Whether you lot're searing steaks or crisping kale, air frying helps y'all hone your craft in the kitchen. Countertop ovens with air fry feature plenty chapters to create whole craven recipes and settings beyond air fry that make it easy to create virtually any recipe you lot tin recall of; all in the compact convenience of a countertop appliance. Use the guide below to walk through the process of how to use an air fryer countertop appliance from setup to cleanup. Then learn more than about mutual settings on an air fry oven, helpful techniques and recipes that can elevate the way you brand.

How-To-Use-an-Air-Fryer_Video

Meat and produce on air fryer tray with door open.

How to Utilize an Air Fry Oven

Its ease of use and ability to achieve crunchy, crispy results are obvious benefits, but air frying can also be a healthier culling to deep frying. Using trivial to no oil, air fried recipes melt and crisp without immersing food in cups of oil then yous tin can get the texture you want without deep frying.

If you lot're new to air frying, get tips for beginners with ouroutset-time guide to air frying.

Person placing air fryer tray inside of black air fryer.

1. SET Upwards YOUR AIR FRYER

Before you dive into your kickoff recipe, take a few minutes to properly prepare your air fryer for use. Walk through the steps beneath to become started.

  • Remove packaging materials and clean all parts and accessories.

  • Identify the air fryer on a level, apartment and dry surface.

  • Ensure proper clearance around the air fryer. Refer to your owner's manual for setup instructions and specifics.

When not in use, well-nigh air fryers are compact enough to store in the cupboard, only you may want to keep yours on your countertop for piece of cake apply. Plus, once you go started, you won't want to shop it away! Air fry ovens like KitchenAid® Countertop Ovens with Air Fry are peculiarly countertop friendly and commonly feature a depression contour that easily tucks nether upper kitchen cabinets or shelves.

Homemade pizza on granite board surrounded by ingredients.

2. Ready FOOD

How you prepare your nutrient for air frying depends on which type of cuisine you're cooking upward. Prepare proteins or vegetables past spritzing or brushing on a light coat of oil, and then your desired seasonings, before you identify them in the basket. If yous're reheating foods, you're welcome to skip the oil birthday.

Lightly coat the basket of your air fryer with an oil spray to forbid sticking before placing food in the basket, then distribute food in 1 even layer across the bottom for an even bake. An air fryer can handle most foods you feel upwards to experimenting with, but in that location are a couple of outliers that don't brand the cut. Avert air frying foods with wet batters—similar beer-dilapidated fish—or more delicate leafy greens that may just end up swirling around the handbasket.

Close-up of air fryer settings menu.

3. SELECT SETTINGS

Some air fryers come equipped with a scattering of boosted settings like bake, roast or broil, merely select KitchenAid® countertop ovens with Air Fry characteristic 9 cooking settings—including functions like proof, dehydrate and toast—that let you lot create a broad range of recipes in addition to air frying.

Close-up of person selecting air fryer settings.

4. PREHEAT

Not every air fryer requires preheating, so your air fryer's manual volition be your become-to source for finding out when and how to preheat. Generally, preheating an air fryer helps you get consistent results and only takes a few minutes.

Close-up of person setting air fryer cooking time.

5. SELECT AIR FRYER COOKING Time

Cooking time varies from recipe to recipe, but one perk you can normally count on is faster cooking times than a regular oven. If you aren't working from a recipe specific to air frying, there are some general recipe conversion guidelines to get you through.

  • Deep frying to air frying: Reduce the temperature of the air fryer 25°F below the instructed deep frying temperature, so cook for the aforementioned amount of time.

  • Conventional oven baking to air frying: Reduce the air fryer temperature to 25°F beneath suggested oven temperature, and so reduce the cook time by 20 per centum.

Refer to the cheat sheet below to eliminate the guesswork for popular air-fried foods.

PROTEIN

TEMPERATURE

TIME
Chicken Wings 425°F 18 to 20 Minutes
Whole Chicken 360°F threescore Minutes
Fish Fillets 450°F 12 to 14 Minutes
Steak 410°F 15 Minutes for Medium Washed

FROZEN FOODS

TEMPERATURE

TIME
Taquitos 400°F 5 to seven Minutes
Mozzarella Sticks 400°F v to 7 Minutes
French Fries 425°F 22 to 24 Minutes

VEGGIES

TEMPERATURE

Time
Brussel Sprouts 425°F ten Minutes
Broccoli 400°F 6 Minutes
Potatoes 425°F twenty Minutes
Zucchini 350°F 12 Minutes
Meat and vegetables in tray of open air fryer with wooden spatula.

6. SHAKE OR FLIP FOOD

Near air fryers crave you to shake the basket at to the lowest degree once during the air fry process to ensure every bit is crisped and browned to perfection. Some recipes call for flipping or shaking every 5 minutes, so don't stray also far from your air fryer while cooking.

KitchenAid® Countertop Ovens with Air Fry make information technology even easier to achieve crispy, browned dishes with help from the No-Flip Air Fry Basket. The 360° Air Fry System circulates rut around the handbasket from every bending, eliminating the need to flip ingredients halfway through the recipe.

Close-up of hand removing air fryer basket full of bread.

vii. REMOVE FOOD

In one case the air fry cycle shuts off, remove food using tongs, a spatula or a spoon. Use oven mitts if you choose to pull nutrient out while in the air fry handbasket.

Person cleaning inside of air fryer with cloth.

viii. Make clean YOUR AIR FRYER OVEN

Now that y'all've learned how to utilize your air fryer, it's time to main keeping it clean for its adjacent use. Every air fryer is different, just virtually consist of two removable pieces that include a basket and crumb or drip tray. Clean your air fryer afterwards each apply to foreclose flavors from mixing betwixt recipes. After allowing your air fryer to cool, see the steps beneath to acquirehow to clean your air fryer.

  • Unplug your air fryer.
  • Remove the crumb tray and air fry basket, then clean with warm, soapy water using a not-abrasive sponge or rag.
  • For stuck-on foods, soak parts in warm and soapy water to loosen grime before cleaning and employ a soft bristle castor to clean the mesh of the air fry handbasket.
  • With the handbasket and tray removed, use a material dipped in warm h2o to wipe out the inside of the air fryer, and so dry out the inside with a soft cloth.
  • Wipe down the exterior with a damp cloth.
  • Dry and replace the crumb tray and air fry basket.

Close-up of air fryer settings control panel.

Air Fryer Settings Explained

From fragile dishes to fried favorites, you lot tin can bring your most succulent ideas to your plate by getting familiar with every setting. While many air fryers simply characteristic an air fry setting, air fryers like the Digital Countertop Oven with Air Fry from KitchenAid come equipped with additional settings like bake, broil, dehydrate and more.

Shrimp in air fry basket.

AIR FRY

An air fry setting combines hot air and heating elements to prepare crispy foods without the oil required past deep frying. Air fryers like theDigital Countertop Oven with Air Fry from KitchenAid characteristic a No-Flip Air Fry Basket that doesn't require you to flip contents halfway through cooking the way most air fryers do.

Cake in pan with parchment paper.

Broil

Air fryers function a lot like convection ovens as they combine a heating element with a fan to circulate hot air, but standalone air fryers are often less versatile and baking-friendly than countertop ovens with air fry settings. The estrus intensity of air fryers isn't ideal for moist or frail bakes like cakes or soufflés, but countertop ovens with an air fry setting oft feature broil functions that are up to the task, including those that tin deactivate the convection bake fan to execute a conventional baking cycle.

Broiled steaks.

BROIL

Some countertop oven air fryers, like options from KitchenAid brand, feature a broil setting that only exposes food to intense oestrus on 1 side, making it easier to become a grill-like sear on steaks, a browned and bubbly cheese topping on pizzas and flaky, moist fish filets.

Chicken pasta dish.

REHEAT

Reheating food with an air fryer is a quick manner to help restore its crispy exterior. Use this setting to reheat your favorite chicken tender, roasted vegetable or fries recipes.

Salmon and brussel sprout dish.

Go along WARM

Employ the "keep warm" setting to proceed nutrient feeling fresh out of the oven as you terminate each dish. Some air fryers even let yous to set up a timer for the warming setting.

Grilled cheese.

TOAST

Brown breads to the perfect colour when you lot use the toast setting on your countertop oven air fryer, selecting your desired toast shade from light to night. Or, create delicious crostinis with merely the right amount of crisis.

Toasted bagel.

BAGEL

This versatile appliance can tackle intricate dishes and simple tasks alike, including evenly toasting a bagel every time.

Rolls

PROOF

All air fryers tin can bring the estrus for the ultimate crisp, simply the Countertop Oven with Air Fry from KitchenAid brand likewise features a proofing setting that gently warms the air fryer crenel and allows bread or dough to rise in a controlled environment. And then, in one case proofed, the air fryer can be fix to bake and finish the job with the printing of a button.

Dehydrated veggies.

DEHYDRATE

Versatile air fryers like the Digital Countertop Oven with Air Fry from KitchenAid brand can exist set to a low temperature over a long menses of time to dehydrate foods similar veggies, fruits, jerky and more. Use this setting to add dehydrated salmon hasty to your next charcuterie lath or dried cinnamon apple rings to your favorite seasonal cocktail.

Open air dryer with tray full of food.

Air Frying Tips for Optimal Results

Now that you've mastered the basics of air frying, it's time to add a few air frying tips to your culinary arsenal. Read on for air frying best practices that can take your cuisine to the adjacent level.

1. Balance Your Basket

Don't overcrowd your air fryer basket. The circulating air should come into contact with as much of your food as possible.

2. Utilize the Correct Basket

Use the perforated basket or pan that came with your apparatus. The holes in these types of baskets or pans let for better airflow.

3. Don't Overdo the Oil

Don't utilize likewise much oil. Follow your air fryer recipe or lightly spray or brush fresh foods with cooking oil.

4. Convert Cooking Time

Adjust cooking time. When using a non-air fryer recipe, make sure to shorten your cooking fourth dimension since air fryers tend to stop off foods faster than a conventional oven or deep fryer.

5. Avoid Not-Stick Sprays

Only dab or spray cooking oil onto foods or the handbasket base of operations, as non-stick sprays have ingredients that may contribute to chipping the air fryer's coating.

Egg rolls on dish next to dip.

Air Fryer Recipes

Air fryers can tackle just about whatever dish yous can dream upwardly. Skim the recipes below for air-fried favorites including dinner and dessert ideas.

Air Fryer Craven Katsu Sandwiches

Create perfectly crisped, katsu chicken filets in your air fryer with this air fryer chicken katsu sandwich recipe from Yummly.

Air Fry Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls

Experiment with Chinese cuisine and air fry these pork and shrimp spring rolls with hints of ginger, sesame and chili from Yummly.

Air-Fried Strawberry Mitt Pies

Use your air fryer to create perfectly browned, flaky pie crusts enveloping fresh strawberry filling with these air-fried strawberry paw pies from Yummly.

Explore a range of settings, accept advantage of large capacity and create stunning air fried creations with a KitchenAid® Countertop Oven with Air Fry.

MASTER THE ART OF AIR FRYING WITH THESE TIPS