Are you new to your Air Fryer? Then check out these amazing recipes. The Air Fyer is one of the best inventions in modern cooking. It is guiltless eating at its best.
For these recipes, you do not need to set the Air Fryer to different “modes.”
Just focus on the time and temperature ratio stated in each recipe. It will work well!
1. Jersey Shore’s Disco Fries
Ingredients:
- ½ bag frozen, seasoned French fries (preferably crinkle-style, for better crisp)
- PAM spray
- 1 cup of homestyle gravy
- ½ cup shredded cheese of your choice
- Shallots, bacon bits, and chopped jalapenos are optional
Procedure:
**GOLDEN RULE: Make sure your fryer’s canister is clean each time you start a new recipe. Food drips fat and it could set at the bottom of the canister, just like with any other grill, oven, or pan. Fat can always cause a fire hazard.**
- Set your Air Fryer to 400 degrees and set the timer on the side for 14 minutes.
- Slightly spray your fries prior to adding them to the canister. Add extra seasoning if desired.
- Cook the fries and check them by opening the canister and shaking it about.
- Heat up the gravy in your microwave or Instant pot.
- Once the fries are out, place them on a plate, pour over the gravy and add the cheese. Let it rest for a minute until everything melts. Add optional toppings.
2. Pizza Hot Dogs w/bun!
Ingredients (Individual serving):
- 1 hot dog bun
- 1 all-beef wiener
- 3-5 pepperoni slices
- ¼ shredded mozzarella or a stick of block (not fresh) mozzarella
- Oregano and rosemary optional
Procedure: Hot Dog:
- Read GOLDEN RULE before you begin.
- If wiener is frozen, set your Air Fryer to 400 degrees, and set the timer on the side for 14 minutes.
- If the wiener is at room temperature, just set fryer at 400 for 4 minutes.
Bun
- When your machine beeps for the last minute of cooking, add the bun to the canister, and cook alongside the wiener for that final 1 minute at 400 degrees.
Pepperoni and cheese
- When wiener and bun finish cooking, put the hotdog inside the bun, and add the cheese and pepperoni ON THE SIDES of the bun so that the cheese does not spill.
Program your machine at 400 for 3 minutes and cook the entire hot dog, bread and toppings together.
3. Tostones (Plantain Chips, or fritters)
Ingredients:
- 6 frozen tostones
- PAM spray
- Goya adobo
- ¼ cup olive oil and minced garlic mixed together (optional)
Procedure:
- Read GOLDEN RULE before you begin.
- Set your Air Fryer to 400 degrees and set the timer on the side for 15 minutes.
- Do NOT thaw the tostones. Spray them slightly, dash them with adobo, and toss them in.
- When finished, transfer them to cool off on a plate lined with paper towels. They will be ready to eat, so add more adobo, or dip them in the olive oil/garlic condiment.
4. Jalapeno Poppers:
Ingredients:
- 6 fresh jalapeno peppers
- PAM spray
- ½ cup cream cheese
- 6 strips of bacon.
Procedure:
- Read GOLDEN RULE before you begin.
- Cut the jalapenos length-wise and remove everything inside. Leave them hollow
- Stuff each jalapeno with cream cheese.
- Wrap a strip of bacon around each jalapeno as if they were “roll ups.”
- Place jalapeno poppers, cheese facing up. Cook at 400 degrees, for 16-20 minutes.
5. Veggie pizzas
Ingredients:
- 6 portabella mushrooms just caps, washed and drained
- ½ cup pizza sauce
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese
- Oregano and rosemary optional
- Pam Spray
Procedure:
- Read GOLDEN RULE before you begin.
- Add pizza sauce and drizzle cheese in each cap, optional spices.
- Spray with PAM and place facing up in the Air Fryer.
- Cook at 400 for 10 minutes. Add extra time if needed as mushrooms are watery.
6. Non-breaded crispy chicken wings
Ingredients:
- 8-10 chicken wing parts, both flats and drumettes, preferably thawed
- Maple bacon seasoning
- Hickory seasoning
- Pam, or spray butter
Procedure:
- Read GOLDEN RULE before you begin
- These wings only need this seasoning and spraying to crisp naturally. Spray them and dip them well in seasonings.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 22 minutes. Always check them as they cook to monitor crisp.
7. Meatballs
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef
- Adobo
Panko crumbs, bread crumbs, or crushed pork rinds (for low carb dieters)
- Egg, whisked
- if no adobo, use other spices including oregano and garlic powder
Procedure:
- Read GOLDEN RULE before you begin, meatballs are particularly greasy.
- Mix all ingredients together. Make into balls using your hands
- Set the Air Fryer to 400 for 12 minutes. Do not add all the meatballs at once, since so much fat will be dripping out. Start with 5-6 meatballs at a time.
- Set the meatballs and serve.
8. Garlic bread
Ingredients (for 4 large toasts):
- French bread loaf, sliced in large rounds
- Garlic butter, or Kerrygold butter mixed with garlic powder
- Egg, whisked
- If no adobo, use other spices including oregano and garlic powder
Procedure:
- Read GOLDEN RULE before you begin.
- Spray rounds with PAM.
- Take the garlic butter and melt it using your Instant pot (because Kerrgold is very stubborn butter but delicious), or microwave.
- Pour liquid butter and saturate the bread as much as possible for restaurant-quality results.
5 Set the Air Fryer to 400 degrees for 5 minutes and turn the bread around for another 5 if the first five minutes did not toast to your liking.
9. Simple empanadas
Ingredients (2 large ones)
- 1 can layered butter biscuits (flaky)
- Cooked ground beef, drained and seasoned with adobo
- Add to the meat: chopped green olives, chopped onions, chipotle seasoning
Procedure:
- Read GOLDEN RULE before you begin.
- Using one layered biscuit, separate the layers and flatten into a large, disk-shaped dough.
- Put cooked ground beef combination in the middle of the dough.
- Wrap the dough around the beef like a pocket. Seal the pocket by using the back of a fork to bring the ends of the dough together.
5 Set the Air Fryer to 400 deg. for 15 minutes.
10. Carnitas
Ingredients (for 6 big carnitas)
- 1 country style boneless rib
- Adobo and Maple Bacon seasoning
- Pam Spray
Procedure:
- Read GOLDEN RULE before you begin.
- Thaw rib, chop into 9 smaller pieces, leave the fat
- Spray the pieces with PAM
- Thoroughly season each piece of meat, add more PAM, then season again.
5 Set the Air Fryer to 400 deg. for 20 minutes. The fat will start crisping up the longer you leave it. The meat will not dry up, so feel free to leave it frying.
11. Grilled Cheese Quesadillas
Ingredients (1 quesadilla, split into 2 triangles)
- 1 low-carb or whole wheat wrap
- Pam Spray and spray butter
- Adobo
- Preferred cheese
Procedure:
- Read GOLDEN RULE before you begin.
- Spray the wrap with Pam and spray butter, toast it at 400, 2 minutes in Air Fryer.
- Take out the wrap, add the cheeses. Fold the wrap over into a half moon.
- Cook the half moon in the Air Fryer at 400 for 5 minutes. Turn and do the same if needed for crunch.
As you can see, Air Fryers are amazing tools. They even fry to perfection, without oil or fat, any frozen snack in your freezer, from chicken nuggets, to pizza pockets. As with every kitchen tool that requires heat, it is important to clean your unit prior to starting new recipes. Fat drips, causing a potential fire hazard in all cooking equipment.