Air fryers reward two habits: dry food and room to breathe. Pat everything dry, keep it in one layer, shake or flip halfway, and check meat with a thermometer. The recipes below are built on those rules, and the chart gives starting times for 30 common foods.
Extra-Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Baking powder and a two-stage temperature give air fryer wings a dry, crackly skin without deep frying.
10 min prep
27 min cook
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 lb chicken wings, split into flats and drumettes
Optional Buffalo sauce: ⅓ cup hot sauce whisked with 3 tbsp melted butter
Steps
Dry. Pat the wings very dry with paper towels. For the crispiest skin, leave them uncovered on a rack in the fridge for 1 to 8 hours.
Season. Toss the wings with the baking powder, salt, garlic powder, paprika and pepper until lightly and evenly coated.
Arrange. Lay them in a single layer with space between pieces. Cook in batches rather than stacking.
First cook. Air fry at 380°F for 20 minutes, flipping at the 10-minute mark.
Crisp. Raise the heat to 400°F and cook 5 to 7 minutes more, until deep golden and the thickest drumette reads at least 165°F. Wings are more tender at 175°F to 185°F.
Sauce. Toss with the sauce right before serving so the skin stays crisp.
Which fryer for wings? A wide basket helps most. Typhur says the Dome 2 fits up to 32 wings in one layer, and the Ninja DZ550 can split a big batch across both drawers.
Buttermilk Air Fryer “Fried” Chicken
Buttermilk-brined, flour-dredged bone-in chicken with a crunchy crust, cooked with a light coat of oil instead of a pot of it.
20 min prep
26 min cook
Serves 4
Plus 2 hr+ brining
Ingredients
2½ lb bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
1 cup buttermilk
1½ tsp kosher salt, divided
1 tsp hot sauce
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp black pepper
Neutral oil (avocado or canola) in a mister or brush
Steps
Brine. Stir the buttermilk, 1 tsp salt and the hot sauce together. Add the chicken, cover and refrigerate 2 to 12 hours.
Mix the coating. Whisk the flour, baking powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and the remaining ½ tsp salt in a shallow dish.
Dredge. Lift each piece from the buttermilk, let the excess drip off, then press it firmly into the flour. Rest on a rack for 10 minutes so the coating sets.
Load. Preheat to 375°F if your model has a preheat. Oil the basket lightly, add the chicken skin side up in one layer with space between pieces, and mist the tops until no dry flour shows.
Cook. Air fry 12 minutes. Flip, mist any dry spots, and cook 10 to 14 minutes more, until golden and the thickest piece reads 175°F (165°F is the safe minimum).
Rest. Rest 5 minutes before serving so the juices settle.
Many manuals warn that aerosol cooking sprays can build up on nonstick coatings, so a refillable oil mister or a brush is the safer choice.
Air fryer cooking times chart
Starting points for a 5 to 6-quart basket fryer with food in a single layer. Smaller fryers often run faster (Instant suggests trimming package times by 15 to 20 percent on its 2-quart Mini), and air fryer ovens run slower. Always finish by temperature, not the clock.
30 foods: temperature, time and when it’s done
Food
Temperature
Time
Done when / tip
Frozen foods
French fries, thin
400°F
12–16 min
Shake twice
French fries, thick or steak-cut
400°F
16–20 min
Shake twice
Tater tots
400°F
10–14 min
Shake once
Chicken nuggets
400°F
8–12 min
Flip halfway
Fish sticks
400°F
8–10 min
Flip halfway
Mozzarella sticks
390°F
6–8 min
Stop as soon as one starts to leak
Pizza rolls
380°F
6–8 min
Shake once
Chicken
Wings, raw
380°F, then 400°F
20 + 5–7 min
165°F minimum; 175–185°F for tender wings
Thighs, bone-in
380°F
22–25 min
165°F minimum; 175°F is more tender
Breast, boneless (6–8 oz)
375°F
14–18 min
165°F
Tenders, breaded
400°F
10–12 min
165°F
Drumsticks
380°F
22–26 min
165°F minimum; 175°F+ is better
Whole chicken (4 lb)
360°F
50–60 min
165°F in the thickest part; turn halfway
Meat and seafood
Burgers (¼ lb)
375°F
8–12 min
160°F
Pork chops, 1 in boneless
380°F
10–14 min
145°F, then rest 3 min
Steak, 1 in
400°F
8–12 min
USDA minimum 145°F, then rest 3 min
Bacon
350°F
8–12 min
Single layer; drain fat between batches
Salmon fillet (6 oz)
390°F
7–10 min
145°F
Shrimp, large raw
400°F
6–8 min
Opaque all the way through
Precooked sausages or hot dogs
400°F
4–6 min
Hot through, 165°F
Vegetables
Brussels sprouts, halved
375°F
15–18 min
Shake twice
Broccoli florets
375°F
8–12 min
Toss with a little oil first
Cauliflower florets
380°F
12–15 min
Shake once
Asparagus
400°F
6–9 min
Thin spears finish fast
Sweet potato cubes (¾ in)
400°F
15–20 min
Shake twice
Baked potato, medium
400°F
35–45 min
Fork-tender in the center
Corn on the cob
380°F
10–12 min
Turn halfway
Leftovers and extras
Leftover pizza
350°F
3–5 min
Reheat leftovers to 165°F
Eggs in the shell (hard-cooked)
270°F
15–17 min
Straight into ice water
Crispy chickpeas (well dried)
390°F
12–15 min
Shake every 5 minutes
Safe minimum internal temperatures from FoodSafety.gov: 165°F for poultry and leftovers, 160°F for ground meat, 145°F for fish and for beef, pork and lamb steaks, chops and roasts (with a 3-minute rest).
Six easy wins for your first week
Fresh-cut fries
Cut 2 russet potatoes into ¼-inch sticks, soak in cold water for 30 minutes, then dry them thoroughly. Toss with 1 tablespoon of oil and air fry at 380°F for 18 to 22 minutes, shaking twice. Salt them the moment they come out.
Lemon-garlic salmon
Brush 6-ounce fillets with oil, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and air fry at 390°F for 7 to 10 minutes, to 145°F. Finish with lemon.
Crispy Brussels sprouts
Halve them, toss with 1 tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt, and cook at 375°F for 15 to 18 minutes, shaking twice. A drizzle of balsamic or honey at the end is worth it.
Weeknight chicken thighs
Season bone-in, skin-on thighs with salt and paprika. Cook skin side up at 380°F for 22 to 25 minutes, to 175°F, for crackly skin and juicy meat.
Crunchy chickpeas
Drain and dry a can of chickpeas well, toss with 1 teaspoon of oil and your favorite spice blend, and cook at 390°F for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking every 5 minutes.
Leftover pizza that isn’t soggy
Three to five minutes at 350°F brings back a crisp crust in a way a microwave can’t.
Five rules for better air fryer food
Dry it first
Surface moisture turns into steam, and steam fights crisping. Paper towels are the cheapest upgrade you can make.
One layer, with gaps
Hot air has to reach every side. Two smaller batches beat one crowded one.
A little oil, applied well
Fresh vegetables and breaded foods need a light coat; most frozen foods already have enough. Use a mister or a brush rather than aerosol spray.
Shake or flip halfway
Even the best fryers brown the top faster. The auto-pause on most baskets makes this a five-second job.
Trust a thermometer
Times vary by fryer and by how full it is. A $15 instant-read thermometer settles every “is it done?” question.
Six ways to make air fryer wings, ranked
LifebyMikeG tests six popular wing methods side by side. Useful if you want to see how baking powder compares with other tricks.
Wings or fresh-cut fries. Both show what the machine does well, and both forgive small timing mistakes. Run the empty test cycle your manual recommends before the first batch.
How do you make air fryer wings crispy?
Dry them well, toss with a little baking powder and salt, cook in a single layer at 380°F for 20 minutes, then finish at 400°F for 5 to 7 minutes. Sauce them only at the end.
Do you need to flip chicken in an air fryer?
Yes. Flipping halfway browns both sides evenly, because the top of the food gets more direct heat than the bottom.
What temperature should I use in an air fryer?
375°F to 400°F covers most foods. Use around 350°F for bacon and reheating, about 320°F for small cookies, and 270°F for eggs in the shell.
Can you cook raw chicken in an air fryer?
Yes. Cook it to at least 165°F at the thickest point, checked with a thermometer. Thighs and drumsticks are more tender at 175°F or higher.
Do I need oil in an air fryer?
Not always. Frozen foods usually have enough already. Fresh vegetables, potatoes and breaded foods crisp better with a light coat applied by brush or mister.
Hi, I’m Dana Keller, and I run The Best Air Fryer by myself — no team behind a curtain, and nobody paying to be called “best.” I’m a home cook, not a test lab, so I lean on the people who are labs: America’s Test Kitchen, RTINGS, Consumer Reports, Tom’s Guide and a handful of others. Add in the manufacturers’ own spec sheets and a small mountain of owner reviews, and that’s how these picks get made. Anywhere a claim isn’t my own, I link to whoever said it first. For recipes, every temperature and time here is a starting point; your fryer and your thermometer get the final say.
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