20 Foods you didn’t know you could make in an air fryer

You know all about the meats, fried foods, gameday snacks, and other obvious things you can make in an air fryer, but that versatile appliance can also make some foods that might surprise you. Some of these are straightforward, others take some creativity, but here are 20 foods you didn’t know you could make in an air fryer.

Apple pie

Using an air fryer to make apple pie is our new favorite hack—especially since the resulting dessert is the perfect size for a couple or just a food writer who feels like eating a whole pie in one sitting.

Baked potatoes

When you think of potatoes and air fryers, your mind probably goes to fries or tots or hash browns. (We know our minds do!) But you can also cook delicious baked potatoes in your favorite appliance, and slightly scale back the cooking time versus an oven. Simply poke a few holes in your potato, cook it in the air fryer for 40 minutes at 390 F, slice in half, and add your toppings.

Burgers

Too cold or rainy to grill? Don’t have a grill? Traumatized from a childhood memory of a grill attacking your family? You can make tasty, juicy burgers right in your air fryer. Just place them in the fryer, cook for six minutes, flip the patties, and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes (depending on thickness). If you want cheeseburgers, throw on the cheese and heat for an additional minute.

Chicken parm

Yes, you really can make chicken parm in your air fryer，the trick is to coat your chicken in eggs and breadcrumbs and air fry it for a bit, but don’t add the sauce and cheese until you flip the chicken.

Chocolate Lava Cake

Not only can you make the classic restaurant dessert known as chocolate lava cake at home, but you can also do it in your air fryer!

Cinnamon rolls

Those refrigerated cinnamon rolls you usually bake in the oven? They can be just as easily (and slightly more deliciously) made in your air fryer. Just separate the individual rolls, place them in your air fryer, and cook at 350 F for 8-9 minutes. Then just top those beautiful buns with frosting, and enjoy!

Cookies

Making cookies in an air fryer is pretty much the same as making cookies in the oven—except, you know, they go in an air fryer. Also, cookies are quicker in the air fryer, only requiring 5-6 minutes at 350 F.

Croutons

We used to think the best way to make croutons was just by letting bread get really stale. This works, but there’s a fine line between stale bread and bread overgrown with aggressive, possibly sentient mold. Instead, be proactive with your croutons and make them in your air fryer.

Cupcakes

Just grab some cupcake mix and follow the usual instructions, but ditch the cupcake tin, and instead of paper cups, use silicone ones. You’ll still need to frost them unless you’re trying to secretly pass off your cupcakes as muffins in some kind of strange meal-reversal scheme.

Donuts

You don’t need to wait for the “HOT” sign to light up at Krispy Kreme; you can make donuts fresh at home with your air fryer. It’s just yeast, milk, sugar, salt, egg, butter, and flour—plus whatever toppings, frostings, and/or glazes you want on your donuts.

Frozen foods

We talk a lot about air fryer recipes but don’t forget that you can also make a lot of your favorite frozen foods in the air fryer. In fact, it makes them all taste a lot more like the fresh versions than the usual oven or microwave prep. This includes everything from french fries, tater tots, and onion rings to chicken wings and tenders, as well as jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks, and other apps. Check the bag or box—some even include air fryer directions!

Grilled cheese

If you think it’s a sin to put grilled cheese in an air fryer, relax. Most homemade grilled cheese sandwiches are pan-fried and not actually put on a grill, so we’re all living a lie. The air fryer prep is as simple as assembling the sandwich and flipping it halfway through.

Hard-boiled eggs

You can make hard-boiled eggs in the air fryer, but of course, then they’re not really boiled. However, if you call them “fried eggs,” the traditional fried eggs would get mad. If all this controversy is making you hungry, place some eggs in your air fryer, cook them at 270 F, and 15 minutes later, chuck them into an ice bath for easy-peasy peeling.

Leftovers

Similar to what we said about frozen foods, don’t forget you can also use your air fryer to bring life back to your restaurant, take out, delivery, or home-cooked leftovers. Fries regain their crispiness, breaded or fried foods lose their sogginess, meat doesn’t dry out, and pizza tastes fresh again. It will take some trial and error to find out what works best, or give it a Google to find tips, tricks, and suggestions for all your favorite foods.

Mexican street corn

An easy snack or side gets even easier with this air-fryer version of Mexican street corn topped with cotija cheese that takes just 15 minutes to make!

Pizza

Obviously, you’ll only be able to make one pizza at a time, but with only seven minutes of cooking time at 375 F required, you can crank out multiple mini pies in no time. Take it from us: it’s best to put the flimsy, rolled-out dough into the air fryer before adding sauce, cheese, and toppings. We’ll eat almost any kind of pizza, but not floor pizza.

Popcorn

Your air fryer might just become your new movie buddy because you can use it to make freshly popped popcorn!

Quiche

Hard-boiled (or whatever we’re calling it) isn’t the only air fryer preparation option for eggs—you can also make a quiche! Like this recipe from Entertaining with Beth shows, it can be as simple as putting whatever raw veggies you want in a small, oven-safe dish; adding a whisked mix of eggs and heavy cream; top with cheese, and air-frying at 325 F for 10 minutes. (And if you prefer your quiche with a crust, add the dough to the dish first!)

Stuffed peppers

We usually make stuffed peppers in our slow cooker, but it’s so… slow. Sometimes you just want stuffed peppers in a hurry! (No? Just us?) If you want to use meat, you’ll need to brown that first, but then you just mix everything up, shove it in a pepper, and heat the whole thing for 10 minutes at 355 F.

Taquitos

Baking taquitos in the oven is great, but have you tried making them in the air fryer? It’s a game-changer or at least a meal-changer.