Kathy Hester - Vegan Cooking in Your Air Fryer

vegan cooking

IN YOUR

air fryer

INCREDIBLE
COMFORT FOOD RECIPES WITH
HALF THE CALORIES

kathy hester

BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE GREAT VEGAN BEAN BOOK AND THE ULTIMATE VEGAN COOKBOOK FOR YOUR INSTANT POT

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This is dedicated to my beloved cat Irma who passed away in 2016 at 18 years old. She taught me how to be feisty and never give up. This was the first book that I wrote without her by my side. Its hard to believe it, but I missed her interrupting me every few minutes so I could pet her and carry her around.

Im sure youre going to love your air fryer as much as I do. In this chapter I answer many of your burning questions, plus give you tons of tips and tricks. This is not a chapter you want to skip, so read on!

When I bought my first air fryer, it was just to play with, but its quickly become my most-used kitchen appliance. It goes way beyond the typical French fries, fried pickles and onion ringsthough it will healthy those up for you too.

The thing I make most in my air fryer is tofu. It makes the tofu so crispy that you might forget you made it with little or no oil. Theres a whole section all about . But dont worry: If you cant eat tofu, there are plenty of things the air fryer can do for you.

Since the air fryer works like a convection oven, you can bake brownies, muffins and even mug cakes in it! Your mug cakes will no longer be a microwaved mess, because the texture will be just right.

Its not limited to sweet items though, and youll see that in the .

Some veggies caramelize a bit in the air fryer, making them addictive. Youll want to try my no-oil recipe. Plus, you can roast any vegetables you want in about half the time it would take in a conventional oven.

It makes amazing roasted onions and garlic for spreads and such. Oh, and be prepared to become addicted to the .

Air fryers have been available for home use since 2006, but recently theyve become more affordable, which means we can all have one now. You may not have heard much about them because they came out in Europe and Asia years before they started promoting them in the United States and Canada.

You may already know me from my blog, HealthySlowCooking.com, or my general obsession with kitchen gadgets, like slow cookers and Instant Pots. I love it when a simple appliance can help families save money and time all while eating a little bit healthier.

Like everyone else, I started using my air fryer to play with low- and no-oil versions of my favorite fried foods. In no time at all I was heating up frozen cheater foods like veggie burgers, frozen tots and fries. Air frying makes these amazing, and Ill talk more about that later on.

For those of you who avoid processed foods, oils or salt, youll be glad to know that theres a recipe in the staples chapter. With my recipes, you can use a little oil or no oil, whatever fits your eating style, and you can still have the convenience of last-minute fries!

You can air fry using a little bit of oil or even no oil at all. Thats how you can easily healthify foods like French fries, chips, onion rings and chicken-fried tofu. With a little oil, these foods are remarkably similar to deep-fried foods with half the calories. Without any oil at all, youll notice that they do come out a bit drier, but if you already follow a no-oil diet, its still a healthy way to satisfy some of your cravings.

An air fryer is actually similar to a convection oven. Warm air is blown all around the food to keep the temperature steady from all directions, similar to the way food is heated during deep-frying. In your air fryer, the heating element is above the food and the fan is above that.

There are three main shapes of air fryers. The first one resembles a countertop deep fryer, only its a bit bulkier. The second is a large and round one, and it holds more than double the amount of food the others do. Recently, a few convection toaster ovens have added air fry settings, so we have those in the mix too.

There are many different brands, models and sizes of air fryers, and the prices vary accordingly.

Most of the fryers have baskets that look similar to the fry baskets youve seen used in hot oil frying. Your air fryer basket probably has a handle with either a mesh bottom or a nonstick coating with holes to allow the air to circulate evenly. There is even a basket that has a removable top to keep your kale and collard chips from flying up into the heating element.

These baskets are not in the large round ones or the toaster ovens. But, in the ones that have it, theres also a solid pan called a drawer at the bottom, which is there to catch crumbs and drips. The basket goes into the drawer, and then both go in the air fryer together. Both can be removed for cleaning and separated for easier serving. Never try to pour out contents with the basket still attached to the bottom pan!

When you add something like potatoes to your air fryer, typically first youll cook them at a lower temperature to cook the inside of the potato. That way, it wont be burned on the outside before its done on the inside. Next, youll crank up the heat and crisp up the outside.

It cooks with radiant heat like your regular oven but adds in a convection fan that makes things cook faster than a typical oven and helps things crisp up.

One of my favorite things is that you can reheat and bake in your air fryer in record time without heating up the whole house. Say hello to quick food all year-round and, as a special bonus, your kitchen will be cooler in the summer too.

The short answer is no. You can make almost all of the recipes without added oil. The longer answer is that some foods have a better texture when you add a spritz of oil before cooking.

Those of you on no-oil diets will no doubt just be glad to have some crispy, fun food that fits into your diet, and that will be good enough. However, if you are more of a low-oil person, youll notice that the battered recipes are less dry with a little oil.

I encourage you to experiment within your personal eating rules to find the sweet spot on this. You can also spritz aquafaba (the liquid from a can of cooked chickpeas) or even vegetable broth on to get an in-between effect.

The quick and easy answer is no! Its easier than ever to grab a spray oil thats actually just oil. Just make sure to look at the ingredients, and youll be able to tell. Ive found a variety of oils like canola, olive, avocado and others in places like Whole Foods, chain groceries, Trader Joes and even at Aldis.