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?

Is this for a roast dinner? Or just the chicken

I suppose if Im cooking a roast, I also put the cauliflower cheese, roasties, roast parsnips etc in with the chicken on different shelves, stuffing if Ive got that a separate thing
I only ever hear people talking about chips and breaded stuff or reheating

And stupid question but could I do a curry in it? Or a stew the way I might do it in an oven?

Another thing we have from time to time is oxtail and that takes bloody ages in the oven, about 7 hours, slow cooking

I’m single and love my air fryer - though I do wish they’d change the name so people don’t thing it’s just about chips! I cook all sorts in mine - jacket potato, salmon, chicken, chops, pizza … warm up bread, sausage rolls, croissants …. Lasagne, moussaka …. Anything you’d cook in your normal oven. Oh, hash browns, onion rings and chips, too!

Fabulous bit of kit, recently upgraded from a cheapo version to a ninja with two drawers which is ace.

We cook homemade breaded chicken, bake macaroni cheese, shashlick kebabs, bacon, sausages and all the usual beige stuff. Yesterday I baked 2 x 6 inch cakes to make a mini chocolate sponge worked a treat!

I can cook a whole chicken in my Tefal Easy fry and grill.

If I was cooking for one I could cook the chicken then do the par boiled roasties while the chicken was resting. If I was cooking for a family with several oven cooked dishes it would be more economical to use the oven.

I hardly ever cook chips or anything breaded in it.

Re roast I guess it depends how big your air fryer is! I have a small air fryer and if I'm cooking a chicken I eat it with salad or veg.

And yes, I've done stew style dishes in mine. Done gnocchi cheesy bakes, done the famous ottolenghi confit chickpeas. I would do a curry. I use a silicon liner thing inside the basket and paper liners in place of a traditional pot.

I use a small square baking tin for bakes.

I've never cooked anything breaded in mine. Oh I tell a lie - a few fish fingers! But I mostly cook from scratch.

I'm not sure id use it for a seven hour oxtail - I'd use the slow cooker for that.

It's just me and my 5YO and I don't have an oven. My last house had fitted appliences and when I moved into this one I bought a plug in hob. Between that, my airfryer, slow cooker, and microwave I don't miss it. I'd get a dishwasher before I bought another oven.

My 78 year old mum can't bend either so the air fryer is perfect, uses it for everything along with the microwave,never uses the oven.

I live alone and have a two drawer ninja. Anything I'd normally pop on a baking tray in the oven, now goes in drawer 1. A piece of chicken, a pie, some salmon, some breaded or battered fish etc. In drawer 2 I can pop any veg or tomatoes for roasting, or halved baby potatoes tossed in the tiniest bit of oil (not remotely like doing roast potatoes in the oven) with herbs or garlic. They are able to cook at different temperatures for different times, and finish at exactly the same time!

The synchrdle ending process took a while to come naturally to me, but it's not actually difficult.

I do need some long handled silicone tongs though. Getting things out can be a pain. I use a sling of baking paper or foil, usually. So tonight's individual pie sat on a strip of baking paper to cook, then I just picked the ends up to carry it to my plate.

I agree the word fryer is totally misleading. There's no oil or frying involved. I put off getting one for ages because I misunderstood and thought it was a fryer.

They are mini bench top fan ovens, very efficient and perfect for 1 or 2 people.

We got rid of the toaster - similar footprint - and it toasts bread, roasts chicken, potatoes, sausages, hamburgers , bacon, fish fingers, just about anything you cook in the oven. And oven chips. I did a delicious ratatouille in minutes.

I still cook fresh fish in a frying pan or microwave though, but I'm planning to try it in the air fryer some time.

Haven't tried cakes or biscuits but I've heard they can be done also.

Hardly had the oven on since we bought it.

Last night I made pasta on the hob, but wanted some garlic bread. Normally I'd have had to put the whole oven on, and pre heat it. But the ninja needed no preheating, uses a lot less power, and my garlic bread was done in 8 minutes, start to finish.

Op I have been using an air fryer for a few months now. They are absolutely brilliant. I have mobility problems and not having to bend over the oven is a good godsend. Regularly do roast dinner in it. Sometimes my sons do frozen sausage rolls or steak bakes. They really are very good x i got rid of the cooker completely and brought a mini oven with two hob rings, its brilliant for my back

My dad bought one after seeing mine and hasn't used his oven since
Mine is one with shelves which I think helped convince him it was really a mini oven!

They sound great, maybe I won’t want to let it go, lol.

Can you use normal cookware in them or does it have to be paper or silicone? I think he has Pyrex oven dishes that he tens to use.

Intrigued by jacket potatoes and cheese on toast. Do you have to start the jackets in the microwave first? How long do they take?
And for cheese on toast, do you toast the bread first?

I think roasting a whole chicken or a tray of veg would be great for DF, then he could have them cold later in the week.

Using Pyrex or ceramic dishes isn't recommended as they take a while to heat up. I bought cheap silicone liners. I have done jacket potatoes, roast ditto, chips fish fingers, fishcakes, salmon pieces, roast vegetables, sausages, pork steaks and chops, chicken breasts, eggs baked in cream, warmed up scones, cooked the part-cooked rolls. I use it about the same amount as the microwave. For one or two people it's brilliant. It's only a small basic one but definitely a good thing.

I do jacket potatoes in the microwave for five minutes first. Also quicker in the air fryer with a metal skewer up their bums...

This is another thing I don’t understand. Why does an oven need to be preheated for garlic bread? I only ever preheat for cake.

i can make garlic bread in my standard oven in 8 mins too!

You're supposed to be able to cook direct in the drawer but I've used both pyrex and silicone trays, both work but may slow cooking time down a bit. But easier to clean

I don’t use any cookware or liners in mine. I just wash it! Use tongs to get the stuff out

I don't use liners either but the minute the food is out I put it in the sink and fill it with soapy water to let it soak.

Foil, or foil trays are brilliant. And can be used multiple times if you clean carefully.

i don’t do anything to my jacket xpudsother than rub with olive oil and a little salt. Cut a large cross in the top and pop in the fryer drawer. I like my skins super crispy and the potato inside very fluffy so sometimes leave for an hour.

Another bonus for air fryers is that once finished, they beep loudly for a bit & then switch themselves off, so it’s a lot harder to burn anything in them.

@SpookedMackerel Cheese on toast:
(Use a silicone or greaseproof liner as it gets messy)
Works best with a slice of something substantial like sourdough
Put grated cheese on untoasted fresh bread
Put in air fryer, 5ish mins at 180
Voila!
It also works great if you spread eg ketchup on the bread before putting cheese on

If you get him a ninja multicooker, it does everything!!
Bake, air fry, pressure cook, dehydrate etc etc.
best thing I've ever bought!

You can do the jacket potatoes all the way in the air fryer - mine takes about 45-50 minutes that way. I often microwave for 10 minutes earlier in the day, then in the air fryer 20 minutes before. Works well.

You can put containers in but often they're the wrong size/shape. I tend to just cook in mine and I don't like silicon as it tends to start to taste/smell funny after a while but it could work as a short term. or use foil containers if they're the right size.