I’m a chef who’s obsessed with my air fryer. Here are my 13 favorite things to make in it.

I’m a chef from the UK, and after years of resisting the appliance, I now love my air fryer.
You can’t go wrong with an easy meal of air-fried nut-crusted chicken or panko shrimp.
I even make desserts, like molten lava cakes and apple hand pies, in my air fryer.

The air fryer can cook an incredible array of things.

I’m a chef who’s obsessed with my air fryer. Here are my 13 favorite things to make in it. — My first air fryer was from the brand Gourmia.Aefa Mulholland

When everyone else was buying air fryers, I held out. I still hauled out my deep-fat fryer and gallons of oil or wrestled with an array of frying pans and griddles.

When I finally gave in and bought a Gourmia 7-quart digital air fryer, I was astounded and delighted by how easy it was to use, how little oil was needed, and how few cooking smells lingered in the kitchen.

Now I love cooking with the appliance, and I’ve even bought a second air fryer (a Kalorik Maxx 26-quart digital fryer oven).

Here are some of my favorite things to make in my air fryer.

Breaded or panko-crusted shrimp turns out incredibly well in an air fryer.

green bowl full of air-fried pank crusted shrimp on a kitchen table with place settings — Panko-crusted shrimp is easy to make in an air fryer.Aefa Mulholland

There are tons of recipes out there for air-fried breaded shrimp.

I prefer mine served with a hint of heat, like the “bang bang” shrimp recipe from the blog Stay Snatched. I also like the shrimp paired with lemon aioli.

Setting up a three-bowl dipping station is the bread shrimp quickly and efficiently — one bowl for flour, one for egg (or egg and mustard or mayo), and one for panko. But I’ve also made them by simply dipping lightly oiled shrimp in panko before tossing them in the air fryer.

Stuffed portobello mushrooms make for a quick, tasty dinner.

two stuffed portobello mushrooms on a dark plate on a kitchen table — Stuffed portobello mushrooms make for a nice meal.Aefa Mulholland

There’s no end to the list of things you can pile on a portobello cap and pop in the air fryer.

A recipe from the blog Spend With Pennies pairs them with cheddar and bacon. But I know some people swear by spinach and cream cheese or garlic and Parmesan.

Brit + Co has some great variation inspiration, including crab-stuffed mushrooms with Gouda or even a play on French-onion soup.

I make mine with whatever I have on hand, but I particularly liked the batch I made with feta, cheddar, spinach, artichokes, bread crumbs, and lemon.

I pop the caps in the air fryer for a few minutes gill-side down to let any water drain out before flipping and adding toppings.

I put nut-crusted chicken on the menu again and again.

pieces of nut crusted chicken sitting in an air-fryer basket — I make nut-crusted chicken with crushed nuts and bread crumbs.Aefa Mulholland

Air-fried nut-crusted chicken comes out moist, delicious, and with a perfect crust in just 20 minutes.

Depending on what kind of air fryer you have, it might take a little more or less — I’ve found my basket air fryer cooks faster and my convection-oven air fryer takes slightly longer.

The blog Where Is My Spoon has a delicious, easy recipe for panko-breaded chicken. I adapted it by using half crushed nuts and half panko and adding smoked paprika and Parmesan to the breading for extra flavor.

Crab cakes with fire-roasted green chiles are my new favorite appetizer.

two paper gingham plates with crab cakes on them in front of a newfoundland sign — Crab cakes with fire-roasted green chiles are a great appetizer.Aefa Mulholland

Crab cakes are one of the tastiest things I’ve cooked since getting an air fryer.

I followed a Food Network recipe, substituting a can of fire-roasted green chiles and chipotle powder for the chipotle chiles and adobo sauce, just for convenience.

The creamy, lemony chipotle sauce is the perfect accompaniment. It’s so tangy and delicious that I could drink it.

Corn ribs are an excellent air-fried option for vegetarians.

red and white plate with corn ribs on it drizzled with a tan sauce — Corn ribs or “riblets” can be served with barbecue sauce.Aefa Mulholland

You can air-fry quartered corn cobs like in the recipe I found from the blog Plant Based Folk, or you can add more of a Mexican-inspired flair with a Food Network Canada recipe.

I could also see them working with masala spice for an Indian-inspired take on the trend.

Pro tip: Microwave the cobs for seven to nine minutes before cutting them to make quartering easier. But lower the air-fryer temperature if you microwave first.

Crispy fried tofu can be made with or without cornstarch.

blue bowl full of crispy air fried tofu squared covered in sesame seeds — I add crunch to marinated, crispy fried tofu with sesame seeds.Aefa Mulholland

There’s a simple recipe for cornstarch-free garlic-and-soy sauce tofu on the blog Live Eat Learn that I like. It reminded me how much better the texture is after pressing the moisture out of the tofu before cooking (I used a heavy Dutch oven to squash the block).

I’ve also made crispy fried tofu with ginger, tamari, and garlic marinade that’s finished with sesame seeds for extra crunch. The resulting tangy saltiness makes it a good bacon substitute for vegetarians and a delicious addition to Buddha bowls.

I’ve also had luck just adding sauce at the end, which I found in a recipe from the blog Nora Cooks.

Every batch of Buffalo cauliflower I make is devoured almost immediately in my house.

black plate with buffalo cauliflower, celrery, and a small bowl of dressing — Buffalo cauliflower pairs well with celery and blue cheese.Aefa Mulholland

Buffalo cauliflower “wings” are a top choice any night of the week — it takes just 15 minutes to make crispy, spicy florets.

Simply whisk hot sauce, oil, garlic powder, and salt, and use the mixture to coat the cauliflower before tossing it into a single layer in the air fryer. I found the recipe I follow on Live Eat Learn.

Serve with blue cheese or another creamy dip.

Grilled cheese is a quick, simple air-fryer favorite.

grilled cheese sandwich sitting on a red and white plate — I make my grilled-goat-cheese sandwich with apple and cranberry sauce.Aefa Mulholland

Air-fried grilled cheese makes for a quick lunch. You can easily fit a few sandwiches in the larger air-fryer ovens or chop them into half-sized sandwiches to cram more in a smaller basket.

My favorite grilled cheese is a take on a recipe from Kitchn but with added apple slices — and of course, air fried.

I love rustling up any cheese and jam, jelly, or fruit combination, a current favorite is ham, cheddar, and banana.

Pro tip: Cook at a lower temperature until the cheese melts (three to five minutes) and then turn the heat up to toast the bread for an extra few minutes.

I throw garlic in alongside whatever vegetables I’m roasting.

head of roasted garlic cut in half on a kitchen counter — Roasted garlic is easy to make in my air fryer.Aefa Mulholland

Cooking garlic in the air fryer takes half the time as doing it in a regular oven.

Kristina from the blog Tasty Oven suggests slicing off the bottom of each head of garlic, cooking a big batch, and freezing the extras.

I like cooking the heads alongside roasted vegetables such as honeyed parsnips or carrots and then crushing the cloves to make garlic bread.

Even cake turns out perfectly in an air fryer.

coffee cake with brown sugar and pecans cooling on a wire rack — I found a recipe for a simple coffee cake with cinnamon and pecans.Aefa Mulholland

I didn’t believe you could bake cakes in an air fryer, but I was proven wrong.

I’ve made some excellent cheesecakes in my basket air fryer, but the one I keep going back to is a simple coffee cake. I like a recipe from the blog Fork to Spoon.

I’ll be working my way through the other recipes on the site, too, especially the air-fryer banana-walnut pound cake and banana-nut bread.

Apple hand pies are fiddly to make from scratch, but worth the effort.

blue plate with two air fried apple fry pies — You can make or buy the dough and filling for air-fried apple hand pies.Aefa Mulholland

Empanada-sized pies are a breeze to make if you have store-bought apple filling and pie dough. But making your own allows you to choose how much sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon you want to add.

The blog BellyFull has a great recipe, whether you’re making a premade or homemade version. Both turn out crisp and delicious in a basket air fryer or an oven air fryer. I tried both and couldn’t tell the difference.

According to the recipe, the pies last in the fridge for three days and in the freezer for up to two months.

Air-fried French toast is always on the menu.

two plates with air-fried french toast and berries — French toast served with fresh berries.Aefa Mulholland

I followed food writer Chelsea Davis’s technique for making air-fried French toast with a delicious, crispy exterior. I also added ground cardamom pods to the cinnamon and nutmeg in the egg batter.

Cutting the bread into fingers is a great tip for fitting more toast into basket fryers with curved corners. Preheating is also a good idea, particularly with convection-oven air fryers.

Molten lava cakes are gooey and gorgeous.