The oilless fryer or hot air fryer is the fashionable appliance. Its manufacturers promise results that are practically identical to traditional frying, but with the minimum of fat and without all the inconvenience that it entails.
With the rise of healthy and light and simple cooking, it’s no wonder air fryers have been so successful. But the truth is that, more than an instrument intended to replace frying in oil, its virtue lies in operate as an oven, but using less energy, since it does not require preheating, and with somewhat different applications.
Surely an oil-free fryer can be used to make some good fries, but we would be wrong to limit its use to these. In all the time since we tested our first oil-free fryer, over a year ago, I have discovered a multitude of interesting applications.
Of course, dishes that simulate frying can be made with less fat, but it is also the ideal instrument to make a crispy chicken on the outside and juicy on the inside and many kinds of vegetables.
These are the best recipes for fryer without oil that we have published in Direct to the Palate, but no doubt many more will come in the future.
1. Chicken wings
This recipe can be made with as many wings as will fit on the surface of the tray of your fryer without oil. Now, they can only occupy one layer. In no case can they be superimposed or we will not make them crunchy. This greatly limits the amount of wings we can make, which in many cases will not exceed three or four.
If the wings are not split, split them in two halves. Place them in a bowl and season with sweet or hot paprika, a few turns of freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of salt and granulated garlic to taste. Make sure the wings are well coated with spices on all sides.
Arrange the wings in the fryer pan without oil without overlapping, and program it at 180º C for 15 minutes. After this time, cook them at 200º for 5 minutes. Remove the wings with the help of tweezers (taking care that they do not come into contact with the fat that will remain at the bottom) and serve immediately.
Link to the recipe | Chicken wings in deep fryer without oil
2. Pasta chips
Ingredients for 4 people: 500 g of dry short pasta, parmesan or grana padano cheese, salt, ground black pepper, granulated garlic, chili flakes or hot paprika, dried oregano, olive oil.
Elaboration: First of all, we must cook our favorite short pasta leaving it somewhat soft, around a minute above the time indicated on the package. We have used rigatoni. After the cooking time, we drain the pasta and put it in a large bowl, where we are going to mix it with the rest of the ingredients. We pour a good jet of olive oil and season the pasta to our liking. We have put Parmesan cheese, oregano, garlic powder, pepper, salt and a little chili powder, but you can add any spice you like. We stir everything well. After seasoning the pasta, we place it in the fryer tray without oil and cook it for 10 minutes at 200º C. During this time, we must stir the pasta two or three times, so that it cooks evenly. We then check that the pasta has the right texture, it should be tasty and very crunchy, with a uniform golden color, slightly toasted. Depending on the capacity of the oil-free fryer and the amount of pasta you make, you may have to cook it for a longer time. We reserve the pasta at least 5 minutes before serving, otherwise, in addition to burning, it can have a chewy texture.
Link to the recipe | Pasta Chips con queso: Recipe for the oil-free fryer snack that triumphs on TikTok
3. French fries
Ingredients: potatoes, olive oil, salt, black pepper, water.
Elaboration: Peel and cut the potatoes into small sticks about a centimeter wide. Soak the potatoes in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes. After this time, drain them well and dry them with kitchen paper or a clean cloth. Put the potatoes in the fryer basket without oil and cook them, first, at 120º C, for 10 minutes. After this time, remove the basket, season the potatoes and add a few drops of olive oil (or a hit of oil spray). Raise the fryer to 180ºC and cook, stirring the potatoes every 5 minutes so that they brown evenly. You should remove the potatoes when they are well browned on all sides, but the time increases if you add more or less potatoes. They will be ready after 15 to 25 minutes.
Link to the recipe | French fries in deep fryer without oil
4. Battered fish
Ingredients for 4 people: 600 g of white fish without bones or skin (cod, hake, sea bass …), 3 tablespoons of wheat flour, 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons of water, hot sauce to taste, 100 g of panko, olive oil, salt, ground black pepper.
Elaboration: First, we clean the fish well, removing any skin and bones it may have, and cut it into large pieces. We season it well all over. If it is desalted cod, it is better not to add more salt. In three deep plates, we prepare the three layers through which the fish is going to pass. In the first, we mix the wheat flour, corn flour, garlic powder, paprika and a little freshly ground black pepper. In the second, we beat the two eggs and add the two tablespoons of water and a couple of squirts of a spicy sauce, like Tabasco, if we like. In the third plate we put the panko. Piece by piece, we pass the fish through the flour, the egg and, at the end, the panko, which we can press so that it is well adhered to the fish. We are placing the pieces on the hot air fryer tray, without sticking or overlapping. Depending on the size of your appliance, the amounts in this recipe have to be cooked in two, three, or even four batches. We put a few drops of oil on the fish (ideal for this recipe if we have olive oil in spray) and cook it at 200º C for 5 minutes. After this time, being careful not to break the batter, we turn the pieces over, and cook them for another 5 minutes at the same temperature. After this time they will be perfectly golden and ready to eat.
Link to the recipe | Cod battered in deep fryer without oil
Cecotec Cecofry Deluxe Rapid Black Hot Air Oil Free Fryer. 1400 W, Diet, 2.5 liter capacity, 8 Modes, Temperature up to 200ºC, Dishwasher safe basket and rack
5. Wild asparagus with ham
Ingredients: wild asparagus, serrano ham.
Elaboration: We do not put exact amounts in this recipe, as it can be made with the asparagus you want. Simply, we must cut the lower part of the asparagus, which is harder, and wrap each one in a slice of Serrano ham. Once wrapped, we arrange them in the fryer tray without oil, without overlapping. They will fit more or less depending on the size of the appliance. We cook them for 5 minutes at 180º C and they are ready to serve.
Link to the recipe | Wild asparagus with ham in a deep fryer without oil
6. Breaded chicken breasts
Ingredients for 2 people: 2 chicken breasts, 100 g of panko, 1 egg, 20 g of Parmesan or grana padano cheese, 2 tablespoons of lemon zest, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, dried chili or ground cayenne pepper to taste, salt, ground black pepper , 100 g of wheat flour, olive oil.
Elaboration: First, prepare in three separate bowls the beaten egg, the wheat flour and, in the last, the panko, mixed with the grated Parmesan cheese, the oregano, the cayenne pepper or ground chili to taste, the zest lemon, salt and pepper. When the batter components are ready, pass the breast, in this order, through the flour, the beaten egg and the panko with the spices. You should never fillet it, as it would be very dry. Place it on the tray of the appliance. Depending on the size of your oil-free fryer, there will likely only fit one breast per batch (they cannot overlap). Add a few drops of olive oil (ideal if you have a spray) and cook it on one side at 190º C for 10 minutes. After this time, turn the breast, and cook it for 8 minutes. After this time, the breast will be perfectly golden and crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
Link to the recipe | Chicken breasts breaded in deep fryer without oil
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