22 Cheap Air Fryer Recipes For Busy Parents

Are you looking for cheap air fryer recipes that are easy and delicious? Then, you’ve come to the right place!

As a frugal mom, I am always on the lookout for delicious family meals that are cheap and easy to make. Food is one area in our spending that I can easily control with a good meal plan. It is why I often make lists of frugal meals–whether for regular days, breakfast, busy days, or special occasions such as Christmas and Thanksgiving.

It’s nice to have these lists of frugal meals handy for when I need them and when creating my weekly meal plan.

So, if you’re a fan of your air fryer and are looking for cheap and easy air fryer recipes, below are some great ideas for you from my favorite food bloggers. Just click on the link under the picture to get the full recipe!

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Best Cheap Air Fryer Recipes

Source: Everyday Cooking Family

One of the best air fryer meals you can make is chicken wings! I love how the air fryer makes wings juicy inside but crispy outside. Since you don’t use oil to fry the wings, the air fryer version tends to be healthier. To take it up a notch, mix the air fryer wings with buffalo sauce, and it’s a meal no one can resist!

2. Air Fryer Pizza

Source: Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons

Air fryer pizzas are some of the easiest air fryer recipes you can make and cook in a jiffy! You can make mini pizzas by putting the usual pizza toppings on smaller-sized doughs (pepperoni, shredded cheese, bell pepper, pizza sauce, the works) and cooking them in the air fryer for less than five minutes. This way, you could have pizza night any night you want!

3. Air Fryer Mashed Potatoes

Source: Fork To Spoon

Mashed potatoes are heavenly filling side dishes that complement almost any main dish. You can easily make mashed potatoes in your air fryer by wrapping potatoes in foil and cooking them in the air fryer for 25 minutes. Once that’s done, you mash the potatoes, mix in butter, salt and pepper, and cream cheese.

4. Air Fryer Chicken Fried Rice

Source: Mommy Hates Cooking

This stands as a complete meal all by itself, so it makes a filling dinner. You’ll need some cooked chicken breasts, cooked rice, celery, onion, carrots and soy sauce. Put them in the air fryer basket, spray them with some coconut oil, and cook for five minutes. Stir them up with some more cooking oil, and cook for another five minutes. Yes, it’s that quick and easy, so give it a try tonight!

5. Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes

Source: The Almond Eater

If you’re looking for a healthy side dish, you can try air-frying sweet potatoes. Air-fried sweet potatoes are one of the cheapest and easiest air fryer recipes you can make. Crunchy on the outside and juicy inside, these air fryer sweet potatoes are so easy to make. You just need to season your diced sweet potatoes with chili powder, salt, and pepper and coat them with a couple of sprays of olive oil. This air fryer will turn out to be a big hit among your friends and family.

6. Air Fryer Asparagus

Source: Evolving Table

When it comes to veggies, I think air fryer asparagus is one of the best air fryer recipes you can make. I love that this air fryer recipe is so easy to prepare. Just coat asparagus with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and it’s all set. Air fry the coated asparagus for around 6-9 minutes, then top with grated parmesan cheese before serving.

7. Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Source: Easy Chicken Recipes

Air-frying chicken tenders is also a great way to enjoy fried chicken without going through the deep frying process. This proves to be a healthier method as an air fryer requires zero to minimal oil. Now for the chicken tenders, coat them with beaten egg and breadcrumbs before putting them into the air fryer basket. This chicken recipe is one of the tasty air fryer recipes that’s sure to appeal to kids and adults alike!

8. Air Fryer French Fries

Source: The Kitchen Magpie

French fries are a favorite air fryer recipe of many people. Traditionally, french fries are deep-fried food, but with an air fryer, you get the same tasty and crunchy results without the oil! You don’t need to thaw the frozen fries before putting them in the air fryer. For best results, cook french fries until golden brown and dip them in sour cream sauce or a mixture of mayo and ketchup plus some hot sauce.

9. Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

Source: Persnickety Plates

You can also make heavenly soft, fluffy, and tasty baked potatoes in your air fryer! Baked potatoes are so easy to make and come out of the air fryer looking delicious. Just rub each potato with olive oil, season with salt, and bake in your air fryer for 35 minutes. Slice the baked potato and add toppings like butter, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, chives, and bacon bits.

10. Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Source: Krazy Kitchen Mom

Did you know that you can cook vegetables in the air fryer? And one of the easiest air fryer recipes you can make is these air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites! Even kids won’t be able to resist these yummy bite-sized golden brown cauliflower tossed in delicious buffalo sauce (BBQ sauce works well, too!) If you want a healthier alternative for fried chicken, you can try making this dish and it’s sure to be a hit on the dinner table.

11. Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Source: Kristine’s Kitchen Blog

One of the best ways to enjoy brussels sprouts is to air fry them. Yes, you get air-fried brussels sprouts done to a crispy perfection thanks to the mighty air fryer. This easy air fryer recipe calls for olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. It’s also good to serve the still-hot brussels sprouts with grated parmesan cheese for extra flavor! This delicious recipe is great to pair with baked chicken breasts or air-fried pork chops!

12. Air Fryer Pork Chops

Source: Simply Homecooked

Tired of deep-fried pork chops? Cook them in the air fryer! It’s one of the most delicious recipes I swear by! Air-fried pork chops are so easy to make and require only a few ingredients. If you like them extra crispy on the outside, consider breading them with panko before air frying them. The result is super tender meat on the inside and crunchy outside. Air fryer fried pork chops pair well with air fryer baked potatoes, air fryer asparagus, or salad of your choice.

13. Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers

Source: Everyday Family Cooking

When making these fryer stuffed peppers, you can cook dinner in under 40 minutes. Simply bake halved peppers in the air fryer while you cook ground beef and rice on the stove. Fill the peppers with the beef mixture, top with shredded cheese and bake until golden brown. This easy air fryer recipe is incredibly delicious and healthy; you’ll find yourself making them more frequently!

14. Air Fryer Arancini Rice Balls

Source: Sweet C’s Designs

Arancini balls are a classic Italian dish that is usually deep-fried. It’s like breaded fried rice and cheese cooked until golden brown with gooey cheese inside. Once you stuff the mashed rice ball with mozzarella cheese, lightly coat each ball with cooking spray and cook in the air fryer. This easy air fryer recipe is best served with some marinara sauce.

15. Air Fryer Butternut Squash

Source: The Food Blog

Air fryer butternut squash is a delicious and healthy recipe you can make quickly. Just toss diced butternut squash into a mixture of olive oil, maple syrup or brown sugar, cinnamon, and paprika, then air fry for 15 minutes. It should come out caramelized, tender, and super yummy.

16. Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos

Source: Cupcakes and Kale Chips

Spicy, cheesy, and crunchy define air fryer chicken taquitos, but then again, you can never put into words how good these are! Initially, you dump all the filling ingredients into a crock pot until they get all tender and juicy, and then roll the filling up in tortillas and cook in the air fryer. The result is a tender and juicy perfection. These taquitos are best served with guacamole, salsa, or sour cream as a dip.

17. Air Fryer Fish Cakes

Source: Diethood

Apart from the usual fried chicken and fries, you can also cook seafood in your air fryer! Fish cakes are a cult favorite because they are tender, juicy, light, and healthy! And, you can easily make some of these yourself using your trusty air fryer. This recipe calls for white fish, panko, cilantro, mayo, salt and pepper, eggs, and lime wedges. You simply combine them and form them into patties. Cook in the air fryer until crispy and golden brown, and then serve with sweet chili sauce.

18. Air Fryer Beef Steak

Source: Our Salty Kitchen

Beef steaks are also the stars of great air fryer dinner recipes. If you’ve always been intimidated by making the perfect steak, don’t sweat it because cooking it in an air fryer removes the guesswork. Just dry the steak, season it with salt, pepper, and other seasonings, then pop it into the air fryer. Put some butter on the steaks about 5 minutes before serving, and you get a perfectly cooked, tender, and juicy steak for dinner.

19. Air Fryer Shrimp

Source: Love Bakes Good Cakes

IIf you don’t have enough time to prepare a healthy, yummy dinner dish, consider making garlic parmesan air fryer shrimp. This recipe calls for fresh or frozen shrimp, olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and parmesan cheese. Simply mix all the ingredients together and cook in the air fryer until the shrimps turn opaque. You can enjoy this recipe as a main dish, or you could put it in your pasta or salad.

20. Air Fryer Chicken Chimichangas

Source: The Country Cook

Using whole wheat flour tortillas, taco seasoning, pepper jack cheese, and shredded chicken, topped with tangy yogurt dip, you get a hearty, filling meal in less than thirty minutes. The key to making the tortillas achieve a nice brown color is to spray them lightly with some cooking oil before popping them into the air fryer.

21. Air Fryer Sweet And Chili Chicken Wings

Source: Erhardts Eats

This is, hands down, one of the best air fryer dinner recipes. In fact, you may never want to order takeout once you’ve learned to make your own sweet and chili chicken wings in the air fryer. These wings are great comfort food and best enjoyed with family and friends over some beer (or soda, whichever you like). Don’t forget to copy the Thai Sweet Chili sauce recipe because it makes the chicken wings taste even more heavenly!

22. Air Fryer Fish Tacos

Source: Foodtastic Mom

If you’re in the mood for some Mexican food, these fish tacos make the top ten list of best air fryer dinner recipes you can make in a jiffy. You just need white fish like cod or sea bass, and your salsa of choice — guacamole, chipotle, and lime juice are most often recommended. Assemble them over corn tortillas and enjoy them with some frozen margaritas!

23. Air Fryer Pita Bread Pizza

Source: Fork to Spoon

If you want a cheap, easy, and quick air fryer dinner recipe, then the air fryer pita bread pizza is what you’re looking for. This easy recipe comes together in less than ten minutes, and the ingredients are so basic you most likely already have them in your fridge or pantry. You can even customize this pizza with your chosen toppings! Eat with salad or fries, and you get a fully satisfying meal.

Conclusion

The air fryer is such a mighty kitchen appliance that levels up your meals without sweat and stress. You can easily make crunchy french fries, tasty fried chicken, and even cook steak in the air fryer. And because you’re using so much less oil, you get healthier meals.

What are your favorite air fryer recipes? Share them in the comments.

22 Cheap Air Fryer Recipes For Busy Parents

Best Cheap Air Fryer Recipes