Our 40 Easiest And Best Air Fryer Recipes
What’s not to love about an air fryer? The handy kitchen appliance gives you all the flavor of deep-fried foods with a fraction of the calories. Whether you’re looking for air fryer chicken, a quick and easy appetizer, or an unexpected dessert, you’re sure to find something delicious in our collection of air fryer recipes.
Perfectly crispy french fries are a breeze to make thanks to the air fryer. With much less oil involved because there’s no need for deep-frying, these fries are a snack you can feel good about. Chopped rosemary brings a sophisticated edge and a depth of flavor to these fries that pairs well with your favorite dipping sauces.
Getting The Crispiest French Fries
This one may sound obvious, but it bears repeating: If you haven’t already tried making fries in your air fryer, now’s the time to do it. Whether you’re preparing homemade fries or you’re just pouring them straight from the bag into the machine, your air fryer is going to make them super crispy, per Taste of Home. And let’s be honest: It’s a lot easier and much, much less messy than actually trying to deep fry in your kitchen.
However, you don’t have to stop at french fries. We believe that pretty much any kind of fried potato product works well in an air fryer. Make homemade chips, or revitalize those tater tots that have been sitting in the back of the freezer for months. You can even make breakfast a breeze by popping some hash browns in the air fryer while you’re cooking your eggs. There are no limits when it comes to the dynamic duo that is potatoes and air fryers.
Certain Vegetables Or Greens
As mentioned above, air fryers are great for the types of veggies you would usually roast or fry. In addition to frozen savoury foods, an air fryer can turn frozen veggies into a delicious side dish. However, you should be avoiding fresh veggies or greens that you would usually steam, like spinach, carrots and green beans.
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Important Tips To Keep In Mind
- Always have the grate in the basket. This allows hot air to circulate around the food, and also keeps the food from sitting in excess oil.
- Air fryers are loud. When its running, youll hear whirring fans.
- Its hands-on. Even browning requires you to remove the basket and shuffle the food around every few minutes.
- It’s fine to pull out the basket for a peek. You can do this at any point into the cooking process. No need to shut off the machine, as it shuts itself off when the basket is out.
- Accordingly, make sure the drawer is pushed all the way in, or it wont turn back on. Youll know, because the air fryer will be suddenly quiet.
- Food cooks fast, faster than youre used to! Its one of the best attributes of the air fryer. Your air fryers manual likely has a handy table of cooking times and temperatures for common foods. The less food in the basket, the shorter the cook time will be the more food, the longer it will be.
- You may need a slightly lower temperature. A lot of air fryer recipes call for lower temperature settings than their conventional counterparts. This might seem fishy, but just go with it. Once again, air fryers get hot very fast and move that hot air around, so a slightly lower temperature will help keep food from getting too dark or crispy on the outside, while still being properly cooked on the inside.
Can You Use Batter In An Air Fryer
A wet batter doesnt tend to usually far well when cooking in the greaseless fryer. This is because you arent really immersing the food in a ton of oil, so there is nothing that is flash frying that batter quick enough to make it stop from falling off.
Many people have found success with rolling the food in flour after dipping it in the wet batter which then helps hold it in place and lets the oil less deep fryer work its magic.
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It’s More Versatile Than You Think
The Spruce Eats / Nita West
If you’ve hopped aboard the air fryer train, welcome to the party. We’re all loving air fryers these days because they can make crispy, crunchy, delicious food while using little oil. For those who love fried food but don’t want to heat a pan of oil, try these amazing air fryer options.
The Deal With Air Fryers
First off, a disappointment: Air fryers are not deep fryers.
Air fryers are full of hot air, and thats what is great about them. They are basically small, powerful ovens, and ovens use air as a vehicle for heat, whereas deep frying uses fat as the vehicle for heat.
Because air fryers are ovens and not fryers, foods that come out of your air fryer will not be 100% identical to the onion rings at Cone-n-Shake or the calamari rings at your favorite bar and grill.
The upshot is that air fryers are much less messy and oil-intensive than deep-frying. Even better, these lil ovens can do much more than crank out faux fried food. Air fryers bring beautifully browned vegetables, crackly-skinned chicken wings, and even light and airy cakes, all within your reach.
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Whole Roasts Or Entire Chickens
When it comes to space, air fryers leave much to be desired. That is, there simply isn’t much room on the inside of the gadget. So, cooking an entire roast or chicken in an air fryer might be tricky. This is why families often have to make multiple batches of food in an air fryer to feed the entire clan. That said, according to The Taste of Home an air fryer basket that can hold over 6 quarts should provide just enough room to roast an entire chicken. However, most home air fryers range between 3.7 and 5.8 quarts, per Everyday Family Cooking.
Even if the chicken or roast happens to fit in your air fryer, there’s a decently high risk that it won’t cook evenly. That’s because air fryers work by circulating hot air around the food. Overfilling your air fryer with an entire roast or chicken is likely to limit the circulation of that air, causing the meat to steam rather than roast. Who wants steamed chicken? An overly crowded air fryer can also mean that the meat won’t cook evenly, with the device burning and drying out the side of the chicken closest to the heat source before the other side of the bird is even safe to eat.
So, if you’ve got a whole chicken and an air fryer, what to do? In that case, it’s best to cut the meat into smaller pieces to prevent overcrowding .
Easy To Use And Clean
Most units are designed to be very user-friendly and easy to operate just place your food in the basket, set the temperature and time, and walk away . A typical air fryer doesnt have dozens of cooking options, just simple controls that are basic and easy to understand. Because air fryers dont use much oil, theyre also typically very easy to clean. Win-win.
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Can You Cook Frozen Foods In An Air Fryer
The air fryer is one of the best kitchen appliance when it comes to cooking food from frozen. It cooks foods like frozen french fries to crispy perfection without the need to thaw first.
If you havent tried it yet, yes you can cook frozen foods in the air fryer, so get started with using your air fryer already.
Works Well: Homemade Chips
Our Test Kitchen has had lots of success making homemade potato chips in their air fryers. You dont have to just stick to russet potatoes, either: try sweet potato chips, kale chips, beet chipseven pickle chips. Ready for a healthy crunch? You can make air-fryer tortilla chips with way less oil than deep-fried tortilla chips!
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What To Consider Before You Buy An Air Fryer
- Air fryers come in various shapes and sizes. In general, smaller units are designed to cook food for one to two people at a time. XL and XXL sizes can fit enough food to feed up to six people at a time.
- Some air fryers are multi-functional. You can find air fryer-toaster oven combo units and even pressure cookers with an air fry function. Depending on your space and how you plan to use your air fryer, a combo unit could be right for you.
- Prices vary. Air fryers can range in price from around $40 to upwards of $300. Weâve found that many of the best air fryers cost around $100 and are often on sale.
- Make the most of your air fryer with accessories. Like the beloved pressure cooker, air fryer accessories are hitting the market making the appliance even more versatile.
Amanda Neal
Common Mistakes Youre Probably Making With Your Air Fryer
Cleaning it incorrectly or infrequently: Not many of us look forward to cleaning up post-meal. But, to keep your air fryer in decent condition, crumbs should not be left behind. Generally, washing the air fryer with hot soapy water after each use, combined with an occasional soak and light scrub, will help keep your appliance squeaky clean.
Not checking on your air fryer while its cooking: For best results, youll want to periodically check up on your food, which means opening up your air fryer. Most units are designed so you can open them, check on your food, and shake the basket around allowing food to be evenly cooked and crispy without burning or drying it out.
Overcrowding the basket: A mistake a lot of first-time buyers make is filling their air fryer to the brim with food, and expecting it all to magically cook evenly and thoroughly. It is recommended you should never fill your basket more than halfway, so larger portions of foods must be cooked in batches. The general rule of thumb is: resist the temptation to feed a crowd, all in one go.
Not pre-heating: When using an oven to bake or cook, you would usually pre-heat before cooking. Well, the same goes for an air fryer. Spending a few extra minutes waiting for the machine to reach optimum cooking conditions will potentially help you avoid under-baked choc chip cookies or unevenly cooked potato gems.
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Works Well: Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds, say hello to your new best friend. The air fryer is an easy way to get those yummy little seeds baked to crispy perfection. While traditional methods would take you around an hour to complete, youll save plenty of time by using an air fryer.
No air fryer? No problem. We have a guide to roasting pumpkin seeds the traditional way, too.
What To Expect The First Time
After you open the box, take apart all removable components. This will probably include a removable basket and a grate or perforated tray in the bottom of that basket. Wash and dry them.
Put the air fryer on a heat-resistant surface, at least eight inches away from the wall. Replace the grate and basket.
NOTE: Some manufacturers recommend running the air fryer empty for 10 minutes before you actually cook with it, to let it off-gas. There might be a slightly chemical smell , so have the vents on or windows open. It should be just a one-time thing.
Now you are ready to cook food! How about fries? Really, isnt that the big sell on these things? Potatoes are cheap, and we have a great recipe for you.
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Air Fryer Fried Chicken
Making fried chicken in an air fryer is a revelation. You can achieve a crispy crust and juicy interior without all the steps of deep-frying. A soak in seasoned buttermilk adds extra flavoras little as 1 hour will make a difference, but overnight is even better. Because of the capacity of a standard air fryer, we cook the chicken in batches. You can rewarm the first batch in a 250-degree oven for 10 minutes if you’d like to serve it all hot at once.
Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Fried Chicken
Making Your Own Tortilla Chips
You know that feeling when it’s late at night and you’re dying for a snack but you can’t imagine actually leaving your house and going to the store to get one? Yeah, we’ve all been there. While you can usually MacGyver something together, if what you’re looking for is chips, there really isn’t any suitable replacement. However, if you happen to have some tortillas and an air fryer on hand, you can make your own chips with very little effort … and without even turning on your oven.
We definitely prefer using corn tortillas for this hack from Yellow Bliss Road, but you can also use flour tortillas if that’s all you have on hand. Make sure you spray your tortillas with some cooking spray to ensure that they crisp up nicely, and give them a sprinkle of salt. Then, cook them in your air fryer for about two to three minutes.
And in barely anytime at all, you’ll have perfectly cooked tortilla chips to pair with salsa, guacamole, queso, or even on their own. Never make a late-night munchies run again.
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Roasting A Whole Chicken
When it comes to a process as seemingly intricate and time-consuming as roasting a whole chicken, you probably wouldn’t expect that an air fryer could get the job done. But that’s far from the truth. Actually, if you have an air fryer that’s big enough , it actually is possible to roast an entire chicken in your air fryer. The Food Network notes that this process will take a little over an hour, which may sound time-consuming, but we think it’s worth it if you get a whole roast chicken out of it.
The best part? It’s beyond easy. Simply pre-heat the air fryer to 375 F while you season your chicken , then let it cook for 50 to 60 minutes. Even if you’ve never roasted a bird before, we’re confident you can get it right with the help of your air fryer. In the end, the skin of the chicken comes out super crispy, and the flesh will be exceptionally juicy. Forget about buying that rotisserie chicken when making one yourself is this easy, why wouldn’t you give it a try?
Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos
Chicken taquitos are one of the easiest and tastiest air fryer recipes.
This simple dish is something you can whip up on a busy weeknight or serve on the weekend when you want something thats filling but also light.
Taquitos are a great way to use up a leftover rotisserie chicken. How can you go wrong with Tex-Mex food thats cheesy and spicy?
This recipe uses cream cheese, Colby jack cheese, salsa, and black beans. You can always substitute cheddar cheese or a taco cheese blend.
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Fry Up Chickpeas For A Crispy Savory Treat
Whether you’re looking for the perfect salad topping or just want something healthy to snack on, air-fried chickpeas may be the answer.
“Air-fried chickpeas are crispy, portable, and delicious,” said Dang. “You can easily toss in some spices and seasonings along with a small amount of oil to jazz them up a little.”
Za’atar, curry powder, or chili powder are perfect seasonings to experiment with if you want to add an extra kick of flavor to air-fried chickpeas.
The 13 Best Meats To Cook In An Air Fryer Ranked
The air fryer made its debut at the 2010 Internationale Funkausstellung exhibition in Berlin. Released by Philips, the innovative kitchen appliance was an instant hit. Indeed, it was so much so that IFA’s organizers listed it in the top five inventions presented at the event . Once you’ve used one, you can see how there are good reasons why air fryers have taken the culinary world by storm. They not only speed up cooking time but require a fraction of the oil used to deep fry food, making them a healthier alternative to traditional cooking methods .
Air fryers do their magic by rapidly circulating hot air around food to create the texture and flavor of fried foods. In the case of meat dishes, this often means a perfectly-cooked cut that’s juicy and tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, minus the oil traditionally used for frying . Just like some other modern kitchen appliances, however, air fryers sometimes just don’t cut it as a substitute for traditional cooking methods. In fact, they can make some foods disappointingly dry and tasteless. Meat is no exception. With this in mind, these are the best types of meat to cook in an air fryer, ranked from worst to first.
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A Succulent Roast Chicken
A moist yet crispy chicken is easy to achieve in an air fryer with a rotisserie function, and you can also do this in some of the best toaster ovens.
Cooking it couldn’t be simpler: ‘A small whole chicken can roast beautifully in 60 minutes,’ says Zoe McClean. You’ll be left with a delicious roast chicken that’s got a crispy skin. Our top tip? Use the juices that gather at the bottom of the oven to prepare a gravy.
