Air Fryer Recipes For Beginners (A Must Try)

Nowadays, air fryers have become the most used countertop kitchen appliance. When you first unbox your air fryer, you think of plenty of recipes to try.

From garlic bread to drumsticks and chicken steaks, You’ll get all the easiest recipes that require no cooking skills, and they are quick to cook too.

The top-hyped recipes you must try out in the air fryer are garlic bread, turkey burgers, chicken breast, and roasted potatoes.

In this blog, I’ll share several recipes and some queries regarding air fryers.

Let’s dig in!

What Is An Air Fryer?

An air fryer is a small countertop convection oven that affects deep frying without the need for oil.

A fan circulates hot air at high speed, causing browning reactions such as the Maillard reaction to form a crisp coating.

Most air fryers offer temperature and timer controls for more precise cooking. Typically, food is cooked in a basket that sits on a drip tray. The basket must be stirred on a regular basis, either manually or by the fryer agent. Convection ovens and air fryers cook food in similar ways, however air fryers are often smaller and produce less heat.

How Does An Air Fryer Work?

An air fryer’s upper part houses the heating tool and fan. When you turn it on, hot air flows down and around the food, which is positioned in a fryer-style basket. This quick circulation crisps the food, similar to deep-frying but minus the oil.

This is how you use an air fryer:

  • Fill the basket with your food.
  • Set the temperature and time.
  • Allow the meal to cook.

Recipe # 1: Garlic Bread In An Air Fryer

Garlic bread is the easiest recipe to try in the air fryer. It’s a good appetizer and goes well with soups, breasts, wings, and many more. Let’s get to the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf of bread that’s cut in half
  • 3 tbsps of softened butter
  • 3-4 minced garlic cloves
  • Half a tablespoon of Italian seasoning
  • Red pepper flakes

Instructions

  • Preheat the air fryer to 350 Degrees F. Cut the bread in half. Combine red pepper flakes, softened butter, minced garlic, and Italian seasoning in a bowl.
  • Then, spread the combined mixture on the cut pieces of bread. Place the bread in the air fryer and let it cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
  • Add cheese in the last minute of cooking. Take out the bread when the time is over. That’s it; serve the hot, sliced, crispy garlic bread.
  • It’s a very simple and good-to-go recipe. You can cook it without any hectic effort.
  • The best part is that it only takes a few ingredients and ten minutes to prepare.

There are some perquisites to keep in mind for making air-fried garlic bread.

Re-heating the Air Fried Garlic Bread: Set the air fryer at 330 degrees to reheat the bread. Then, add the leftover garlic bread to the air fryer and heat for 2 minutes.

Garlic bread served with tomato sauce.
Garlic bread served with tomato sauce.

Recipe # 2: Air-Fried Turkey Burger

Turkey is leaner than beef; it is a healthier choice for cooking in an air fryer. It requires only 10 minutes of cooking time. Plus, you can prepare the patties in advance and freeze them.

The seasoning used in this dish can be altered to your preferences. It is a fantastic substitute for a beef burger. It is ideal for those following a low-carb diet as it contains less fat. This recipe is for an air fryer but works well on the stovetop, grill, or oven.

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 2 to 3 pounds of Turkey or Beef
  • 2 burgers buns
  • cajun seasoning
  • cayenne pepper or black pepper
  • onion powder or 1/3 cup of freshly grated onions or shallots.
  • pristine parsley
  • 1/2 avocado

Instructions

  • Use your hands to combine all the ingredients; Cajun spice, egg, avocado, onion powder, parsley, and salt in a medium bowl. Do not overmix the ingredients.
  • Preheat the air fryer to 180°C (360°F) for 3 minutes. You can vary this according to the thickness you desire.
  • Divide the mixture into equal portions. Make patties out of the mixture while the air fryer is heating up.
  • Next, carefully place the patties in the air fryer basket after spraying them with cooking oil. Wait until you’ve given the allotted cooking time to the patties. Depending on your air fryer size, you can place 4 patties at once or more. Well-cooked turkey patties must have an internal temperature of at least 165°F (75°C).
  • Grill the bun burgers on the stovetop. Flip the buns halfway through the cooking process to ensure they get browned from both sides.
  • Open the air fryer and remove the patties. Take the grilled buns and add the patties and cheese to them. Then only partially close the air fryer and cook for 1 minute so that the heat may melt the cheese.

Once the cheese melt and the burger get a nice crisp outside, take them out from the air fryer and serve them with salad or fries.

Salt being sprinkled over burgers
Healthy Low-Fat Burger

Recipe # 3: Air-Fried Chicken Breast

Chicken recipes are quick and simple as compared to beef or turkey. Cooking chicken in the air fryer is a stress-free, worry-less recipe. Depending on the size and thickness of the chicken breast, it should be ready in less than 20 minutes.

Ingredients

To start with the recipe, we’ll need:

  • boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • salt and black pepper
  • avocado oil
  • peri-peri sauce
  • soy sauce
  • vinegar
  • olive oil & parsley

Instructions

  • Dry the chicken breast with a kitchen towel, then flatten it with a meat tenderizer. It’ll help the chicken to cook thoroughly. After that, season the chicken breast with salt, pepper, red chilies, soy sauce, vinegar, and any marinade you like.
  • Add some peri sauce and then add olive oil.
  • Preheated the air fryer for 2 to 3 minutes at 390F (195C).
  • Cook the seasoned chicken in the air fryer for 18 to 20 minutes. It’s better to give 10 minutes to each side. The interior temperature of the chicken must be 165°F.

Remove the chicken with kitchen tongs once it is cooked, let it cool, and serve the juicy chicken breast with rice or pita bread!

chicken breast
Tender and juicy chicken breast!

Recipe # 4: Air Fried Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

  • Boiled or frozen potatoes
  • parsley
  • cayenne pepper
  • garlic powder
  • paprika, salt, and pepper

Instructions

  • For 5 minutes, preheat the air fryer by setting it at 400 Degrees Celsius.
  • Add seasoning to the potatoes. My go-to seasoning combos are parsley, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. So go ahead and use your preferred herbs and spices.
  • Place the potatoes in the air fryer basket and cook at 200 °C (400 °F) for 15 to 20 minutes. 10 minutes on each side.
  • To ensure consistent cooking, shake the air fryer basket every ten minutes. Be careful not to spill any dripping fat when removing the air fryer basket from the base tin.

Be careful since it will be hot! To prevent mishaps, take out the potatoes using tongs or a fork. The air-fried potatoes are golden and crispy on the outside.

While the potato is still hot, season it as you like, then serve and enjoy!

Potato balls with a piece of meat
Potato balls can be served with meaty dishes

Great Amazon Picks for Beginners

These few picks from Amazon can help you get started with your air fryer.

GadgetsPrice
Digital Air Fryer with Recipe Book, Black $79.96
Air Fryer Cookbook For Beginners$47.85
Kitchen Gift Recipe Cookbook $19.99
Misto Brushed Aluminum Oil Sprayer, Silver$11.04
Air Fryer Cook Books On Amazon

Can I Make Potato Cubes In The Air Frier?

Potatoes that have been diced or cubed are often smaller than potatoes that have been roasted. They serve as a great air-fried recipe. Also, potatoes cook more quickly in an air fryer than roasted potatoes on the stove.

Jiggle the air fryer basket after 5 minutes of cooking to give the potatoes a nice shake. Then check for the doneness of the potato cubes after 12 minutes.

What Foods Cook the Best in an Air Fryer? 

Food like fries, nuggets, bread pizza, chicken rolls, and low-fat burgers are the most hyped dishes you need to try out in the air fryer.

The air fryer produces delicious results with vegetables, including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and cauliflower.

The air fryer can also be used to prepare your main meal. It works amazingly well with proteins like boiled eggs, tofu, chicken drumsticks, meatballs, pork chops, fried chicken, and even steak.

Which Foods Shouldn’t be Cooked in an Air Fryer?

These are some foods you should avoid cooking in an air fryer.

Cheesy Meals: Note that cheese meals use too much cheese in any recipe. A bit of cheese won’t harm but using the excess amount can melt and create a mess in the air fryer.

Green Vegetables: The device employs high-speed air, which will cause leafy greens like spinach to cook inequitably.

Whole roasts, whole grains, toasts, and popcorn are also avoided but can be cooked with little care.

Some advice you need to remember while using an air fryer:

  1. Thoroughly grease your basket with oil before placing the food.
  2. Don’t stuff the basket too full.
  3. Stir or shake halfway for even cooking of the food.
  4. Refrain from turning up the heat.
  5. Stop the air fryer if you witness white smoke while the machine runs.

Can I Reheat Roasted Potatoes In Air Fryer?

You certainly can, and it’s also among the best ways. Simply place leftovers or cold potatoes in the air fryer and cook for 3 to 5 minutes at 150C/360F.

The video below gives us a short tutorial on “How to run an air fryer.”

Check out this video!

Final Thoughts

To conclude, I’d mention some facts about an air fryer

  • The majority of air fryers require preheating, much like your oven.
  • See your product’s user manual before using it. 10-20 minutes is a decent cooking time for air-fried items.
  • Cooking in the air fryer is quicker than cooking in a conventional oven.
  • Don’t be scared to open the basket and check your cooked or uncooked food because some food cooks faster than expected.
  • For uniform cooking, place your food in a single layer and avoid overfilling the basket.
  • Being a beginner, there are a lot of recipes that you must try in an air fryer. They require no hectic effort or expertise. I’ve shared some of the must-try recipes above. Make sure you try them out.

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