Gina Homolka - The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook: The 75 Best Healthy Recipes for Your Air Fryer

Copyright 2019 by Gina Homolka

Photographs copyright 2019 by Aubrie Pick

Selected recipes first appeared on skinnytaste.com

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

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CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER with colophon is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

Skinnytaste is a trademark of Skinnytaste, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Homolka, Gina, author. | Jones, Heather K., author.

Title: The skinnytaste air fryer cookbook : the 75 best healthy recipes for your air fryer / Gina Homolka with Heather K. Jones.

Description: First edition. | New York : Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018060753| ISBN 9781984825643 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN9781984825650 (ebook alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Hot air frying. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX689 .H66 2019 | DDC 641.7/7--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018060753

ISBN9781984825643

Ebook ISBN9781984825650

Photographs by Aubrie Pick

Cover design by Stephanie Huntwork

v5.4

prh

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Yes! You finally bought an air fryer! Perhaps you dont know what to make with it or exactly how to use it. Not to worry. Be prepared to become an air fryer aficionado!

If it werent for the constant emails from Skinnytaste fans asking me for air fryer recipes, I probably wouldnt have discovered what all the fuss was about. I resisted buying an air fryer for quite a while because I really didnt want another gadget or cooking appliance taking up space in my kitchen. My thought was, What can the air fryer do that I cant do with my oven? I admit I was skeptical. The first recipe I tested was my Buttermilk Oven Fried Chicken from my first cookbook, The Skinnytaste Cookbook . The recipe came out perfectly crispygolden chicken that was juicy and perfectly cooked on the insideand in half the time it would have taken in the oven. I was amazed.

I started testing all my fried favoritesfrench fries, chicken wings, onion rings, breaded chicken cutlets. I was really impressed! Food came out so much crispier than I could achieve in my oven. And many times, I even had my husband fooled that it wasnt fried. Needless to say, I was a convert.

Suddenly it became a fun challenge trying everything I could think of in my new appliance. Roasted vegetables won me over. Charred string beans, roasted Brussels sprouts, and crisp cauliflower came out perfectly brownedexactly the way I love them. Then I started playing around with salmon, lamb chops, burgers, bagels, and even pizza. I was hooked! There are so many positives: The air fryer takes only three minutes to preheat, doesnt heat up the kitchen, is safer and healthier than deep frying, and doesnt smoke up the whole house.

This easy, useful kitchen appliance has now replaced my oven on most weekdays and -nights, whether Im whipping up a side dish, heating up leftovers, or making supper. In fact, I love it so much that I decided to brand my own and create my first product: the Skinnytaste by Vremi Air Fryer. You may be overwhelmed with the options of air fryer models available on the market, from basket-style (like mine), to toaster ovenstyle (such as the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven or the Breville Smart Oven Air). The good news: All the recipes in this book will work for any model. Ive included directions for both styles, and Ive added cook times for a conventional oven for those of you who have no desire to purchase an air fryer (see chart on ).

Theres plenty of air fryer cookbooks out there, but theyre not necessarily healthy or light, so I knew a Skinnytaste air fryer cookbook had to be written. Each recipe includes nutrition information as well as a recipe key labeling recipes that are at or under thirty minutes in cook time, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, keto-friendly, and freezer-friendly.

I hope this book and an air fryer itself will inspire you in the kitchen. Have fun with the appliance, and be prepared to fall in love. I guarantee youll find ways to use it in everyday cooking.

Recipe Key

Look for these helpful icons throughout the book:

Quick (ready in 30 minutes or less)

Vegetarian

Gluten-Free

Dairy-Free

Keto-Friendly

Freezer-Friendly

Weight Watchers Points

For those of you on Weight Watchers, all of the up-to-date Weight Watchers Points are conveniently located on my website under the cookbook tab: www.skinnytaste.com/cookbook.

AIR FRYER BASICS

What is an air fryer, anyway? Its basically a countertop convection oven with a heated coil (usually at the top), a mesh or metal basket, and a fan that circulates the heat around the foods at convection oven rates. Cooking food in an oven creates steam, and deep-frying works by flash-cooking foods in hot oil, but the air fryer cooking method creates an efficient, intense environment of heat that consequently cooks foods faster and more evenly. This results in crisp, browned exteriors and juicy, tender interiors. Its much healthier, safer, and cleaner than deep-frying foods, but it doesnt stop therewith an air fryer, you can also roast vegetables and fish, bake muffins and quiche, reheat leftovers, and heat up frozen foods. It basically does the work of an oven, a deep fryer, and a microwaveall in one.

CHOOSING AND USING YOUR FRYER

Air fryers come in different shapes and sizes, from compact cylindrical countertop styles with a fryer basket (and some even have built-in rotisseries) to convection toaster ovenstyle fryers. Toaster-style air fryers are larger than most basket-style models, so you can cook most recipes in one batch, which is convenient for larger families. The downside to that is they tend to take up more counter space. Basket-style air fryers, on the other hand, are more compact and come in a variety of sizes. If youre cooking for just one or two people, a 3-quart basket-style fryer is perfect. If youre cooking for a family of three or four, youll want a model thats at least 5.5 quarts and up.