Healthy cooking with the air fryer!
This is how the new kitchen for health-conscious people works - healthy and easy cooking and baking in the air fryer.
In this article, we will give you a brief answer to the question of what foods can be prepared in an air fryer.
With the air fryer You can fry, grill, roast , and even bake. And all with minimal fat!
Cooking with an air fryer allows dishes to retain their natural flavor compared to deep-frying. This means you eat lower in fat and calories , and therefore much healthier.
In this article, we will give you a brief answer to the question of what foods can be prepared in an air fryer.
In principle, you can prepare almost anything in it that you would normally bake in the oven, and much more besides. The selection of foods that can be cooked, baked, or fried in an air fryer without oil is virtually unlimited. And not only that, air fryers promise even more: you can prepare not only classic roasts, but also cakes, pizzas , or casseroles in them.
With the growing interest in vegetarian diets, frying vegetables (e.g., in batter) is also becoming increasingly popular. You can prepare a wide variety of dishes and meals with it. Furthermore, an air fryer is also excellent for reheating food.
Many possibilities with the air fryer
Let's start with something simple: the classic dish you can prepare in an air fryer is, of course , French fries. They taste even better when you make them yourself. To do this, peel fresh potatoes, cut them into strips, toss them with a little oil, and put them in the air fryer.
Of course, you can also prepare regular frozen French fries in an air fryer. Many manufacturers now include cooking instructions for air fryers on their packaging. Besides fries, you can also cook many other delicious and low-fat foods in an air fryer (although fries are really tasty). Whether it's potato schnitzel, nuggets , or chicken wings, the food is cooked quickly and with little fat in the air fryer, resulting in crispy and delicious results. This gentle cooking method is also ideal for shrimp, prawns, and fish.
Vegetable lovers will also find plenty to enjoy with an air fryer. Whether it's zucchini slices, cauliflower , or stuffed peppers, all can be cooked with hot air. The air fryer is equally suitable for frying rolls (after moistening them with a little water) or for reheating leftovers from the day before.
Even desserts and sweet after-dinner treats are no problem with an air fryer. You can bake muffins or prepare desserts like red berry compote, semolina pudding , or rice pudding . Cookies and biscuits from the air fryer are also a special treat, not just at Christmas.
You should definitely try a baked banana or a baked apple prepared in the air fryer. Chocolate cake also turns out particularly well in it, retaining its delicious, molten center. The air fryer is therefore a fantastic appliance that not only replaces the traditional deep fryer but also, to some extent, the oven.
Impress your family and friends with these air fryer recipes!
Here are a few of the most popular recipes to demonstrate the many possibilities of an air fryer.
(You can find more in the NUTRI-FRYER XXL recipe book )
1. Homemade French fries
Ingredients:
- 600g firm-cooking potatoes
- Potato variety: Ditta (Alternative popular varieties for fries: Annabelle, Belana, Berber, Inova, Ladey, Laura, Linda, Nicola, Princess; Renate or Selma)
- Thick potato sticks: 10 mm (as cut by the French fry cutter)
- Rinse: Yes (rinse potato sticks thoroughly with cold water)
- Drying: Yes (3 min. at 180°C)
- Pre-cooking: No (raw potato sticks)
- Oil: Yes (1 tbsp rapeseed oil/sunflower oil)
- Shake: Yes (after 10 min. / 20 min. / 25 min.)
Preparation:
Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin sticks (10mm) or use a French fry cutter.
Rinse the potato sticks thoroughly with cold water to remove any excess starch. Place the potato sticks in the cooking basket and dry them in the air fryer for 3 minutes at 180°C. Transfer the potato sticks to a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of oil, and mix well. Return the potato sticks to the cooking basket and place it, along with the drip tray, into the air fryer. Set the air fryer to 180°C for a total of 30 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the cooking basket and shake the fries.
After another 10 minutes, remove the cooking basket and shake the fries.
After another 5 minutes, remove the cooking basket and shake the fries. After a total cooking time of 30 minutes, remove the cooking basket, season the fries as desired, and enjoy.
2. Baked ham and leek crostini
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp sour cream
- 2 heaped tablespoons of quark
- 1 shot of milk
- 100g diced ham
- 50g leek, finely chopped
- 50g grated cheese
- (Emmentaler, Gouda or Cheddar)
- pepper
- Salt
- nutmeg
- 1 baguette
Preparation:
Mix the ingredients together until smooth. Slice the baguette (approx. 1.5 cm thick) and spread the mixture on the slices.
Line the cooking basket of the Nutri-Fryer with baking paper, distribute the bread slices on it in portions and bake for about 6 minutes at 200 degrees.
For the second batch, reduce the baking time to 4-5 minutes, as the fryer will already be hot and the slices will cook faster.
Go to the recipe card
3. Classic Lasagna
Ingredients:
- 500ml Bolognese sauce
- Approximately 400ml of béchamel sauce
- Approximately 150g grated Emmental cheese
- 8-10 lasagna sheets
- 2-3 slices of cooked ham, cut into small squares or torn into pieces.
Preparation:
Spread a thin layer of béchamel sauce on the bottom of a small, square baking dish. Place two lasagna sheets on top of this layer, slightly overlapping them.
The sheets need to be broken to fit the shape; if you break off the corners, they will also fit into any curves. Smaller pieces can be distributed among the individual layers of pasta or used to fill gaps at the edges.
Now spread a layer of Bolognese sauce (not too thick, but enough to cover everything evenly) onto the pasta sheets, then some ham, followed by another layer of béchamel. Repeat this until you have four layers of pasta, finishing with a layer of béchamel.
Evenly distribute grated Emmental cheese on top. Bake in the Nutri-Fryer at 140 degrees for 30 minutes, then at 160 degrees for another 10 minutes.
Go to the recipe card
4. Fresh baguette rolls
Ingredients:
- 250g wheat flour type 550
- 9g bread roll baking mix
- 3g dry yeast
- 165ml water (approx. 25 degrees)
- 8g bread spice, wild garlic or other dried herbs of your choice
Preparation:
Thoroughly mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the water, and knead with your hands or a dough hook until a smooth, elastic dough forms. Cover with a cloth and let rise for 30 minutes, then shape the dough into 4 equally sized, oblong baguette rolls.
Use enough flour so that the dough doesn't stick to your hands or the work surface. Let the rolls rise for another 60 minutes. Line the Nutri-Fryer's steaming basket with parchment paper and place two rolls on it, leaving space between them. When transferring the rolls, press them as little as possible to prevent the air from escaping and to keep them nice and fluffy.
Bake at 190 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. If the rolls are not quite cooked through but are getting too dark on top, cover them with aluminum foil. Bake the next two rolls in the same way; the baking time may be slightly shorter since the Nutri-Fryer will now be quite hot.
Go to the recipe card
5. Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
Ingredients:
- 100g soft butter
- 150g sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder (real cocoa)
- 125g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 50g chopped hazelnut kernels
Preparation:
Cream the butter until fluffy, then stir in the sugar, vanilla sugar and eggs.
Mix cocoa, flour, and baking powder, then stir in the hazelnuts. Pour into a greased 20cm baking tin and bake in the Nutri-Fryer for 30 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius.
Serve as a nut and chocolate tart or use as a cake base.
Example: spread with pudding cream, top with banana slices and cover with hazelnut glaze .
Go to the recipe card
CONCLUSION
The air fryer is therefore a great appliance that not only replaces the classic fryer, but also partially replaces the oven.
Whether you want to quickly prepare something tasty in the evening, serve juicy muffins at the weekend snack, or enjoy French fries without a guilty conscience, the air fryer is the ideal partner in the kitchen!
Click here for the NUTRI-FRYER XXL hot air fryer from Nutrilovers!
