The air fryer has long since outgrown its reputation as just a fancy french fry machine. It’s a magical gadget that can make almost anything crispy, crunchy, and golden – and by mimicking a convection oven in a small space, it cooks faster, crisps better, and uses less oil than deep frying. Most people barely scratch the surface of what theirs can do, running the same rotation of chicken tenders and frozen snacks week after week.
If you thought the air fryer was just for French fries and chicken wings, you’re missing out on a whole other world of delicious air-fried goodies. This game-changing piece of kitchen equipment gives so many foods a crispier and healthier finish with minimal effort, all while reducing cooking times – from breakfast classics to unexpected dinner staples and even sweet treats. Here are eight foods that will genuinely surprise you.
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1. Donuts from Canned Biscuit Dough
When you pop them in the air fryer, donuts take on the best of both worlds: the appetizing texture of fried donuts, plus the ease and lightness of baked donuts. All you need is a can of refrigerated biscuit dough and a small round cookie cutter to punch out the centers. With a can of biscuit dough and just the tiniest spray of oil, you can be enjoying warm, flaky donuts in just 10 minutes – no hot oil splatters or deep-fry thermometers in sight.
After cutting small holes out of the center of your biscuits, place them in a single layer in the basket of the air fryer, then set to 350°F and cook, flipping once, until golden brown. The best way to prevent sticking is to use a neutral oil with a high smoke point like avocado oil, sunflower oil, or coconut oil. Roll them in cinnamon sugar straight out of the basket while they’re still warm, and you have a weekend treat that takes almost no effort.
2. Falafel
If deep frying puts you off giving homemade falafel a try, the air fryer method is worth exploring. It allows you to create falafels with that perfect crunch on the outside while maintaining a soft, spiced center – without the excess oil or mess. It’s both a healthier and faster way to enjoy this beloved Middle Eastern dish. The results are genuinely hard to distinguish from the deep-fried original.
To start, prepare your falafel mixture by combining pre-soaked, dried chickpeas with a selection of aromatics, herbs, and spices such as garlic, onion, parsley, cilantro, and cumin. Place everything into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until well combined. Heat the air fryer to 180°C (350°F) and cook the falafel for eight to ten minutes, turning halfway through. They come out with a beautifully crisp shell and a verdant, fluffy interior.
3. French Toast
A frying pan isn’t always required to make French toast. You can absolutely make this sweet treat in the air fryer instead. If you’ve ever struggled with sogginess or uneven browning when making this brunch favorite, that’s where the air fryer can help – using it to cook that creamy coated bread will result in perfectly crispy edges and a soft, custardy center every time.
Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Dip thick slices of bread – brioche or challah work especially well – into the mixture, coating both sides evenly. You can also cut each slice into several lengths first if you’d rather make French toast sticks. The air fryer’s circulating heat browns both sides evenly without any flipping fuss, which is something a stovetop pan rarely manages on the first go.
4. Tofu
When people think about what to cook in the air fryer, meat and pre-made frozen foods usually come to mind, but tofu is a revelation in the air fryer too. It gets golden and crispy – and the best part? No dealing with tofu stuck to the pan, which everyone who has sautéed or stir-fried tofu has encountered. Getting truly crispy tofu on a stovetop requires a lot of oil and patience; the air fryer handles it almost automatically.
Forget about using a deep fat fryer to make crispy tofu and use your air fryer instead – you’ll produce far less mess and the end result will be not only healthier but delicious too. Before you start cooking, marinate your tofu for around 30 minutes in a mixture of toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic and onion powder, and a little smoked paprika. Air fry it at 400°F for 12 to 17 minutes and you’ll have protein that holds its shape perfectly in noodle bowls, fried rice, and salads.
5. Pierogies
One of the best ways to cook pierogies is with an air fryer. Whether they are fresh or frozen, you can simply pop them in your air fryer’s basket and cook them up in minutes. When they come out, they are deliciously crispy on the outside and soft and steamy inside. Traditionally, pierogies need to be boiled and then pan-fried in butter to get any kind of crust – a two-step process the air fryer collapses into one.
A reliable approach is to line your air fryer’s basket with about six or seven frozen pierogies and cook them for 11 minutes at 380°F, flipping them halfway. A light brush of melted butter before they go in adds richness and encourages browning. Serve them with sour cream and caramelized onions, and it’s hard to believe this required almost zero effort.
6. Biscuits and Bread
Baking biscuits and bread inside your air fryer may seem like quite the feat, but it is surprisingly easy and leads to deliciously crusty results. Whether you like a pre-made biscuit mix or prefer making them from scratch, you can cook them in your air fryer just like you would in the oven. The compact cooking chamber actually works in your favor here, concentrating heat and producing a golden crust that a large, drafty oven sometimes struggles to deliver.
To convert an oven recipe for the air fryer, simply reduce the temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit and the cooking time by 20%. Homemade bread isn’t off the table for your air fryer either. All you need is your favorite bread recipe and a springform pan that fits inside your air fryer’s basket. The result is a loaf with a genuinely crackly exterior – something many home bakers spend years chasing in a standard oven.
7. Green Beans
You might be familiar with boiling, steaming, or pan-frying your green beans, but there’s no need to discount the air-frying method. Popping green beans into the air fryer will have them crispy and ultra-flavorful in no time. Other cooking techniques can sometimes leave these veggies a little limp and bland, but air-frying green beans locks in their natural sweetness while giving them a satisfying crunch.
To prepare, trim the tips from the green beans and toss them in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can also add a few other seasonings if desired, such as garlic powder, smoked paprika, or even a sprinkle of grated Parmesan. They cook quickly – usually around eight to ten minutes at 375°F – and come out somewhere between a roasted vegetable and a crispy snack. Kids who refuse regular green beans have been known to change their minds.
8. S’mores
Air fryer fried ice cream flourishes in an air fryer, which quickly crisps up coatings before the interior changes – and the same principle applies brilliantly to s’mores. The trick with s’mores is timing: you need the marshmallow to go gooey and begin to puff without melting entirely into a puddle. The air fryer’s controlled, rapid heat does this far more reliably than an open flame ever could. A simple version uses marshmallows and chocolate, requiring only a cracker to complete – and the dip-and-dine style works beautifully.
The general method involves assembling your s’more on a small piece of foil or a heat-safe dish, placing it in the basket, and running the air fryer at around 390°F for two to three minutes. Keep a close eye on it – the difference between perfectly melted and a chocolatey mess is about thirty seconds. There’s a whole lot of experimentation happening in the air fryer world. Some ideas wind up making perfect sense, while others are a bit bonkers – but s’mores fall firmly into the “makes sense” category, and they’ve proven effective and popular with home cooks.
The common thread running through all eight of these is that the air fryer’s concentrated, high-velocity heat does something conventional cooking methods simply can’t replicate as easily: it crisps the outside while keeping the inside tender, and it does it fast. Air fryers circulate superheated air at high velocity using a tangential fan, creating a thin, turbulent boundary layer around food that accelerates moisture evaporation – delivering crisp exterior texture with significantly less oil than deep frying while reducing average cooking time compared to conventional ovens. Once you start thinking of it as a precision cooking tool rather than just a chip warmer, the list of things it can handle becomes genuinely exciting.