Let’s Talk About Air Fryers

I feel like the 2020 air fryer craze was similar to the 2017 instant pot fury. I was suckered into an instant pot and rarely used it, so when air fryers came on the scene, I was very skeptical. In fact, it wasn’t until we had a friend staying with us that talked about it’s utility that I became interested. So, I did what many other people did. I logged onto Amazon, searched for “air fryer” and picked the one that had great reviews.

This is the one I bought. It has a 5.8 quart basket, which has proven to be a good size for us! It’s not a small appliance, but it’s not so big and bulky that I feel like I need to keep it on my counter or never use it. I store it on the upper shelf of our pantry – within reach whenever I need it, but out of the way when it’s not being used. I haven’t found it to be very difficult to clean, but I did just start using these parchment liners to aid in the cleaning process.

So far, I have used our air fryer to reheat pizza, heat frozen chicken and fish, make sweet potato fries, our favorite teriyaki salmon, and other vegetables. I like that it cuts down the cooking time a lot, so I’m able to do the things I could do in the oven in a fraction of the amount of time! Since it’s small, it preheats much faster, too.

Would I say it’s a kitchen must-have? No. I use it in place of my convection oven when I want to cook dinner or reheat food fast. Is it something that’s proven to be more useful than I thought it would be? Absolutely! I find myself pulling it out multiple times a week to use, which makes it the most used appliance in our kitchen, by far! For that reason, I’d recommend it.

If you need some inspiration of things to cook with it here are some recipes:

Parmesan Zucchini, Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic, Garlic, and Soy, Fried Green Tomatoes, Baked Potatoes, Fried Chicken, Air Fryer Bagel Bites, Air Fried Oreos, Cinnamon Apple Chips, Churros

Feel free to leave your favorite recipes in the comments, too!