12+ Air Fryer Recipes

What should I make it my air fryer?

I’ve heard that many times since they’ve become popular.

If you have an air fryer you’re going to love seeing all the things I tried with great results in the air fryer. If you don’t have one, you may just want to get an air fryer soon after seeing this!   

Let’s start with what an air fryer is, it is a small convection oven.

Since it’s small there is no preheating needed, it typically gets to temperature in about a minute.  

Convection simply means. That hot air will circulate and in turn, will cook food faster, sugars caramelize quicker for a crisp edge and oiled items brown nicely.

Just wait until you see how QUICK these foods are to make. They take at least half the time as they would in the oven and come out tasting better and crispier.

These Air Fryer Recipes are sure to make you want one if you don’t own an air fryer already!  From sweet to savory, snacks, or a whole meal, my list of Unique Air Fryer Recipes has you covered!

What should I make in my air fryer? I hear this question often, and my response is always, “just about anything!” I was gifted an air fryer years ago and never thought I’d end up using it as often as I do. I do not typically eat a lot of fried foods, but it turns out that an air fryer just makes things CRISPY without all the grease. I love crunchy and crispy, so I decided to see what foods could be made better by using my air fryer instead of my oven or stove. As it turns out – there are more than I imagined!

HERE is the Air Fryer have in white

What Should I Cook in My Air Fryer?

I love using it for just about anything I’d cook in the oven. Some of my favorite things to make in my Air Fryer are French fries, chocolate chip cookies, veggies like Brussels Sprouts, taquitos, homemade tortilla,  chips, diced up Spam, frozen mini tacos, sausage, Rosemary Garlic Chickpeas, and tortellini or ravioli. The Air Fryer crisps up the tortellini and makes is perfect for dipping in marinara or Alfredo sauce.

What Is An Air Fryer?

An air fryer is essentially a small convection oven. Convection simply means that hot air will circulate and in turn, will cook food faster. With an air fryer, sugars caramelize for a crisp edge and oiled items brown nicely. I have found that foods in the air fryer typically cook in half the time as they would in the oven. It’s a win! The air fryer is also great for my teenager because he can cook his favorite snacks quickly and easily.

Do Air Fryer Recipes Require A Lot Of Oil?

Prepared foods are made with enough oil that you do not need to add any oil to cook them. Fresh foods will need a small amount of oil if you want them to cook up crispy such as vegetables. Nonstick vegetable oil spray is great for quickly adding a bit of oil to things like Brussels Sprouts or French fries.

Should I Buy An Air Fryer?

An Air Fryer is great for anyone who wants a small amount of food cooked quickly. Because Air Fryers are small, they typically just make enough food to serve a couple of people. If you RV a lot, these are perfect for that, too! The small size is great for traveling and cleanup is a breeze. Air Fryers are also convenient for college students, single people, or anyone who frequently snacks on convenience foods.

How Can I Convert A Recipe to Make in the Air Fryer?

To convert any recipe to cook in an Air Fryer, start with the temperature you’d use in the regular oven, cutting the cooking time in half. Gently shake the cooking basket or turn the item over as necessary for even heating. One nice feature is that the timer stops when the air fryer is opened to check on the food, then it starts right back up when it’s closed.

Then I started thinking if I could make things I would normally eat CRISPY well that sounded more appealing to me. Brussels sprouts were at the top of my list to try.

I first started off making some prepared foods that my teen just loves. Wow were they crispy, they tasted better than baking them and they cook up so quickly now I don’t need to “help them” cook ( in other words do it for them as they think cooking takes to long, with the air fryer, they can do it all themselves.

YAY!!

It got me thinking about how many other people could benefit from using an air fryer. My kids were ALWAYS leaving the oven on… even when they were done using it. It was so frustrating! With the air fryer, it turns off when it’s done cooking.

Genius! 

Tortellini: an appetizer so fast and easy. I used refrigerated tortellini just tossed them in a teaspoon of oil, added some Italian bread crumbs with some Italian seasoning mix and garlic powder and air fried them for 8 minutes at 370° until they were turning golden and served them with a fresh herb dip, made of sour cream, fresh basil, fresh parsley, garlic paste, a tablespoon parmesan cheese, and some salt and pepper. I use an immersion blender to blend the herbs small in the sour cream.

Brussels sprouts: cut into half or quarters and tossed in a teaspoon of oil and cooked at 400° for 10 minutes, shake the basket halfway through so they are all crispy.

Rosemary Garlic Chick Peas: crunchy and yummy and full of flavor. Rinse a can of chickpeas toss with a teaspoon of oil, then add some garlic paste (or garlic powder) then add some fresh chopped rosemary and salt. Air fry at 400° for 12-15 minutes, shake the basket halfway so they all get turned around and cook evenly.

Sausage: The outside is so crispy and the inside perfectly cooked in only 12 minutes at 400°

Mini Tacos: Both Costco and Sams club has been selling these mini tacos and truth be told, they get devoured in my house by my teen. They take 8 minutes to heat up on 370° and we shake the basket halfway through so they cook evenly. They are yummy and crispy! Total convenience food and perfect for stoppers Byers on a warm Saturday, great while chatting and sipping on a beer, margarita or a beer margarita!

I’ve also used the air fryer for frozen taquitos and burritos and both cooked at 370° for 8 minutes with great results. 

Spam: I diced a can of spam small and then air fried it for 10 minutes at 400° shaking the basket at the 5-minute mark and wow the result was so crispy, I served it over some sauteed cabbage with grated carrots and pineapple with a teriyaki drizzle topped with spam. So delicious. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies: I sliced up some refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough and rolled them into small tablespoon-sized balls and air fried them for 5 minutes at 350° I turned them over halfway through baking and they were crispy! Once I sliced the dough I then cut it into 4 smaller pieces and rolled them. I cooked them on a piece of parchment paper I cut to fit the bottom of my air fryer. 

This batch I made bigger. I wasn’t sure I’d like them, they were “less cooked” when I removed them from the air fryer, I cooked these at 350° for 10 minutes, I wasn’t sure they’d crisp up. I tried one warm and well they were kinda undercooked. But when they cooled completely, they had a crisp edge and were chewy inside, these were my son’s favorite! 

Tortillas: chips, strips oh they’re so yummy!

Make a batch of my favorite restaurant salsa and air fry up some chips and get snackin’

Add some air-fried tortilla strips to a batch of Chicken Tortilla Soup for the perfect topping.

At 400• They take 5-6 minutes depending on how big of pieces there are and how many you’re frying.

Now, how about some fresh air fried taquitos! 

I often cook a 7lb London broil or a 6lb pork shoulder cut into 4 pieces with an onion and a cup of chicken stock in the pressure cooker on high for an hour and a half. Then shred it with a couple of forks and it’s the perfect filling to homemade taquitos.  

I roll the taquitos using warmed corn tortillas then fry them for about 8 minutes at 370° they don’t take long you’re really only cooking the tortillas as the meat is already cooked. Then top them with some cheese and guacamole.

Cinnamon Rolls: These came out so great! I used a piece of parchment paper and started cooking the cinnamon rolls cinnamon side down first and cooked them at 300° for 6 minutes, then I took the tray out and then place the cinnamon rolls with the cinnamon side up in the air fryer tray to finish the cooking it took just 5 more minutes. Then I topped them with the icing. 

French Fries: Cut Russet Potatoes in thin strips, I cooked 1lb of cut potatoes, added a teaspoon of oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and set fryer to 400° it’ll take about 25 minutes to get crisp fries, don’t overcrowd the basket too much. Shake the basket a few times so the french fries cook evenly about every 8 minutes.

Cheese Sauce: Oh how I love cheese sauce this is an easy recipe and it’s great on the French fries, Brussels sprouts and so much more.

HERE is the Air Fryer have in white

keep scrolling for more recipes and ideas after the cheese sauce recipe

Print Recipe

Small Batch Cheese Sauce 

Author: Diane Schmidt - createdbydiane.com

Ingredients

• 4 oz cheddar cheese grated
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon Franks hot sauce
• 6 oz evaporated milk

Instructions

• Mix all items in a small saucepan and heat until bubbly, it'll thicken as it sits. It can be made ahead and reheated easily. This recipe can also be doubled or made in larger quantities.
• Add some more heat to it with some crushed red pepper and it's also delicious with pickled jalapeños added in.

KEEP SCROLLING… there is more of my AIR FRYER RECIPES AND INFORMATION BELOW!

Frozen French Fries: they only take 10-12 minutes, at 400° they turn out really crispy and are much faster cooking in the air fryer than in the oven.

These are ordinary frozen french fries… cooked int eh air fryer they only take 10 minutes at 400° and are crispy and delicious. I served them with my favorite burger. A pizza burger, just cook a burger, top it with mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce, and some oregano. YUM!

I’m surprised I don’t have a photo but TATER TOTS come out amazing in the air fryer I cook them at 400° for 10 minutes! 

I just had to try air frying Oreos, I’ve shared how I made them before when Deep Fried Oreos,

these are SO fun and SO FAST.  They only take about 4 minutes to cook at 400°. I made a few batches and tested how to get them to easily remove from the tray, spraying it with a nonstick spray worked best. I just use a prepared pancake batter. I dipped each Oreo in the batter and placed them in the fryer using a fork to hold each one to put it in place. The batter does drip a little bit through the holes, but it’s really easy to clean up. The pancake batter is pretty thick. Don’t mix it thin, if it seems too thin add a little more pancake mix.

WHO IS THE AIR FRYER FOR: anyone who wants a small amount of food cooked quick, I think it’s great for serving one or two people. Once you start piling the food on top of each other is takes longer and you have to monitor and shake the items more frequently.

Great for people who don’t love to “cook”, college students, single people, seniors, frequent snickers especially convenience items that are sold frozen and just need heating.  Also for people who have little time, want to save money on take-out.

If you have an air fryer then it’s no surprise how wonderful it is, if you don’t have one yet…

you may just want to run out and get one as soon as you see these air fried items and just how FAST the air fryer is.

Prepared foods are made with enough oil that you do not need to add any oil to cook them. Fresh foods will need a small amount of oil if you want them to cook up crispy such as vegetables. I think you’ll find it interesting at some fun items I tried, like cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies. So if you don’t really like to cook or bake, but want something to cook items quickly and easily then an air fryer may just need to be put at the top of your must-get list.

This is the info on the air fryer I have:  I have the Touch Activated Modern Home Air Fryer by Skyline 3.2L  120V 60Hz and 1400w. I couldn’t locate the exact one I have to share with you. But it’s model #919TS. THIS is similar to the one I have now, it’s a bit larger though.
To my surprise, we use the air fryer more than I would have originally thought. I just ordered THIS AIR FRYER IN WHITE since it sits on my kitchen counter all the time. Air fryers come in colors too, so you can choose one to match your kitchen.

I have also made Pizza in the air fryer using Nan bread, topping it with sauce cheese and pepperoni and it only takes 5 minutes to heat and comes out with a crisp crust on the nan. I’ll have to add a photo of it the next time I make it. I have also cooked a small frozen pizza with good results as well.

I’ve also air-fried CHICKEN and FISH STICKS and they all came out crispy. So if you buy frozen foods this is a great way to cook it and in far less time than using an oven.

WRAP UP:
Basically, if you can cook it in an oven, you most likely can cook it in the air fryer, start with a similar temperature you would cook it in a regular oven and cut the timing in half, turning the item over if necessary for even heating. One nice feature is that the timer stops when the air fryer is paused by opening it to shake the basket/tray then when you shut it, it starts where it left off, which makes it simple to use and operate.

PRINT the Air Fryer Chart with this PDF file.

STILL thinking about getting an air fryer here are some more reasons I think might convince you:

• You can plug it in outside so you don’t heat up your kitchen
• Great for RVing just plug it in outside especially in the summer, it won’t heat up the RV and as we all know you pretty much live outside anyway!
• The clean up is so simple!OK- UPDATE. I just got my new WHITE one and I LOVE it, I gave my parents the other one we had and they are loving it too. 

HERE is the Air Fryer have in white

It’s super simple to use and SO PRETTY in my white kitchen!