10 best recipes and foods to cook in an air fryer

Whether you use regular potatoes or sweet potatoes, your tasty results in an air fryer will rival oven roasting. Cut your potatoes into chunks, slices or leave them whole. Season them to your liking, add a little cooking oil, and spread them evenly in the air fryer basket.

Floury or all-purpose potatoes usually work best in an air fryer because they crisp well while staying fluffy inside. Look for varieties such as sebago, russet burbank, royal blue, kestrel, coliban or desiree; waxier potatoes such as kipfler, nicola and dutch cream are better when you want potatoes to stay firm and hold their shape.

To make the best homemade chips, put your potato pieces in the air fryer with very little or no oil and cook them until they turn golden brown.

Instead of reaching for supermarket garlic bread, make your own by slicing a baguette or crusty loaf and brushing it with melted butter, crushed garlic and chopped parsley or herbs. The air fryer helps crisp the edges quickly while keeping the centre soft, making it a useful option when you only need a small batch.

Cook for about five minutes, checking part-way through so the butter melts into the bread without burning the garlic. Serve it with hearty dishes such as this easy vegetarian lasagne or budget friendly sweet potato and red kidney bean hot pot from the RACV Club kitchen.

Pro tip: If you want an extra cheesy side, add a layer of mozzarella or parmesan on top.

Air frying salmon is useful when you want an easier, less messy alternative to pan-frying. The circulating heat cooks fillets evenly with minimal oil, but a pan is still the better choice if you want a deeper sear, buttery crust or very crisp skin.

For best results, pat the salmon dry, brush it lightly with oil or garlic butter, season well and arrange fillets in a single layer so air can circulate. Cook for about 8–10 minutes, using 180°C as a gentler starting point or 200°C for a hotter cook, then check early and adjust for fillet thickness and your appliance.

Pro tip: You can also experiment with other types of fish like hake, pollock, and calamari in your air fryer. Just be sure to thaw any frozen fish completely before cooking.

You don't have to spend all day in the kitchen for your next Sunday roast dinner. Cooking pork belly in an air fryer can be simple, with the even heat circulation helping the meat cook through while the skin crisps.

If you're aiming for that perfect crispy pork crackle, make sure you dry and score the skin before putting the pork in the air fryer.

For summer dining, pair your air-fried pork with some greens to create a warm pork belly salad.

When it comes to cooking bacon, an air fryer helps contain oil splatter, making it a less messy alternative to cooking rashers in a pan. Arrange the bacon strips in the air fryer basket (don't overcrowd it), and cook until they reach your desired level of crispiness.

You might be surprised to learn that steaks can be cooked in an air fryer. A consistent cooking temperature and a small amount of oil can help create a crust, while some air fryers have a specific meat setting to guide the cooking time.

For an extra tender steak, you can add some butter to the outside of the meat before cooking it in the air fryer.

However, if you're not confident in cooking your own steak at home, you can always go to one of Melbourne’s best steak restaurants.

Chicken wings, nuggets and tenders are some of the family favourites that you can cook in an air fryer. The circulating heat can help chicken pieces crisp on the outside while cooking through, depending on their size and coating.

To enjoy a meal that's perfect for warmer weather, you can cook your chicken in the air fryer to create this warm chicken salad recipe.

Sausage rolls work well in an air fryer because the circulating heat can crisp the pastry quickly without needing to heat a full oven. They are best cooked in a single layer with space between each roll so the pastry can puff and brown evenly.

Use it for frozen sausage rolls or smaller batches made from scratch, and check they are piping hot in the centre before serving. You can follow this recipe for juicy, flavoursome sausage rolls and then adapt the cooking time to suit your air fryer and the size of the rolls

Tip: Brush milk or egg wash (egg mixed with water) on top of the pastry to make extra golden.

An air fryer can be a handy way to cook vegetables when you want a quick side dish without turning on the oven. It works especially well for vegetables that benefit from crisp edges, such as cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, and Brussels sprouts.

Cut vegetables into similar-sized pieces so they cook evenly, then toss them with a small amount of oil and your preferred seasoning before spreading them in a single layer in the basket. Avoid overcrowding, as this can cause the vegetables to steam rather than crisp.

You can keep the flavours simple with salt, pepper and olive oil, or add paprika, garlic powder, chilli flakes, lemon zest or grated parmesan after cooking. Serve them with grilled meat or fish, add them to salads, or use them as a quick filling for wraps and grain bowls.

A cheese toastie is an easy air fryer lunch, especially when you want crisp bread and melted cheese without using a sandwich press or frying pan. Add flavour with fillings such as ham, tomato, caramelised onion, mushrooms, spinach, pesto or mustard, but keep the layers fairly thin so the bread crisps evenly and the centre heats through.

Overfilling the sandwich or using very wet ingredients can make the bread soggy rather than crisp.

Tip: Butter the outside of the bread before cooking for even better results.

An air fryer can work well for small batches of biscuits or cookies when you don’t want to heat a full oven. Drop-style biscuits, choc-chip cookies and shortbread-style doughs are good options because they hold their shape and cook quickly in the compact basket. Line the base with baking paper cut to fit, leave space between each biscuit so the air can circulate, and cook in batches if needed.

Let the biscuits sit in the basket for a few minutes before moving them, as they can be soft when hot and may firm up as they cool.

Looking for inspiration? Try these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies.