Our Crispy Air Fryer Calamari rings are a restaurant-style favorite that is so easy to make at home in your air fryer. You are going to love this crunchy air fried snack.
Recipe Overview
These Calamari rings are coated with egg, flour, breadcrumbs, and the perfect blend of seasonings to make them crunchy and irresistibly delicious.
One of the best parts about having an air fryer, is that you can make things that you’d typically order at a restaurant. Making calamari at home not only saves you money, but fat and calories too.
What is calamari?
Calamari is the Italian word for “squid” For most calamari recipes, the squid is sliced into small rings before cooking so that it’s easier to eat. The Italian recipe that you may be familiar with is called “Calamari Fritti”, and means, “fried squid”. This recipe is also found in Mediterranean and Greek cooking.
We are making Air Fryer Calamari Fritti! You will see this on the menus of many chain and independent Italian restaurants, and it’s always a delicious treat.
list of ingredients
- Squid Rings – You can find these in most grocery stores in the freezer section. Let them thaw and then pat them dry.
- All-Purpose Flour – This makes up the base layer of our breading. You can use regular or gluten-free AP Flour.
- Egg – A beaten egg is the second layer of the breading and allows the breadcrumbs to stick to the squid.
- Buttermilk – Mixed into the egg, buttermilk serves to thin it out and also add a tangy flavor.
- Panko Bread Crumbs – These super crunchy breadcrumbs are perfect for this recipe.
- Sea Salt – Season your breadcrumbs well for best flavor.
- Black Pepper – Where there is salt, there’s usually pepper. Again, we’re seasoning well.
- Cayenne Pepper – This adds a little bit of heat and a lot of warm flavor to the breading.
- Fresh Parsley – Garnish your plate with a bit of greenery.
- Marinara Sauce – I like to dip my calamari in marinara sauce. Use your favorite.
- Lemon or Lime Slices – Serving citrus with seafood is always a good idea. Squeeze some over the calamari before serving.
how to make this calamari
- Place the flour in a shallow bowl.
- In a second bowl, whisk egg and buttermilk together.
- In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and cayenne.
- Coat the calamari rings with flour. Next, dredge the rings through the egg mixture. Press the rings into the breadcrumb mixture, coating well, then set aside on a plate.
- Spray the inside of the air fryer with cooking spray, then place the coated rings inside in a single layer. Spray with cooking spray.
- Air Fry as directed in the recipe card below until golden brown.
how to serve calamari
Serve the calamari immediately after cooking with some citrus wedges and your favorite dipping sauces. Try Marinara sauce, cocktail sauce, or aioli.
To make a meal out of this dish, serve air fryer calamari with a vegetable such as air fryer zucchini or air fryer green beans.
calamari coming out tough?
Tough calamari is almost always due to overcooking. The trick to making a tender calamari is to cook it over high heat, fairly quickly.
For this recipe, it’s important to pre-heat your air fryer so that it starts off at a high temperature and doesn’t need to take any time to get there. The cooking time on this recipe is deliberately less than 8 minutes. You shouldn’t need much more than that to get to perfectly cooked air fryer calamari.
Air Fryer Calamari
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Squid rings patted dry
- 1/3 cup All-purpose flour
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
- Marinara Sauce for serving
- Lemon or Lime slices for serving
- Fresh Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Place flour in a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk egg and buttermilk together. In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and cayenne.
- Coat the calamari rings with flour, then dredge through the egg mixture. Press into the bread crumb mixture, coating well, then set aside on a plate.
- Spray the inside of the fryer basket with cooking spray. Place coated rings in the basket of the air fryer in a single layer, spray the tops with cooking spray.
- Air fry for 4 minutes. Open basket, flip calamari, and fry for an additional 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately with marinara, cocktail sauce, or aioli.
Video
Notes
- Pro Tip: This recipe can be made in the air fryer unit with a basket or the air fryer oven. If you are using the air fryer oven, use the middle rack and select the “Air Fry” function.
- It’s important to pre-heat the air fryer for this recipe so that the calamari doesn’t get overcooked.
Nutrition
Air Fryers can vary greatly. Please take the time to learn your specific air fryer. You may need to adjust times and temperatures based upon your air fryer. All though this website attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, the information should only be considered an estimate. Varying factors such as different product types, different brands, etc. can change nutritional information. It is your responsibility as a consumer to read all labels to make sure the ingredients fit your dietary needs as well as calculate your own nutritional information as a double check.
What a cool idea to do calamari we eat it once a month will give it a try its out favorite appetizer!
Oh yum! I love how easily this calamari comes together in the air fryer. Looks so good! Especially appreciate all the tips to help make them perfect.
The perfect first recipe to test out in my air fryer. Calamari is my favorite and I love that I can make it without all of the oil. So good!
I LOVE calamari!! But never tried to make at home because you know all that frying nonsense. I can’t wait to make this in my air fryer. Genius!!! Pinning for later 🙂
These look absolutely delicious and tasty! My daughter and I are excited to make these tonight. Love being able to use the air fryer for recipes!