Air Fryer Dinner Ideas — 15 Crispy, Quick Recipes

An air fryer is essentially a small convection oven with concentrated airflow directed at the food from directly above. This means food heats faster, the surface moisture evaporates more quickly, and the exterior crisps while the interior stays moist. For coated foods — chicken wings, breadcrumbed cutlets, anything with a crust — the result is dramatically better than a standard oven.

Temperature and time need calibrating for air fryer cooking. Most air fryers run hotter than their dial suggests, and the smaller cooking environment means food can go from perfectly done to overdone in a couple of minutes. The recipe pages include air fryer-specific notes with this in mind, including guidance on what to watch for if your model runs hot.

Chicken is where the air fryer genuinely excels. Wings, thighs, breasts, and drumsticks all come out with crispier skin in an air fryer than in a conventional oven — the circulating heat renders the fat quickly and dries the surface without requiring a prolonged cook time. The one technique that dramatically improves air fryer chicken is patting it completely dry before seasoning, and adding a very small amount of baking powder to the coating for wings.

The recipes below cover the most popular formats — wings, BBQ thighs, and parmesan-crusted breasts — with full air fryer timing and temperature guidance.

Crispy baked chicken wings are the definitive air fryer recipe for a reason — the result is genuinely difficult to distinguish from deep-fried wings without a fraction of the oil. The baking powder technique draws surface moisture out of the skin before cooking, creating the dry exterior that crisps instead of steams. Sauce them after cooking to keep the crunch.

Great for: a quick weeknight dinner, game day snacks, anyone who wants proper crispy wings at home without a deep fryer.

BBQ chicken thighs in the air fryer cook in 20 to 22 minutes and come out with caramelised, sticky skin that's hard to achieve consistently in a standard oven. Apply the BBQ sauce in the last 5 minutes of cooking rather than from the start — this prevents the sugars in the sauce from burning before the chicken is cooked through.

Great for: a fast weeknight dinner, cooking for 2 to 4 people, a reliable chicken recipe that works every time.

Keto chicken parmesan in the air fryer produces a genuinely crispy almond flour and parmesan crust without the oil required for pan-frying. The air fryer environment is ideal for this recipe — the concentrated heat sets the crust quickly while the chicken stays moist. Add the marinara and mozzarella topping in the last 3 minutes to melt rather than burn.

Great for: low-carb eating, a quick dinner that feels like a restaurant dish, anyone who wants chicken parmesan without the heaviness of the breadcrumb version.

Meatballs in the air fryer cook in 12 to 14 minutes and come out with a properly browned exterior — no oven preheating, no turning every few minutes in a pan. The keto version uses almond flour as a binder and pairs with spiralised courgette noodles rather than pasta, but the meatball technique works for any mince-based version.

Great for: a quick low-carb dinner, batch cooking meatballs to freeze, a pasta-free alternative that's genuinely satisfying.

Traditional fried chicken can be done in an air fryer with significantly less oil than deep-frying while retaining most of the crunch. The marinade and coating are the same — buttermilk soak, seasoned flour — but the cooking time and method differ. The recipe includes specific air fryer notes on temperature, timing, and how to handle batches if your basket isn't large enough.

Great for: fried chicken without the deep fryer, a family dinner that pleases everyone, batch cooking pieces for the week.

The air fryer isn't just for meat. Roasted vegetables come out with concentrated flavour and caramelised edges in half the time a regular oven would take. Stuffed vegetables — courgette, peppers, tomatoes — benefit particularly from the air fryer because the filling heats through while the vegetable shell stays intact.

Zucchini boats with meat sauce are one of the best lighter air fryer dinner options — the courgette cooks through and the meat filling stays moist and flavourful without drying out in the intense heat.

Zucchini boats in the air fryer cook in about 15 minutes, compared to 25 to 30 minutes in an oven. The direct heat from above melts the cheese on top while the courgette below stays tender. This is a good weeknight dinner option for anyone looking for lower-carb meals that are still filling and flavourful.

Great for: a quick low-carb dinner, using courgette when it's in season, a lighter alternative to pasta-based mince dishes.