The 75 Best Healthy Recipes for Your Air Fryer

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The 75 Best Healthy Recipes for Your Air Fryer - The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook

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INTRODUCTION

Yes! You finally bought an air fryer! Perhaps you don’t know what to make with it or exactly how to use it. Not to worry. Be prepared to become an air fryer aficionado!

If it weren’t for the constant emails from Skinnytaste fans asking me for air fryer recipes, I probably wouldn’t have discovered what all the fuss was about. I resisted buying an air fryer for quite a while because I really didn’t want another gadget or cooking appliance taking up space in my kitchen. My thought was, What can the air fryer do that I can’t do with my oven? I admit I was skeptical. The first recipe I tested was my Buttermilk Oven “Fried” Chicken from my first cookbook, The Skinnytaste Cookbook. The recipe came out perfectly crispy—golden chicken that was juicy and perfectly cooked on the inside—and in half the time it would have taken in the oven. I was amazed.

I started testing all my fried favorites—french fries, chicken wings, onion rings, breaded chicken cutlets. I was really impressed! Food came out so much crispier than I could achieve in my oven. And many times, I even had my husband fooled that it wasn’t fried. Needless to say, I was a convert.

Suddenly it became a fun challenge trying everything I could think of in my new appliance. Roasted vegetables won me over. Charred string beans, roasted Brussels sprouts, and crisp cauliflower came out perfectly browned—exactly the way I love them. Then I started playing around with salmon, lamb chops, burgers, bagels, and even pizza. I was hooked! There are so many positives: The air fryer takes only three minutes to preheat, doesn’t heat up the kitchen, is safer and healthier than deep frying, and doesn’t smoke up the whole house.

This easy, useful kitchen appliance has now replaced my oven on most weekdays and -nights, whether I’m whipping up a side dish, heating up leftovers, or making supper. In fact, I love it so much that I decided to brand my own and create my first product: the Skinnytaste by Vremi Air Fryer. You may be overwhelmed with the options of air fryer models available on the market, from basket-style (like mine), to toaster oven–style (such as the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven or the Breville Smart Oven Air). The good news: All the recipes in this book will work for any model. I’ve included directions for both styles, and I’ve added cook times for a conventional oven for those of you who have no desire to purchase an air fryer (see chart on page 155).

There’s plenty of air fryer cookbooks out there, but they’re not necessarily healthy or light, so I knew a Skinnytaste air fryer cookbook had to be written. Each recipe includes nutrition information as well as a recipe key labeling recipes that are at or under thirty minutes in cook time, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, ketofriendly, and freezer-friendly.

I hope this book and an air fryer itself will inspire you in the kitchen. Have fun with the appliance, and be prepared to fall in love. I guarantee you’ll find ways to use it in everyday cooking.

Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dip
Be prepared to get your fingers messy! Not only are these Buffalo wings flavorful, but they’ll also save you a ton of calories (thanks to the air fryer) compared with your average deep-fried, greasy, restaurant version. The simple, cooling blue cheese dip is made with Greek yogurt and is also perfect for dipping celery and carrot sticks.

Ingredients
12 pieces (26 ounces) chicken wing portions (a mix of drumettes and wingettes)
6 tablespoons Frank’s RedHot sauce
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Blue Cheese Dip
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup 2% Greek yogurt
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

2 celery stalks, halved crosswise and cut into 8 sticks total
2 medium carrots, peeled, halved crosswise and cut into 8 sticks total

1. In a large bowl, combine the chicken with 1 tablespoon of the hot sauce, the vinegar, oregano, garlic powder, and salt, tossing to coat well.

2. For the blue cheese dip: In a small bowl, mash the blue cheese and yogurt together with a fork. Stir in the lemon juice and vinegar until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.

4. Working in batches, arrange a single layer of the chicken in the air fryer basket. Cook for 22 minutes, flipping halfway, until crispy, browned, and cooked through. (For a toaster oven–style air fryer, the temperature remains the same; cook for 15 to 16 minutes.) Transfer to a large clean bowl (do not use the bowl the marinade was in). When all the batches are done, return all the chicken to the air fryer and cook for 1 minute to heat through.

5. Return the chicken to the bowl and toss with the remaining 5 tablespoons hot sauce to coat. Arrange on a platter and serve with the celery, carrot sticks, and blue cheese dip.

Skinny Scoop
To prep the wings ahead of time, you can marinate the chicken and make the dip the night before.

Per Serving: 3 pieces chicken + 2 carrot sticks + 2 celery sticks + 2 tablespoons dip • calories 256 • fat 16.5 g • saturated fat 6 g • cholesterol 226 mg • carbohydrate 5 g • fiber 1.5 g • protein 23 g • sugars 3 g • sodium 1,120 mg.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Gina Homolka comes the must-have air fryer cookbook, featuring 75 quick and easy recipes that deliver on Skinnytaste’s signature “light on calories, big on flavor” promise.

Gina Homolka is beloved for her incredible recipes that transform your favorite, comforting foods into healthy, low-cal dishes with tons of flavor. Now she brings her expertise to the game-changing air fryer appliance. Using high-powered, super-hot circulating air like a convection oven, air fryers crisp up your favorite "fried" foods with barely any oil needed. Cook times are shorter than traditional oven methods and the process requires little clean-up.

In The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook, Gina shares 75 of her best recipes that work in every type of air fryer, including basket models and countertop ovens with air fryer settings. You'll of course find crave-worthy recipes for traditionally fried foods, such as Chicken-Vegetable Spring Rolls, Crispy Coconut Shrimp, Za’atar Chickpeas, and Pickle-Brined Chicken Tenders, but Gina also shows you how versatile the appliance can be. Perfectly roasted meats and vegetables like Korean Pork Lettuce Wraps, Roasted Fish with Lemon-Almond Crumbs, Sugar and Spice Acorn Squash, and Charred Sesame Green Beans, along with baked goods like Homemade Bagels and Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing, are all executed beautifully in the compact air fryer.

For those of us with a sweet tooth, The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook even offers low-cal desserts, including Churros, Very Berry Mini Pie, and Baked Apples with Streusel Topping. Many dishes are vegetarian, gluten-free, and keto-friendly—all called out with helpful icons—and every recipe includes nutritional information (with the most up-to-date Weight Watchers points found on the blog).

About the Author

GINA HOMOLKA is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Skinnytaste Cookbook, Skinnytaste Fast and Slow, and Skinnytaste One and Done, and the founder of Skinnytaste, the award-winning blog. She lives on Long Island with her husband and their two children.