GoKawiilOnce you use it enough, your air fryer blossoms into the gadget the rest of your kitchen revolves around. Pamela Vachon/CNET
I didn’t set out to stop using my oven. It happened gradually, one food at a time, as the air fryer turned out better results with less effort and I stopped seeing a reason to go back. The oven still gets used — for things that genuinely need it, which turns out to be fewer things than I expected. Nine foods in particular made the shift feel permanent. These are the ones that convinced me the air fryer wasn’t a supplementary appliance but a replacement for most of what the oven used to do in my kitchen every week.
When I first hauled in an air fryer many years ago, I was mostly making the classics: wings and fries. However, my air fryer repertoire has expanded to include items I never thought I’d be cooking in a small countertop contraption. I’m talking about fresh salmon, cheeseburgers and even whole roasted chicken.
The air fryer is fast, forgiving, easy to use and even easier to clean. It’s no wonder the appliance has enjoyed unparalleled popularity over the last decade — a true once-in-a-lifetime kitchen craze.
Best Air Fryers for 2026 See at CNET
So what are the most surprising foods I make in the air fryer? I’ve listed nine below, but the list grows longer every year. And if you’re searching for an air fryer or to upgrade your existing oven, we have a new favorite model with a glass cooking chamber that’s easy to clean and doubles as a food storage container.
9 foods I’ll only make in the air fryer from now on
1. Hard-‘boiled’ eggs
All you need is 10 minutes and an air fryer and you’ll never boil an egg again. Pamela Vachon/CNET
From runny yolks to jammy to hard-cooked, the air fryer can do it, and there’s no waiting for water to boil or forgetting to set a timer (air fryers have a built-in timer). There’s a lot of internet voodoo about dos and don’ts for boiling eggs in the air fryer, but in my experience, you can disregard most of it and still end up with beautifully cooked eggs with perfectly set yolks every time.
... continue reading