An air fryer is one of my best kitchen purchases, ever. It has its pros and cons, but overall, it’s been a life-saver. Whilst I know a lot of people think that an air fryer is mostly for cooking frozen fried food, I strongly beg to disagree as there is so much more to it! From breakfast to dinner, including desserts and leftovers, you can totally make some pretty amazing dishes with an air fryer and this article is the proof. In this article, I have rounded up some of my favourite easy air fryer recipes for every meal of the day. All these recipes are simple and easy to make, but can totally impress the table where you wouldn’t believe that they come out from an air fryer!
An air fryer cooks your food by circulating hot air. In a way, it’s quite similar to an oven but it’s got a much more rapid air circulation that creates a convection effect to mimic frying.
One of the major selling points is that you can cook your food without oil. Whilst that’s somewhat true, I wouldn’t recommend cooking completely oil-less. A more accurate description should be using significantly less oil. In order for the food to crisp up nicely and get a nice golden colour, a little touch of oil goes a long way and wouldn’t hurt your health. This is something I emphasise in all my air fryer recipes.
What You Can Make for Every Meal of the Day
Air Fryer Recipes For Breakfast
Coconut Babka French Toast
This could easily be my favourite thing to make in the air fryer. Start your day with this absolutely gorgeous Coconut French Toast recipe, which I dare say is even better than traditional pan-frying! You can just cook the french toast slices in a batch, without having to watch them over the pan. The best part is that, without fail, they turn out so perfectly crispy on the outside and incredibly gooey and custardy on the inside. It seriously doesn’t get any dreamier than this.
Air Fryer Recipes for Lunch
Tandoori Salmon
Air fryer and salmon work like wonder together. This tandoori salmon was originally published as an oven-baked recipe. However, ever since I tested it with an air fryer, I never turned back to the oven. Not only does it feature a nice sharp punch of flavours that’s piquant, tangy and spicy, but it also turns out wonderfully soft and flaky on the inside with a light crisp on the outside. If you are not in the mood for spice, feel free to change up the marinade and seasoning to whatever flavour combo you fancy!
Breaded Salmon Fish Cakes
I’m not done with the salmon yet. These Salmon Breaded Fish Cakes were one of the first recipes I explored when I got my air fryer. You can make it with any other fish you like, as well as any other flavour combo of your preference. But I absolutely adore the mild touch of spice and the plethora of zingy & tangy flavours of the Thai red curry paste. The best part is that you can just use tinned salmon! Just make sure you pick the boneless ones and you have to do is mix, shape, coat, and air-fry. Easy peasy and mighty scrumptious.
Roast Corn On The Cob
Air fryer roast corn is just too easy to make and is super convenient too! It features this lovely crisp on the outside and is bursting with sweetness as you bite into it. You’ll only need a simple mix of seasoning and/or spice for a quick toss before air frying. Throughout, don’t skimp on the butter and brush it all over the cob for some of the best flavours.
Leftover Air Fryer Recipes
Leftover Chicken Croquettes
Got leftover chicken? Shred them up and turn them into these delicious air fryer croquettes! This is no doubt my go-to whenever there are any leftovers, featuring a lovely creamy interior and a gorgeous crispy breaded coating. It’s simple to make as well, where you basically whip up a thick white sauce to toss with the chicken, shape them up, coat it with a spiced breading, and let the air fryer do the work. Quoting myself word for word – “it’s exactly what I’ll call a leftover food glow-up!”
Cheesy Paratha Puff Leftover Chicken Samosa
I like to call this my laziest leftover air fryer recipe. It doesn’t get any easier than this – leftover chicken, cheese, and frozen paratha are the only three ingredients you need (and some oil for brushing) to make these delicious paratha puff air fryer samosas. You can use puff pastry too but frozen paratha just gives that extra flakey texture and buttery flavour, in my opinion! Plus, they’re a little easier to handle as well. I like to stuff it with plenty of cheese and it makes the perfect cheese pull. Honestly, they’re just so easy to make and are a delightful munch at any time of the day.
Chipotle Chicken Taquitos
It’s not technically a leftover recipe, but it can be a leftover recipe. In this chipotle chicken taquito recipe, I started with making the chipotle chicken from scratch, cooking till it’s tender enough to shred, before the air fryer taquito part. But you can skip all that long(-ish) cooking and use any leftover chicken you’ve got at hand. To use leftover chicken for this recipe, simply toss it with plenty of chipotle salsa to make it saucy, then add cheese and jalapenos as per the original recipe, roll them up in a tortilla and air-fry till golden. It’s going to be just as good and delicious!
Air Fryer Recipes For Dinner
Tandoori Lamb Chops
Ever since I got the air fryer, I genuinely think I just forgot how to cook lamb chops on the stovetop because air-fried lamb chops are just so good and easy to make! It’s a game-changer. I remember how surprised I was with the juiciness and succulence of the air-fried lamb chops and was quite impressed. The best part is that you can totally prep and marinate the meat beforehand, store them in the freezer, and all that’s left to do is to defrost and put them into the air fryer to cook. It seriously makes weeknight dinner so easy and effortless without having to compromise on a good meal!
Chicken Katsu Curry
Fancy a bit of Japanese for dinner? Then make this easy air fryer chicken katsu recipe, which comes out just as crispy but a whole lot healthier than traditional deep-frying. I literally gasped at how crunchy the coating turned out and the chicken was so juicy to taste as well. As for the curry, it’s super easy to prep with those ready-made Japanese curry bouillon. This is one hundred per cent a regular on my dinner recipe repertoire and should be on yours too!
Breaded Pesto Chicken
The idea of making this pesto breaded chicken was actually inspired by a convection microwave pesto salmon recipe I created for a brand. I first marinate the chicken with seasoned buttermilk, then coat it with a generous amount of pesto, add a breading layer, and air fry till golden & crispy. It’s lovely on its own as a nibble but could make a pretty good dinner dish. What I like to do is to serve it over a bed of Spaghetti Pomodoro and top with plenty of grated Italian hard cheese! P.S. pesto salmon also works well in the air fryer!
Gunpowder Baby Potatoes
This is the perfect potato side dish you can make with an air fryer. These gunpowder baby potatoes were based on one of Dishoom’s recipes with slight adaptations. Without a doubt, they are absolutely lip-smackingly delicious, featuring a myriad of robust flavours, and are tangy and piquant to taste. Cooking them in an air fryer also adds a lovely crisp around it for the perfect finishing detail. I could just gobble these up on their own and they make an impeccable pairing with some roast chicken, etc.
Air Fryer Recipes for Desserts
4-Ingredient Mini Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Burnt Basque Cheesecake has been all the hype and did you know that you can easily make it with just 4 ingredients with an air fryer? This is one of the simplest desserts you can make with an air fryer and it’s so good that you’d want to make it on repeat! The recipe works well because the air fryer is perfect for creating that caramelisation at the top and leaving the centre with utter creaminess and gooeyness. It only takes 10 minutes of cooking time and only 4 ingredients – you just can’t beat that!
