Air Fryer Cookbooks: 6 of the Best for Beginners, Experts, and Everyone in Between
Whether you are brand new to the world of air fryers or you’ve mastered the basics and are ready to move on to advanced recipes, we have all the best air fryer cookbooks that can boost your culinary prowess while reducing your fat intake.
Though its use today is newish, the air fryer is, at its core, just another kitchen appliance that uses a mechanism that has been popular for years: Convection. Air fryers work by circulating hot air via fans at very high speeds around the food. The result is a crispy layer not unlike what you get when you deep fry a food, but using up to 80% less fat.
Unlike convection ovens, which are very hot and generally fairly large, air fryers are small and give off less heat, making them a great option for hot days. As we did with instant pot cookbooks, we have compiled some of the best air fryer cookbooks for everyone.
The Healthy Air Fryer Cookbook: Truly Healthy Fried Food Recipes with Low Salt, Low Fat, and Zero Guilt by Linda Larsen
Larson holds both a B.A. in Biology and a B.S. in Food Science and Nutrition so it would follow that she knows a thing or two about both the science behind air fryers and creating unique recipes. She holds that there is nothing an air fryer can’t do. Yes, it can fry food but it can also grill, bake, roast, etc. – and she’s ready to tell you all about it.
Her aim was to create one of the best air fryer cookbooks that would showcase how simply it is to use this appliance.
Pros
- Currently free on Kindle Unlimited
- More than 100-healthy recipes
- Complete nutrition info that follows the American Heart Association guidelines
- Recipe callouts that show you how much salt and fat you’re not using because you are not deep fat frying
- Many gluten-free recipes
- Simple recipes
Cons
- Some recipes may be too simple for advanced cooks
- There is only one picture per chapter
Air Fryer Cookbook: 550 Recipes For Every Day Healthy and Delicious Meals by Michelle Sanders
Sanders graduated from culinary school and worked her way up through the culinary world, eventually earning the status of sous chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. Her goal was to be among the air fryer cookbooks that showcase how to use air fryers to their full potential.
The long list of recipes in this book include those for desserts, breakfast, veggies, appetizers, pork, lunch, lamb, dinner, beef, side dishes, poultry, fish, seafood, and much more.
Pros:
- More than 150 vegan recipes
- Easy-to-follow directions
- Recipes are less than a page long
Cons:
- Readers report that the table of contents is difficult to use
- There is no index
- Poorly organized
- Some recipes are repeated numerous times with just a few minor ingredient changes
- The only photo is on the cover of the cookbooks
Air Fry Everything: Foolproof Recipes for Fried Favorites and Easy Fresh Ideas by Blue Jean Chef, Meredith Laurence (The Blue Jean Chef) by Meredith Laurence
Pros:
- Many recipes are based on popular restaurant dishes like beer battered onion rings and French fries
- Offers unique recipes you don’t see in many air fryer cookbooks such as Boston cream donut holes and crab cakes
- In addition to recipes, there are instructions on making bacon, toasting nuts, and roasting garlic
- Includes information on how to “fry” frozen foods
- More pictures than most air fryer cookbooks
- Easy instructions
- Very well structured
Cons:
- Readers report that the cooking times listed in this book are often much longer than necessary
- Most recipes do not have nutritional information
- Not necessarily a great choice for beginners as it does not include general instructions
- Some recipes require unique ingredients that are hard to find
The Air Fryer Bible (Cookbook): More Than 200 Healthier Recipes for Your Favorite Foods by Susan LaBorde and Elizabeth Hickman
Both authors of The Air Fryer Bible live in Shreveport, Louisiana where they prepare food ranging from fundraiser meals for hundreds to tea parties for just a few.
Pros:
- Affordable recipes
- Comprehensive
- Easy to understand and follow recipes
- Includes a host of tips for things like reheating and batch cooking
- Recipes go beyond some of the simple options included in most air fryer cookbooks
Cons:
- Does not include many photos
- Does not include much information on cooking frozen foods
- Some readers felt that too many of the recipes focused on unhealthier foods
Air Fryer: 365 Days of Air Fryer Recipes Cookbook by Jamie Stewart
Pros:
- Great for beginner users
- Includes many recipes for every-day foods that many people eat
- Comes with a PDF file with pictures
Cons:
- Does not include photos in the cookbooks itself
- There is no alphabetical index
- Some recipes are not clear – including recipes that call for “beans” without specifying what type of beans and recipes that call for “steak” without specifying what kind of steak, how much it should weigh, etc.
- Recipes are listed by meal rather than grouped by protein, type of food, etc.
Healthy Air Fryer Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes with Fewer Calories and Less Fat by Dana Angelo White, MS RD ATC
White is a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant and nutrition expert for FoodNetwork.com. Her specialty is combining nutrition with recipe development.
Pros:
- A good starter book for newbies
- Most recipes call for ingredients that are likely readily on hand
- The wide variety of recipes means that just about anyone can find something they like
- Includes comparisons of calories and fat used via this method and with traditional frying
- Good pictures
Cons:
- Some readers have reported that the formatting makes the recipes hard to follow
- The desserts include full fat and sugar which has led some readers to question the use of “healthy” in the title
Have you used any of these air fryer cookbooks? Do you have any to recommend?
