Help with new air fryer please!

[MrsBennetsPoorNerves]

I'm the happy owner of a new air fryer. I love the food that my friend has cooked in hers but appreciate that I'm going to have to learn how to use it effectively to get the best results.

I would welcome any tips that anyone might have - ways of getting the best out of it, suggestions about what to cook in it, advice about how to figure out timings etc! The instruction manual is pretty basic and doesn't tell me much!

Anyone?

I found that I was overthinking things when I first got mine and got quite overwhelmed. But essentially it's just a small oven. So just anything you would do in the oven, do it in air fryer at similar temp and just for less time generally. We do marinated chicken, roasted veg, garlic bread, pizzas, just everything we would usually have fired up the big oven for.

Thanks, that's a good way of looking at it. I guess I'm unclear about how to figure out the timings.

I'd just try something and see how it turns out. There's usually preset timings for different meats and stuff like chips so I tend to use those as the guide and just adjust depending. Meat thermometer is useful for testing out the first few goes! Once you've made a few things, you'll kind of feel a bit more confident and get to the point you just chuck anything in and off you go!

Thanks. We don't actually eat meat so thankfully that's one thing we won't have to worry about. I guess it is just a question of experimenting then!

Halloumi works great as does falafel

Yum, I love falafel!

I heat up frozen croissants for the kids’ breakfast. We have just air fried bubble and squeak.

We resisted buying one for a long fine, but it is incredibly useful and there is less mess.

Anything you can do in the oven. Tends to be quicker and crispier.

We watch YouTube tutorials, then someone else has figured out the timings and quantities

It's just a tiny oven. You don't need to cook so hot because there is less space to heat, so everything cooks a bit quicker. Temperature and cooking time conversion depend on the power of your model, but this is a good place to start

According to my air fryer instructions, general rule of thumb is 15-20 degrees lower temp (vs fan oven) and 20% less time. Use liners for anything messy, mine does go in the dishwasher but it takes up loads of space.

A lot of food now comes with instruction on how to cook in an air fryer. It is good for frozen pastries and chips. I have done a beef joint which was perfect but that no help to you.
I was reluctant to buy one but got fed up of DS using the big oven for his “4th meal “ of the day at 2am. He loves it, particularly the warm up feature, it doesn’t change food the way a microwave does.

What works for me is using it on 180 instead of 200 if 200 is recommended. No difference in the timer.

Vegetarian food is only cooked in it so I can't comment on any meat or fish.

Exactly the same as an oven, look at it after a bit and see if it's done. You're over thinking things.

Whoa! Thank you, I love bubble and squeak, didn’t know you could do an air fryer version, will be trying that as soon as someone can help me up from this horizontal Christmas couch position!

Thanks for all of the tips so far. Looking forward to getting stuck in and using it!!

Agree with 180 instead of 200 and generally cook for 80% of standard cooking time:
As it’s just a small oven you can cook lots of different things eg lasagne, jacket potatoes, roasted veg, cakes.
If you’re on Facebook there is a Ninja page which has loads of info
Generally they are dishwasher safe but not dw proof so I tend to wash by hand.

Hate gadgets but love my air fryer!

I just do the same as I would in the oven but 2/3 rds of the time.

Some things are particularly good. Bacon, 200 degrees 6 mins and doesn't need turning or anything. Salmon fillet 180 for 8 mins, new pots are lovely roasted with a drizzle of olive oil for 22 mins