So you just got an air fryer…now what? How do you use your air fryer? This post will give you some quick tips for using your air fryer like a pro.
Figuring out any new appliance is a hassle. This quick guide will get you off on the right foot and covers all the big questions most people have.
How it Works
Air fryers are essentially miniature ovens.
Just like an oven, an air fryer uses hot air to cook your food.
The main difference between the two is that an air fryer has a fan to help circulate the air to get a nice consistent finish.
Can You Bake In an Air Fryer?
Yes, yes, yes! It is possible to bake in the air fryer!
It’s important to pay attention to the directions and take your time. Using the air fryer may add a few more steps, but it is possible to bake with it! You can have your cake and eat it too!
Expert Tips
1. Try using Oil
You are going to want to use a hot oil.
The best ones to use would be avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, peanut oil, and sesame oil.
There is some debate on whether you can use spray oil in your air fryer.
So far, I haven’t had any issues with my Cosori.
2. Give It a Shake
This is referring to the cooking basket in your air fryer. Sometimes, food can settle and start to stick during the cooking process.
Simply grabbing the cooking basket handle and giving it a good shake will allow that food to separate a bit and become unstuck so that the airflow can resume flowing through all the food.
3. Avoid These Mistakes
With any new appliance, there is a learning curve to overcome! Common mistakes that people make include:
- Not letting the fryer heat up or preheat to the appropriate temp before use
- Only using it for certain foods and not expanding to cook other great options in it
- Putting too much food in the basket (this will cause your food to be less crispy because not as much air can circulate)
- Not cleaning it after each use
4. Stay Away From Wet Batter
Wet batter doesn’t usually fare well when cooking in a greaseless fryer since you aren’t immersing the food in a ton of oil.
So there is nothing that is “flash frying” that batter quick enough to make it stop from falling off.
Many people have success with rolling the food in flour after dipping it in the wet batter.
This helps hold it in place and lets the oil-less deep fryer work its magic.
5. Check Before Using Foil
It’s always important to read your user’s manual, but some say that it’s fine to put foil in your hot air fryer.
If you decide to use it, make certain that it doesn’t completely cover up the bottom of the air fryer and cut off air circulation.
Parchment paper is a good option if your air fryer manual says not to use foil.
Let’s talk! Drop me a comment below telling me what air fryer questions you have!
I have the Air Fryer that is pictured in the upper right corner. How do I preheat is?
Hello! Thanks for stopping by and asking. I am not exactly sure, each model is a bit different. I typically don’t preheat mine. But my direction say that if I need to preheat, I run the air fryer empty at the temp for 5 minutes to preheat 🙂
I have an instapot. It dies everything from air frying to baking. I was just looking for how to cook frozen dinner rolls in an instapot and seen this site. Thanks for the helpful tips!!
Hello Kandis!! So glad you found us!! Happy to have you here! 🙂
Hi Cindy
I have a quick question I hope you can answer.
I have just got a rack for my small Tefal Air Fryer EY505827 but how to remove it when hot.
I have been cooking potatoes on the rack and meat dish on the bottom but what is your secret – how to remove the rack to put in the meat dish without getting burnt fingers.
Thanks
Kevin E
Hi Kevin, I don’t think we’ve ever reviewed or used that particular air fryer in any of our recipes. However, I took a few minutes to look it up and I see how the rack could cause issues. I would google “grill grate lifter tool” and see if something like that might work for removing the rack once the potatoes are done.
I just got a LG oven with an air fryer function. How do I adjust time and temperature from the usual dishes I made in my Cuisinart air fryer. I used the LG air fryer last night, and there were quite a few things I ran into. The Gorton’s fish sticks, which I previously made at 400°for 8-9 minutes, which is also the time that was on the bag. They came out beautifully at those times. But in the LG they didn’t get fully cooked until I had them in for about 12-14 minutes.
The other thing I made was frozen tater tots, which I had made many times, at 400° and 5-10 minutes. The LG manual has them at 450°, for
20-30 minutes. They didn’t get done at 400°for 14-16 minutes, which at that point i switched the temperature to 450°. At that point, it only took
3-5 minutes.
This was the first time I used the LG air fryer, lol! My old Cuisinart one had an oven type cooking area, similar to the Ninja. But obviously I have much more space now, so I don’t have to do a few meals in 2 batches. Last night I cooked both the fish sticks and the tater tots together.
I get that the distance between the air fryer’s cooking element are drastically different, but how do I adjust for that?
Thank you very much for your time and answer.
Hi Cookie! Thanks for stopping by to ask your question. And what a great question! I haven’t used an oven with an air frying function before, but since it’s a lot larger than a countertop air fryer, you’ll need to use longer cooking times for prettymuch every recipe (as you’ve discovered 😊). I would start with the original time on the recipe, then add 4-5 minutes more and of course (without changing the temperature listed on the recipe). Then, after the extra time, check with a meat thermometer to see if it needs more time. It’ll take a little getting used to, but an oven air fryer seems like a great option, especially for cooking larger amounts of food for large groups! Hope that’s helpful!