Ready to learn how to use the air fryer? Here are our best air fryer recipes for beginners, 23 fool-proof, super easy, and delicious recipes, requiring no special techniques or skills, all ready in no time.
Did you just get yourself an air fryer? Great idea! It is my favorite kitchen gadget; I use it at least 3-4 times a week, something I could hardly say of any other kitchen machine I have.
Table of contents
Why is an air fryer worth having?
- Quick: You will have dinner ready in no time, much faster than you would when using the oven or the stovetop.
- Easy: It’s all about placing some food in the basket and pressing buttons.
- Healthy: Cook your favorite “fried” foods in the air fryer using just one or two teaspoons of oil.
- Delicious: The food is excellent, trust me! If you’ve never used this kitchen appliance because you were worried that the results might not be that great, they really are!
- Cook food from frozen: This is one of the best thing, there are so many foods you can cook from frozen.
This Air Fryer Recipes for Beginners collection is all about easy, no-fuss, few ingredients recipes. The best ones to show how to use this fantastic machine and give you enough confidence to try out new things in the future, without searching for instructions.
Tips for using an air fryer
Preheating:
- Check the machine instructions to see if you need to preheat it. Most of them require preheating, but some don’t.
- My air fryer needs to be preheated for 3 minutes before placing the food in the basket.
Flipping:
- Flip the food halfway through or as required. It’s unnecessary to do that in all cases, but most recipes, especially basic ones, require flipping the food.
Internal temperature:
- Check the temperature of the food when cooking meat, especially chicken. The best way to do it is with a meat thermometer. Always make sure that the meat is safe to eat.
- Check all types of meat you are cooking, including sausages.
Cooking time:
- Keep in mind that different air fryers might be hotter than others, affecting the cooking time.
- You will know your gadget in time, and you will adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- In the beginning, check the food a couple of minutes before the indicated time, just to make sure that the food will not be overcooked.
- If it is not cooked through once the cooking time is over, allow a few more minutes and check again.
Air fryer recipes for beginners
Frozen Foods
- Frozen Chicken Breast in the Air Fryer
This is the recipe I cook the most using this kitchen appliance. Simply cooked chicken breast is so versatile and delicious. We have it as it is with baked or mashed potatoes, on top of a salad or in sandwiches. Quickly air-fried frozen chicken breasts saved dinner more than once.
2. Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
Chicken wings can be addictive and this recipe is one of our favorites. Not to mention the quickest one for making chicken wings. And how great it is that you don't even have to remember to defrost the wings on time.
3. Air Fryer Frozen Sweet Potato Fries
The sweet potato fries taste amazing, are crispy and delicious, barely need any seasoning, and take half the time to be ready in the fryer than it would take them to be cooked in the oven.
Meats
4. Air Fryer Chicken Legs
Roasting chicken legs in the oven is easy and the results are always delicious. So why use the air-fryer? Because is fast, faster than the oven and the results are just as juicy, crispy, and delicious.
5. Air Fryer Bbq Chicken
Chicken and frozen fries are the two things that I cook the most in my machine. And these Bbq chicken thighs are a hit with my family.
6. Air Fryer Chicken Breast (No Breading)
A simple recipe for chicken breast with no breading for a quick dinner or for meal prep. Perfect for adding to salads, making sandwiches, enchiladas, filling tortillas, quesadillas, or whatever else you can think of.
7. Air Fryer Ribs
Tender air fryer pork ribs ready in about 30 minutes. Covered in a sweet and sticky glaze and totally delicious!
8. Brats in the Air Fryer
We live in Germany, so for us, brats or bratwurst are almost a way of living. Making brats in the air fryer is probably the quickest method to have juicy, flavorful sausages anytime we want. Either cooked from fresh or from frozen, they are always delicious, and they are bound to make my family happy.
9. Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin
Cooking pork tenderloin is generally an easy task, and making air fryer pork tenderloin is even easier. All you have to do is to season the meat, and air fry it for less than 20 minutes flipping once. Really! That’s it!
10. Easy Air Fryer Turkey Legs
A super simple and fast way of cooking turkey, you could even use this recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas. All you must do is season the drumsticks and cook them for about 35 minutes.
11. Air Fryer Pork Roast
Cooking a pork roast is not particularly difficult but this way of cooking it makes things even easier. Basically, all you must do is coat the meat with spices and put it in the air fryer. Flip once halfway, and that’s about it.
12. Air Fryer Meatloaf
This is a classic meatloaf recipe made easy, comfort food at its best, something that the whole family will love, I know that mine loves it!
13. Quick Air Fryer Turkey Burger
Who said that a burger can’t be even remotely healthy? These turkey burgers are quite so. Swap fattier meat for lean ground turkey and choose a better patty and you should be fine. All the trimmings are actually good for you: lettuce, tomato, onions and some mustard.
Vegetables
14. Air Fryer Butternut Squash (Two Ways)
These butternut squash cubes make a great side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas or a wonderful healthy snack. You can have them on top of salad, with chicken or meat, you can even have the sweet version with granola or muesli for breakfast.
15. Air Fryer Mushrooms
Learn how to air fry mushrooms. It is easy, quick and the results are delicious! All you need are the mushrooms, a touch of olive oil, a few spices and lemon juice.
16. Air Fryer Eggplants (Two Ways)
These eggplants can become addictive… I can’t even count how many times I’ve cooked them. They are creamy soft and spicy, hearty, healthy, easy to make, and ready in no time at all.
17. Air Fryer Carrots (Two Ways)
Sweet or savory carrots – I really could not say which version I like best. I make rainbow or simple roasted carrots very often, but ever since discovering this version I gave up heating up my oven just for making carrots.
18. Air Fryer Zucchini
These crispy air fryer zucchini will make your day! They definitely made mine. I was expecting to like them, but I didn’t expect to like them so much. So much that I cooked them again the next day to take some pictures as well. This recipe had to be shared!
19. Air Fryer Asparagus
Cooking crispy tender asparagus is a good choice for a busy weeknight meal. You can serve the veggies as a side dish for pretty much anything, you can cut the spears into smaller pieces and mix them with pasta, olive oil and more Parmesan or serve with risotto.
Potatoes
20. Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
I love baked potatoes, I make them very often and we have them mostly as the main dish. A knob of butter or a little sour cream is enough to make these baked potatoes really drool-worthy!
21. Air Fryer Potato Wedges
They are just as good as deep fried potatoes, but with way less calories. All you need is one tablespoon of olive oil for perfectly crispy and golden brown wedges.
22. Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes
They are supposed to be served as a main dish (usually), but they make the main meal most of the time for us. A salad or other veggies on the side are all you need. A healthy, complete, and delicious meal, with practically no work involved at all.
23. Crispy Air Fryer Gnocchi
Crispy on the outside and soft inside, slightly golden brown and so comforting, these fried gnocchi have become a family favorite.
I hope you found this collection of easy air fryer recipes for beginners helpful and that you will start using this great kitchen gadget as much as I do!
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