Air fryers, what do you make in yours? Are they good for single people?

[SpookedMackerel]

I’m wondering whether an air fryer would be a helpful appliance for DF.
He now lives alone, and having not really done much cooking before, he has thrown himself into it in his late seventies.
But he’s finding it hard to bend down to the oven, his kitchen is quite small and narrow and the oven is low.

I thought an air fryer would be a good idea, but he is put off by the word “fryer” (health issues mean he is careful around fats/cholesterol etc), and also thinks it will take up too much counter space.

So, I thought I would buy one for our family, invite him for dinner a few times when using it, then encourage him to “borrow” it.

But are they actually any good? I have never used one myself. What would be some good recipes to showcase it? He is quite adventurous with food, but actual recipes ideally should be simple, healthy and not too expensive. I know you can cook chips and frozen food etc in them, but I don’t know about healthier things.
Could you cook a whole meal for one?
Can you reheat food in them too?

My 98 year old GM loves her air fryer! It's basically a mini fan oven. Great for cooking anything you'd usually bake on the oven and also super quick toasted sandwiches, roasted veg jacket potatoes etc. we've barely used our oven since we got ours (and I was resistant initially)

Perfect for a single person. They should be called Air Ovens the term Fryer is a misnomer.

They use less fuel than a normal oven and, for a less mobile person, easier to access being at counter height.

They're brilliant for cooking a single chicken breast, salmon fillet etc without drying them out (or waiting for the oven to warm up) and also make excellent cheese on toast 😁

When. I'm home on my own the oven hardly ever goes on. But get your DF tongs as it's easy to burn yourself trying to manoeuvre hot food out of a small air fryer. The greaseproof paper liners are great for cutting down on washing up too.

It him a Crimpet wrap to accompany his air fryer.

The previous similar thing was halogen ovens and my father loved his as no bending down and he could put in a few sausages/fish/chicken/waffles/chips/roast potatoes basically all sorts of things that he might have used the oven or a pan for, air fryers are even easier than halogen ovens as no trying to balance the lid somewhere when you open them!

I still have a halogen oven and roast a chicken every week in it, handy to have in the fridge, one hour a small chicken takes. I roasted tomatoes in it the other day to use up a glut of them and make pizza sauce.

@SpookedMackerel The name is misleading, because they are actually mini ovens and not fryers at all.
They are very useful for one person, more economical than heating a whole traditional oven, and can be positioned so they need no bending down.

They can cook all sorts of foods, whatever you would cook in an oven. Pies and quiche, sausages, pasta bakes, baked potatoes, fish....etc etc.
They are good for warming things like garlic bread, croissants, cheese scones to have with soup. Things I've made in mine recently include cauliflower cheese, baked cod with ratatouille, stuffed vegetables.

When choosing one for your Dad, look at the models with shelves, mine has a basket in a drawer, and you need to manoeuvre dishes getting them out when hot. The basket/drawer ones really need a good bit of space around them so the basket can be fully taken out.

Yup, as everyone else has said - they're not really fryers at all. Although you CAN use them to cook things you might otherwise cook in a pan such as a steak.

They are really great for single older people as they are convenient, quick and accessible.

You can cook almost anything in them as you can in an oven so it really depends on what he likes to eat. Some examples of what we use ours for regularly (excluding the endless crumbed chicken/fish and chips for DD) include:

Stuffed chicken breasts rolled in parma ham
Roasted tomatoes and garlic to serve with couscous and feta
Sausages (much healthier than frying, much quicker than the oven)
3-4 breakfast banana muffins made with a 5 minute batter
Salmon fillets
Fish cakes (pre-made)
Jacket potatoes
Pork belly slices
Par-baked baguettes/ciabattas etc
Frozen uncooked croissants/pain au chocolate etc

I don't do this a lot but occasionally I'll do things using pastry (eg I'll make a big batch of individual spanakopita and keep them in the freezer, then I can just cook them as i need them) and cook or make some kind of wrap and then put in the air fryer to heat/crisp up.

I personally do not use the air fryer over things I would fry as a rule but lots of people do eg steak, bacon or even eggs.

I have a multicooker which is great because it can do anything. Slow cook/dehyrate/air fry/bake.
I'm single and live alone.

I have silicon liners from Amazon which I sometimes use but not if I want the fat to drain off e.g. when roasting.

I’ve just cooked a cod fillet and frozen Mediterranean veg in mine. 10 mins all done.

They would be perfect. I have this one, which has a grill too, brilliant for steaks, or fish. I use it daily for me or me and ds. There’s £60 off on Amazon too, I see

My mum lives on her own. She hasn't turned her oven on since we bought her an air fryer several years ago. It's much easier for her, no bending and having to step backwards with hot dishes in her hands.

I think she mainly cooks fish, chicken and roasted vegetables in it. Jacket potatoes too.

No oil involved at all.
I do a cooked breakfast hash browns, sausages, cook for 9 mins add the bacon for the final 5 mins. I just scrambled a couple of eggs or baked beans in the microwave to go with it.

Chicken breast, piece of breaded cod, pork steaks, chicken burger, oven chips, spicy wedges. All very easy to cook in an air fryer. My sister just got my niece one for going to uni.

Yes, I'm single and I haven't used my oven in months. I have a flat rotation one which is perfect for pizzas and I have just bought a second small ninja one. There are some good deals in Argos too.
I use the silicone baskets to save on cleaning but I would recommend some silicone tongs as inside gets very hot.
Super healthy as the fat comes away x

I like to cook and I hardly use the main oven now that I'm on my own. But I agree with poster upthread who said get one with shelves. Somehow I find it easier to use.

Just be aware that you will need space around it. I melted a wall socket by having the air fryer right up against it. I keep it in the same place now and just pull it forwards when it's in use.

Roasted veg with flavoured chicken thigh or salmon on top takes just over 10 mins, and quite a healthy option. If I do quartered new potatoes with them I just start them off for 5 minutes before

I've only just found the reheat button after DS bought home a cold Dominos garlic bread. It does croissants in 3 mins, 4 from frozen...a game changer as id have the oven on for ages as I would wander off and overcook them

I love mine! I make in mine:

mini pizzas,
hot sandwiches,
ziti,
banana pudding,
baked potatoes,
grilled corn,
stuffed peppers
all types of casseroles
biscuits
Mac and cheese
and lots of other stuff. I barely turn on my oven in the summer time anymore 😋

We sold ours.
Everything smelled and tasted greasy even though we used no oil.
We have a small and efficient built in Neff oven which works much better for us. An air fryer might work for your dad if he’s struggling with a low oven but it would take up lots of counter space

Nothing tastes greasy in mine

I make literally everything I'd make in the oven. Savoury, sweet - baking etc.
Perfect for one person.

Or mine.

I dont have one but I would imagine that they are much better for single people than they are families

We dont have the space for one but I cook like a single person as OH doesnt eat very well (beige diet) and I have to have a very nutrient dense protein rich diet.

So I can see that they would be well suited to just do one chicken breast, or one piece of salmon. Im interested in things like aubergine or tofu in an airfryer, but alas they're massive ugly things so I just make do.

I can cook a whole small chicken in mine!

We're a household of 4 and are a big fan of ours. I can certainly see how it could be a real kitchen aid to a single and or older person.