How Long You Should Air-Fry Your Favorite Foods (2024)

Determining how long to air-fry recipes can be a challenge, especially when there are so many tasty things you can make in an air fryer! That’s why we’ve pulled together everyone’s favorite air-fryer recipes—from chicken wings to french fries—and decoded how long they’ll take in your trusty air fryer.

Air-Fryer Cooking Chart

We give a time range on most of these foods because their temperatures can vary a bit.

Magnetic Air Fryer Cheat Sheet

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We love the ease of air fryer cooking, but there’s still a trick to figuring out the exact temperature and timeframe you need for your air fryer recipes. Sure, you can flip through pages of your cookbook or refer to our chart above, but what if you had all the air fryer tips and tricks in one place, easily accessible straight from your kitchen?

With this air fryer cheat sheet, there’s no more stressing over where to find the exact time and temperature you need to fry those vegetables, chicken nuggets orcrispy bacon.

This cheat sheet gives you all the info you need to make any fried dish. The chart features over 100 common foods that you can air fry, all grouped by the type of food, how long you should cook them and at what temperature. With just a glance, you’ll know how to fry each food based on its size.

The best part is—it’s magnetic! The larger 10.5×6.5-inch sheet is perfect to display on your fridge, and a smaller 5×5-inch sheet fits on the front of your air fryer.

You can buy this helpful air fryer cheat sheet onAmazonor atWalmart for less than $10. Trust us—it’s the handiest magnet you’ll ever own.

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How to Convert Any Recipe for Your Air Fryer

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Amanda Mason—recipe creator, food blogger and owner ofRecipes Worth Repeating—reworks two to three conventional recipes a week for the air fryer. She shared her tricks with us!

Conventional oven to air fryer conversion

To convert an oven-cooked recipe to an air-fryer one, Mason’s general rule of thumb is to reduce the suggested temperature by 25°F and then cut the cook time by about 20%. Just use the pause button on your machine to occasionally check the doneness and flip for balanced crispness on all sides.

Deep fryer to air fryer conversion

You can get the tastiness of deep frying—hello,chicken wings—without using nearly as much oil.That’s why so many people love using an air fryer.

Mason uses a special method for her fried chicken. She sets the temperature to 390° and the timer to 25 minutes. At 14 minutes, she flips the chicken and sprays it with just a bit of vegetable oil, then air fries it for 11 minutes more.

She says a light spritz of oil at the beginning and midway when you flip the pieces can help form an extra-crispy exterior while maintaining interior juiciness. (Learn how to cook air-fryer chickenin every way possible.)

If you’reair-frying prepackaged frozen foodslike french fries, hit pause and shake the basket once or twice throughout the cooking process so all surfaces are exposed to the hot air coming from the top of the air fryer.

Pan fry to air fryer conversion

If you can whip it up on your stovetop, chances are you can air-fry it. Think stir-fries, meatballs andveggie side dishes.

When your traditional pan-fry recipe calls for a sauce or batter, make those elements first. If the recipe calls for a dipping batter like ourAir-Fryer Pickles, coat according to directions and place thepicklesin a single layer in the air-fryer basket to crisp up. After the veggies are a nice golden brown, turn and finish off the other side with additional cooking spray.

If you’re making something with lots of ingredients like a stir-fry or grain dish, Mason says you’ll want to use an oven-safe cake insert, foil pan or bowl to keep small pieces from falling through the air-fryer basket. It’s easier when you cook the grain ahead of time. Add the cooked grains, along with veggies and herbs, to the pan and place directly in the basket for cooking. Remember to stir it up every five minutes.

Here are moreair-fryer accessories and some ninja air-fryer accessories for smooth preparation!

Grill to air fryer conversion

Instead of searing your steak on the grill or in a cast-iron skillet, try cooking your steak in the air fryer. Flip the steak once halfway, then make it amazing by topping it with a slab of garlic butter while it rests. You can use the same method for fish, checking the temperature once it stops cooking.

All that said, there are somefoods that just don’t work in an air fryer. Save yourself some time and stick to the ones that do.

Making Mains, Snacks and Heating Up Frozen Foods

The air fryer is one of the best ways to prepare foods like frozen mozzarella sticks, tater tots and corn dogs because it crisps them up more than the oven would. However, don’t forget about your air fryer when it comes to foods like air-fryer quesadillas and air-fryer pizza!

Air Fryer Tips

First and foremost, many of these foods will need to be flipped halfway through cooking time. Since air fryers cook by rushing hot air down onto the food, flipping will fry the food evenly and prevent overcooking or burning. There are exceptions for a few recipes, like this air-fryer meatball recipe, but many foods follow this halfway mark rule.

Another air fryer cooking tip we recommend is to always fry your foods in a single layer in the air-fryer basket. This allows the food to cook perfectly even and crispy. So, if you’re air-frying large quantities or large food items, we recommend prepping the food in batches for a speedy cook time.

Lastly, don’t forget to preheat! This is one of the most common air-fryer mistakes that many people fall victim to. It takes only a few minutes and will save your food majorly in the long run.