What Can I Cook In An Air Fryer? Here are 7 Easy Ideas.
The purchase is made, the box arrives- and you ask yourself “What can I book in an air fryer, anyway?”
Here are the no-printed-directions-needed level easy air fryer recipes that we swear by- like, things you can make the day you take your air fryer out of the box and want to make something immediately to prove to yourself that it was a smart purchase (spoiler alert: it was a smart purchase, promise.)
This is the air fryer we own- chosen because it is the one that one of my favorite Instagram accounts for recipe ideas has in her kitchen (@whatsrobynmaking - she is a great follow, highly recommend!), and it has TONS of 4-5 star reviews on Amazon. This particular one is big- so plan accordingly if storage space is tight. Although, to be honest, we leave ours on the countertop (which is something typically I am against- I like clean, barren countertops in my kitchen so I can convince myself I’m a well-edited minimalist, ha!) because it gets used at least once per day.
Simple Air Fryer Recipe Ideas:
Dried Apples: When we have a bunch of apples that are losing their crisp quotient, I slice them up super thin, sprinkle cinnamon on top, and toss them in the air fryer at 375 degrees for 16 minutes, shaking halfway through. The girls fight over them at breakfast!
Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi: I could never cook this right until the air fryer entered my life! Pre-heat the air fryer to 400 degrees, toss the entire package in the basket and 10-12 minutes later- shake halfway through, obv. because that is what you basically always do with air fryer recipes- they are DONE (and sooooo delicious!). I sprinkle my beloved Jennifer Fisher Universal Salt on top while they are still toasty, and then drizzle a little Rao’s Marinara sauce on top.
Sweet Potato Hash Browns: Peel and cut a sweet potato into cubes, toss with a little olive oil, salt and cinnamon and throw them in at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes, with a basket shake halfway through. I make a double batch and save the extra to put on top of a kale salad for dinner.
Hard Boiled Eggs: Instead of watching a pot of boiling water like a hawk, just place eggs in the air fryer, set at 275 degrees and leave them in for 12 minutes. I throw them in a bowl of ice for a quick cool down, and they are peeled and ready to be devoured in under 15 minutes, flat.
Leftover Veggies from Chinese Food: We always end up with leftover Chinese, but the soggy day-old veggies gross me out and inevitably end up going to waste. Now, I throw them into a pre-heated air fryer at 350 degrees for 8 minutes and they get nice and crispy, as if they were freshly roasted!
Crunchy Chickpeas: For some reason, in the early days of lockdown life, we bought like a case of canned garbanzo beans. In an effort to clear all signs of 2020 from my pantry, I started making these and Alexa always wants them in her school snack pack. This article covers the details on ways to make sure they are extra crispy- but in short- heat the air fryer to 390 degrees, drain the liquid from the can of beans (no rinsing or drying time needed!), dump them into the basket, spray with a little olive oil and sprinkle the seasoning of your choice (I of course use the Jennifer Fisher Salt- Lex likes the Spicy Salt for these). Toss every 5 minutes for so to ensure even crisping, and after 15 minutes they should be perfectly done!
Salmon With Whatever Marinade You Have On Hand: For a quick healthy dinner, take salmon fillets out of the fridge and let them hang out on the counter for like 30 minutes (not sure why, but everyone seems to do this, so I just go with it.) Pre-heat the air fryer to 390 degrees, and while it heats up, rub the sauce or seasoning combo of your choice on the salmon (last night we used Trader Joe’s Soyaki, sometimes I just do olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper- you can get creative here). Place fillets, skin side down, in the basket for about 7 minutes. Voilà - dinner is served!
Frozen Chicken Nuggets: I know this is NOT rocket science, but in our house, it often goes that Goldie refuses to touch what the rest of us are having for dinner, and howls on repeat “I WANT DINO’S!”. At this point, the “I choose my battles” (otherwise possibly known as lazy) mom in me goes to the freezer, takes out a handful of Dino Nuggets, dramatically tosses them into the air fryer and leaves them in for 3 minutes at 400 degrees. And they all lived happily ever after…