When you’re trying to eat healthy, the only texture you often miss is crispy. Because what could be better than a perfectly crispy potato chip or a crispy bite of breaded fried chicken? Crispy screams comfort food, but healthy cooking techniques, like steaming and using less fat, often leave that satisfying texture behind for the sake of calorie awareness. That’s where the air fryer comes in. Its biggest claim to fame is its ability to cook food to a satisfying crunch without excess oil. Here are our favorite crispy comfort food recipes to make in the air fryer tonight! And don’t miss our 22 meals to melt belly fat in 2022.
Don’t stop with chips. You can make all kinds of vegetables crispy in an air fryer. In this recipe we use thin slices of zucchini, sweet potato and beetroot to add color and nutrition. Bonus: They’re spiced up with a spicy ranch blend.
Get our Ranch Flavored Veggie Chips recipe.
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Admit it, French fries are one of the main reasons you bought an air fryer. Show Me the Yummy recommends a sugar water bath to remove excess starch and a layer of cornstarch before cooking.
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Fried chicken fingers never reach the crispiness of fried. Use your air fryer to cut the calories but keep the crunch.
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The kid in you will be delighted when you remove a piece of this crispy baked stuffed pasta from the air fryer and dip it in your favorite marinara sauce.
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The sweet crunch of fried coconut goes perfectly with tender shrimp. The trick to achieving an excellent crunch is to toast the coconut before coating the shrimp. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Get our recipe for Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp.
Panko breadcrumbs get crispy in the airfryer without the use of excess oil, giving these chops an irresistible crunch.
Get our recipe for Breaded Airfryer Pork Chops.
The perfect falafel gets a bit of crunch from a bath in hot oil, but the air fryer gets the job done without it. After cooking, pile on a Greek salad or place on a pita bread with tzatziki, pickled red onion and cucumber.
Get our recipe for The Perfect Air Fryer Falafel.
These mini potatoes are the perfect combination of crispy and soft. To cut a hasselback potato perfectly, use wooden chopsticks or round wooden spoon handles on each side of the potato as a knife stopper to make cuts of the same depth.
Get our recipe for Air Fryer Baby Hasselback Potato Bites.
For this irresistible dish, bite-sized cauliflower florets are coated in flour, baked crispy in the airfryer, then tossed in an easy, homemade sweet and sour sauce. However, you can save even more time by using your favorite bottled sauce when needed.
Get our recipe for Sweet and Sour Crispy Cauliflower Bites.
If you’re more into the spicy flavors, try these almond flour-covered keto-friendly snacks tossed in traditional buffalo sauce. Then serve with lots of fresh crispy celery and a light blue cheese dressing.
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You don’t need much to make the crispiest, healthiest fried chicken you’ve ever tasted. Show Me the Yummy uses a spiced coating of crushed cornflakes for a great crunch, but use whatever you have on hand. You can also use this coating for chicken breasts if you want to go the cutlet route.
Get the recipe from Show me the best†
You can bake or fry meatballs, of course, but you won’t get the 360-degree crispy exterior that a hot air fryer gives you.
Get our recipe for Airfryer meatballs.
Think your local restaurant or bar uses semi-skimmed mozzarella for their mozzarella sticks? Probably not. With your hot air fryer you control the type of cheese and reduce the calories.
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Baked chicken wings are fine, but they often overcook before the outside has reached the desired level of crispiness. The air fryer gives you the crispiness you crave without having to dive into the fryer. Turn these into Buffalo wings with a different sauce and a light blue cheese dressing.
Get our recipe for Sesame Soy Garlic Chicken Wings.
Pizzeria calzones get their crispy exterior from the super-hot commercial ovens that cook them quickly. This is where the air fryer does the work.
Get our recipe for Air Fryer Veggie Calzones.
Brussels sprouts go from a healthy vegetable to a crispy, salty, comfort food when tossed into a deep fryer. Skip the excess oil but all the satisfying crunch by using an air fryer.
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Plus, don’t miss out on 50 healthy recipes to make in 10 minutes (or less).
Meaghan Cameron
Meaghan Cameron is editor-in-chief of Eat This, Not That! monitor food content for MSN.com. read more
