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When I saw an air fryer on sale during Black Friday this year, I just knew we had to get one!
When Jarrod was a teenager, his mom gave all three kids money to go back-to-school clothes shopping...he came home with a deep fryer. I'm not even sure what that is, but I thought it might be fun to surprise him for his birthday with an air fryer as a callback to the olden days. :)
When I picked it up from the store I panicked because the box was HUGE and my kitchen is small. So I thought, "ok...if I'm taking this home, then we are going to find ways to use it often so that it's worth the space."
We ended up putting the toaster away and putting the air fryer in its place because of how much we liked it! So if you're debating your options about getting one, let me give you 5 easy ways you can use your air fryer...
1. Reheat leftovers - Thin crust pizza and fried foods kind of lose their luster the second day but in the air fryer, they maintain that "crunch" and original form. I took home some fried pickles from a restaurant and usually they are just a soggy mess the next day, but after slamming them in the air fryer with the reheat option, they tasted just as good as when the waitress brought them out to the table.
2. "Bake" veggies - Cut up your favorite veggies, spray with olive oil, season to taste, and put on the racks. Press the french fry option (400* for 18 minutes) and pull them out when they look the way you want them!
2a. Fry veggies - Take pickles, jalapenos, zucchini, or anything else you want to fry and cut them to the shape you want. Beat up eggs and add salt and pepper, dip in the egg mix, cover in seasoned bread crumbs, and place on racks at 400* for 18 minutes. Enjoy!
3. Hard boil eggs - Lay eggs on the rack or in the basket, set fryer to 270* and run for 16 minutes. Boom! Hard boiled eggs and no water used! They peel easy and taste normal. I did 10 eggs, made egg salad, and we ate it on the pita chips we made from pita bread...
4. Make pita chips - Buy pita bread, cut into triangles like pizza, spray with oil, lightly salt, and place on racks. Set temperature to 320* and time to 3-5 minutes depending on your air fryer. I did my first set for 12 minutes and they were CRUNCHY. I wanted a softer pita bread so I did my next batch for 3 minutes (the fryer was preheated so if your fryer is not preheated, they might need 5). If you're not sure, pull the rack out, touch the chips and see if you like the consistency or not.
5. Heat up frozen french fries - buy your favorite frozen french fries (or cut up your own french fries from potatoes), spray with oil, season to taste, lay on racks, press the french fry button and voila! Perfect fries (400* for 15 - 18 minutes).
Bonus: Jalapeno poppers - We picked up some pre-made jalapeno poppers, threw them in the air fryer, and pressed the shrimp button. We like our bacon a little crispy so we added a few minutes but 320* for 12 - 16 minutes should do the job.
In summary, you can basically cook anything in the air fryer. It has essentially replaced our microwave, toaster, and oven so I'd say it's worth the space. Whether you want to bake cookies, reheat leftovers, boil eggs, make chicken wings, or have healthier fried food, an air fryer is a great option to get it all done.
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