GoKawiilThe air fryer can handle much of what your oven, grill and stovetop have traditionally done. Air fryers typically cook food faster than other appliances, and there's rarely much cleanup to manage. That's great for getting food on the table faster, but it also means you can dry out dinner or overcook meat and vegetables if you air-fry carelessly.
Million of recipes have already been written with the air fryer in mind. But what about the ones that haven't -- your old favorites, the dog-eared cookbook classics, the family recipes passed down before the air fryer existed? Those don't have to stay oven-only.
Considering the speed and simplicity the air fryer offers, your instinct may be to move any and every recipe to it. Before you do, heed the advice of Andreas Hansen, founder and CEO of Fritaire air fryers. Whether the recipe you're considering for the air fryer is roasted, baked or fried, Hansen walked me through all the adjustments and considerations needed to adapt it for the air fryer.
Here's what you should know.
1. Reduce temperature and time
From roasted Brussels sprouts to roasted duck to air fryer brownies, your air fryer will first and foremost do it faster than your oven can. "It's called an air fryer because it circulates the heat faster, so that means that things brown faster," Hansen says.
With fast-moving heat and a smaller cooking chamber, an air fryer cooks faster than most of the appliances in your kitchen. Ninja
Air fryers with windows or glass bowls provide visual cues that help you gauge when something is done. However, for drawer-style air fryers, where you don't want to constantly interrupt the cooking process to check progress, start by lowering the temperature and the timer for the recipe.
"I would reduce the temperature by 20 to 25 degrees to keep things from drying out too fast," says Hansen. And even with a lower temperature setting, assume your dish will be cooked through in much less time, so set a timer or adjust your expectations accordingly. "You also have to reduce the cook time by 20 to 30%," Hansen says. So if your recipe calls for a 425-degree oven and 30 minutes of cooking time, the air fryer equivalent would be 400 degrees and around 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Reduce volume and leave space
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