salt, onion powder, and Italian seasoning.2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Brush the garlic-butter sauce onto each knot.
- Bake in the air fryer for 7 minutes, until knots are golden brown. Brush extra garlic-butter on top after cooking and serve immediately with marinara sauce. Enjoy!
Brooke says
I absolutely loved these garlic knots! Made them last Friday for our movie night and they were gone halfway into the first film. Will make again and stuff them with mozzarella!
Shani W. says
The stuffed knots sound so good! Thank you for trying and commenting Brooke 🙂