Help Me with It
A few members of our Zenful Kitchen community have asked for help and ideas for using one of our most popular small appliances, the Deluxe Air Fryer. In part because it is an air fryer. The main idea behind an air fryer is making fried foods without all the oil that comes with deep frying. You can make your favorite crispy, flakey, crunchy chicken tenders, french fries, fried pickles, or popcorn shrimp at home.
But an air fryer can do much more and become a powerhouse in your kitchen for everything from roasted sweet potatoes to beef jerky. Here are some things you can make in an air fryer that use more than just the air fry function of our air fryer.
If you need some ideas on how to use your Deluxe Air Fryer. You can start with the Cooking Guide, which came with your air fryer. You can also find it here. It will walk you through everything you can do in your air fryer within each function. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite recipes to make in the air fryer using four of the 8 functions.
The Rotisserie Setting: The Rotisserie setting is one reason; this is one of my favorite products. Try this Peruvian Chicken in the air fryer, and you’ll never want what’s sitting under a warming lamp at the grocery store again.
The Air Fry setting: I am still working on a low carb option for these but try our Air Fried Onion Petals. It is so easy to make these tasty and easy restaurant style appetizers at home in moments. You can Start by using the Veggie Wedger to cut those onions right through the root and keep the pieces intact. Then, separate the petals and bread them.
Toss the onion petals in flour seasoned to taste, an egg wash, and then breadcrumbs to give them that crunchy texture. Air fry for 20 minutes to get texture without frying in fat. Try serving with a simple dip, like mixing mayo, barbecue sauce, ketchup, and paprika. You’ll be craving these snacks all the time.
Roast Setting: The beauty of the roast setting on an air fryer is that you can use it like an oven without waiting for it to preheat. Toss vegetables with 1 tbsp of oil and season them how you like. Use the two cooking trays and the Roast setting to make roasted green beans, bell peppers, thin asparagus stalks, carrots, zucchini, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and more.
You might think Coconut Shrimp is your only seafood option in an air fryer. But roasted shrimp with a little oil and seasoning is perfect in just four minutes using the air fryer roast setting. You can also roast salmon, cod, or tilapia.
Dehydrate Setting: Create your own dried fruit snacks for a fraction of the cost using the dehydrate setting on the air fryer and one of your favorite fruits. Apple chips, banana chips, and pineapple chips are just the beginning of what’s possible.
Fruit leather is pureed fruit that’s dehydrated. You might remember eating them by the foot in grade school. Today you can find organic, naturally sweetened alternatives at the grocery store, but those options can get a little pricey. That’s why so many people are making their own. With more people adding dehydrators or air fryers with a dehydrating function to their home appliances, fruit leathers are easier than ever to make in your kitchen. here are a few simple fruit leather recipes to follow and all the tips and tricks you need to get delicious homemade fruit leathers every time.
Basic Fruit Leather Recipe with Fresh Fruit
What’s great about DIY fruit leathers is how easy they are to adjust to your family’s tastes and dietary needs. Plus, you can make fruit leather two different ways—with fresh fruit or with frozen fruit. Our friend @lunchesandlittles developed a delicious (and nutritious!) recipe for Strawberry & Peach Fruit Leather.
Strawberry & Peach Fruit Leather
1 lb. (450 g) fresh strawberries
1 can (29 oz./820 g) peaches in juice
1 mandarin orange, cut in half
1 tbsp (15 mL) honey, agave, or another sweetener
Rinse your strawberries and remove the stems. Then, place them in your blender pitcher. Juice half of the mandarin orange and add it to the pitcher. And finally, top it off with honey, agave, or sweetener.
Pulse or blend the mixture until fully combined and smooth. Then, transfer the strawberry puree to a clean bowl and set it aside. Clean the blender pitcher.
Next, drain the peaches and add them to the clean pitcher. Again, pulse or blend until smooth.
Pour the strawberry and peach purees into the Deluxe Air Fryer Fruit Leather Trays, alternating between the two flavors to create a swirled design. Smooth out as needed.
Place the filled trays into your Deluxe Air Fryer and set it to DEHYDRATE at 120°F (49°C). Then, let it dehydrate for approximately 12–15 hours or until the fruit leather is no longer tacky. Continually rotate the trays to ensure an even cook for each tray.
Remove the trays from the Deluxe Air Fryer and let them cool. Then, roll the leathers up parchment paper (as shown below). You can store them in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Basic Fruit Leather Recipe with Frozen Fruit
Our Test Kitchen experts found that making fruit leather gives great consistency no matter the season—and adding a little honey or agave gives a sweet taste. You could also use other natural sweeteners like maple syrup, coconut sugar, or pureed or powdered monk fruit.
5 Steps to Basic Fruit Leather
Add the ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth.
Divide the mixture into each well of the Deluxe Air Fryer Fruit Leather Trays. Spread the mixture out evenly, making sure the edges of the tray are clean.
Cook on DEHYDRATE according to the time listed below, rotating the trays halfway through.
Check for your desired doneness at the minimum time listed. The fruit leather is done when they’re no longer tacky. (Each tray might dry at a different rate.)
Cool completely before storing in airtight containers.
Favorite Flavor Combinations
Name
Ingredients
Dehydration Time
Strawberry
2 pkgs (16 oz./454 g each) frozen whole strawberries, thawed and drained
1 tbsp (15 mL) orange juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) agave or honey
12–15 hrs.
Mango Pineapple
1 pkg (16 oz./454 g) frozen chunked mango, thawed and drained
1 pkg (16 oz./454 g) frozen chunked pineapple, thawed and drained
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh lime juice
1½ tbsp (22 mL) agave or honey
12–14 hrs.
Cherry
3 pkgs (10 oz./300 g each) frozen, pitted sweet cherries, thawed and drained
2 tbsp (30 mL) agave or honey
14–15 hrs.
Peach Raspberry
2 pkg (10 oz./300 g each) frozen peach slices, thawed and drained
1 pkg (8 oz./250 g) frozen raspberries, thawed and drained
2 tbsp (30 mL) agave or honey
8–10 hrs.
More dehydrate setting: Skip the nitrates and filler and make jerky at home with your own choice of meat. Try beef jerky from a sirloin or flank steak for starters, then experiment with game meats and poultry. For chewier jerky, slice your meat against the grain.
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