Most people think that an air fryer can only be used to cook french fries. Not so! There are so many possibilities with the air fryer, so we’re going to answer the question: What can you cook in an air fryer?
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First off, an air fryer is quite a versatile kitchen appliance: It can bake, roast, fry, and grill food. Some air fryers, like the Gourmia GTA2500 even come with a rotisserie cage for delicious grilled chicken!
If you buy a T-Fal Actifry, you can even make Asian stir-fries with it! The steering paddle in the middle of the bowl will stir-fry your food for you!
What Can You Cook In An Air Fryer?
There are lots of foods you can cook in an air fryer as long as it fits in there. Here are some foods that are very popular for cooking in an air fryer:
Fries
Let’s start with the food the air fryer is most famous for: French Fries! You can use an air fryer for making crispy crunchy French fries from frozen supermarket-type fries or from scratch.
To prepare frozen French fries, you would simply add a layer of fries in your air fryer basket and fry them for 12-15 minutes. You don’t need to add any oil here.
To make fries in the air fryer from scratch try this:
- Cut potatoes into fries and soak them in water to remove any excess starch
- Rinse and use a paper towel to pat them dry. Transfer to a bowl.
- Add a tablespoon of oil to the fries and mix to ensure an even coating.
- Add the potatoes to the basket and fry for 15 minutes, then take out the basket and give them a little shake.
- Fry for another 10-15 minutes till crispy and golden
Raw meat
Raw meat can easily be prepared in the air fryer. Think of meats like chicken wings, pork chops, lamb chops, steaks, and burgers.
In some air fryers, you might need a separate grill pan to get great results. The Philips AirFryer has one that needs to be purchased separately.
Some air fryers, like the GoWise Turbo Air Fryer, have a roasting fork, so you can grill a whole chicken. What’s even better: a small whole chicken can be grilled in just 30 minutes.
With most raw meat you’ll probably need to add a little oil. This is usually a tablespoon or less, so you’ll save a lot of calories compared to a skillet or deep fryer.
Also read: Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
Vegetables
Grilling vegetables in the air fryer is one of my favorite things to make. I love grilling cauliflower, mushrooms, zucchini, red pepper, and eggplant in my hot air fryer and it’s really easy too!
Usually, I just cut my veggies, add a little olive oil and garlic, and then pop them in the air fryer for like 15-20 minutes.
They come out crispy and ready to serve with cooked rice or, if I’m making breakfast, with some scrambled eggs!
Nuts
You can roast all sorts of nuts in the air fryer: walnuts, chestnuts, peanuts, and pecans are just a few examples.
If you happen to own an Actifry, you don’t even have to shake the nuts halfway through, because the stirring paddle moves the food around the bowl constantly.
Pies and Cakes
Do you fancy something sweet?
Most air fryers can also bake a cake. You may need to buy an optional cake pan, but you can make apple pies, cupcakes, and even crème brulée with your air fryer.
Fruit
You can prepare all kinds of fruit in an air fryer, but we’ll just take a few examples:
Sliced fresh pineapple is deliciously prepared in the air fryer. It takes about 10 minutes to grill the pineapple slices and they will caramelize beautifully.
Serve the grilled pineapple with ice cream or Greek yogurt for a yummy dessert.
Apples can be grilled in the air fryer or you can even make apple chips.
Foods You Can’t Cook In An Air Fryer
These foods are not suitable for use in the air fryer.
Pasta and Rice
Both pasta and rice need to be boiled in water, which is not something an air fryer can do.
You can however boil rice first and use it to create a stir fry in the T-Fal Actifry.
Wet Battered Foods
Wet battered foods are not suitable for the air fryer, because the hot air action will separate the batter from the food and splatter all over the device.
One way to prevent this would be to fry the food in a skillet first and then use the air fryer to crisp it.
Air Fryer Cookbooks
If you want some great recipes for the air fryer, you should consider buying an air fryer cookbook.
The ones selected below are very popular and contain many versatile recipes. You can literally make meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the air fryer!
The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook: The 75 Best Healthy Recipes for Your Air Fryer
Paula Deen’s Air Fryer Cookbook
Air-Fried Mac and Cheese Squares, Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels, Caprese Stuffed Portabellas, and Bacon-Wrapped Sausage-Stuffed Jalepenos are just a few of the lip-smacking air fryer recipes in this book by Paula Deen.
The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook: Amazingly Easy Recipes to Fry, Bake, Grill, and Roast with Your Air Fryer
With over 100 recipes for every meal and snack of the day, this bestselling air fryer cookbook also contains handy charts for cooking times, temperatures and measurements.
Air Fry Everything: Foolproof Recipes for Fried Favorites and Easy Fresh Ideas
I need an instruction book for a faberware air fryer. Bought one at a Dirt Cheap store for 16.00 but it didn’t have a book with it.