28 Vegan Air Fryer Recipes You Need To Try (2024)

FAQs

What do vegans use an air fryer for? ›

Best of all, it's super versatile! While they gained popularity as an alternative to a deep-fat fryer, you can air fry just about anything you'd fry, bake, or microwave—cookies, cauliflower wings, vegetable sides, tofu, pizza, cakes, and more.

Air fryers can also make it easier to follow a vegan diet, offering a failsafe way to cook staples like tofu, cauliflower, and potatoes to perfection. Below, we've rounded up 10 mouth-watering recipes that prove plant-based cooking needn't be complicated or boring.

Veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms & onions, and cauliflower all turn out incredible in the air fryer. You can also make your main dish IN the air fryer. It works magic with proteins like tofu, chicken drumsticks, meatballs, pork chops, fried chicken… even steak.

Air fryers give you the ability to prep a larger volume of food at once, and use minimal pieces of equipment while doing so. Alongside that, they're a dream for prepping vegan protein sources like tofu, tempeh, or your favourite plant-based meat alternative.

“The worst foods for air frying have sauces or batters," the chef says. The problem isn't the cooking so much as the cleanup. Air fryer baskets have holes in the bottom or wire mesh for air circulation. Sauces fall through the openings and cause a messy disaster to have to clean up,” Klein explains.

Plant Protein

Anyone can follow plant- based eating. Peanuts and peanut butter is one of the most powerful plant foods that have a perfect balance of calories and nutrients. They are a food that has a lot of nutrients to offer, with the majority of calories coming from those good nutrients.

You do not need oil to use an air fryer. (Louder for the people in the back!) To use your air fryer without oil, simply season your food, put it in the air fryer basket, and set the desired temperature and time. Pretty easy, right?

While air fryers are popular, the most expensive models can start to get a little pricey which could undermine their status as a budget item. Many people came out for halogen ovens as the better option.

What is the first thing I should cook in my air fryer? ›

Air-fryer chicken breasts

Simply roll oiled chicken breasts in the seasoning and put in the air-fryer to cook for 18-20 mins, then serve with rice, greens or a salad. Mix up the spices for interest or keep it plain, it's up to you.

Foil is safe to use in an air fryer so long as you follow three basic rules: never let foil touch the heating element; make sure the foil is weighted so it doesn't blow around the basket; and avoid contact with acidic ingredients, which can cause the foil to leach onto your food.

An air-fryer is a kitchen appliance that cooks by circulating hot air around the food. The food is heated by convection which creates a crunchy, crispy exterior requiring minimal fat, making it both convenient and a lower fat method for cooking foods like chips and fried chicken.

Air fryers are for more than just crisping up foods. Use them for roasting vegetables, cooking meats and baking cookies. Some air fryers are equipped with accessories such as pizza pans, grilling trays and cake barrels.

Fortunately it's now easy to whip up a plant-based burger like the Beyond Burger in the air-fryer. Whether fresh or frozen, all you need is 10 minutes a and a few toppings for a quick and delicious burgers for dinner!

They work by circulating hot air rapidly with an internal fan simulating deep frying, but without the oil. The final result is like deep frying with crackly-skin chicken wings and crispy fries but without the oil.