14 Breakfast Foods You Should Be Cooking In Your Air Fryer

If you're only using your air fryer to make your dinner, it's time to change things up. This appliance can be useful to whip up food at any time of the day, and its speedy nature and ease of use makes it perfect for those rushed, bleary-eyed mornings where you want a good breakfast that takes minimal effort. Air fryers are particularly useful on weekday mornings where time is limited, which can often stop you from cooking your favorite breakfast items like bacon, eggs, or hash browns. All of these foods, though, can be on the table in minutes with a quick whizz of your air fryer.

Using an air fryer to make breakfast items also cuts down considerably on mess, and stops you from having to wipe up grease splatters before you head off to work. It's convection technology, meanwhile, means that you can often cook breakfast foods without the need for much extra fat. It's not just meat and eggs that you can make in an air fryer, either. There are some seriously unexpected foods that you can make in this machine — and whether you're craving cinnamon toast, granola, or even oatmeal cookies, nothing's off limits. ‌

People have been asking whether it's possible to make pancakes in the air fryer for as long as this appliance has been around. So, let us answer that question once and for all: Yes, you can whip up a stack of piping-hot pancakes in this ingenious machine in mere minutes, and achieve the same soft consistency and perfectly-browned exterior as you would in a skillet.

It clearly isn't as easy as just ladling your pancake batter into your basket, though. To stop your mixture from dripping through the slats on the bottom, you'll need to grab some aluminum pie tins. Pop a tin into your basket, and pour in some batter, before cooking at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for around eight minutes. Your pancake will come out pillowy and ready for your favorite toppings.

Before buying your pie tins, make sure that you've measured your air fryer basket, to ensure that they fit. If you're using a large tin, you may only be able to place one at a time inside the fryer. If you're craving smaller pancakes, though, you can pop several mini pie tins into the basket, and cook up a batch in one go. This will not only save time, but ensure that each pancake is cooked to the same level of doneness. ‌

Cinnamon toast is one of those breakfast items that you don't have enough, but you enjoy every time you do. Knowing that you can make cinnamon toast in your air fryer, though, might just change how often you make it for good. Using your air fryer not only cuts down the time it takes to make this sweet treat, but it also simplifies its preparation, which has the unexpected effect of making it even more delicious.

Rather than lathering cinnamon-spiked butter onto already-toasted bread, for the air fryer version, you'll spread the butter on before it's cooked. Applying your cinnamon butter to the soft bread allows it to soak into the dough while it's cooking, making each bite totally infused with flavor. Once you've spread your bread with butter (making sure it's at room temperature to avoid it ripping the slices as you spread it), pop it in the air fryer, and cook it for five minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. It's best to place the bread straight onto the bottom of the basket instead of using an air fryer sheet or lining it with foil, so the hot air can reach its underside. Voila! Once the five minutes are up, you'll have sweet, buttery toast with a cinnamon kick. ‌

Hash browns — the kind consisting of a large patty of shredded potatoes that you cook in a skillet — feel like they're beyond the reach of the air fryer. Wouldn't the potatoes just fall apart while they're cooking? How could the appliance get them to be as crispy as the pan-fried kind, without copious amounts of fat to cook in? Luckily, your air fryer is the perfect ally here. Once you've popped your shredded potatoes into the bottom of your basket, they'll stay well-formed and intact while browning beautifully in the rapidly-circulating hot air. All you need is a few sprays of oil on the bottom of the basket and on top of your potatoes, and you'll get a crispy, golden result that rivals your cast iron skillet.

It takes about 20 minutes to cook hash browns in an air fryer from frozen, with the temperature set to 370 degrees Fahrenheit. If you're making particularly thick hash browns, you may want to add a few extra minutes, to ensure that it's cooked right through to the center. It's also a good idea not to cram your potatoes in too tightly around the edges. Doing this will prevent your air from circulating properly, but it'll also make it harder to flip the hash brown halfway through cooking, which is an essential step for even cooking. ‌

Frozen waffles aren't exactly tricky to cook: All you need to do is pop them in your toaster and wait a couple minutes. If you're cooking a batch of them, though, you can cook frozen waffles in an air fryer and get a deliciously crispy result without much effort. The air circulation in air fryers gives frozen waffles an evenly-browned finish, with the heat getting into every little pocket on them. If you want an even more luxurious golden color, you can also spray them with a little cooking oil before popping them in. You don't need to, though — they'll still be just as good without it.

To cook frozen waffles in your air fryer, make sure they're laid in the basket evenly and not stacked on top of each other. Doing this will ruin the air circulation and leave some of your waffles' surfaces soft and pale. Some frozen waffle brands may now come with specific air fryer instructions on the box, but if yours doesn't, cooking them for four-five minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit is a good benchmark. Larger or smaller waffles may take slightly more or less time.

Look, it's no secret: Making breakfast sandwiches is kind of a hassle. Their combo of eggs, cheese, and bacon tucked into an English muffin hits the spot time and time again, but it's these individual components that makes them pretty annoying to cook. However, once you start making breakfast sandwiches in the air fryer, you'll never go back. Not only does using the air fryer cut down on the time it takes to make them, but you don't even have to cook everything separately: You can do it all in one go.

Here's how it's done. Place your halved English muffin sides in your basket outside-down, and pop a pat of butter on one side, crowning it with some slices of precooked bacon (don't use raw, as the fat it releases will just make too much mess, and it won't crisp up properly). Crack an egg onto the other muffin half, topping it with a sprinkling of grated cheese. Be careful when doing this, to ensure that the egg doesn't drip off the sides and into the basket itself. Then, fire the fryer up, and cook for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If you want a firmer egg, add a couple minutes onto your cooking time. Take the sandwich out, place your two sides together, and enjoy the best breakfast you've had all week. ‌

The thought of making scrambled eggs in an air fryer seems to defy logic. After all, this dish requires near-constant stirring, and how do you achieve that here? Plus, wouldn't the eggs just fall through the bottom of your basket, making the mother of all messes in your kitchen?

Well, we're here to report that it's entirely possible to make scrambled eggs in your air fryer, and you can do it in no time. You simply whisk your eggs with some milk and seasonings, and pour them into a heat proof container that fits in your air fryer basket. Mix in some melted butter (you can either melt this in your air fryer, or in the microwave), and cook the eggs for three minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. When you pull them out, your eggs should be starting to solidify; at this point, give them a mix to break up the egg curds. Pop them back in the air fryer and cook for two more minutes, before checking again. If you like them softer, you can take them out, or give them another blast of heat for a minute or two more to firm them up.

Having an oatmeal cookie for breakfast gives you the best of several worlds. You get all the nutritious qualities of oatmeal with the indulgent feel of a cookie, and you can eat it on the go instead of sitting hunched over a bowl. We wouldn't blame you for thinking that you probably don't have time to make these cookies for breakfast, though — but by popping your oatmeal in the air fryer, you can rustle them up in minutes.

For a simple oatmeal cookie, you need just four ingredients: Oats, apple sauce, maple syrup, and a touch of baking soda. Lightly pulse the oats in your food processor to break them down slightly, which helps them bring all the ingredients together and cook quicker. Add the other ingredients and any extras you like, and then shape your dough into cookie shapes, before cooking them in the air fryer at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for four-six minutes. As for extras, the world's your oyster. You can mix in fresh fruit for some extra nutrition, some sweet chocolate chips for a bit of gooey indulgence, or some protein powder to keep you satisfied. ‌

Homemade cinnamon rolls in the air fryer sound too good to be true, but trust us when we say that they'll be your new favorite breakfast. By using canned cinnamon rolls, you can be enjoying these air-fried treats in as little as eight minutes. Just unroll the can and slice your rolls, before popping them in your air fryer basket (lightly spray it with oil first, so that they don't stick to the bottom). Set your air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and cook them for eight minutes, extending the cooking time by an extra few minutes if you like them browner and slightly more crunchy.

Although it might be tempting to flip them halfway through cooking, as you've probably been taught to do with other air fryer-cooked items, we'd recommend avoiding it. If you flip them, your cinnamon rolls won't get that plump dome-like shape, and you risk squishing them up too much. When your cinnamon rolls are cooked, that's when the fun really starts. Drizzle them with some homemade icing, dunk them in melted chocolate, or simply sprinkle some powdered sugar over them. Or, just grab one and munch it as you walk out the door. ‌

Okay, we're just gonna get this out of the way: We all know that using an air fryer to cook an omelet isn't traditional. There will be a lot of chefs turning their noses up at the mere thought of it. However, most of us don't have the time to gently cook an omelet to perfection on the stove before work every day, and for those stressed, time-pressed people out there, your air fryer can produce a result that's fluffy, evenly-cooked, and entirely hands-free.

You start by placing a basket liner or ovenproof bowl into your air fryer basket. Then, pour your egg mixture into your container. If you want to keep things simple, you can make a simple combo of eggs and seasonings. If, however, you want to add additional flavors and textures into your omelet (and why wouldn't you?), then feel free to throw in shredded cheese, chopped vegetables, or some sliced ham or turkey. Once it's in your air fryer, fire up your appliance and cook the eggs for five-10 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on how firm you like your omelet. Remove your container, flip the eggs onto a plate, and enjoy.

Breakfast potatoes can help you start your morning right, giving you loads of energy and sustenance for the day ahead. However, there's no denying that they take a while. Cooking breakfast potatoes on the stove not only requires constant stirring, but you'll need a good 15 minutes or so to ensure that each piece is cooked through — and may need even more than that, if your potatoes are especially chunky.

That's why you should make your breakfast potatoes in the air fryer. The hot air of your air fryer will quickly crisp and brown the outside of each potato, while ensuring that the insides remain pillowy and soft. You don't even need that much oil to get them crispy, either: All they need is a light coating, and the convection action will do the rest. One thing to bear in mind when making breakfast potatoes is that while it'll be tempting to make a big batch, you should try and avoid doing so. Unless you have a particularly large air fryer, this will usually require you to stack them on top of each other, which will stop them getting properly crispy. ‌

There are seemingly endless opinions about the best ways to cook bacon, and whether frying, roasting, or broiling it gets the best result. Well, we'd like to throw one more into the mix: Air frying. Cooking bacon in the air fryer gets our vote because of both how simple and quick it is, and how well it can generate a crispy exterior with a chewy inside. You just have to pop your slices in the basket, hit them with 350-degree heat for 10 minutes, and you'll have deep-brown, consistently-cooked pieces of bacon.

There are a few things to bear in mind when using this method, though. If you place your slices directly into the fry basket without anything lining it, their fat will drip into the bottom of your appliance. This might help them become crispier as the fat renders away more successfully, but it will also mean you have to spend the rest of your morning cleaning it up. Plus, it's a good idea to cut your slices in half. Most slices will get into an air fryer without any problems, but they can be a bit of a snug fit sometimes.‌

We can understand why you wouldn't believe that you can cook poached eggs in the air fryer: We definitely didn't think it could be done. However, the good news is that air fryer poached eggs are super easy, and are way less fiddly than trying to cook them the traditional way. If your appliance is big enough, you can also make multiple poached eggs in one go, without having to worry about them falling apart in a large pan of water.

You start by popping a ramekin, or several ramekins, into your air fryer. Fill each one with a few tablespoons of water, and then preheat the fryer for five minutes at 400 degrees. This not only gives your machine a head start when you add your eggs, but it also brings your water up to temperature. When you add your eggs, you need to drop the temperature down to 360 degrees, cooking them for a further four-seven minutes. Naturally, the shorter the cooking time, the runnier your yolk will be. ‌

Tater tots aren't exactly tricky to cook: All they take is a blast in the oven. If you want your tater tots to be as crispy as possible, though, you should put them in your air fryer. While more traditional ovens will cook tater tots with mere exposure to heat, air fryers whoosh ultra-hot air around each piece of potato, browning their sides way more efficiently. This is all provided that you don't crowd them too much in your fry basket, of course, as each tot needs ample space around it to get as crispy as it can be.

One of the best things about cooking tater tots in the air fryer is how quick they are. While oven-cooking them takes around 25 minutes, air-fried tots are ready in less than half the time. At 360 degrees Fahrenheit, they can be ready in as little as nine minutes. If you want them to be extra-crispy, however, you might want to give them a little more time than that. Additionally, ensure that you're shaking the basket periodically during the cooking process, both to stop them sticking and to help them brown evenly. ‌

You're probably pretty daunted by the idea of making your own granola, especially first thing in the morning. We don't blame you: Why make something that's just as good from a box, particularly if it takes so long? Well, cooking air-fried granola is a fantastic way to make short work of the job, and to ensure that what you're eating only has the ingredients and flavors you want in it. At 350 degrees Fahrenheit, you can make perfectly crunchy granola in just 10 minutes.

Importantly, making granola in your air fryer is one time when you shouldn't skimp on the oil. While most air-fried foods can be cooked without as much oil as alternative methods, you need your oats to brown and remain separate, requiring a regular amount of fat. You'll also want to make sure that you line your fry basket with parchment paper or a basket liner, to ensure that the oats don't stick to the bottom — and, crucially, so that they don't fall through your basket's slats.