No need to heat up the oven to get dinner on the table. You can use an air fryer to make delicious and healthy main dishes your family will love, often in less time than in the oven. Here are 20 air fryer entrees you’ll want to try.
Are you ready to think about a whole new way to cook? This is not the start of an infomercial, I promise. But if you’ve been using your air fryer only to make sides or crisp up frozen foods, I’m about to change your world with 20 delicious air fryer entrees.
These are easy, from-scratch or semi-homemade main dishes you can cook in the air fryer instead of in the oven, grill, stovetop or deep fryer.
Whether you’re craving seafood, chicken, beef or pork, you can cook it in the air fryer, usually more healthfully and quicker than other methods.
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Do I Really Need an Air Fryer?
If you’re on the fence about getting an air fryer, take the leap. You won’t regret it. If you’re looking to streamline your time in the kitchen and also cut fat, I highly recommend getting an air fryer.
I can’t say it enough — the air fryer is one of my favorite kitchen appliance. We use our air fryer almost every day for cooking and crisping things that we would have previously cooked in the oven or toaster oven.
We just amped up our air fryer game, too, by purchasing the 5-in-1 Ninja Foodi Grill with a built-in air fryer. This gives us a larger capacity for air frying, which means we can make all kinds of things that we couldn’t in our smaller air fryer.
You can also get an air fryer lid for your Instant Pot if you don’t want to buy a separate appliance for air frying.
Air Fryer Recipes & Meals
Did you know you could cook all kinds of things in an air fryer? How about an entire meal from appetizers to desserts? You can even cook a Thanksgiving turkey in an air fryer!
Here are just a few air fryer recipes to try, in addition to the entree recipes included in this post:
- Weight Watchers Air Fryer Recipes
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Loaded Avocado Fries
- Air Fryer Fried Ravioli
- Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
- Air Fryer Desserts
- Air Fryer Appetizers
Each of these posts also includes tips for using an air fryer and answers some of readers’ most frequently asked questions about air fryers and this somewhat new cooking method.
Getting dinner on the table night after night can be a challenge. That’s why I share these meal and recipe roundups. I want to give you lots of easy options so dinner doesn’t stress you out or send you to the drive-through.
If you need help with menu planning, don’t forget to grab my subscriber-exclusive free printable recipe and menu planning binder.
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Air Fryer Entrees
As the recipes below prove, an air fryer isn’t just for fried foods. Because it’s essentially a convection oven on a smaller scale, you can also use your air fryer for baking and roasting. It’s one of the most versatile small kitchen appliances I’ve encountered.
Air Fryer Seafood Entrees
Juicy salmon, healthy fish tacos, flaky fried fish and crispy coconut shrimp are just a few of the seafood entrees you can make in the air fryer.
- Air Fried Salmon from Greedy Gourmet
- Air Fryer Honey Teriyaki Salmon from The Mama Maven
- Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp from Ottawa Mommy Club
- Low Carb Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp from Kimspired DIY
Fish Entrees Made In The Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Baja Fish Tacos from This Old Gal
- Air Fryer Tilapia Fish Recipe from Easy Cooking With Molly
- Air Fried Mahi Mahi Fish and Chips from Wanderlust and Wellness
- Air Fryer Healthy Fish Tacos from Food Hussy
Air Fryer Chicken Recipes
Did you know you could roast a whole chicken in your air fryer? Or use it to make chicken wings or a copycat version of your favorite Chinese takeout dish?
There are so many different ways to cook chicken using an air fryer. In addition to the recipes featured below, click for 20 more Air Fryer Chicken Recipes.
- Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Chicken from Wanderlust and Wellness
- Air Fryer Chicken Legs from Bless Her Heart Y’all
- Air Fryer Chicken Breast With Cornflake Crumbs from Courtney’s Sweets
- Scrumptious Air Fryer Roasted Whole Chicken from The Mama Maven
Easy Chicken Recipes In The Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken from Stef’s Eats and Sweets
- Air Fryer Chicken Thighs from Blackberry Babe
- Keto Air Fryer Chicken Tenders from Everyday Shortcuts
- Air Fryer Parmesan Ranch Chicken Tenders from Stef’s Eats and Sweets
Beef and Pork Entree Recipes
We love grilling out, but sometimes the weather isn’t right for firing up the barbecue. Did you know you can make steaks, burgers and grilled pork chops in an air fryer? (Our 5-in-1 Ninja Foodi Grill with an integrated air fryer is particularly good at this, producing juicy meats that look and taste like they were grilled outside.)
You’ll definitely want to try these beef and pork air fryer entrees.
- Air Fryer Burgers from Courtney’s Sweets
- Air Fryer Rib Eye Steak With Blue Cheese from This Old Gal
- Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon from Courtney’s Sweets
- Air Fryer Pork Chops Recipe from Whole Lotta Yum
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