How to Use an Air Fryer
Check out this blog post for all the best tips and trick on how to use an air fryer! You can make anything from dinner and appetizers, to side dishes and breakfast in an air fryer. Easy, quick and versatile!
How to Use an Air Fryer
Air fryer cooking has become all the rage for many reasons! You can make crispy and flavorful food without all of the oil that traditional deep fryers use. Many of your favorite foods can be made in the air fryer and the cooking time is often drastically decreased compared to other cooking methods.
Learn how to cook anything in your air fryer with our free cook time chart!
While you can make better versions of deep-fried foods, like fried chicken and potato chips, you can also make really healthy and nutritious foods! Air-fried food like green beans, asparagus, and roasted baby carrots.
Main dishes like chicken drumsticks and pork chops make for easy dinners on busy weeknights. Sweet potato fries are one of our favorite things to serve with burgers too! Air fryer ovens really do save so much time in the kitchen and they make food that turns out absolutely delicious.
Make a delicious meal or even a sweet dessert with the hundreds of air fryer recipes that are out there! Dinner recipes like BBQ chicken drumsticks and meatloaf turn out so good when cooked in this convenient appliance. Ready to learn more? Then keep reading for the best tips and tricks!
How does an air fryer work?
An air fryer is essentially a convection oven that rapidly circulates hot air around the interior. Food sits in a perforated basket that allows air to reach all sides and cook it to perfection. So, technically, they don’t actually fry anything. The fan inside just helps move the hot air around that cooks the food!
How to Use an Air Fryer
This cooking method is very convenient, but it can also be a bit of a learning curve. Just like every other kitchen skill and tool, you’ll need to know the best way to use this appliance. Follow these tips and tricks for the best practices when using an air fryer:
Preheat the Air Fryer
The key to making sure your food cooks evenly and all the way though is preheating your air fryer before cooking. If your style of air fryer does not have a preheat function, just press the power button and let it heat up for at least 5 minutes before cooking your food. Preheating will also help ensure that your food does not stick to the basket. So if you’re having problems with food sticking, make sure you are using a bit of oil to grease the basket and that you are preheating it every time.
Adding Food to Your Air Fryer Basket
When filling an air fryer basket, it is important that you do not overfill it. Your food is cooked with hot air, so if you overfill the basket then there won’t be enough open space to evenly cook the food. Depending on the size of your air fryer, and what you are cooking, you may need to cook in batches. Always place food in a single layer in the bottom of the basket.
Using the Right Cooking Temperature
Chicken will have a much different cooking temperature as opposed to something like potatoes. It is important that you use the correct cooking temperature for the specific food item you are air frying. As always, use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat before consuming.
Cooking Time of Different Air Fryers
New air fryer models have come out with lots of different features than older models. Depending on the brand you purchase, your fryer could also be pretty different from something that a certain recipe uses. It is important to note the quality, size, and age of your appliance to determine differences in cooking time. The more you use your own air fryer, the more you’ll know any quirks it has and how it works! Just keep that in mind as you are cooking.
Check out our air fryer cook chart right here!
Types of Air Fryers
Basket Air Fryers: A basket-style air fryer is the most common type that you will find. The removable basket is made for ease of cleaning, and is super simple to use.
Oven Style: These styles of air fryers look like mini ovens, some even have multiple racks! Oftentimes there are multiple functions like toast, bake, and air fry.
Glass Air Fryers: Believe it or not, there are glass air fryers! These were made with those in mind who prefer not to cook in plastic. They function pretty similar to classic basket-type air fryers.
Looking for your perfect Air Fryer?
Be sure to check out our full guide on choosing the best air fryer for you!
Tips for the Successful Use of an Air Fryer
This useful countertop appliance will work best when you put some of these tips into practice:
- Always grease the bottom of the basket! This will ensure that your food does not stick and will make it easier to clean later on.
- With most foods, it’s good to stop halfway through the cooking process and either give the basket a shake or turn the food that is inside. This will ensure that the food cooks evenly and thoroughly.
- When coating food in oil and/or seasonings, make sure that you are using a high heat oil. Air fryers can get pretty hot inside and you don’t want the oil burning and ruining your food.
FAQ
The best part about this appliance is that it does not require as much oil as deep fryers do. Really, all you need to do is grease the basket with a little oil and/or make sure that there is some oil on your food. This will keep the food from sticking as it cooks. But other than that, the circulating hot air will do the job and cook your food!
While there are plenty of healthy recipes you can make, there are still unhealthy foods that can be cooked with this method as well. These cookers ultimately have the same rule as many other appliances — the health of the food all depends on the ingredients! However, if you are looking to make some tasty foods like chicken tenders or chicken wings, you can make them much healthier by cooking with this appliance instead of a deep fryer.
There are a few different foods that would not cook well in this appliance. Do not try to cook things like rice or other grains, items that are really cheesy, or any food that is coated in a really wet batter. There are recipes for desserts and baked goods made with this cooking method, but you need to make sure that you are following them exactly so that you don’t end up with a mess on your hands!
