10 Best Air Fryer Recipes
I resisted the air fryer for years. “I have an oven,” I said. “I don’t need another gadget,” I said. Then I made air fryer onion rings and immediately apologised to the machine for doubting it. The air fryer does three things better than any other appliance: it makes things crispy without deep-frying, it preheats in 3 minutes instead of 15, and it makes small-batch cooking effortless. For a family of six, it’s not replacing the oven — but it’s handling every snack, side dish, and quick-cook protein that used to require heating up a full oven or dirtying a frying pan.
Polish Classics, Air-Fried
Schabowy Burger (Polish Pork Burger)
The Polish pork burger — breaded patty on a bun with mizeria and mustard. Air-fried for crunch without the splatter. A 15-minute lunch that bridges Polish tradition with American burger culture.
Air Fryer Onion Ring Chips
Babcia’s breaded pork cutlet, cooked in the air fryer instead of pan-fried. Less oil, still crispy, 12 minutes. The breadcrumb coating gets beautifully golden without the mess of a frying pan full of oil. Babcia would be sceptical. Then she’d eat two.
Crispy Sides & Snacks
Banana Bread (Hot Honey Glaze)
Yes, banana bread in the air fryer. It bakes in a small loaf pan, cooks faster than the oven, and develops a beautiful crust. The hot honey glaze (honey + sriracha + butter) makes it Polish Mom-level extra.
Crispy Sliced Potatoes (Oven)
Mandoline-thin potato slices, air-fried until the edges curl and crisp. A cross between a chip and a roasted potato. Dangerously addictive with sour cream or gochujang mayo.
Air Fryer Bang Bang Shrimp
Paper-thin onion slices, breaded and air-fried until shatteringly crispy. Better than restaurant onion rings because they’re thinner (more crunch per bite) and less greasy. The recipe that converted me to air fryer belief.
Proteins
Korean Fried Chicken
Double-coated, air-fried for maximum crunch, glazed in a spicy-sweet Korean sauce. The air fryer can’t replicate the exact crunch of deep-fried, but it gets 85% of the way there with 90% less oil and zero splatter cleanup.
Homemade Churros
Churros without the deep-fryer drama. Pipe the dough, air-fry 8-10 minutes, roll in cinnamon sugar. Not quite as crispy as the fried version, but close enough that the “responsible” version has become my weeknight default.
Polish Classics, Air-Fried
Spicy Honey Butter Pierogi Bites (Air Fryer)
FROZEN pierogi, air-fried until crispy, drizzled with hot honey. Brought these to a Super Bowl party — 40 gone in 12 minutes, three people asked for the recipe, and the “doesn’t eat carbs” person ate six. Strategic laziness disguised as culinary talent.
Proteins
Freezer-Friendly Breakfast Burritos
Frozen breakfast burritos reheated in the air fryer instead of the microwave. The tortilla crisps up, the filling heats through evenly, and you avoid the soggy-microwave problem. Three minutes from freezer to perfectly crispy burrito.