Air fryer?

[melissa]

I was thinking of hinting to DH that I would like an air fryer for Mother's Day.  For those who have one, do you use it regularly and can you use it to cook an entire dinner in?  Any good recipes that you want to share?

[Deleted]

We really like ours. We use it for anything we'd bake like chicken tenders/nuggets, fries, etc as well as to do things like pork chops. It's also great for reheating pizza. I like that I can get things done quickly and without turning on the oven, which is especially helpful in the summer.

[VillainV]

We do use it regularly for anything that would normally be “fried” like fries, chicken nuggets, frozen foods like taquitos. It a also good for rehearing leftover pizza. I’ve made chicken parmigiana too.

You can’t really make a whole meal because different foods take different times, and the basket isn’t really big enough.

[dutchgirl678]

You can use it for meat or fries/potatoes/veggies but not at the same time. The other day I used it for small potatoes and asparagus cut up and that worked well. I used the regular oven and stove for steak at the same time.

[clairebear]

I got one for Christmas and have only used it a handful of times. It makes great frozen fries, tots etc. However the basket is small and it's impossible to do an entire meal (chicken nuggets and fries). I haven't explored many options outside of making fries, but I'm very ehhh about it. It's pretty large and does take up counter space. I love my instant pot and apparently it comes with an air fryer lid. I'd check that out over a stand alone air fryer!

[Deleted]

Depending on the number of people in your house, make sure you pick one with a decent-sized basket. I actually looked for the largest basket I could find in my price range. I can fit four (sometimes 5) pork chops in there, several slices of pizza, etc. I didn't want something that I'd have to divide our food into two cook cycles.

[sotally tober]

We use ours a ton. I've done steak in it, it was fine but I prefer smoking, grilling or cast iron skillet for steak.

A favorite here is the nom nom paleo cracklin' chicken in the air fryer - so good. Her walnut shrimp in it too is really good. Wings are also really good in it.

We do veggies in it often (brussels, broccoli, potatoes, zucchini). Hash brown patties turn out amazing in it. As PP mentioned, same for tots or fries. We've done frozen chicken nuggets and corn dogs and they turn out really good.

OH and reheating pizza!

[Shreddingbetty]

I got one 1.5 years ago when I got divorced and got my own place. My friends gave it to me. I have never used it although they use theirs pretty frequently. I think for me it is just another appliance and I just don’t have the room to leave it on my counter top, and I probably just don’t know how useful it could be?

[eb777888]

We do a whole chicken in ours and it's so crispy! We also do chicken wings, which is probably what we use it for the most. We don't use oil or anything, just seasoning, and they turn out so crispy. I've done whole sausages in there, and they turn out really good as well. My H has done bacon, which was also really good. Oh, and cut up chicken breast to make naked nuggets. It's healthy, cheap and something we'll all eat and they turn out really good. We mainly use it for chicken, but we mainly only eat chicken for some reason.

David does corn dogs and fish sticks in them. Any of that frozen kind of food is going to turn out really good and crispy.

We typically don't use oil, but if you put something really lean in there like fish stick or chicken breast, you have to oil it down a little so it doesn't stick.

[eb777888]

We can't really make a whole meal in there, like a chicken with sides at one time. We also got a medium-sized one. We'll probably size up when we get the next one.

[preppy]

We use ours all the time, its a combo toaster oven/air fryer. I cook the kids stuff in it all the time, like veg burgers, meatballs, nuggets, fries etc. Its perfect for reheating pizza and leftovers. I have never cooked a full meal from raw meat in it just due to lack of desire to try, lol. We have this one -https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/cuisinart-reg-air-fryer-toaster-oven/1061818064

[sineadorebellion]

We use it all the time. The kids will toss chicken nuggets or other things in it for lunch. The best thing we've made in it so far? Bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers.

[eb777888]

Apr 23, 2020 14:13:55 GMT -5 sineadorebellion said:

We use it all the time. The kids will toss chicken nuggets or other things in it for lunch. The best thing we've made in it so far? Bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers.

Ohhhhh!!! Do you make these from scratch or buy the frozen kind? I used to make these in the oven all the time, didn't even think to make them in the air fryer. I wonder if bacon wrapped shrimp would be good in there.

[Jalapeñomel]

We use it every day for so many things. Roasting veggies, heating chicken nuggets, making chicken wings, leftovers

[dexteroni]

I like mine a lot. We bought a 5.3 quart size, which was bigger than recommended for our two-person household, but I'm glad we did. I didn't want to have to cook in batches and this is just big enough. It wouldn't be big enough to make a full dinner though.

My favorite thing to make in it is zucchini chips. Slice a zucchini, dip in beaten egg, coat in seasoned bread crumbs, spray with the olive oil sprayer, and air fry until golden brown, turning halfway through. Delicious. We dip them in marinara and eat them as a side or as an app instead of something like mozzarella sticks.

www.amazon.com/Power-Air-Fryer-XL-Quart/dp/B01M036C6E
This is the one we have (look for a better price though, I think we paid $69). It works great and is easy to clean, but if I were to get one now, I would look for the toaster oven style. I think you can fit more food in those, and it would be easier for turning food or taking something out part way through, which *might* make it possible for you to cook a whole dinner in it.

[stephm0188]

We bought the air fryer attachment for our Instant Pot and use it pretty much every day for something. I love it.

[sineadorebellion]

Apr 23, 2020 14:16:42 GMT -5 eb777888 said:

Apr 23, 2020 14:13:55 GMT -5 sineadorebellion said:

We use it all the time. The kids will toss chicken nuggets or other things in it for lunch. The best thing we've made in it so far? Bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers.

Ohhhhh!!! Do you make these from scratch or buy the frozen kind? I used to make these in the oven all the time, didn't even think to make them in the air fryer. I wonder if bacon wrapped shrimp would be good in there.

From scratch! I was so surprised at how well they turned out, I wasn't sure how bacon would do but it was perfect.

[aliciabella]

I love how my airfryer makes everything crispy but the smell of it is really off putting to me. I like the final product but I try not to breathe when I walk through the kitchen, lol.

[circa1978]

I love our air fryer. We have the NuWave Duo. Highly recommend.

[Patsy Baloney]

All hail the air fryer, long may she reign.

I’ve been eating a chicken patty sandwich for lunch every day since we got the boot from our offices. It’s the only thing about pandemic I like.

[m15]

So I was just looking into these yesterday. I think I am going to get the new instant pot air fryer lid. Since I already have the instant pot, I figure it's one less appliance. Target has good reviews on them.

So not an answer to your question, but something to look into!

[pinkalicious]

We use ours almost daily, but we have a 1 year old, so chicken nuggets/French toast sticks/tater tots and the like are staples in our house. We heat up leftovers too. My husband has a few recipes using it, but ours is really small so we don’t fit a whole meal or entree even at one time. Definitely worth it though.

[lessel]

I was really opposed to another countertop appliance but I caved in and don’t regret it. We make a lot of sides in it—from tater tots to Brussels sprouts. It’s quick, doesn’t take forever to pre-heat, and pretty easy clean up. I don’t think we use it every day really, but at least a few times a week. More since we’ve been cooking lunches at home during the week too.

[mockingbird]

I have the Omni plus and love it. It replaces our toaster oven, so it wasn’t an. extra counter top appliance. I use it almost every day. One of my favorite things in it has been asparagus.

[melissa]

You guys have given me a lot to think about. Thanks for all of your input.

[joy]

Do you typically cook things in the oven that take a long time because you like that food to be very crispy? Like fries, tater tots, chicken, fish? The air fryer is a dream.

I have also made cakes, bacon, and lamb in there. Haha. It heats up faster than the large oven and cooks via convection so it cooks a bit faster.

I don’t do specialized recipes for it. It’s just based on what I’m doing and how fast/crispy I want the food.

We use ours nearly every day...

[flygirl]

We got a Ninja Foodi which is more $, but we have cooked whole chickens, pork roasts, etc in it along with all the normal fries, chicken fingers, etc. it’s well worth it,

[rebneen]

We have the Power Fryer Xl and it's more toaster style. It has 3 racks and I can cook everything for our family of 3 (2 kids/1 adult). Our toaster died and I use the air fryer for toast and bagels in addition to the aforementioned items (nuggets, fries, tots). 1 benefit to my model is that I don't have to flip anything. If I'm using all 3 racks I will rotate, though.