If you've ever walked the midway at the Calgary Stampede or visited a Canadian summer fair, you know that nothing beats the smell of a fresh Beaver Tail. Traditionally, these iconic pastries are deep-fried and loaded with calories, but my Healthy Air Fryer Beaver Tails use 2-Ingredient Dough (Greek yogurt and flour), so you enjoy that nostalgic flavor without the guilt!
I add lemon zest directly into the dough of these Homemade Beaver Tails. Just like in my Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls, the zest provides a bright, citrusy depth that perfectly balances the cinnamon sugar. By air frying at a high temperature instead of deep frying, you get that signature chewy texture and golden-brown finish in just 15 minutes. It's the perfect treat for Canada Day or a Stampede breakfast at home.
Recipe Overview: Healthy Beaver Tails Dessert
- Ready In: 20 Minutes
- Serves: 4 large "tails"
- Calories: 327 kcal (approximately)
- Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, plain Greek yogurt, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest.
- Dietary Info: Vegetarian, High-protein, Low-fat.
- Weight Watchers Points: 8 WW points (A healthy holiday splurge!) or 4-5 points with Monk Fruit.
- Difficulty: Easy.
- Why You'll Love It: It's a "no-mess" way to make a Canadian classic. You get a high-protein pastry that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a zesty citrus kick built right into the dough.
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- Recipe Overview: Healthy Beaver Tails Dessert
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- 🥘Ingredient Notes
- 📖 Variations & Substitutions
- 🔪How to Make Healthy Beaver Tails
- Expert Recipe Tips
- 🥗 What to Serve with Canadian Beaver Tails
- 🌡️Storage
- 👪 Serving Size
- 🔢WW Points
- ❔Recipe FAQs
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- 🤠Stampede Recipes
- Healthier Air Fryer Beaver Tails Recipe
Looking for more Canada Day recipes? Try these 21 Canada Day Desserts!
🥘Ingredient Notes
You will need the following ingredients to make these Homemade Beaver Tails:
- All-Purpose Flour: I found that 1 ⅓ cups is the magic number to ensure the dough isn't too gooey to handle.
- Plain Non-fat Greek Yogurt (0%): This provides the moisture and a massive protein boost that traditional dough lacks.
- Granulated Sugar: We add ⅓ cup directly into the dough. This is the secret to getting that beautiful golden-brown color in the air fryer!
- Lemon Zest: This is the game-changer! Adding it to the dough ensures every bite has that spectacular citrus zing!
- Baking Powder: Use 2 teaspoons to ensure the "tails" puff up properly without the help of yeast.
*Please see recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities
📖 Variations & Substitutions
- Sweetener: Swap the white sugar in the dough for half the amount of Monk Fruit to bring the points down significantly.
- Gluten-Free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour.
- Toppings: While cinnamon sugar is classic, these are also great topped with my Orange Creamsicle Dip or a drizzle of Nutella, or really go to town with some vanilla ice cream!
🔪How to Make Healthy Beaver Tails
- Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Step 2: Stir the vanilla into the Greek yogurt.
- Step 3: Then add the yogurt and the lemon zest to the dry ingredients. Mix until a dough forms.
- Step 4: Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes until smooth (add a little extra flour if it's too sticky) and separate into 4 sections. *And keep additional flour nearby, as this type of dough is very sticky!
- Step 5: Stretch and/or roll each section with a rolling pin into a long, flat oval shape, like a beaver tail (about ⅛ inch thick, 3-4 inches wide, and 6-7 inches long). It needs to be able to fit into the air fryer drawers or basket.
- Step 6: Set the air fryer to 375°F (190°C). Lightly spray the drawers or basket with a few pumps of non-propellant oil. Place 2 tails in the air fryer (one per drawer- or in a basket). Then spray the tops with a few pumps of non-propellant oil. * It is critical to use some oil so they will brown properly.
- Step 7: Air fry for 6-8 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Then flip, spray the other side, and air fry for another 3-4 minutes. *If they start to puff up too much, just pop the puffy part with a toothpick.
- Step 8: It will be a deep golden brown, as in the image above.
- Step 9: Brush with melted butter.
- Step 10: Mix cinnamon and sugar together, then sprinkle on the beaver tail. I like to add a little bit of sparkling sugar and serve them with a lemon twist on top.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Silicone Liners: I recommend using silicone liners in your air fryer drawers. as I did. The surface is even and you will avoid getting strange looking marks on your beaver tails. They are also ideal when you're making or reheating a recipe with sauce ( such as my Easy Healthy Eggs Benedict Bake (with Runny Yolks!))
- The Zest Secret: Don't just squeeze lemon on top! Putting the zest in the dough is the "The Lazy Way" secret to a professional flavor profile.
- High Heat is Key: To mimic a deep fryer, you need 375°F. This caramelizes the sugar in the dough for that perfect "Midway" crunch.
- The Browning Hack: For the best color, brush the dough with a tiny bit of melted butter before air frying. It conducts heat better than a spray!
- Sprinkle While Hot: The cinnamon sugar will only stick if the Beaver Tail is hot and has a light coating of fat. Do it the second they come out!
🥗 What to Serve with Canadian Beaver Tails
If you're celebrating Canada Day or Stampede with a BBQ, then Beaver Tails make a great dessert to accompany my BBQ Beer Can Chicken or my Slow Cooker Beef on a Bun (shown)!
These healthy Beaver Tails are also great for packing along if you're headed to the Stampede Parade, as are my Carnival Style Mini Donuts!
🌡️Storage
- Eat Fresh: These are best enjoyed warm, but they can be eaten cold as well!
- Reheating: If you have leftovers, pop them back in the air fryer at 350°F for 2 minutes to recrisp.
- Freezing: You can freeze the unbaked dough for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge before shaping and air frying.
👪 Serving Size
This recipe makes 4 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
This Beaver Tail recipe is 8 WW points (A healthy holiday splurge!) or 4-5 points with Monk Fruit.
❔Recipe FAQs
You can bake these in the oven! Place them on a parchment-lined sheet at 400°F (200°C) for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through. They won't be quite as "fried" in texture, but they will still be delicious.
Yes! You can make the dough up to 48 hours in advance and keep it in the fridge. In fact, a long rest makes the dough even easier to stretch. If you do this, add a tiny pinch (about ¼ tsp) of extra baking powder when you're ready to bake to "recharge" the rise.
This usually happens for two reasons: the temperature was too low, or you skipped the oil spray. To get that "Midway" golden color, ensure your air fryer is set to 375°F/190°C and don't skip the light coating of non-propellant oil spray. The sugar in the dough also helps with the caramelization!
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Healthier Air Fryer Beaver Tails Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup white granulated sugar.
- 2 teaspoon baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt 0% fat
- 1 teaspoon vanilla Extract.
- ½ tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ cup white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients together.1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup white granulated sugar., 2 tsp baking Powder, ½ tsp salt
- Then mix vanilla into Greek yogurt.1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt, 1 tsp vanilla Extract.
- Then add Greek yogurt and lemon zest to dry mixture.½ tbsp lemon zest
- Form into flat elongated oval shapes (to look like Beaver tails)
- Smooth edges with hands and stretch by rollign out into air fryer or on cutting board.
- Prep: Set air fryer to 375 degrees F on match cook. Spray the inside of the air fryer with non- propellant spray.
- Place 2 beaver tails (one in each drawer) and spray with few pumps of non-propellant spray.
- Air Fry: for 6-8 minutes on the first side.
- Then flip, spray again and air fry for 3-5 minutes.
- Mix cinnamon and sugar together.½ tablespoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ cup white granulated sugar
- Brush butter over the top of the beaver tail as soon as you take them out of the air fryer, then sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar mixture.2 tbsp unsalted butter
Notes
- Sweetener: Swap the white sugar in the dough for half the amount of Monk Fruit to bring the points down significantly.
- Gluten-Free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour.
- Toppings: While cinnamon sugar is classic, these are also great topped with my Orange Creamsicle Dip or a drizzle of Nutella, or really go to town with some vanilla ice cream!
- The Zest Secret: Don't just squeeze lemon on top! Putting the zest in the dough is the "The Lazy Way" secret to a professional flavor profile.
- High Heat is Key: To mimic a deep fryer, you need 375°F. This caramelizes the sugar in the dough for that perfect "Midway" crunch.
- The Browning Hack: For the best color, brush the dough with a tiny bit of melted butter before air frying. It conducts heat better than a spray!
- Sprinkle While Hot: The cinnamon sugar will only stick if the Beaver Tail is hot and has a light coating of fat. Do it the second they come out!
- Eat Fresh: These are best enjoyed warm, but they can be eaten cold as well!
- Reheating: If you have leftovers, pop them back in the air fryer at 350°F for 2 minutes to recrisp.
- Freezing: You can freeze the unbaked dough for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge before shaping and air frying.
Mich says
Rhode Island Italian here - these sound like really healthy doughboys! I'm going to wait until football season is here again before I make these - they look & sound delicious, especially with lemon zest in the batter and so little fat. Air fryers are a Godsend. Thank you for another really neat healthy recipe!
Terri Gilson says
Hi Mich,
I agree - air fryers are a godsend! And yes, these would be perfect for a game day!
Enjoy 🙂
Linda Cashin says
I was wondering if I could bake them in the oven and what temp. Thanks so much
Terri Gilson says
Hi Linda,
Yes, you can! I put the directions in the FAQ's at the bottom, but they are hard to see, so here they are again:
Can I make these Beaver Tails without an air fryer?
You can bake these in the oven! Place them on a parchment-lined sheet at 400°F (200°C) for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through. They won't be quite as "fried" in texture, but they will still be delicious!
Enjoy!
Terri
Linda Cashin says
Thanks Terri, They look so tasty, I cant wait to make them,
Terri Gilson says
My daughter said, "these beaver tails are one of the BEST things you've ever made!"