The Expert-Approved Foods You Need To Cook In Your Air Fryer

If you had to pick a kitchen gadget or appliance that has dominated the home kitchen scene over the last few years, it would have to be the air fryer. Despite some initial pushback from professional chefs, sales of the devices generate as much as $6.38 billion a year according to Statista, and it seems like they're here to stay. Most people, however, don't know how just useful an air fryer can be and only use it for jobs like reheating pizza. These countertop dynamos can do all sorts of work, from crisping up a handful of tater tots to roasting a whole chicken, and according to Hammed, recipe developer, food blogger, and creator of The Prince Eats, some foods were almost made for air frying.

"If you desire your traditionally fried foods to be tender [and] crispy without [a ton] of oil, or any protein to have a tender center and more of a textured surface, the air fryer is the way to go," Hammed told Daily Meal in an exclusive interview. "This includes chicken wings, French fries, [and so forth]."

Despite the name, air fryers don't technically fry food. Instead, they work like little convection ovens by circulating hot air all around the food. This superheated air quickly cooks the surface of the food to make the outside crispy and crunchy. While air frying is not a recommended cooking method for foods that need to roast low and slow, it's perfect for anything that would normally get dunked in hot oil. An air fryer will make quick work of bites like spring rolls and crab rangoons and even work for parbaked baguettes and frozen pizzas as long as they fit into the fryer. Many frozen products these days will even advertise right on the box that they're recommended for air frying. 

The real stars of the air fryer, though, will always be fries and wings. "Having to use [less] oil or no oil at all makes the air fryer a better cooking option for these items," Hammed said. You will get all the crispy crust on your snacks without the grease — or cleanup — of a traditional deep fryer, which makes it an easy choice. The only decision you'll have to make when it comes to air fryers is between a basket model and an oven.