15 Best Air Fryer Recipes for Beginners
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Healthy food doesn’t always taste great, but when you cook your meals in an air fryer, you can get a lot of incredible flavor without having to give up eating well. Even if you’ve never cooked in an air fryer before, this can be an exciting new way to bring a lot of taste into your food, all while keeping it crispy and low-calorie. Since you need little to no oil to fry in an air fryer, it can give you the best of both worlds!
Thankfully, the recipes available for air frying aren’t all complicated, and they don’t all include a lot of hard to find ingredients. Check out these simple but delicious beginners’ air fryer recipes to help you get started on the path to better, healthier, and more delicious cooking.
3 Basic Recipes For The Complete Beginner
Baked Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes1 crushed clove of garlic½ tsp olive oil
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 diced onion
- 2 cups cooked rice, room temperature
- 1 diced carrot
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Directions
- Slice tops from tomatoes and removes seeds.
- Heat oil in a skillet on low and cook garlic, carrots, onion, and peas for 2 minutes.
- Add soy sauce and stir.
- Add rice and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Fill tomatoes with rice mixture.
- Place tomatoes in air fryer and cook for 20 minutes.
- Serve.
Yakitori Skewers
Ingredients
- 5 green onions
- 4 pieces chicken thighs
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- Bamboo skewers
Directions
- Soak 6 bamboo skewers in water for 10-15 minutes.
- Dice chicken and green onions.
- Thread chicken and onion pieces onto skewers in an alternating pattern.
- Whisk together soy sauce, garlic salt, sugar, and mirin in a small bowl.
- Marinate skewers in sauce for 3 hours in the refrigerator.
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Cook for 6 minutes, and then flip and cook for 6 minutes more.
- Serve.
Roast Pork
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork shoulder
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ tbsp. salt
Directions
- Slice meat into strips.
- Combine all the ingredients except meat in a large bowl.
- Massage marinade into meat for 2-5 minutes.
- Chill meat in a marinade overnight.
- Preheat air fryer to 170 degrees Celsius.
- Cook for 10 minutes.
- Turn air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Cook for 5 minutes more.
- Serve.
Use Your Air Fryer to Make These 3 Incredible Side Dishes
It can be tough when finding the perfect way to cook food without adding a lot of unnecessary fats and calories. If you find yourself frequently searching for a way to add flavor and texture to your food without compromising on its health benefits, check out air frying! Air frying is a great way to prepare food quickly and easily, and keep it healthy from start to finish.
If you’re looking for some great side dish ideas, you’ve come to the right place. Below, we’ve listed the top three best ways to prepare side dishes in your air fryer. These recipes are tried and true, and favorites of chefs just like you who have looked for the perfect ways to make sides while saving time and cutting calories.
Easy Fried Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 large baking potatoes
Directions
- Peel and halve potatoes.
- Slice slits all along potatoes, leaving them connected at the base.
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Brush potatoes with olive oil and place in air fryer.
- Cook for 15 minutes.
- Brush with oil again, then cook for 15 minutes more.
- Serve.
Fully Stuffed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 potatoes
- 2 strips bacon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ diced yellow onions
- ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
Directions
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Peel and halve potatoes, then brush with olive oil.
- Place in air fryer for 10 minutes.
- Brush with olive oil again, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Brush one more time, and cook for 10 minutes more.
- Scoop out the inside of the cooked potatoes.
- Cook bacon and onion in a skillet over medium heat until just done.
- Remove from heat and chop bacon. Return to skillet.
- Stir bacon and onion together with cheese, then lump into potatoes.
- Put back in air fryer and cook for 6 minutes more.
- Serve.
Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 1.8 ounces Asian noodles
- 7 ounces mince
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 crushed cloves of garlic
- 1 diced onion
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 packet spring roll wrappers
Directions
- Soak noodles in hot water for about 10 minutes, then drain and cut small.
- Heat oil in a skillet or wok over medium heat and cook onion with mince, vegetables, and garlic for about 6 minutes.
- Add soy sauce and remove from heat.
- Stir in noodles and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Working among one spring roll wrapper at a time, fill diagonally with a mixture and fold over.
- Brush with cold water to seal.
- Place in air fryer and brush with sesame oil.
- Cook for 6 minutes, next flips and cook for 6 minutes more.
- Serve.
Are you ready to get started making your side dishes? No meal is complete without the perfect side dish! These tasty snacks pair well with just about any other air fryer recipe, which makes them the perfect companions to your dinners when you don’t want to spend a lot of time preparing and cooking food. Best of all, like everything else you can cook in your fryer, they can be made with little to no oil to help you cut back on calories. So, what are you waiting for? Grab your utensils and gather your ingredients. It’s time to start cooking! Head to the kitchen and get ready to get to know your air fryer and everything it’s capable of. You’ll be thrilled with the results!
3 Delicious Breakfasts You Can Make in Your Air Fryer
Air frying is a great new way to cook food that comes out delicious and healthy every time. This popular method of food preparation relies on very high-temperature air being pushed through, over, and around the food, cooking it quickly to a perfect crisp every time. Although it’s possible to air fry with a little bit of oil, some fryers require no oil at all!
There are tons of different recipes available for your air fryer cooking needs. Even breakfast can be prepared in an air fryer! Whether you’re looking for the main focus of your next breakfast, or you want something to serve alongside your eggs, try out cooking in your air fryer and see for yourself just how tasty it can be.
Fried Donuts
Ingredients
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 tbsp room temperature butter
- 2-1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup caster sugar
Directions
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- In a large bowl, press white sugar and room temperature butter together until crumbled.
- Add egg yolks only and stir to combine.
- In a large, separate bowl, sift flour together with salt and baking powder.
- Combine with sour cream slowly, in increments, until thoroughly mixed.
- Chill mixture.
- Flour your cutting board and also roll out dough onto the board.
- Cut out large circles with small circles in the middle.
- Brush melted butter onto both sides of every donut.
- Cook in air fryer for 8 minutes.
- Brush again with melted butter.
- Dip in cinnamon and then in caster sugar.
- Serve.
Biscuits
Ingredients
- ½ cup cake flour
- 1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 4 tbsp cold butter, unsalted and cut into cubes
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Directions
- Sift flours together with sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Work butter into flour until pea sized.
- Add buttermilk and stir with a rubber spatula until a dough forms.
- Roll out dough or press with hands until ½ inch thick.
- Cut 10 biscuit rounds out of dough.
- Place biscuits in a pie pan in a single layer.
- Brush with melted butter.
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius and place pie pan in cooking basket.
- Cook for 8 minutes.
- Serve with butter, honey, or jelly.
French Toast Sticks
Ingredients
- 4 pieces of bread
- 2 beaten eggs
- 2 tbsp butter at room temperature
- Cinnamon to taste
- Nutmeg to taste
- Pinch of salt
- Ground cloves to taste
- Confectioner’s sugar to taste
Directions
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Beat together eggs in a small bowl with salt, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.
- Butter bread on both sides and slice into strips.
- Dip strips into egg and place in a single layer in air fryer.
- Working in batches, cook for 2 minutes, then spray with cooking spray.
- Flip and cook for 4 minutes more.
- Remove and repeat the process on other batches.
- Serve sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar.
Wake up your next morning meal with incredible air fried foods! When you prepare your breakfasts in the air fryer, you never have to worry about whether or not you’re providing yourself or your family with healthy and delicious meals. You’ll know from the get-go that everything you prepare is sure to be much better for everyone than it would be if you fried it in tons of oil!
Now, it’s time to start cooking! Pick your favorite recipe, gather your ingredients, and head to the kitchen. In no time, you’ll be enjoying one of the most delicious air fried breakfasts you’ve ever had!
Top 3 Incredible Air Fryer Lunch Recipes
If you’re looking for a delicious idea to prepare food that tastes great and has the perfect texture, look no further than air frying! When you make food in an air fryer, it heats up quickly and gets cooked through from the inside out, making it crispy and light without the use of lots of fatty oils. Although some oil is still necessary for many recipes, you can get by on much less, and sometimes none at all.
You can put together some amazing lunches when you check out these three recipes for air fried lunch foods. Don’t be afraid to try them out and see for yourself what makes air frying so great. You’re to love them as lunches for yourself, or serve them up for brunch for all your friends!
Stuffed Pumpkin
Ingredients
- ½ small pie pumpkin
- 1 whole carrot
- 1 whole onion
- 1 whole sweet potato
- 1 whole parsnip
- 2 cloves whole garlic
- 2 tsp herbes de provence
- ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1 egg
Directions
- Halve and scrape pumpkin to remove filling.
- Dice all vegetables except peas, and dice garlic.
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- In a large bowl, combine vegetables with herbs and egg until mixed well.
- Put vegetable mixture inside pumpkin half and place in air fryer.
- Cook for 30 minutes in air fryer.
- Serve immediately.
Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 pieces of bacon
- ½ green bell pepper
- ½ white onion
- 1 whole carrot
- 1 cup grated cheddar or jack cheese
- 24 large mushrooms with stems removed
- ½ cup sour cream
Directions
- Dice onion, green bell pepper, bacon, carrots, and stems from mushrooms into fine pieces.
- Cook vegetable and bacon mixture in a skillet over medium heat until soft.
- Turn to low and stir in cheese and sour cream. Cook until melted.
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Heap stuffing into mushroom caps.
- Place mushrooms on grill rack in air fryer and cook for 8 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Fried Prawns
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 18 large fresh (or frozen and thawed) prawns, whole
- 1 bag nacho chips
Directions
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Remove shells and veins from prawns, then wash and pat dry.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs together.
- Crush nacho chips into breadcrumbs in a separate large bowl.
- Dip each prawn one at a time into egg, and then into chip crumbs.
- Place prawns in air fryer and cook for 6 to 9 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Are you ready to try your hand at preparing some of these excellent lunch options in your air fryer? As you can see, it’s very easy to make food in the air fryer! All you have to do is gather your ingredients, do a little bit of preparation, and you’ll be ready to make the perfect lunch, brunch, or other food for yourself or your friends and family.
So what are you waiting for? Get the ingredients you need, head to the kitchen, and get ready to enjoy some of the most delicious air fried lunches you can imagine, all without having to leave your home!
Make Dinner Pop with 3 Amazing Air Fryer Recipes
Are you looking for an excellent way to fry food without having to add a lot of unwanted fats and calories? If so, air frying may be just the thing! With an air fryer, you can heat up your food from the inside out, cooking it well and adding a crisp to its outer layers that make it taste just like deep-fried foods. Best of all, you never have to bother about extra calories when you enjoy an air fried dish!
Dinner is where air fried food can shine. When you prepare a tasty fried dinner with a perfectly crisped exterior and a well-cooked interior for your whole family, you get a lot of health benefits without worrying about whether or not you’ll like the flavor or texture. Try one of these recipes to come up with a meal the whole family will love.
Stuffed Pepper
Ingredients
- 6 small green bell peppers
- 1 white onion
- 1 whole carrot
- 1 bread roll
- 1 whole baking potato
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp mixed herbs
- 1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
Directions
- Slice tops from bell peppers, and remove seeds and membranes.
- Dice vegetables and bread roll, then combine.
- Dice garlic and add to a large bowl with vegetable mixture.
- Add peas and herbs, then combine.
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Heap filling into peppers and place in air fryer.
- Cook for 20 minutes.
- Top with cheese and cook for 5 minutes more.
- Serve.
Easy Schnitzel
Ingredients
- 2 thin slices of beef (schnitzel cut or other)
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 whisked egg
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lemon
Directions
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Combine breadcrumbs with oil until crumbly and loose.
- Dip beef into egg and then into breadcrumb mixture.
- Place coated beef into air fryer.
- Cook for 12 minutes.
- Serve with lemon squeezed on top.
Garlic Prawns
Ingredients
- 1 tsp butter
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 large whole fresh prawns
Directions
- Remove shells, intestines, antennae, and tails from prawns.
- Clean and pat dry.
- Skewer prawns, if desired.
- In a large skillet, melt butter and fry garlic for 2 minutes.
- Add cream, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Simmer over low and let cook until thickened, then remove from heat and cover.
- Preheat air fryer to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Place prawns in air fryer and cook for 4 minutes.
- Serve topped with garlic sauce.
There’s nothing quite like an air fried dinner! When you’re ready to make a meal that tastes great, looks fantastic, and can feed the entire family, look no further than your air fryer. You’ve got a lot of options when it comes to preparing amazing air fried foods, but these three delicious recipes are a great place to get started. From there, you can alter and tweak the recipes to fit your needs or branch out into something even more exciting and delicious.
All you have to do now is pick your favorite recipe, head to the kitchen, and start working some of that cooking magic! With just a few minutes to spare, you’ll be able to put together a delicious meal the whole family will love.
Conclusion
As you can see, it’s easy to cook in your air fryer, even if you’ve never even looked at it before! Remember to read through your included instruction manual before you try to make something you’ve never tried in the past, and especially before operating your air fryer for the first time. After that, all you have to do is follow the recipes listed above to help you get started on the road to perfect air frying every time.
Now, all you need to do right now is go to the kitchen, take a look at your fryer, and get your ingredients together. With a little light preparation and just a few minutes of cooking time, you’ll have a delicious meal for yourself or your whole family.
Check the ingredient section of the donut recipe. You have the directions for a prior recipe instead of the ingredients.
Dear Jennifer,
Thank you for your comment.
I have updated the recipe. I’m always grateful when my readers point out innocent mistakes such as this one. Please, share your suggestions and corrections in the future.
Have a wonderful day and stay safe.
Love, Amanda.