The 6 Best Things We Learned About Air Fryers in 2019
Air fryers are still relatively new in the grand scheme of kitchen gear. (Many of us are still wrapping our heads around how they work!) Which means there’s tons of room for experimenting and innovation — either from home cooks or manufacturers. We tinkered a lot this year, and these are some of the best things we learned.
1. Air fryer groceries go well beyond a bag of frozen fries.
What groceries come to mind when you think about cooking in your air fryer? A bag of frozen fries? Chicken nuggets? A bag of sweet potato fries if you’re feeling wild? There’s so much more! We “fried” up a bunch of groceries from the freezer section in attempts to expand our air fryer horizons — and we found 11 great winners.
Read more: The Top 11 Frozen Foods to Cook in Your Air Fryer
2. And that list includes Trader Joe’s orange chicken.
Trader Joe’s orange chicken has a bit of a cult following. People have loved it for years and, this year, we learned it’s EVEN BETTER if you make it in an air fryer.
Get the recipe: The Absolute Best Way to Prepare Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken
3. Some machines are better than others.
It feels like we went from having zero air fryers on the market to having a gazillion just overnight. How can you know which one is best? Earlier this year, we turned to one of our gear pros, who has tested nearly every air fryer on the market, and got her picks for the best ones.
Read more: I’ve Tested Nearly Every Air Fryer on the Market. These Are the 4 Best for Most Home Cooks.
4. Instant Pot came out with a ridiculously cool air fryer oven.
A few months after we ran that post from above, Instant Pot came out with an air fryer oven that’s an air fryer, a toaster oven, a rotisserie cooker, a dehydrator, and more. Of course, we had to get our hands on it and it try it. Spoiler alert: We love it!
Read more: I Tried the Instant Pot’s New Air Fryer Vortex Plus — Here’s How It Went
5. Air fryers can churn out crispy pork chops, chocolate chip cookies, and more.
In 12 short months, we perfected recipes for buttermilk fried chicken, crispy pork chops, gooey chocolate chip cookies, and so much more.
Get the recipes: 10 of Our Best Air Fryer Recipes
6. There are some really great air fryer cookbooks.
Still need more recipes? There are some great cookbooks to help you use your air fryer more and more.
Read more: These Are the Best Air Fryer Cookbooks for 2019