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I know that air fryers have been around forever, but we are new to using one. We were gifted one recently and I’d never been opposed to them, but I didn’t think they would add much to my cooking routine. However, I am coming around to how helpful they can be in a variety of situations. We are still in the experimental phase and have had many wins and one disappointing attempt (fresh brussels sprouts—I need to try again!). I wanted to share some of what I’ve been trying and maybe give you some new ideas. Or, maybe you too are new to the world of air frying and want some ideas of things to cook in the air fryer!
10 Things to Cook in the Air Fryer (Some Might Be Surprising)
Leftover pizza
I had always heard about this, but I was still amazed the first time we tried it. We were reheating leftover Little Caesar’s pizza from a birthday party, and the resulting pizza was honestly better than the pizza had originally been when we picked it up from the store!
Broccoli
At least one of my kids has declared air fryer broccoli her least favorite food of all time, but I respectfully disagree. I love how it gets a little crispy and how I barely have to add any oil at all.
Frozen chicken tenders
Even elementary age kids can handle using the air fryer (with instruction) to make these. They can go straight from the freezer into the air fryer, and it’s faster than cooking them in the oven!
Frozen sweet potato fries
Sweet potato fries might be one of my top 5 favorite foods. I always opt for them over regular fries when a restaurant offers them. Costco usually sells big bags of sweet potato fries, and I was thrilled at how they came out the first time I tried them in the air fryer.
Pork tenderloin
Publix recently had their Smithfield pork tenderloins on sale, and I stocked up. I wanted to make one but the oven was already in use. I looked it up and found it would only take about 25 minutes in the air fryer, shorter than it would have in the oven. It came out delicious!
Grilled cheese
Grilled cheese isn’t that hard to make anyway, but it was a fun experiment to try them in the air fryer. You do have to flip them halfway through and make sure you use a toothpick or something so the top piece of bread doesn’t fly around!
Frozen meatballs
Let’s be honest: microwave meatballs are pretty sad. If I don’t plan to cook meatballs in some kind of sauce, I’ve taken to throwing them in the air fryer.
Chicken thighs
Our family is too big for me to cook enough chicken for everyone in one air fryer, but sometimes I prep protein options for lunch during the week, and it’s just the right size for this week.
Bacon
When you’re cooking a lot of different options for breakfast, it can be nice not to have to supervise all of them. The air fryer takes the supervising out of the equation.
Green beans
We’re starting to get fresh green beans from our garden, and I wanted to try them in the air fryer. I do find they turn out best if I steam them for a few minutes ahead of time, but then they end up with a wonderful texture when they come out of the air fryer.
