To not know what to cool in the air fryer

[2023NEWMUM2023]

We got an air fryer for Christmas from my parents. We were pleased it's a nice gift. We've made some delicious chips and I've heated a quiche. But that's it. I know people rave about them and I think we're missing out on something. It isn't the biggest airfryer so can't fit a whole chicken in for example. Any ideas/inspiration?

We don't use ours nearly enough, other than regularly for potato wedges, so watching this thread with interest.

My favourite thing we've cooked so far is chicken wings, marinated in oil, lemon juice and garlic. Much better result than oven baked.

I love a fish finger butty for lunch, fish fingers do well in there.

Anything you can cook in the oven you can cook in the airfryer - just more quickly. Think of it as a small, very efficient convection oven. I most recently made an apple tart in mine. I make roast vegetables in it several times a week.

Chicken breasts come out really moist and juicy
Jacket potatoes
Whole new potatoes in garlic etc
Any meat in fact comes out really nice

Saying all this, we mainly use ours for homemade chips or cooking garlic bread! 🤣

Ice cream? 😀

Roast potatoes, chicken breasts/thighs, sausages, chips/wedges, toasted wraps

We don't have one so can't help, but loving the typo in the thread title, OP.

I honestly thought for a split second it was something they might be able to do!

Look at Bored of Lunch on Instagram.

I just melted cheese on toast in for my breakfast (I'm in Canada), I do it every morning and it's the best thing for melting cheese. I also really like chicken pieces in it, sometimes I use seasoned breadcrumbs, sometimes just spices, but it comes out really good. I did sausages in it the other day. I've even roasted a whole chicken in it which tuned out well, I think I cut the backbone out first.

All meat goes in mine
Garlic butter mushrooms are ace
I've done carrot and parsnip "chips" in there too

A current easy favourite is cheese on toast. Toast 1 side on 200 for about 7-8 mins, then flip, add lots of cheese and put back in for 4 mins. You can also do this as cheese/cheese and ham/cheese and onion toasties.

I live alone though so don't have to worry too much about the size.

Anything that isn't in sauce and that you would usually bake or shallow fry.

This morning I warmed a croissant in mine. I also cook bacon in it. At lunchtime I toast wraps in it Salmon is good, you can get the skin really crispy. Any kind of chicken. Pork chops. Sausages. Freezer tapas.

I think the mistake people make is to think that there are specific things to cook in the airfryer. Rather, as @badwolf82 says, just think of it as a very small, very efficient oven. So in the same way that sometimes you use the microwave because it's a quicker and more convenient way to heat something than on the stove, the airfryer is a quicker and more convenient way to cook things you'd normally put in the oven. Over the last week, here is what I have done in my airfryer:

Par-baked baguettes for the DC's holiday camp packed lunches (180 for 5 minutes, then I usually leave them standing as I'm running around. I'd do 6 minutes if I was actually going to take them out instantly!)

deboned chicken thighs I'd stuffed with garlic, herbs and cream cheese and then wrapped in parma ham. They took about 15 minutes for 5 largish ones (I have the single draw ninja).

Crumbed chicken "steak" aka "posh nuggets" with fries for DD.

An pre-prepared and frozen (but not previously cooked) individual sized spanakopita for a post-camp snack for DS.

Salmon fillets (I can just squeeze 4 into my airfryer).

Frozen croissants (the unbaked ones) and also to refresh waffles made that morning.

Other things I do regularly:
Any kind of pre-made fish cake/nugget/fish finger etc.
Tomatoes and onions roasted
Quick roast potatoes when in a hurry and just cooking for one/two people
Baked feta
Sausages

You can do all sorts it's just trial and error really.

Big hit with the teen is air fryer version of breakfast McMuffins.

Slice a muffin

De-skin a sausage and create a patty or use frozen sausage patty (Aldi do a 6 pack) place on one side of the muffin.

On the other half of the muffin scrape some of the bread to create a dip then crack an egg onto it. Best to do this whilst it's sat in the air fryer rather than trying to move it. This can be a bit messy so an alternate would be to use a silicone egg poacher in the air fryer instead. Both work but the egg cooked in a poacher is fatter iyswim.

Air fry it all on 200 for about 8mins.

Put together as a sandwich.

DS sometimes adds in hash browns or potato waffles.

We've cooked chicken breasts, pork chops, sausages, fish fingers, Yorkshire pudding, apple turnovers, muffins, roasted peppers, butternut squash, shepherds pie, fish (in foil) in ours plus we use it to reheat chilled foods like curry (obviously in an appropriate dish).

Plus chips, wedges, sauté potatoes, roasties of course!

We do use it most days! Incredibly useful bit of kit. You can get a converter chart to work out air frier temperature and times easily enough.

Chicken breasts with a coating added half way through are nice. We like Nando's Peri Peri sauce.

Anything DRY that you would put in an oven

Baked pots
Sausages
Chips
Frozen coated chicken
Scampi

It's meant to be good if you have younger DC so you can cook a handful of chicken nuggets and chips for their dinner

Easier to cook small portions in an air fryer than to heat up an oven

Or a piece of salmon and a backed potato for example

part-baked croissants
frozen med veg
frozen broccoli/cauliflower
frozen sweet potato
spring rolls
fresh salmon

In my experience, frozen veg works better than fresh because the liquid steams it a bit as it cooks and stops it from burning. I've tried air frying fresh broccoli which didn't work so well.

Anything you'd usually do in the oven - and will fit!! Baked potatoes are brilliant in the air fryer. In the last week we've cooked salmon steaks, chicken breasts, heated up pizza and sausage rolls, made tandoori chicken...

I have also successfully baked scones and muffins in ours.

I use mine a lot for those part baked little bread rolls or mini baguettes. I use them for packed lunches and weekend lunches at home with soup.

Anything beige eg fish fingers, pieces of fish, breaded chicken., sausage rolls

croissant and pain au chocolat from the freezer

chicken breasts (to then put in buns like burgers)

when I do a roast I do the pigs in blankets in there

sausages work well

meat balls, then just add them to a tomatoey sauce

Boiled eggs - 7-9 mins on 170 depending how soft or hard boiled you want them!

I shove dumpling mix in mine - not in 6 separate dumplings but just cut into thirds - delicious. Have also made a giant scone in it 😁

i do know that you shouldn't heat up poppadom's in there... ask me how i know 👀

Bacon
Boiled eggs
Jacket potato
Toasties
Pizza
Chips
Potato wedges
Bread

Yes please! I want to know!

I'm guessing the poppadoms were too light, bounced around and caught fire?
We don't do butternut squash as the sweetness somehow disappears and it's just awful.

Thought of amore things we do:

Quick breakfast muffins
Individual Yorkshire puddings for DD
Jacket potatoes
Roasted cauliflower for adding to curries or satay sauces

Also super handy for heating up tacos/wraps/tortillas/flatbreads etc in just a few minutes and on an ad hoc basis when everyone is eating at different times.

Oven ready meals eg chicken wings/ribs.