The Unexpected Type Of Vegetable To Avoid In Your Air Fryer

From baked goods to breakfast and perfect proteins to party-friendly appetizers, the air fryer is a device that seems to do it all. But don't kick your standard oven to the curb just yet — some foods are still better served by old-school methods in your kitchen. One category of foods to avoid popping in your air fryer may surprise you, and that's the category of fresh vegetables. While it's commonly considered good practice to reach for fresh produce no matter the circumstances, believe it or not, the reality is that when it comes to the air fryer, your best bet is to opt for frozen vegetables.

Fresh veggies can be delicate, and you may be dismayed to open the lid of your air fryer to find that your perfect produce has been incinerated. Frozen vegetables, on the other hand, are a bit sturdier and tend to become crisped and cooked through more evenly in the high-intensity appliance that is the air fryer. Plus, this tool helps avoid the sogginess that sometimes plagues frozen veggies when prepared in other ways.

The key to an air fryer's power is its construction and design, which is essentially a mini convection oven. As food sits in your fryer's basket, it is exposed to evenly circulated heat, which allows for consistent cooking on all sides. And because of its small size, the same high temperatures you might use in your traditional oven pack a more powerful punch in the air fryer, meaning your foods get crispy, crunchy, and delicious in record time. Even frozen veggies cook quickly in the air fryer, making them a more convenient option when you don't have time to shop for fresh ones.

To try this easy cooking method, simply place veggies into your air fryer basket from frozen, compensating for the more aggressive heat by dropping the temperature slightly compared to how you'd set your standard oven when roasting vegetables. You may have to do a little experimenting to find the proper time and temperature for each of your frozen favorites, but checking on them and giving them a shake after about 5 minutes is a good bet. Additionally, remember that not all vegetables are created equal, so while some can withstand the air fryer better than others, delicate items like leafy greens — including spinach, kale, boy choy, Swiss Chard, and similar — are likely to become scorched quickly whether fresh or frozen, so it's best to avoid air frying them altogether.

While you can easily grab a bag of frozen peas, carrots, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or cauliflower from the grocery store, you can also stretch your in-season farmers' market purchases by converting them into frozen candidates for your year-round mealtime needs. Regardless of your choice of veggie, blanching before freezing is a step you shouldn't skip — both for food safety and because it helps ensure a crisp-tender texture once the ingredient is thawed and cooked.

With broccoli and cauliflower, for example, a 3-minute blanch, followed by a shock in an ice bath and a few hours in the freezer — spread in a single layer on a baking sheet — will get them ready for a deep freeze. From there, store them in a space-maximizing freezer safe bag until you're ready to enjoy. If you'd like to freeze fresh carrots, cut them into ½-inch round slices and blanch them for 2 minutes before following the same process. 

In all cases, be sure to thoroughly wash your veggies before you blanch and freeze them. The techniques will vary slightly between ingredients, but having a few handy freezing tips will ensure that the next time you want to turn to your air fryer for your veggie needs, you'll be fully stocked.