I Love Air Fryer Cooking! Here’s Why…
Have an air fryer?
I was a tad bit skeptical about buying yet another kitchen gadget, but since so many people are buzzing about air fryers, I decided to try one out. If you’re curious about whether or not an air fryer is worth the investment and how it works, read on my friends!
On a side note, this post went live last year, but we thought it was worth resharing again for those of you who may have missed it since our whole team is air fryer obsessed!
I have completely fallen in love with air fryer cooking!
My Power Air Fryer XL has for sure earned a spot on the counter with my other must-have kitchen appliances. In fact, I affectionately tell people I don’t want to do life without it! My kids and I honestly use our air fryer just about every day now, even if it’s just to reheat leftovers or frozen foods.
Things I love about air frying:
- My air fryer was easy to use straight out of the box. It’s also very lightweight, and it’s SO simple to clean.
- Is my food cooked? You can conveniently remove the air fryer’s basket to see if food is done cooking, and then place it back in to cook longer if needed.
- I don’t have to turn on my oven during the summer! Cook times are faster in the air fryer than in conventional ovens, and it won’t heat up the kitchen like the oven does.
- Air fryers start cooking immediately. There’s no preheating involved or waiting for it to come to pressure like with the Instant Pot.
- It’s like frying without oil! Very little oil is needed to get that delicious crispy fried texture on foo because air fryers cook by circulating hot air.
- It’s so easy to use that even my kids can air fry! My pre-teens can use it by themselves to heat up an air fryer grilled cheese sandwich or to make whatever frozen foods they want in less than 15 minutes!
Here are 10 tips and reasons why I love air fryer cooking:
1.) Make the best bacon EVER with zero mess.
Cook times will vary based on the thickness of bacon, but I was able to make thick-cut, crispy bacon in just 10 minutes at 390 degrees. The best part is that the grease drains to the bottom basket for easy clean up at the end!
I’m never making bacon in the oven or on the stove again! THIS method ROCKS!
Go HERE for further air fryer bacon directions.
2.) Easily adapt oven recipes to air fryer.
Typically, you’ll just lower the cooking temperature by about 25 degrees. For instance, if your recipe states 375 degrees in the conventional oven, go with 350 degrees in the air fryer. You’ll need at least 20 percent less cooking time, although this can vary with what you’re cooking. I love that there’s no preheating involved!
Check out this helpful Air Fryer Cooking Calculator.
3.) Give foods a spray.
An air fryer can produce a crispy fried texture that’s pretty fabulous. For next-level results, consider spraying food halfway through the cook time by using an oil sprayer. I’ve read that the aerosol type oil sprays from the store aren’t recommended for the fryer basket’s non-stick finish.
4.) Shake things up.
For recipes like fries, it’s best to shake up the contents halfway through the cooking time, so your results will be extra crispy and delicious. In case you’re wondering, frozen french fries and tater tots are so crispy and delicious too in the air fryer!
Hip Tip: I made the most amazing homemade Garlic Parmesan Fries in 18 minutes by following THESE instructions, and then topping them with Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and chopped parsley. YUM!!
5.) Make breading that sticks.
Air fryers move air so quickly that breading can separate from food. To prevent this from happening, try the following tip. Dip food in flour, then egg, and then bread crumbs to ensure the breading sticks to the food.
Hip Tip: Get this easy recipe for mozzarella sticks. They are SO GOOD and easy to make.
6.) Time to make the donuts!
Your air fryer isn’t just for savory foods. I recently made some excellent 5-minute donuts using flaky refrigerated dough! It was easy enough to do quickly on a weekday morning, and my kids were thrilled with this fun project!
Hip Tip: Love bagels instead of donuts? Try making these yummy homemade 2-ingredient bagels in the air fryer!
7.) Leftovers have never tasted better.
Seriously, you’ll never eat soggy microwaved pizza again! Just a couple of minutes in the air fryer is all you need to reheat last night’s dinner. The taste and texture is just so much better than the microwave, and it’s so convenient to throw leftovers in the air fryer.
8.) Don’t overcrowd.
This is probably the most important air fryer rule you should know! You’ll want to make sure food gets cooked evenly and crisps up deliciously.
I bought these large pre-made bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers from my local grocery store’s butcher section. I air-fried them at 370 for about 10 minutes. These are my FAVORITE thing I’ve ever cooked in the air fryer. Such a great low carb and keto-friendly snack or appetizer idea, too!
Hip Tip: Use THIS easy recipe to make homemade bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers!
9.) Meat turns out DELICIOUS and juicy.
The air fryer goes way beyond tasty fries and snacks. We recently cooked some pretty amazing burgers in the air fryer. Medium-sized patties can be cooked for about 9-10 minutes at 350 degrees, or until desired done-ness. YUM!
10.) Air fryer veggies crisp up like a dream.
I made brussels sprouts that are perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside in just 10 minutes! They tasted amazing and were so easy to make. Coat brussels sprouts with olive oil, season, and then cook in an air fryer for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Stop and shake the basket to turn sprouts halfway through cooking.
Want more winning air fryer recipe inspiration?
Try these easy and delicious ideas:
- Copycat Air Fryer Chick-fil-A Sandwiches
- Easy Air Fryer Empanadas
- Parmesan Meatballs in the Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Cinnamon Sugar Churros
I soooo want one of these. I was going to buy this brand when Costco had them but when I went back for it they were out of stock.
Think no further! This is top small appliance in our kitchen now. I got a recipe book on Amazon, airfry everything by Meredith L. – has so many great ideas and made me appreciate my air fryer even more. It comes not only with bunch of easy recipes but also with lots s of tips on how to properly use your fryer. I took it for a game Sunday to my friends house couple of weeks ago to make wings for everyone. I made several batches of wings with the ease – hot, garlic and plain and they were a complete hit! Everybody was asking for more and all my friends now want this fryer too 😍
That’s so great! Thanks for sharing 👍
Sam’s has the power air fryer Xl (6qt) on sale for $99
Thank you have been not sure about the air fryer but this helped me decide need to get one! Thanks!
Sure! You’ll love it. I’ve used mine just about everyday 😋
What about the smell from what you are cooking in the air fryer? How does this compare to normal cooking methods? Side note: we do not cook with grease, I bake most everything, and we cook bacon outside on the grill.
We love our air fryer. There is a little bit of the ‘fryer smell’ but not terrible and it’s so convenient to make so many things!
Just made the donuts now and they were great!
I would say some of the smell is diffused. But not as much as say the pressure cooker. There’s a yummy food smell, which doesn’t bother me. Hope that helps!
it smells like fried food. I was hoping it would not as we don’t fry anything either and I despise cooking bacon (but love eating it so I do cook it a couple times a year – never thought to do it on a grill though…great idea!)
Yes, just lay down foil and cook away! Easy clean-up too.
Was wondering the same Emily… I don’t like the greasy fried food smell Lol. We are the same way, don’t use grease either and bake almost everything. Only time we eat fries or stuff like that is out somewhere, not usually when we cook at home 🙂
We are a larger family, and I found that we would need to do too many batches of anything for it to make sense. A family of two or maybe three would be perfect.
Thanks, Dawn. We are a family of 6 & I wondered about this when I saw the picture of bacon above. It doesn’t seem practical for our family needs.
This is the exact reason why I returned mine!
We are a family of 7 and I like ours! We mostly use it for potatoes for everyone… Just keep shaking it! I make brussel sprouts and kale for me and my hubby uses it wings. Will have to try bacon!
We use ours for a family of 6 and it works perfect. We bought the large version. Love potatoes, roasted veggies, chicken, heating up leftovers, even cooking bagged frozen nuggets for the kids in it. We probably use it 5x per week.
Great! Thanks for sharing 👍
I was seriously wondering if they would make crispy bagged frozen nuggets for my son who loves them. Thanks for commenting!
Maybe you should look into the air oven. nuwave is the brand.
YES! Growing up my mom was Obsessed with making fries in our “air cooker” (looks like it could have been the Nuwave brand ) 15 years ago! It cooked ours fries in half the time feeding hunger teenagers quickly 😉 I would agree with another commenter below it wasn’t easier to clean because it was a rack. This looks a bit easier. Mama agrees air ovens are a must.
You are point on. I’ve had mines for years and def not used as much as I thought I would. As you said, not meant for more than 2 people serving I would say and bacon is a perfect perfect example of it unless it’s one slice of bacon each. I don’t know about anyone else but I’m def 4+ bacon myself. Pretty much everything I’ve had to make had to be done in multiple batches, much much slower than oven or pan.
Wow thank you for all the tips. I have an air fryer and had no idea it could be used for so many things.
Sure! Enjoy!
I received an air fryer for my birthday last March. I LOVE it!! My favorite thing to make in there is the thick pork chops from Costco. I put a dry rub on them before I foodsaver them and freeze. Then I thaw them out and cook, they are fabulous!! As far as the smell…everything I have ever cooked in my air fryer smells awesome.
Yum! I’m definitely trying that.
Hi Sara, may I ask at what temperature and for how long you cook the Costco thick cut pork chops in the air fryer? Also what brand and size is your air fryer? Thanks ☺
We LOVE the air fryer. Everything cooks so fast. Chicken tenders/breast and pork chops so juicy. I’ve done a whole Young chicken that was also good and moist. All of our veggies. Basically it’s just like roasting them in the oven but 1/4th of the cook time. We do easy things like frozen nuggets or frozen fried ravioli or tator/veggie tots…always done in 5 minutes. So many things you can make in this thing.
Yes! Love the veggies too.
omg im so tempted to buy one of these…
Appreciate the tips, I was not in love with my air fryer, but you made me rekindle the relationship.
Thank you.
That’s so great! Thanks Claudia
There were numerous other brands of air fryers on sale for less than this one from mid November until after Christmas. I held out buying one until I found the Power Air Fryer XL on sale. A friend told me this one is the best and to make sure I got the 5.3 quart size. It was worth the wait and a little extra money. We love it & use it often. Even though there are only 2 of us, I can usually make everything at once with this size. My friends use theirs to make wings and said they rock! (we don’t eat wings so I can speak first hand) I just saw on Saturday, Sams Club has the 5.3 size on Instant Savings for $99.98 (which was my price point when I was holding out LOL).
Thanks for sharing!
Can any1 recommend a good brand that is easy to clean?
I love your little informational bits !!!!! You are awesome!!!
Thanks Lily!
Does anyone know if an air fryer without the nonstick coating like stainless or ceramic?
That is why i have been holding off on buying one because of the coating. I was trying to remember the brand, but couldn’t find the name. It was recommended that the basket can be made out of the stainless steel since the food would’t be touching the bottom of the air fryer. If you want one, when you do some research there are different type of recommendations.
I’d love to know this as well.
Does this work better than the convection setting on an oven?
Not sure but I️ like how I️ don’t have to heat the whole oven up and make my kitchen hot. My air fryer preheats fast and doesn’t produce much excess heat. I️ live in TX… I don’t need more heat I️min my house 🙂
I love my air fryer! My favorite thing to fry is chicken wings! They taste so good and no oil needed. I sprinkle season salt on each side and flip them half way through. My whole family loves them which is always a win!
I was disappointed in the airfryer. It served the same purpose as my toaster oven. Tater tots and French fries were more satisfying fried in oil…if I’m going to eat that anyway.
Exactly why I haven’t bought one. wanted one until I did some research. Plus it’s very bulky.
Reviews show that this does the same thing as a convection oven. Which I have. And also my toaster oven has the convection setting. 😁
We love our air fryer. We are a family of 4 (kids: 4 & 7). We have the Philips XL and it’s awesome. It’s pricey and the cheapest, I found was at Williams & Sonoma for $299 but wait for the 20% email promo code that they typically send out and use that. We use it at least once a day. When cooking meat, I typically plug it in outside so the house doesn’t fill up with smoke. The is juicier and tender and is done in minutes. We buy all fresh meat, not frozen. Also air frying veggies is so delicious too! There are lots of receipes on pinterest and online. You won’t be disappointed!
I want the the phillip xl too. Thanks for the tip.
My Philips XL just arrived the other day. I kept looking at it on the Williams Sonoma website and so they sent me a coupon for 25% off plus free shipping. Perfect timing for this post, because it answered all my question regarding how to use it. Thanks for posting this information.
Sure! Enjoy 😉
I love our air fryer! We use it all the time. I love that I can make the kids chicken nuggets and fries when we are in a time crunch. And I throw them in together with no problem!Have also done pork chops, brussel sprouts, tater tots, roasted potatoes, and many other things!
Awesome! Yes I just tried baby potatoes this weekend and PERFECTION. 🙂
Thank you so much for these tips and ideas and for all the food posts. You rock Lina 😍
THANKS so much. <3
I love my black & decker airfryer. But now I want an xl one. I want the Phillip XL. Has anybody had experience with this one? Does it worth paying for it? It’s one of the most expensive airfryer in the market right now.
Oh thanks for sharing. We’re curious too!
I don’t like my nuwave. It is hard to wash even I spray it before adding anything, food still sticks.
Oh darn. Thanks for sharing.
I returned my Nuwave. We a re a family of 3, but I really didn’t find it much different from a toaster oven or a conventional oven. I really wanted to like it, but I didn’t. Just took up space on my counter. 🙁
Yes, the Philips XL is the best rated and ranked on the market. I did lots of research and you tubed videos before purchasing since it’s the most expensive. But well worth it!! You will also want to purchase the pan. The basket is great but the pan is much easier to clean, especially when cooking meat.
Thanks for sharing your review!
We are a family of 6 and i love mine! Kids do too!
Thanks for sharing Jamie!
We’ve had an air fryer for over a year now. We love that we can make fried foods without oil. My FIL bought one, but he didn’t like. When we have dinner at his house, I usually don’t eat the fries he makes in his regular deep fryer as they are so greasy and seem to bother me now that I’m used to air frying.
Yes the air fryer fries are awesome. Thanks for sharing!
Thank u SO much for all of your excellent tips! I have an air fryer I bought a few months ago that I haven’t used yet. I don’t have a cookbook to nudge me along, but now I’m inspired to start air frying!
Yay! I thought is was pretty easy to just jump in and try!
I️ love my air fryer. I️ love roasting egg plant, mushrooms, broccoli, veggie tots and even fried okra. I’ve made cookies in it too. Makes about 7 cookies at a time. This way I️ don’t have a lot of cookies at hand I️ will eat.
Oh I need to try Cookies! Great idea 👍
If you already have an oven, then this is redundant. Cook times are only faster b/c obviously it’s much smaller than an oven…but the tradeoff is that you can’t fit much into it either.
Thank you, Lina! I’ve been on the fence for awhile because I don’t want a collection of useless gadgets. But you sold me! I’m so excited to get it home
That’s awesome! Enjoy Chris ❤️
Great tips and recipes! Thanks! We love ours too. It’s great for cooking in the summer when you don’t want to heat up your house with a hot oven. My husband has cooked steak in ours and it came out so good and tender!
I want to try that next! Yum 😋
Still on the fence. If I’m not concerned about decreasing cooking time, and I’m worried about how much it will cook at a time (I have a hubby and 3 teenage boys), is it still worth it? My primary reason would be to be able to enjoy healthier versions of fried foods… Thanks for your thoughts.
I would get a larger sized air fryer. 👍
I have a toaster oven that has an air fryer setting and came with a basket and tray for air frying. I didn’t like the idea of buying another single use appliance. I use it as a toaster, an oven and an air fryer and I absolutely love it. It also holds more than a regular air fryer.
We have the Power Airfryer Oven from sams club and it’s wonderful! It’s large enough to fit a 5lb whole chicken or turkey, Large enough to accommodate a 9″ round pizza or cake, or a 9 x 5″ loaf pan. It Replaces your deep fryer, rotisserie oven, dehydrator, oven, toaster oven, pizza grill and microwave and anything you make in those appliances can be made in your airfryer at a fraction of the time! My favorite part is they have a little window & light where you can see your items and racks where you can cook different items at once. The spinning fry basket is amazing and the rotisserie function is nice! They’re $129 but they often run sales especially this time of the year!
Just got my air fryer from khols it’s a nuwave 6 qt . Love it I got 30% off and ten dollars in khols cash came out being around $90 after the khols cash.
I love our air fryer! It doesn’t stink up the house the way a traditional deep fryer does. My favorite part about it is that my kids can cook in it and I don’t have to worry about them using the oven and forgetting to turn it off. With 4 kids in the house, ours get used almost daily! I think mine is the same one pictured and I got it on QVC.
Thanks Ashley!
There is an xxl phillip air fryer on William Sonoma. Anyone had experience with this one?
I’ve been singing the praises of air frying for a while now and I highly recommend it to everyone I know. Definitely a must have these days IMO.
Excellent! Thanks for sharing 👍
Have been wanting one of these but so many people I’ve talked to say they aren’t that great. Still not sure what to do. Anyone ever cooked trout in them? We catch so many trout in the spring. Thanks for input.
I have not personally tried fish in my air fryer. However, a friend of mine did and she did not like it. She loves her air fryer but the fish didn’t turn out.
Thanks for your input. I was mainly wanting it for fish, just didn’t know how well they would turn out.
We purchased the Power Air Fryer XL a few weeks ago, brand new at a pallet store in our area and only paid $65 for it. We have made corn dogs and fries in it several times and really like it. They still have the crunch, but without the grease. Just make sure to shake up the fries half way between cook times. I can’t wait to try other things in it when we really have the time, like pork chops and hamburgers.
There is one for $49 on Amazon sold by Bealls https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071FKTYDG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2H2AYTJFCST9E&psc=1
I got an air fryer for christmas last year and was really excited to try out an item that was supposedly so useful and versatile…then I ended up being really frustrated by how little you can fit in there (basically enough for 2-3 people if there are other dishes to eat as well). Air fryers are actually just overpriced convection ovens. I purchased one (with a rotisserie function) for $40 – much cheaper than my tiny air fryer – and have been getting the exact same results as the air fryer (I use non stick pans and silicone sheets to make clean up super easy). I can cook about double the amount of stuff in oven as I could in the fryer – and it tastes exactly the same.
Thanks for your honest opinion ❤️
Try getting one that isn’t make with teflon!!!! Buffalo air fryer is one of the bests
I’m curious about the air fryer. I currently make homemade fried chicken on the stovetop in an iron skillet. It makes a mess. Can you fry freshly battered (flour, seasoning & buttermilk) chicken in them? TIA
I have coated chicken legs and breasts with eggs and flour and cooked it in the air fryer and it really turned out amazing.
I want to try this next!
I have the Presto AirDaddy and cook pretty much everything in it. I like how big the Presto is. Easily can feed my family of 5.
Thanks for sharing!
I bought mine to make fresh French fries, but recipes call for soaking them in water first. That’s an extra painful step. We do Brussel sprouts and that works well. Otherwise it’s frozen food mostly.
Definitely love the instant pot more!
Had one since Christmas absolutely LOVE it… haven’t tried fresh wings yet… how are you guys cooking them?
Does the air fryer do the same thing as a NUWAVE oven?
My son won ours at his work’s Christmas party and we have used it several times. I do enjoy using it, but we have a difficult time with it mechanically when it comes to turning on. For some reason it doesn’t want to shut evenly on both sides. We have to push it in and out several, several times before it finally catches just right. Does anyone else have this problem?
My new air fryer comes tomorrow, can wait. Thanks for all the tips and time chart conversions. Saved to my tablet home screen for qyick looks.
I too truly love this air fryer. My friends bought me one of these for my Christmas present and I simply have been using this all the time. I have even tried putting Frozen chicken thighs in it and it fried up nice and crispy I have been experimenting with all sorts of vegetables fish and meats. I just love this air fryer! I do recommend it for people that have very little time preparing dinner for the family. it’s much healthier for you as you don’t need to fry it in oil simply just season to your taste, airr fry away and bam.
We have an air fryer and we just love it makes the best fish ever perfectly done.i have no complaints if you don’t have one I highly recommend you get one you will not regret it.,
We have an air fryer and we just love it makes the best fish ever perfectly done.i have no complaints if you don’t have one I highly recommend you get one you will not regret it.,
Dang…I just did the Insta Pot craze—now this….lol