14 August 2023 , 06:00
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Nothing depicts how tiresome the summer holidays are for most families more than a speedy dinner menu at home, with minimal prep and time. While the kids are off school and parents are trying to fill their time with fun days out, it means there is not a lot time to be cooking time consuming meals every day for the family.
An airfryer purchase for the six weeks holidays may just be a lifesaver for many- not only with time saving properties, but energy saving too. With many incredible brands now available battling it out for the top product spot including Ninja, Salter, Proscenic and Cosori- there are plenty of variations to choose from that suit's shopper's best.
Preparing a quick snack, a three course meal or incredibly simple puddings has ever been easier.
Here we have rounded up some of the simplest recipes out there which we believe will make meal prep at home a doddle for the foreseeable.
Crispy Chilli Beef
- 250g thin-cut minute steak, thinly sliced into strips
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus a drizzle
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 red chilli, thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper, cut into chunks
- 4 spring onions, sliced, green and white parts separated
- 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
Marinade
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- ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp caster sugar
I love to marinade the beef first for this dish- it makes it much more fragrant and deep in flavour. Once all your marinade ingredients are mixed and the steak is added and tosses- leave in the fridfge for 24 hours before cooking.
Sprinkle the cornflour over the steak and mix until each piece is coated in a floury paste. Seperating the strips apart and arrange over a plate, drizzle each piece of steak with a little oil. Pre heat the air fryer to 220C while getting the other ingredients prepped.
Carefully put the beef on the cooking rack in the air fryer, cook for 6 mins, then turn and cook for another 4-6 mins until crispy.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat and stir-fry the garlic, ginger, chilli, pepper and white ends of the spring onions for 2-3 mins until the pepper softens. Be careful not to burn the ginger and garlic. Add the vinegar, soy, sweet chilli sauce and tomato ketchup, mix well and cook for another minute until bubbling.
Tip the beef into the wok and toss through the sauce. Continue cooking for another minute until piping hot, then serve scattered with the spring onion greens and a little extra sauce on the side.
All-in-One Weekend Brunch
- 4 hash browns
- 4 tbsp milk
- 200g fresh spinach, washed
- 130g diced chorizo/ sausage of choice
- 130g bacon bits
- 160g Cheddar cheese, grated (I used dairy free cheese)
- 4 eggs
- Olive oil, for spraying
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Spray your dish with a little olive oil, then arrange slightly defrosted hash browns at the base of the dish and pour over the milk. Cover the potatoes with an even layer of spinach (I only used the spinach mixture on half of the dish so that the kids wouldn't complain I had dared to put greens in their breakfast!) Crack all four eggs on top then scatter over the chopped chorizo and bacon bits.
Lastly, top with your grated cheese of choice (my family mostly eat dairy free options now in our meals as I am dairy intolerant), then season generously with salt and pepper.
Transfer the dish to the air fryer and cook at 180°C for 10–15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes, until everything is cooked through and the cheese is bubbling. Serve hot.
Prep this for a family of four and a nice stack of toast for you to all dip into and it's a guaranteed winner for a slow, summer hols morning.
Popcorn Chicken Bites
Place pieces of chicken on parchment paper or baking sheet while you prep the assembly line of wet and dry ingredients.
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Preheat your air fryer basket for 5 minutes while prepping. Spray chicken with a little olive oil cooking spray, then dip chicken pieces into flour and shake off excess. Then dip into egg and milk mixture and into the bread crumbs packed with all your seasonings and extra crunchy bits of cornflakes. Cook the chicken for 10 minutes, flipping after 5. Total time will depend on the size of your bites.
Loaded Potato Skins
- 2-3 medium size potatoes
- Olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese (diary free alternatives work too)
- Salt and pepper
- Mixed herbs
- sausages/bacon chopped and cooked
- Chopped green onions
- Sour Cream
Half potatoes and scope out the potato flesh leaving a thick enough rim to hold toppings.
Place in the airfryer and spray with oil, then add all preferred toppings- I love to mix a little cheese into some potato flesh and put this in the skins first. Then top with bacon, sausage, half of the green onions and mixed herbs. Cook for 6-10 mins at 180 degrees.
Sprinkle more cheese on top and cook for a further 3-5 mins until cheese is fully melted. Serve with sour cream and a handful of leftover onions.
Banana Bread
- 1 banana- The riper the better
- 1 egg
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of your favorite oil (coconut oil works lovely for this recipe)
- Milk: I’ve tried the recipe with whole milk, 2 percent (semi-skimmed/hi lo) and almond. I think it would work with any kind of milk you like, including non dairy milks.
- All-purpose/Plain flour: Mix with 1/2 teapsoon baking soda, or just use self-raising flour. Other flours such as whole wheat work too (see below for more suggestions!).
Pre-heat your air fryer to 320F/160C and line a small baking dish or loaf pan with baking paper. Mash the banana well in a Pyrex jug or small baking bowl. I like to use a jug so that I can just pour the batter into my dish (with a little help from the fork I use to combine all the ingredients). No need for a spatula if you don’t want! With a fork, whisk in all the other ingredients (the egg, sugar, oil, pinch of salt and finally the flour and baking soda). Just until well combined – there can be some lumps.
Pour or scrape the batter into your small baking dish or loaf pan. Put the pan into your air fryer basket and bake for around 30 minutes. After this, check with a skewer or tooth pick that it’s done. If there’s still some raw batter, just turn it upside down and put back into the air fryer for an extra 5 minutes with the bottom facing up.
Brocolli & Cauliflower Bites
- 1 small head of broccoli, cut into small florets
- 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
- 100g plain flour
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 eggs
- 100g panko breadcrumbs
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Mango chutney or mint raita, to serve
Wash your broccoli and cauliflower florets and pat dry with some kitchen roll. Set up a production line: put your flour in a shallow bowl or on a plate and stir in the paprika. Gently beat the eggs in another shallow bowl and tip the panko breadcrumbs on to a plate. One at a time, dip your florets into the flour to coat fully, then into the beaten egg and finally give them a good covering of breadcrumbs.
Put the coated florets into the air fryer and set to 180ºC. Cook for 8–10 minutes, depending on size, until golden and crisp. Serve with a mango chutney or a creamy mint raita.
Egg Fried Rice
- 1-2 green onions
- 1 large egg
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup (210g) cooked rice
- 1 tbsp neutral-tasting oil
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- Furikake (or salad mix), to garnish
Thinly slice the green onions. Optionally, if you have leftover bacon, use it here. Beat the egg with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add rice, cooking oil, and oyster sauce. Mix together. Once the egg coats every single grain of rice, add the green onions and give it a final mix. Pour into a heatproof container. Cook at 180℃ (355℉) for 7 minutes. Give it a quick stir. Cook for another minute or two. Transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with furikake or any greens you like.
Two Ingredient Doughnuts
The two ingredient airfryer recipe was shared on TikTok by who is an ‘Ex-Pro Rugby Player that bakes’ and shares weekly indulgent dessert recipes. You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a dessert to make from his TikTok. He explains in the comments on the video that “greek style yoghurt gives it the right texture as it's a lot thicker” when asked if you could use natural yoghurt instead.
Just mix the two ingredients and need into a dough. Roll into a sausage shape then cut into 2cm sections and roll into balls. Cook at 190 for approx 12 minutes.
Nutella Lava Cake
1 large egg
nutella
1 tablepoon of flour
a splash of milk
a handful of chocolate chips
Firstly, add an egg to the Nutella and mix until smooth. Then add the flour and milk and again mix together.
Pour the mixture into a greased mini ramekin and now for the next bit, add even more Nutella. I added more Nutella than what the recipe said because you can never, ever have too much Nutella.
To finish, sprinkle chocolate chips and pop the dish into the air fryer for 8 minutes.
Pringles Mini Pizzas
- Pringles
- Tomato Puree
- Cheese
- Pepperoni
First you spread a dot of tomato puree on your Pringle, before covering in cheese and pepperoni. It definitely resembles a mini pizza at this stage.
Pop them into the airfryer at 180 degrees for 3-5 minutes and they’re all done.
Fish Tacos with Coleslaw
- Tortillas of choice
- Cabbage
- Lime
- Avocado
- Flaky white fish – halibut, cod, haddock or tilapia
- Seasonings
Preheat your air fryer and mix up your seasonings. Coat the fish in seasonings and place in air fryer basket. Air fry for 8-12 minutes until fish is flaky and opaque. While the fish cooks, mix up the coleslaw. And when the fish is about ready, heat up your tortillas on the stove in a small skillet. Plate your tacos and enjoy.
Turkey stuffed peppers
3 medium red bell peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces ground turkey
½ cup cooked rice
¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
¾ cup marinara sauce
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (1 oz.)
¼ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (1 oz.)
Coat the basket of an air fryer with cooking spray. Cut tops off peppers and rid of the seeds to set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned for about 4 minutes. Stir in rice and panko; cook, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in marinara, parsley, pepper and parmesan. Divide the mixture evenly among the prepared peppers.
Place the peppers in the prepared air-fryer basket. Nestle the pepper tops in the bottom of the basket. Cook at 180 until the peppers are tender for approx 8 minutes. Top with mozzarella and cook until the cheese is melted.
Salmon Fishcakes
Cooking spray
2 7.5-ounce cans unsalted pink salmon (with skin and bones)
1 large egg
½ cup whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
2 lemon wedges
Coat the basket of an air fryer with cooking spray.
Remove and discard any large bones and skin from salmon. Place the salmon in a medium bowl. Add egg, panko, dill, mayonnaise, mustard and pepper; stir gently until combined. Shape the mixture into 8 cm diameter cakes.
Coat the cakes with cooking spray and place them in the prepared basket. Cook at 200 degress until browned.