If you’re like most of us and love deep-fried, crispy food, the air fryer is the answer to all your fried food prayers. We’ll leave the complicated science aside but it’s essentially a convection oven that cooks food in a way that resembles the awesome texture of deep-fried food, with only a fraction of the oil needed.
The best part? You can air fry almost anything to crispy, crunchy perfection, as AVENUE ONE discovered. Yes, even vegetables. This means you can up your family’s intake of greens with minimal fuss because who doesn’t love crunchy food, never mind if they are vegetables in disguise?
The only thing you need to bear in mind is that you can use only certain types of vegetables – most fresh leafy vegetables (except kale) and foods with liquid batter and loose seasonings are a no-go for the air fryer.
Ahead, we’re unapologetically whetting your appetite for all things crunchy with these 15 air fryer recipes, more than half of which are vegetable dishes. This basically proves that you can have fried food that isn’t straight up unhealthy!
1. Crispy Potato Wedges
Fried potatoes are a winner with almost everyone, and air fried potatoes that require less oil without skimping on the crunch? What’s not to love?
The secret to creating that crunchy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside consistency in your air fried potatoes is to pre-soak your cut potatoes in cold water before air frying them in a pre-heated air fryer at 180°C.
Get the recipe here.
2. Roasted Broccoli
This is arguably the easiest thing ever to make (and even easier to eat!) – just cut the head of broccoli up into smaller florets, coat with olive oil, and air fry for 10 minutes.
The result is an enjoyable crunchy broccoli dish that will leave you wondering if vegetables are even allowed to be so darn delicious.
Get the recipe here.
3. Eggplant Fries
These are the vegetable fries you never ever thought you’d need to try. With all the meatiness of eggplant and the magical crunch of breadcrumbs, you’ll find yourself devouring these eggplant fries faster than you can say ‘aubergine’.
No secrets here, just a friendly reminder to shake the basket around four minutes into cooking for all-over crunchiness.
Get the recipe here.
4. Roasted Zucchini
This is as easy as slicing up zucchini one-centimetre thin and tossing them all up with olive oil, salt, and pepper, before popping them all into the air fryer at 180°C.
The result? Tender zucchini with an amazingly crispy crust that you could eat over and over again. Toss in a sprinkle of zesty lemon juice, toasted parmesan crumbs, garlic powder or other herbs to add some additional flavour to this already sweet fry up. Mum would surely approve.
Get the recipe here.
5. Roasted Cod
Fried fish is delicious for all the right reasons: it’s juicy and tender on the inside, and crispy on the outside. This is especially so for cod, there’s a particularly rich and creamy quality to this premium fish. Air fried cod is exceptionally delicious, minus most of the oil, in just 15 minutes.
There’s hardly any prep involved too, other than seasoning cleaned cod fillets with your favourite seasoning before gently placing them into the air fryer to work its magic. Put a knob of butter and a slice of lemon on top of each fillet for extra flavour points.
Get the recipe here.
6. Breaded Chicken Tenders
Newsflash: these aren’t just snacks for the kids. The AVENUE ONE team loves it too, and we’re unabashed about it. There’s something supremely comforting about this, and we’re not going to question why.
Cut up some chicken breast fillets into slender tenders, bread them with panko breadcrumbs, spritz on some olive oil, and they’re ready to get air fried to crispy perfection.
Get the recipe here.
7. Air Fried Dumplings
This is a great idea for WFH lunches for the family. Take them out straight from the freezer, put them into a pre-heated air fryer (190°C) in a single unstacked layer, and they will crisp up like pure magic.
As always, gently shake the basket at the halfway mark of cooking to ensure they don’t stick and that the edges all have an equal chance to turn a mouthwatering golden-brown. Spray more olive oil if needed, and voila, you’ve got yourself some restaurant-standard dumplings!
Get the recipe here.
8. Air Fried Meatballs
Fuss-free main dishes are always a win, and air fried meatballs check all the boxes. These meatballs can get from your fridge to your table in 30 minutes flat without the grease and oil splatters that come from frying them. Roll up the meatballs using fresh minced meat with parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs – we recommend choosing a slightly fattier mince so that the meatballs are exceptionally juicy.
The beautiful thing about meatballs is that you can add practically anything you want to vary it up. Use beef, pork or chicken, and then add ricotta, garlic or herbs… it’s entirely up to what you feel like eating for the day.
Get the recipe here.
9. Crispy Brussels Sprouts
These air fried Brussels sprouts are a surprising win, considering all the bad rap these veggies get for being bitter and hard to eat. The leaves turn brittle and crunchy when cooked this way, making them truly delightful to crunch down on.
The added garlic slices tossed in and air fried with the greens add a nutty, aromatic punch that will make you keep reaching out for more. This recipe also includes an irresistible balsamic, soy, and lime dressing that makes us salivate even as we type this out. Y.U.M!
Get the recipe here.
10. Mozzarella Sticks
There’s something wonderful about this childhood favourite snack: sinfully crispy on the outside and gloriously oozy on the inside.
Instead of deep-frying in hot oil, you can use an air fryer for exactly the same results. The secret is in double breading the cheese sticks and freezing them in-between each breading for maximum crunch.
Get the recipe here.
11. Crispy Sweet Potatoes
We all know that fries are best served deep-fried, but these sweet potato ones prove that less oil doesn’t necessarily mean less crispy.
Preheat your air fryer to 190°C and load it up with cut sweet potato wedges tossed in olive oil, lime zest, and salt. Remember to shake the basket up halfway through cooking so the pieces brown evenly – and you’re done!
Get the recipe here.
12. Cauliflower Tots
Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that you can do so much with, thanks to how hearty it is: pass it off as rice if you’re off carbs, or plop it into a morning breakfast smoothie for extra fibre without being any the wiser.
Air fried cauliflower tots are a great idea if you’re craving tater tots without the starchiness of potatoes. It’s really easy to make too, and only requires steamed and chopped cauliflower, bread crumbs, cheese, and egg all mixed up before getting air fried to hearty satisfaction at 180°C.
Get the recipe here.
13. Kale Chips
Love kale chips but don’t want to splurge? Make your own using the trusty air fryer to tide you through the midday munchies while you WFH.
It’s as simple as washing and drying kale leaves, spraying some olive oil on them, sprinkling salt, and popping them into the air fryer.
Three minutes later, you’ve got your very own homemade crunchy kale chips. You’re welcome. Tip: If the leaves fly around while they’re in the air fryer, you can use another air fryer rack to cover them.
Get the recipe here.
14. Crunchy Spring Rolls
There is absolutely no need to deep-fry these yummy spring rolls anymore if you’ve got an air fryer! You can make your own using fresh ingredients if you feel up to it, or you can use store-bought frozen ones to save some time.
Either way, know that all you have to do to get them to that deep golden brown colour is six minutes in your trusty air fryer at 200°C. Spray the tops of the rolls with olive oil before and midway through to keep these babies from charring.
Get the recipe here.
15. Fried Ravioli
Do yourself a favour and try this unusual snack stat. This is an antipasti dish in Italian restaurants that is typically deep-fried, so we really dig the fact that you can air fry this with way less oil with the same delicious results.
Coat store-bought fresh ravioli with egg before dunking them into a mixture of savoury breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Then, air fry these stuffed pockets at 180°C.
Everyone at the table will be mentally divvying the number of ravioli on the plate up because they are that good.
Get the recipe here.
BONUS: If you’re craving finger food munchies and desserts while you WFH, your air fryer can do that too! Check these 18 awesome recipes out right here.
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