18 Air Fryer Recipes Our Editors Love for Easy, Speedy Meals

Fuss-free, crave-worthy meals, lickety-split.

By
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Editor
Mimi Young is an editor and chef.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated October 24, 2024
A blue platter with air-fryer fried chicken

Serious Eats / Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Ana Kelly , Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle

Is there anyone who doesn't own (or at least think about owning) an air fryer these days? For a confessed kitchen-gadget hoarder like myself, it took enormous willpower to hold out for a great deal on one. But now I use it almost daily for everything from refreshing leftover homemade pizza and fried tofu to roasting Chinese-style crackling pork belly, charred Brussels sprouts, and crispy potatoes.

I'm always game for a great air fryer recipe, and we've rounded up some of our test kitchen-approved favorites. Each recipe dives deep into the science of air frying and highlights what an air fryer does best: mess-free rapid cooking. We've eliminated the dread of dry chicken breast, leathery pork chops, and overcooked seafood; green beans, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts have never cooked faster or tasted better; and we even nailed air fryer dupes for traditionally fried classics like Southern fried and Katsu-style chicken. With these 18 best air fryer recipes, you may forget about your stove altogether.

  • Air-Fryer Chicken Thighs

    A plate of air-fryer chicken thighs and a side of mashed potatoes

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Chicken thighs have long been one of our go-tos for fuss-free meals, and the air fryer has made cooking them even faster and more efficient. To get the crispiest skin and most flavorful, juicy meat, we thoroughly season the bone-in thighs with a dry brine and let them rest in the fridge for at least an hour (or up to 24). A little baking powder also helps the skin develop a crispy texture. Try out our three seasoning combos, or experiment with your own.

  • Air-Fryer Chicken Breasts

    Sliced chicken breast on a plate with sautéed kale.
    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze.

    For those who dread cooking chicken breast in an air fryer for fear of it turning out dry as jerky, have we got a recipe for you! Similar to the method for cooking chicken thighs, we let the dry-brine and baking powder work their magic, seasoning the meat and drying out the skin (but not the chicken itself). Most important, we leave the breasts bone-in, which protects the meat from drying out and allows for higher-temperature cooking.

  • Air-Fryer Pork Chops

    Pork chops on a plate with green beans.

    Serious Eats / Jen Causey

    Yes, perfectly seared, succulent pork chops can come out of an air fryer—if you follow our kitchen-tested techniques, that is. First, dry-brining is a must, and giving the seasoning extra time to penetrate will help dry out the surface more and promote browning. Choosing a thicker bone-in cut, starting the pork chops low and slow, and finishing them on high also ensures juicy, tender meat and a picture-perfect crust.

  • Air-Fryer Southern Fried Chicken

    A blue platter with air-fryer fried chicken

    Serious Eats / Jen Causey

    While we love that an air fryer offers quick and easy ways to cook your favorite recipes with less fat, some foods present more of a challenge—take Southern fried chicken. Well, our team cracked the code with a buttermilk-pickle brine and a well-seasoned dredge that produces a fantastically juicy chicken full of crisp, craggy bits—all the mouthfeel and textures of the real deal with much less mess.

    Continue to 5 of 18 below

  • Air-Fryer BBQ Chicken

    Overhead view of air fryer bbq chicken on a blue plate

    Serious Eats / Jen Causey

    When the weather or space limitations don't allow for outdoor grilling, the air fryer can be a great way to get barbecue chicken on the table. This recipe takes only five minutes of prep and cooks up in about 20 minutes, making it ideal for busy weeknights. The key is to space out the chicken to allow for even airflow and wait until the chicken is cooked halfway before smothering it in a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce to ensure a light, pleasant char.

  • Air-Fryer Chicken Katsu

    Air fryer chicken katsu over rice on a plate with tonkatsu sauce on the side

    Serious Eats/Morgan Hunt Glaze

    I love tender, crispy golden-fried chicken katsu. What I don't love is filling up a pan full of oil, then having to strain it out or dispose of it after frying. This air fryer recipe cuts the deep-frying part out of the equation, leaving you with juicy katsu-style chicken encased in crunchy panko bread crumbs. Pounding the chicken into thin cutlets and briefly dry-brining it before coating and cooking ensure the best results.

  • Air-Fryer Salmon

    Air-fryer salmon filet plated with mixed salad greens

    Serious Eats/Jen Causey

    Using an air fryer to cook salmon pretty much eliminates having to deal with the smelly mess of using a skillet or full-size oven. Our fool-proof method guarantees tender fish with crisp skin in under 15 minutes with a few basic rules, like selecting fillets that are 1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch thick, preheating the air fryer, and properly drying and oiling the fish to prevent sticking and promote crisping.

  • Air-Fryer Shrimp

    Overhead view of shrimp on a platter

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Whether you like your shrimp dressed up or down, an air fryer can get those mouthwatering crustaceans onto your plate in under five minutes. As with selecting the right size of fish, picking shrimp large enough (i.e. 16/20) to withstand a slightly longer cook time for browning without overcooking is key. Also, a quick toss in a dry brine of salt, baking soda, and sugar yields a plumper, snappier shrimp.

    Continue to 9 of 18 below

  • Air-Fryer Buffalo Wings

    Overhead view of air fryer Buffalo Wings on platter with celery sticks and blue cheese dip

    Serious Eats / Jen Causey

    I'm under no illusion that chicken wings cooked in an air fryer are "healthy" by any means. The air fryer just cooks them faster and with a whole lot less mess—and I'm totally good with that. To achieve a golden, crispy wing, we toss them in baking powder to promote browning and bubbling of the chicken skin for a crackly, just-like-fried exterior. Spacing out the wings also encourages better airflow for even cooking. You can keep it classic with a traditional Buffalo sauce, or go with a sweet and spicy chile sauce for a Korean fried chicken vibe (my personal favorite).

  • Air-Fryer Bacon

    Overhead view of strips of Air Fryer Bacon

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    I may be dating myself a bit, but when I was kid, cooking bacon in the microwave was the popular quick, mess-free method. It unfortunately required stacks of paper towels and merely produced slightly shriveled, non-crispy strips. Welcome to the age of the air fryer, where zero-fuss, crispy bacon can be yours in about 10 minutes. I love technology!

  • Crispy and Flavorful Avocado Fries

    Overhead view of dipping an avocado fry into ranch on a yellow plate

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Some avocados are meant for guacamole, and some, like the firm, ripe variety, are meant for coating in panko breadcrumbs and air-frying. The key to even browning is slightly crushing the overly large flakes of panko so they don't stick out and get blasted with too much intense heat. The panko is a blank canvas, so let your spice rack lead the way.

  • Air-Fryer Brussels Sprouts With Preserved Lemon–Caesar Dressing

    A bowl full of this salad, showing the varied textures of toasted breadcrumbs, thinly shaved raw Brussels sprouts, and crispy roasted ones, plus grated cheese, all lightly dressed in a creamy dressing.
    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik.

    I count myself as a former Brussels sprouts hater whose abject abhorrence of the cruciferous bulbs stemmed from being served a mushy, smelly, grayish-green version in college. Little did I know it was all about the cooking method. Rapid roasting in the air fryer produces beautifully crisped and browned Brussels sprouts. When paired with shaved raw sprouts and crunchy toasted breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, and a creamy Caesar dressing flavored with preserved lemon, it's a side dish worthy of seconds.

    Continue to 13 of 18 below

  • Air-Fryer Green Beans

    A plate of air-fried green beans with gruyère and shallots

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    While real dry-frying green beans can produce amazingly delicious results, the two-step process—which involves a generous amount of oil and a hot wok—isn't exactly practical for the home cook. This air fryer recipe inspired by Sichuan-style dry-fried green beans delivers crisp, lightly blistered, charred green beans in under 10 minutes. They're great served simply salted, or tossed with lemon zest right after cooking and topped with some shaved Parmesan cheese.

  • Air-Fryer Roast Potatoes

    Overhead view of air fryer potatoes

    Serious Eats / Jen Causey

    It can take quite a long time to achieve the ideal crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside texture in a proper roasted potatoes. This air fryer recipe shaves off a good amount of time with no preheating the oven, no rimmed baking sheets, and no waiting an hour for the potatoes to roast. While we do parboil the potatoes with some baking soda to create a starchy surface to achieve extra crunch, it only takes 20-25 minutes in the air fryer to roast.

  • Air-Fryer Cauliflower

    Overhead view of airfryer cauliflower on an orange table setting

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Cauliflower was another vegetable I pushed around on my plate as a child, mainly because it was usually overcooked and bland. Roasted cauliflower, however, is a different experience entirely—think a crispy exterior, tender interior, and toasty notes throughout. Tossing the florets in a mixture of oil and water provides just enough moisture to soften cauliflower's denser texture.

  • Caesar Roasted Broccoli

    Overhead view of air-fryer broccoli with caesar bread crumbs

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Air fryer-roasted broccoli is a mainstay of my weekly dinner repertoire, but sometimes I want to zhush it up with a crunchy topping—like this one. Here, breadcrumbs are tossed with anchovy paste, garlic, and lemon zest to give it a distinctly Caesar flavor profile.

    Continue to 17 of 18 below

  • Air-Fryer Asparagus

    Air-fryer asparagus on a slate platter

    Serious Eats/Jen Causey

    Here, the air fryer’s combination of high heat and steady airflow quickly wicks away moisture from the asparagus while it cooks, caramelizing the sugars and adding a complexity of flavor. You’ll have asparagus that's lightly browned, roasted on the outside, and tender-crisp on the inside, all within 10 minutes.

  • Air-Fryer Baked Potato

    Overhead view of air fryer baked potato

    Serious Eats / Jen Causey

    We would argue that the air fryer is the perfect vehicle to create the ideal baked potato—fully tender with a uniformly fluffy interior encased in properly crisped skin. And, compared to a conventional oven, a typical air fryer takes just 40 minutes to bake two fluffy, tender potatoes that you can dress up in countless ways...like with sour cream, chives, and crumbled pieces of air-fried bacon.

More Serious Eats Recipes