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A lot of people seem to find using the air fryer daunting, so today I’m sharing with you 40+ recipes that are perfect for air fryer beginners! Whether you’ve just bought an air fryer, received one as a gift or have one sitting around you’ve been meaning to use for months, I’ve got some recipes that will help you!
I’m a HUGE fan of the air fryer. Personally I feel that using an air fryer is easier, more convenient AND cheaper than using the oven. I’ve checked my smart meter and it seems to be quite a bit cheaper to use the air fryer, partly because the cooking time is quicker, which I’m very grateful for!
Sometimes I just want to heat up some chicken nuggets and chips for my daughters, and the air fryer is perfect for this.
Here you will find recipes made from potatoes, snacks, air fryer side dishes, air fryer desserts, how to cook frozen items, the odd dinner, lots of chicken recipes and more! Why not check out some of my other air fryer potato recipes too?
Be sure to check out my air fryer pros and cons too!

Something to note about air fryer recipes is that all air fryers have different sizes, depths and as such the cooking times can vary. All air fryer recipes on this website are intended as a guide, and not a guarantee that the timings will be perfect. Enjoy!
Chips has to be one of the first things that just about everyone makes in the air fryer. You'll get a result that is MUCH better than oven chips and MUCH healthier than chip shop ones, with a taste that is in between the two!
Air fryer chips are always a winner and you can make them to any thickness, with any type of potato (or root vegetable really), and they'll be deliicous with very minimal oil!
If you're wanting to enjoy some delicious chips, with a little extra joy, then use some ready made chips, part cook and add some cheese on the top. Finish for a few more minutes and you're done - delicious cheesy chips!
These mini roast potatoes are crispy, delicious and packed full of flavour thanks to lots of garlic and rosemary.
Another classic potato staple has to be air fryer roast potatoes. These are delicious, super tasty and great for serving with a roast dinner. You can even make these in advance and refresh them in the air fryer just before serving. I do make frozen roast potatoes in the air fryer from time to time but these are just so much nicer.
You can purchase canned potatoes from the supermarket for around 30p, which makes these the perfect frugal side dish! These air fryer canned potatoes are so simple to prepare, take just 1 minute to get ready, and they're so tasty too!
Another twist on the great air fryer potato dishes has to be these little diced potatoes. They are super simple to make, great with a variety of different seasonings and perfect for feeding a hungry crowd.
These air fryer jacket potatoes are a great lunchtime staple in our home. They are also perfect for making up in batches and then freezing beforehand for a simple meal in a hurry.
Potato skins are super simple to make, and cheap too! They are a delicious but hearty way to feed guests and only need a few minutes to cook once filled with the tasty filling.
These potato wedges are absolutely delicious. Crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. These are ideal for serving with a variety of dips and great to bulk out healthy meals. Best of all these use very minimal oil.
These cheese fries are super delicious and very simple to make too!
These loaded fries are super simple to prepare, a great way to use up leftovers and can be served as a complete meal!
You can make super crispy chicken fries in the air fryer, especially while using a bag of frozen fries!
Super simple air fryer frozen potato wedges for those times when you don't have a lot of spare time but want something delicious to serve your family!
We love to enjoy a nice cooked breakfast and these air fryer frozen hash browns are super crispy and delicious.
My little ones absolutely love fun food for dinner. These crinkle cut chips are simple to re-heat in the air fryer and great for dipping in tomato ketchup too!
These crispy bagel chips are delicious thanks to being packed full of flavour. A fantastic way to use up bagels that are passing their best too!
Whether you want to make your own super cheap tortillas, or use shop bought, these tortilla chips are really simple to make and perfect for serving alongside a lunch platter for children or as the base of air fryer nachos.
Next time you want a super simple dinner why not re-heat a quiche in your air fryer? It takes next to no time to make a tasty family dinner!
On those nights when you fancy a takeaway style dinner, but don't have lots of money to spare, why not make an air fryer pukka pie? Absolutely delicious, frugal and so crispy too!
If you're short on effort, or don't want to have hot pans full of boiling water on your hob, it is so simple to cook your potatoes in the air fryer and then put them through a potato ricer or mash them. Air fryer mashed potatoes are super simple!
If you've got leftover mashed potato in you only need a few ingredients to turn it into these lovely air fryer mashed potato balls.
How to make a super simple and delicious air fryer tuna panini in next to no time.
Next time you want something a little different for lunch be sure to try out these air fryer grilled cheese. Simple to prepare, and delicious spread with butter or mayo, they're a great way to feed hungry little ones in a hurry.
Any sandwich can be made extra delicious by placing it inside the air fryer, and these grilled ham and cheese are no exception!
Probably the easiest ever recipe, but one that is requested so frequently when I ask people what they want to know about using an air fryer. Air fryer toast is just as fast as in the toaster, perfect if your toaster breaks or you want to get rid of it to save worktop space!
These cheese crumpets are the perfect hearty breakfast, a twist on the classic crumpets, while being packed full of protein and absolutlely delicious too!
Choclate protein oats made in the air fryer is a great healthy, hearty breakfast that takes next to no time.
English muffins are delicious toasted in the air fryer. They're great for breakfast muffins or as a nice accompaniment to a cooked breakfast.
Whether you want to use your own dough, or buy the part-bake ones, you can cook bread rolls in your air fryer. Great to serve alongside soup, or turn into tasty sandwiches.
I love to make garlic bread from scratch, but I also love the baguettes that you buy in the frozen section at the supermarket. These go SO crispy and lovely in the air fryer, and cook alongside whatever else you're serving up!
Turn leftover bread into crispy delicious air fryer croutons. They require just a few minutes of effort and are super with soups and salads. You can even blend them into breadcrumbs for homemade f or meatloaf.
These homemade air fryer sausage rolls require minimal ingredients and take just a few minutes to prepare. They are perfect for eating hot from the air fryer, cold for a picnic or even popping in the freezer for those nights you want something low maintenance.
This whole chicken, cooked in the air fryer, is super simple to prepare and always a hit in my home! Tender, succulent and packed full of flavour too.
This is the perfect recipe for beginners to using the air fryer. You can make a takeaway style meal, at home, save a small fortune and it's really easy to follow the instructions too.
These chicken breasts are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Super simple to prepare and quick to cook too.
These chicken wings are super simple to prepare, taking just seconds to get ready, and are the best side dish for a crowd!
How to make delicious, simple air fryer chicken nachos using cooked chicken breast and your favourite nacho toppings:
We absolutely love air fryer sausage beatballs. You can add lots of lovely herbs, to pack them full of flavour, and use ANY type of sausage including Vegan and Vegetarian.
It is incredibly simple to make your own air fryer meatballs. You can customise them to suit your family too with ease.
This post has all the info you need to make air fryer hamburgers and cheeseburgers with ease.
How to cook a delicious pasta bake in the air fryer in just 20 minutes.
This delicious tasty air fryer mac and cheese is creamy with a crunchy top and takes just minutes to prepare.
Chicken fajitas are a staple in many households, and these air fryer chicken fajitas are super simple. You'll add the vegetables in around the halfway mark and evreything is crispy and delicious and ready at the same time!
Delicious air fryer chicken kebabs that take just minutes to prepare and are perfect for a sunny day or a fakeaway dinner!
Air fryer hunters chicken is a simple take on this pub classic that is really easy to prepare and leaves the chicken tender and succulent too.
I love to make a variety of different chicken breast dishes for lunches in particular. Only I'll enjoy these in sandwiches, with rice or as part of a pasta dish. This air fryer chicken tikka is really easy to make and you can use the shop bought tikka paste to save effort.
I love Nando's, but don't always love the price tag. This air fryer Nando's chicken is super simple to make and absolutely delicious too.
This jerk chicken is packed full of flavour, while still being simple to make. Perfect for making for a crowd, when you're needing to feed lots of people on a budget.
Air fryer BBQ chicken breasts are really easy to prepare, taking under a minute, and this is the perfect hot sandwich filler.
How to make delicious crispy chicken tenders in just 15 minutes.
How to make delicious, well seasoned chicken mini fillets in the air fryer - without breadcrumbs.
What I love about air fryer rosemary chicken breasts are that you just need a few herbs and seasonings to make this succulent, juicy, tasty chicken.
Another classic chicken dish would be this air fryer cajun chicken recipe. It's simple to prepare, and you can either make your own cajun spice blend or you can use shop bought.
This is one of my favourite air fryer chicken dishes! Air fryer cajun chicken recipe. It's simple to prepare, and you can either make your own peri peri spice blend or you can use shop bought instead.
Making crispy tasty burgers in the air fryer, particularly chicken or fish, is so straight forward. The outside of this was crispy and delicious while the inside remained juicy and tender.
Sausages are so tasty in the air fryer. I love to buy the leaner ones, such as chicken or vegan, and these all work very well, cook fast and are great with tomato ketchup!
When serving up a tasty roast dinner we love to enjoy pigs in blankets, particularly with Christmas dinner, and these pigs in blankets are super simply to prepare and absolutely delicious!
Next time you fancy a tasty bacon sandwich be sure to try out air fryer bacon. It'll go crispy and delicious and if you wrap it in a little foil you'll get away with not scrubbing the air fryer basket too afterwards.
If you're looking to eat a little healthier then turkey bacon might be your preferred bacon. This is the method for cooking it in the air fryer!
These air fryer flatbread pizzas are the perfect meal to make for hungry little ones and even to have them join in with making them!
How to transform a bagel into a tasty pizza bagel in just minutes using the air fryer!
A super simple way to use up leftover tortillas and any veggies from the bottom of the fridge.
Pizza, in the air fryer? I know! Mad! You'll want a bigger sized air fryer for this, or to measure the size you can fit in. I've got a NInja Foodi and this fits pre-made pizza bases perfectly. I find the pizza goes love and crisp underneath thanks to the air fryer basket and the toppings are all soft and delicious still.
Next time you want to make something fun with children these air fryer pizza rolls are really simple. You can use shop bought pastry, sauce and pre-grated cheese if you want to make it a little easier, and it's a tasty fun way to make lunch.
When I want to make a tasty roast dinner, with minimal effort, I will pop frozen yorkshire puddings in the air fryer. They're super fast and it is a great way to feed a hungry crowd too!
Next time you're cooking up a roast dinner be sure to try these air fryer stuffing balls.
Have you ever made cheese scones? These take just a few minutes to mix up, you can drop them in to the air fryer on some parchment paper and they'll rise up lovely and be tasty with a little fresh butter.
These air fryer roasted tomatoes are the perfect tasty accompaniment to other dishes, or great for whizzing up into a roasted tomato pizza sauce.
How to make a delicious roasted tomato soup using your air fryer.
This delicious creamy cauliflower cheese is perfect cooked in the air fryer - and miles faster than oven cooking too!
This corn on the cob is succulent, juicy and super simple too!
This delicious Tenderstem broccolini cooks to perfection in the air fryer.
I love to make these air fryer onions to serve on the top of hot dots or brats. Crispy onions and grilled onions are both possible from the same recipe, but with a little less cooking time.
These air fryer green beans are so simple. The prep and cook time is well under 10 minutes which is ideal if you've got the rest of your dinner ready.
How to cook carrots and parsnips in the air fryer - perfect to serve alongside a tasty Sunday roast!
These air fryer baby carrots are a staple when I'm making a roast dinner, and well loved by everyone in my family.
These honey roast parsnips are so tasty, simple to make and ideal for a tasty roast dinner, particularly in the Winter!
I love to experiment with different vegetable dishes, and these air fryer carrot fries are a hit with my little ones. They are NOT as crisp as potato fries, but they are still ideal for serving to little ones if you want something a little healthier.
How to cook pain au chocolat in the air fryer.
When I want to make something simple, fast and delicious I make these air fryer smores. They're so tasty and great fun to make with little ones.
You can make cookies from scratch OR use shop bought cookie dough to make these tasty air fryer cookies.
When you want a super simple snack, dessert or breakfast, air fryer pop tarts have you covered. Ready in under 4 minutes!
When you're looking for a super simple dessert, but don't want to spend a lot of time on it, these air fryer frozen churros are perfect!
This air fryer rhubarb crumble took quite a few attempts to get perfect but it's delicious. Soft juicy rhubarb with a crispy crumble topping, perfect served with custard!
We often have family Fakeaway nights, where we recreate our favourite desserts and this air fryer dessert pizza is a great way to use up some leftover pizza dough scraps, and a little goes a long way with this.
I love to make little snacks and desserts in my air fryer and these air fryer fruit scones are both fast to make and frugal.
I'm going to share some frozen recipes with you now. Items you can buy in the supermarket, frozen, and jazz up a little by crisping them up in the air fryer, starting with these air fryer frozen sweet potato fries, super tasty!
If you've got a little bit of time, and want to save some money, why not make your own sweet potato fries in the air fryer?
What little one doesn't like a chicken nugget? Air fryer frozen chicken nuggets are faster than cooking in the oven, and they go SO crispy, just like they would in a deep fat fryer!
These frozen halloumi fries are SO crispy and delicious when cooked in the air fryer.
Some nights you just want an easy tea. Air fryer frozen fish and chips is really easy to make, starting with the chips and then adding the fish during, while you make some curry sauce or mushy peas.
This air fryer frozen fish sandwich is simple to prepare, better than a takeaway and much cheaper too!
Next time you want a fast lunch or dinner in a hurry be sure to try this air fryer frozen salmon recipe. Frozen salmon is usually much cheaper than fresh, and you can jazz it up really easily with homemade garlic butter.
Another frozen staple in our household are air fryer frozen onion rings. You can't beat opening the bag, pouring them into the air fryer and cooking up! So simple and you just need to shake 1 or 2 times during cooking to stop them from sticking together.
Be sure to check out some of my favourite air fryer accessories while you’re here:
If you enjoyed this air fryer side dishes compilation I’d love it if you could pin it on Pinterest!
