The ultimate guide to air fryer vegetables. Want to air-fry veggies? You'll find the recipe and air fryer tips here.
👩🏻🍳 Why air fry vegetables?
There are a few good reasons why air-frying vegetables is a great idea.
- Quicker - faster than oven roasting
- Less oil - you can air fry with no oil or just a light spray of oil
- Crisps - the air fryer can crisp vegetables if you want it to, or you can steam the vegetables by adding some water to a dish under the veg
- Cheaper - cheaper to run than an oven and the vegetables cook quicker
🥦 Can you air fry frozen vegetables?
Both fresh and frozen vegetables can be cooked in an air fryer.
Frozen vegetables can be cooked from frozen in an air fryer, there's no need to defrost them first.
🥕 Do you have to add oil when air frying vegetables?
It's your choice whether you add oil when cooking vegetables in the air fryer.
You can air fry veg with no oil.
Alternatively, you can spray a little oil on the vegetables, which is the most common method.
For crispy vegetables, you can toss in oil and seasoning or spices, like you do when you roast veg in the oven.
It's a personal choice.
🥬 Are there any vegetables you can't air fry?
There aren't really any vegetables that can't be air fried, although some vegetables need to be kept an eye on when cooking.
Keep an eye on leaves like spinach and kale as they can burn quickly.
Also, keep an eye when cooking tenderstem broccoli as it can overcook and become bitter easily.
Love cooking veg in your air fryer? Try these Air Fryer Vegetable Bhajis.
⭐ Which type of air fryer is best?
Most people have air fryers with a drawer, but you can also buy air fryers with shelves.
They also come in different sizes, but this is more to do with how many people you are cooking for, so do take it into consideration.
I've used both the drawer and shelf-type air fryer and I have to say I prefer the shelves.
You can see in the glass door while food cooks and you can separate different foods on the different shelves.
It's easy to clean too. Just down the inside and pop the mesh shelves in the dishwasher or a basin of soapy water to wash,
You can also use any appropriately sized baking or oven dishes for recipes with cakes, bakes, puddings, stews and sauces.
You can tell I'm a big fan!
However, it is a personal choice and many people love the drawer-style air fryers.
Here is a guide to air fryers by the Good Housekeeping Institute. My air fryer (Tower 5 in 1) isn't on the list, but I highly recommend it.
💭 Air fryer tips
Before cooking vegetables in an air fryer, check out these tips.
- Don't overcrowd the shelf or basket - you want to lay vegetables or whatever you are cooking in a single layer with a bit of space between to allow the air to flow.
- Flip - flip food during cooking to allow both sides to cook evenly
- Line it - if you have a shelf-style air fryer, line the bottom tray with foil for easy clean-up. If you have a drawer-style fryer, you can buy paper inserts.
- Steam - you can steam food in the air fyer, by placing a dish of water under food cooking on a shelf.
- Remember it's quick - an air fryer cooks faster than the oven so remember to reduce the cook time and keep an eye on cooking food.
- Preheat - like an oven, you can preheat an air fryer.
- Hot at the top - remember the top of the air fryer is hotter, so be aware of positioning. You may need to rotate layers of food on different shelves.
Check out my vegan air fryer recipes in my recipe index for more ideas from meals and snacks to cakes and bakes including these crispy Italian chickpeas.
📋 Air fryer vegetable recipes
Scroll down to find easy air fryer recipes with nearly every vegetable you can think of. Click on the title or 'get the recipe' button for the recipe.
Remember to bookmark this page for later.
1. Baked Sweet Potatoes
2. Onion Rings
3. Squash
4. Broccoli & Cauliflower
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5. Brussels Sprouts (from frozen)
6. Okra (from frozen)
7. Roast Potatoes
8. Cauliflower 'Steaks'
9. Aubergine (eggplant)
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10. Spinach
11. Carrot Fries
12. Courgette
(zucchini)13. Kale Chips
14. Beets
15. Butternut Squash
16. Corn 'Ribs'
17. Tenderstem Broccoli (broccolini)
18. Spaghetti Squash
It’s a delicious, nutritious low calorie low carb pasta substitution that goes with any pasta sauce and so much more!
19. Mushrooms
20. Green Beans
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21. Sweet Potato Fries
22. Asparagus
23. Potato Wedges
24. Corn on the Cob
25. Artichoke
26. Turnip (Swede) Fries
27. Peppers & Onions
28. Beetroot Crisps (chips)
29. Onions
30. Parsnips
31. Tomatoes
Thanks to all the blogs who gave me permission to use a photo and link to their gorgeous recipes.
I hope you leave with lots of inspiration.
Sam Burton
Perfect! This is just what I need as I just bought an air fryer.
Jacqueline Meldrum
That is definitely perfect timing then Sam and you are going to love your air fryer. I use mine all the time.
Jill
Oh where to start? So many recipes. Brilliant!
Jacqueline Meldrum
Haha yes lots and lots of vegetable recipes. You won't be stuck for ideas.
Liz
What a great compilation! I am definitely bookmarking this! I am especially excited to try those tomatoes 😍
Jacqueline Meldrum
Oh yes, the tomatoes do look particularly good.
Gunjan
This is an amazing round up. Thank you for including my recipe in your wonderful blog post.
Jacqueline Meldrum
You are so welcome and yes lots of fabulous recipes.
Angela
I am looking forward to working my way through all of these recipes. I appreciate all the great information at the top!
Jacqueline Meldrum
Enjoy all the recipes Angela.
Angela
Hi,
You recommended a “Tower 5 in 1” air fryer. What brand name is yours?
Jacqueline Meldrum
I have the Tower air fryer.
Meenakshi
This is an absolute guide for somebody like me who is just starting with an air fryer. Thanks for sharing!
Jacqueline Meldrum
You are so welcome. I hope it's really helpful.