I’m borrowing an air fryer- what should I make?

[sunshineandpinot]

My mom loaned me her air fryer for the week. It’s a flat wide one, ninja. I’ve done Brussel sprouts and empanadas (which were amazing and might convince me to purchase one for myself.)
What are your favorite things to cook in your air fryer? Thinking abt dinner tonight and tomorrow night.
Dd is having a slumber party tomorrow. Any great breakfast ideas?

[sju]

Chicken wings are a favorite in our home.

[Jalapeñomel]

We make:

Potatoes
Broccoli
Pizza
Bacon
Chicken wings
Chicken nuggets
Onion rings
Mozz sticks
Carrots and onions

[strawberry]

Sweet potato fries
French fries
Bacon wrapped asparagus

[larzhope]

chicken wings for sure! The food network has a great recipe.

[pinkdutchtulips]

What I do in mine:
French fries
Sweet potato fries
Mozz sticks
Pizza rolls
Chicken tenders
Pizza
Roasted potatoes
Roasted veggies
Salmon

I got 2 for Christmas (standard 6qt and a HUGE 13qt one). Tonight I’m trying coconut shrimp bc I don’t want to heat anything in my stove in a 100*+ heatwave

[al dente]

Bacon is quick in the air fryer.

I make grill cheese and can fit like 4 in there so it's super fast.

[sagelily]

We make a lot of frozen Trader Joe’s stuff in it:
Egg rolls
Kung Pao cauliflower
Cauliflower gnocchi
Dumplings (I think they are better steamed but everyone else in my house likes air fried more)

[yourmother]

Salmon! Just season it and throw it in there for about 6-8 min.

Also, any frozen foods like Alexa onion rings or the Ore-Ida fast food extra crispy French fries.

Bacon wrapped cream cheese stuffed jalapeños.

[1confused1]

I use my air fryer almost daily. Another vote for salmon!

[letsgetweird]

I use my airfryer to make chicken thighs, salmon, and pork chops

[toepick]

Bone in skin on chicken thighs. Just add some spices. No oil. About 18 minutes, flip once. Total game changer!

[VillainV]

Homemade chicken nuggets or chicken fingers (I bread them in panko).

Any frozen potato product (fries, tots, hash brown patties).

I think that’s the same air fryer that I have -/ the one the doubles as an indoor grill? I use the grill function all the time.

[pumpkin]

Any vegetable you’d roast
Chicken
Fish
Shrimp
Steak
Quesadillas
Nachos


I throw a lot of things into my air fryer when I don’t want to turn my oven on.

[wavepool]

For a sleepover breakfast, French toast sticks or biscuit donuts.

[imojoebunny]

It is great for heating up biscuits, but if I am cooking for a crowd, I am going to use the regular oven. Where the air fryer really shines for me, is roasting vegetables. I regularly air fry eggplant, okra, potatoes, butternut squash, beets, etc. It makes it easy to add a lot more veggies to our diet, without having to heat up the house with the oven. It is, also, awesome for reheating takeout food that is actually fried. I agree with the cocking of salmon and wings!

[mofongo]

If you get one, I’d suggest one of the newer, bigger kind that have multiple functions. They may not be new, but I didn’t know until recently. We had one of the weird oval shaped ones and it was just one another appliance to take out when we needed it, and was small, I ended up giving it to a friend.

My H can’t live without a toaster oven, so we had one of those and didn’t need a separate toaster. We got one that’s the air fryer, toaster, and oven. It’s not tiny, but it serves many functions and gets a lot of use.

You can really put anything in the air fryer:) one of the biggest differences I noticed between oven feature and air fryer was on the Trader Joe’s hash browns, they are SO much crispier. For us, it was worth the investment. I then gave my older toaster oven away.

[stemmie]

I like it for bacon and sausage as it keeps the kitchen/range from getting greasy.

It's great for anything frozen/fried. DS loves chicken tender and DH makes fried fish sandwiches.

It's good for fish for tacos at home. Also roasting veggies. My favorite is cauliflower with drizzled butter and a dusting of curry powder.

[sunshineandpinot]

Sept 3, 2022 22:50:31 GMT -5 mofongo said:

If you get one, I’d suggest one of the newer, bigger kind that have multiple functions. They may not be new, but I didn’t know until recently. We had one of the weird oval shaped ones and it was just one another appliance to take out when we needed it, and was small, I ended up giving it to a friend.

My H can’t live without a toaster oven, so we had one of those and didn’t need a separate toaster. We got one that’s the air fryer, toaster, and oven. It’s not tiny, but it serves many functions and gets a lot of use.

You can really put anything in the air fryer:) one of the biggest differences I noticed between oven feature and air fryer was on the Trader Joe’s hash browns, they are SO much crispier. For us, it was worth the investment. I then gave my older toaster oven away.

Which one did you get? I impulsively ordered this one yesterday. (eek, sorry for ugly link) 

www.target.com/p/cuisinart-airfryer-toaster-oven-stainless-steel-toa-60tg/-/A-53760593?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000014773183&CPNG=PLA_Appliances%2BShopping_Brand%7CAppliances_Ecomm_Home&adgroup=SC_Appliances_Toasters&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=c&location=9028071&targetid=aud-1453399007936:pla-1463324374555&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1247068&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmdGYBhDRARIsABmSEeMLtf_4oHw34QCw2FQt7tbOnBfNeu2cAD_QwAzjOpMnYdGSzIshziQaAp1nEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

It is not as big as my mom's Ninja foodie but it's not a basket style. I don't think that's what I want. 

However, it would fit in my cabinet which is where my toaster oven lives. So yes, it would replace my toaster oven. But other concern- we have a cabinet and can shut the door on the toaster oven when not in use. We obv leave the door open when we are toasting something. Do you think the air fryer would get too hot to use while in the cabinet? This is not my image but basically my set up. For some reason I'm scared it will warp my cabinets but I don't know why I think that?? 

[sunshineandpinot]

Sept 3, 2022 22:23:16 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

It is great for heating up biscuits, but if I am cooking for a crowd, I am going to use the regular oven. Where the air fryer really shines for me, is roasting vegetables. I regularly air fry eggplant, okra, potatoes, butternut squash, beets, etc. It makes it easy to add a lot more veggies to our diet, without having to heat up the house with the oven. It is, also, awesome for reheating takeout food that is actually fried. I agree with the cocking of salmon and wings!

I think I'll really love it for this. I roast veggies nearly every night I cook dinner and I can really see myself using it a lot for that purpose. 

[indifferentstars]

Sept 4, 2022 8:19:40 GMT -5 sunshineandpinot said:

However, it would fit in my cabinet which is where my toaster oven lives. So yes, it would replace my toaster oven. But other concern- we have a cabinet and can shut the door on the toaster oven when not in use. We obv leave the door open when we are toasting something. Do you think the air fryer would get too hot to use while in the cabinet? This is not my image but basically my set up. For some reason I'm scared it will warp my cabinets but I don't know why I think that?? 

View Attachment

I have the same one and I hate it. The reviews are weirdly mixed between loving and hating it, so maybe I got a bad one but it gets SO HOT (and it burns things very quickly and is a major pain to clean). I had mine just on the counter for the first use and it heated the heck out of the cabinets and contents in the cabinet above it, so being totally enclosed like your photo would not work for use. My hope was to be able to use it in lieu of the oven and avoid heating the kitchen so much on hot days, but it offers no benefit in that regard. I suggest keeping your packaging until you've tried it a few times My H recycled it all too quickly or else it would have been returned.

[sunshineandpinot]

Sept 4, 2022 8:50:33 GMT -5 indifferentstars said:

Sept 4, 2022 8:19:40 GMT -5 sunshineandpinot said:

However, it would fit in my cabinet which is where my toaster oven lives. So yes, it would replace my toaster oven. But other concern- we have a cabinet and can shut the door on the toaster oven when not in use. We obv leave the door open when we are toasting something. Do you think the air fryer would get too hot to use while in the cabinet? This is not my image but basically my set up. For some reason I'm scared it will warp my cabinets but I don't know why I think that?? 

View Attachment

I have the same one and I hate it. The reviews are weirdly mixed between loving and hating it, so maybe I got a bad one but it gets SO HOT (and it burns things very quickly and is a major pain to clean). I had mine just on the counter for the first use and it heated the heck out of the cabinets and contents in the cabinet above it, so being totally enclosed like your photo would not work for use. My hope was to be able to use it in lieu of the oven and avoid heating the kitchen so much on hot days, but it offers no benefit in that regard. I suggest keeping your packaging until you've tried it a few times My H recycled it all too quickly or else it would have been returned.

Ahhh, thank you! Solid review!!! Overheating is a major concern. 

[wanderingback]

Sept 3, 2022 19:56:03 GMT -5 toepick said:

Bone in skin on chicken thighs. Just add some spices. No oil. About 18 minutes, flip once. Total game changer!

Is it the texture that’s a total game changer?
My partner cooks chicken thighs, uses olive oil and a bunch of spices and cooks for about 20 minutes and they’re delicious. So I’m guessing it’s the texture that people love/think is a game changer? Or is it something else?

[jackie011]

We received a pod shaped fryer as a gift a few years ago. Didn’t really get the appeal until March 2020 and it became a game of “let’s toss this in the air fryer.” We found so many uses that when our toaster oven died, we replaced it with a toaster oven/air fryer combo. I hate it! It doesn’t cook the food the same way, it’s impossible to clean, and it produces flames 😳. I’ve stopped using it as an air fryer. I still love our pod shaped fryer and may replace it with a bigger one so my ILs can have our original one.

[sent]

I was at someone’s house yesterday and their teen daughter heated up mozzarella sticks and mini samosas in their air fryer.

[yourmother]

Sept 4, 2022 9:22:36 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 3, 2022 19:56:03 GMT -5 toepick said:

Bone in skin on chicken thighs. Just add some spices. No oil. About 18 minutes, flip once. Total game changer!

Is it the texture that’s a total game changer?
My partner cooks chicken thighs, uses olive oil and a bunch of spices and cooks for about 20 minutes and they’re delicious. So I’m guessing it’s the texture that people love/think is a game changer? Or is it something else?

It’s crispy on outside and juicy on the inside. SO GOOD!  I do this with any chicken pieces (legs, thighs, breast). Any seasonings, etc. And I’m not a cook, so this is a complete game changer for us.

[dexteroni]

I really like making breaded zucchini chips. I don’t always add parm, and you can vary the seasonings any way you like. I often use a little garlic powder and Penzey’s Italian herb mix, or Trader Joe’s 21 seasoning salute.

www.sustainablecooks.com/oven-fried-zucchini-sticks/#recipe

I have an add on question. Our old basket style air fryer broke in our recent move and I need to replace it. I was all set to get the Cuisinart oven style, but I’m seeing too many reviews that say it burns food and is hard to clean. If you love your air fryer, please recommend it! And if you have a Cuisinart, which model do you have, does it burn your food and is it hard to clean? Thanks!

[mofongo]

Sept 4, 2022 8:50:33 GMT -5 indifferentstars said:

Sept 4, 2022 8:19:40 GMT -5 sunshineandpinot said:

However, it would fit in my cabinet which is where my toaster oven lives. So yes, it would replace my toaster oven. But other concern- we have a cabinet and can shut the door on the toaster oven when not in use. We obv leave the door open when we are toasting something. Do you think the air fryer would get too hot to use while in the cabinet? This is not my image but basically my set up. For some reason I'm scared it will warp my cabinets but I don't know why I think that?? 

View Attachment

I have the same one and I hate it. The reviews are weirdly mixed between loving and hating it, so maybe I got a bad one but it gets SO HOT (and it burns things very quickly and is a major pain to clean). I had mine just on the counter for the first use and it heated the heck out of the cabinets and contents in the cabinet above it, so being totally enclosed like your photo would not work for use. My hope was to be able to use it in lieu of the oven and avoid heating the kitchen so much on hot days, but it offers no benefit in that regard. I suggest keeping your packaging until you've tried it a few times My H recycled it all too quickly or else it would have been returned.

sunshineandpinot - we have the same one:) we have it out on the counter.

We have not had the above experience at all. Do you have the papers you can buy to catch drippage at the bottom? Or use foil?

[toepick]

Sept 4, 2022 9:22:36 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 3, 2022 19:56:03 GMT -5 toepick said:

Bone in skin on chicken thighs. Just add some spices. No oil. About 18 minutes, flip once. Total game changer!

Is it the texture that’s a total game changer?
My partner cooks chicken thighs, uses olive oil and a bunch of spices and cooks for about 20 minutes and they’re delicious. So I’m guessing it’s the texture that people love/think is a game changer? Or is it something else?

Hmm...it is usually over 30 minutes in the oven, plus preheating time. This is 18 minutes total, and you end up with super crispy skin and very juicy chicken. I will never make them another way again! 

[quesyrah]

Sept 4, 2022 11:30:47 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Sept 4, 2022 8:50:33 GMT -5 indifferentstars said:

I have the same one and I hate it. The reviews are weirdly mixed between loving and hating it, so maybe I got a bad one but it gets SO HOT (and it burns things very quickly and is a major pain to clean). I had mine just on the counter for the first use and it heated the heck out of the cabinets and contents in the cabinet above it, so being totally enclosed like your photo would not work for use. My hope was to be able to use it in lieu of the oven and avoid heating the kitchen so much on hot days, but it offers no benefit in that regard. I suggest keeping your packaging until you've tried it a few times My H recycled it all too quickly or else it would have been returned.

sunshineandpinot - we have the same one:) we have it out on the counter.

We have not had the above experience at all. Do you have the papers you can buy to catch drippage at the bottom? Or use foil?

I have this one too and it doesn’t get overly hot. We keep ours out on an open counter.

We love it and almost exclusively cook with it during the summer.