10 Air Fryer Tips That Will Elevate Your Eggs To A New Level
Whether or not you've hopped on the air fryer train, there's a good chance you know a passenger or two. The hoopla on the grapevine about this inventive cookware is understandable — air fryers are healthier, save you time in the kitchen, require less cleanup, and use less household energy. Did we forget to mention that they make delicious food, too? Air fryers have a laundry list of useful qualities that your longtime go-to appliances are probably secretly jealous of. Especially the one you relocated to make space for your shiny new air fryer. Sorry, brave little toaster.
From simple and savory home fries to a seared and salted cut of steak, air fryers are the quick and tasty fix your kitchen's been missing. One thing that they are surprisingly good at is cooking eggs, not just fried ones either. With the right method, you can whip together a delicious scramble just as easily as you can an eggcellent vegetable frittata. If you love elevating yummy egg dishes, you'll love this list of air fryer tips.
Peel hard-boiled eggs easier
Perfectly peeling a shell from an egg can be a tricky pursuit. If you aren't careful, you can easily remove a chunk of hard-boiled egg, ruining its geometric flawlessness. Inside is a membrane that's responsible for keeping the albumen, or egg white, attached to the interior lining. The fresher the egg, the stronger the bond between the membrane and egg white. Tearing the egg whites is far from uncommon though, there are many hacks that were invented specifically to avoid that. One of the lesser-known ways to make hard-boiled eggs that peel easier is by using an air fryer.
When exposed to the heat of an air fryer, the eggshell firms and causes the egg white to separate more easily. Cold temperatures have the opposite effect on the membrane, stiffening and strengthening the bond. After the eggs are ready, it's important that you remember to submerge them in ice water. It halts the cooking process and prepares them for peeling. Drastic temperature changes will shock the eggs, causing them to contract inward and loosen from the shell's membrane. All you need is 13 to 17 minutes in total.
Start by preheating the air fryer to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it's hot and ready, securely place each egg inside upright. The consistency will range from jammy-style to well-done depending on how long you cook them.
Cook a healthier fried egg
To eat fried foods or not to eat fried foods? That is the question. Fried is easily one of the best ways to eat eggs. It's a mouthwatering combination of flavor and crispiness that can be enjoyed solo or on sandwiches, with salad, and more.
Fortunately, with the all-encompassing powers of the air fryer, it's easily possible to make fried eggs. Eggs can be cooked directly in the pan with a light layer of grease, and you can also line the pan with lightly greased foil. Preheat the oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit for a softer fry or turn it up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for more crisp. It should take no more than six to seven minutes to finish cooking. Specifics may vary depending on what type of air fryer you use, so you'll have to experiment and keep an eye on your eggs as they cook. It's also important to leave space between each egg so that they have room to expand.
Quickly cook up a batch of scrambled eggs
If a steaming plate of scrambled eggs is the way you like to start the day, you're in luck, because an air fryer can cook that, too. With the right prep and tools, you'd be surprised what culinary magic this contraption can muster. You might ask, "Why should I use an air fryer rather than a skillet?" Well, there are several benefits. Along with being healthier, it's less messy and quite possibly, quicker. Air fryers also give scrambled eggs a moist and fluffy consistency that's picturesque like the kind you find at classic American diners. Are you convinced to try it yet?
Besides your air fryer, you only need a ramekin and whisk — note that scrambled eggs will only work with non-stick surfaces. Start by lightly greasing the ramekin, followed by adding the egg and ingredients. Whisk, whisk, whisk away until you achieve the ideal scramble blend. Next, preheat the air fryer to 370 degrees Fahrenheit. You should let it cook for five minutes before scrambling the egg mixture, then for another five minutes, or until the liquid disappears. Your scramble should be fluffy, flavorful, and ready to enjoy in 10 minutes or less.
As you'll find, it's perfectly possible to make scrambled eggs in an air fryer. You can also include grated cheese, cooked breakfast meats, and chopped veggies like bell peppers and onions. Just make sure to pre-cook the ingredients before adding them.
Find the perfect consistency for jammy eggs
Somewhere in the land of Eggtopia, between Runny Way and Hard-boiled Ave., there exists a sweet spot called Jammytown. Jammy eggs are soft-boiled eggs that have a consistency between runny and hard. The best of both worlds, jammy eggs are tasty toppers for breakfast toast and salad. Achieving a perfectly boiled egg requires perfect timing, which can be challenging. That's why an air fryer is one of the best ways to nail the ideal jammy egg texture. Depending on the temperature setting, it usually takes between six to nine minutes using an air fryer.
There's no need for additional cookware, you can place the eggs directly into the fryer basket. Make sure to leave some space between them. Once they're loaded, you can set the temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, which should give you a cooking time of six minutes. Just like when you boil eggs the traditional way, fill a bowl with water and ice, and set it to the side. After the air fryer finishes, cool the eggs down by placing them into ice water for five to seven minutes. Wait until they've cooled before peeling the shell off. Sprinkle it with some salt, pepper, a little love, and enjoy.
Use a silicone mold to make egg bites
One nifty air fryer hack you need to try is using heat-safe silicone molds. They're particularly handy for making egg bites, which are bite-sized frittatas that are filled with ingredients. They're super easy to make and an awesome cure for when you're hangry. From your favorite cheeses to bacon or veggies, a little imagination can create all sorts of crave-worthy egg-bite combos. Along with egg bites, silicone molds are useful for countless recipes.
Start by preparing your ingredients — each ingredient should be chopped or diced into small pieces. Load them into your molds until they layer the bottom. They should reach just below the halfway mark. After each silicone mold is filled with ingredients, submerge them in your egg and milk mixture. Make sure not to fill the silicone mold completely, leave a little headspace because it will expand as it cooks. Next, preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place the silicone molds in for around 12 minutes, or until the liquid is gone.
It's a low-stakes breakfast option that can also be enjoyed throughout the day whenever a craving hits you. Versatile and delicious, you'll never run out of tasty egg-bite recipes to try, too. Just make sure not to overdo it with ingredients. Think of it like a salad, or pizza, and try to find the right balance of flavors.
Try a low-carb breakfast with egg-topped avocado toast
The alluring smell of baked bread, the satisfying crunch of the first bite, and the crumby debris that falls onto your plate: Toast is an entire experience. From lightly toasted to jawbreakingly-charred, no matter your preference, you can't deny how delicious this sliced piece of heaven is. While simply bread with butter will suffice, the taste goes up a notch when you use different toppings. You'll be blown away when you discover that you can use air fryers to make egg-topped avocado toast. It's a must-try breakfast air fryer recipe.
All you need is an avocado halve, one egg, a slice of bread, and a pinch of salt and black pepper. In just 10 minutes, you spread avocado onto a slice of bread, use a spoon to work a crater into the center, and then fill it with a raw egg. Pop it into the air fryer at 365 degrees Fahrenheit (or 180 degrees Celsius) for seven minutes and voilà — a low-carb breakfast that sets a high bar for tastiness. If warm avocado isn't your cup of tea, you can opt to add fresh slices after toasting the egg-topped bread first or cook the egg separately as well. Either way, it's a savory combo that you can't go wrong with.
Make a protein-rich and veggie-filled frittata
Another fun thing to cook with an air fryer is a frittata. One of Italy's countless amazing culinary creations, a frittata is a baked egg dish that's similar to an omelet and quiche. It's typically filled with a combination of meats, cheeses, or veggies and can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Like only a handful of undeniable foods, frittata's so are good that you can eat them hot, at room temperature, and even cold. When it comes to flavor, they have exactly what you're looking for. They also aren't that difficult to make, so long as you're patient and can keep a watchful eye.
Despite their name, which means "fried" in Italian, frittatas are traditionally baked in the oven. You can skip the iron cast though and use an air fryer to make frittatas. Using four eggs, fill your frittata with ingredients like green and yellow bell peppers, tomato, and mushrooms. In the seasoning department, all you need is salt and black pepper, unless you like to get a little fancy. Before you pour the blend into a baking pan, make sure to spray it lightly with oil so that it doesn't stick. Frittatas are great because you can substitute ingredients for others, and use additional eggs to accommodate more people. At 375 degrees Fahrenheit, air frying a four-egg frittata with vegetables should take no more than 15 minutes. A short amount of time to wait for a lasting experience.
Use parchment paper to make eggs-in-a-hole
If you're big into egg-topped toast, you'll no doubt salivate over air-fried eggs-in-a-hole. It's a breakfast delight that takes the legendary duo of eggs and toast to a new savory stratosphere. Eggs-in-a-hole has many names. You might know it as eggs in a basket. Breakfast lovers will simply call it deliciousness on a plate. Although it's typically made using a slice of bread that's hallowed out and filled with an egg, but we know an even better way to jazz up your eggs-in-a-hole: A bagel. Clearly, eggs-in-a-bagel-hole is an elevated must-try.
Trust us, everything about an everything bagel eggs-in-a-hole is worth talking about. Oh, here's a culinary curve ball; try cinnamon raisin bagels for a sweet and salty brekkie fix. There are so many fun ways to mix things up and the best part is that you can cook it all in an air fryer. First start by preheating it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You'll need to place a piece of lightly greased parchment paper inside on the bottom. It takes seven to 10 minutes to cook eggs in a hole in an air fryer. Halfway through, you should flip it to ensure that it cooks evenly. After you pass the halfway mark, we recommend sprinkling cheese, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, or any tasty garnish of your choice.
You can use air fryers to reheat quiches
In addition to cooking crave-worthy recipes, air fryers are also great for reheating leftovers. From frittatas to hard-boiled eggs, a few minutes in the air fryer and they taste like new. It works perfectly for reheating quiches, too. Quiches are savory egg-filled pies that can be made for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The tricky part about reheating quiches is cooking them without making the outer crust soggy. On the flip side, an air fryer can remove too much moisture from the crust if you're not careful. Compared to a microwave though, an air fryer is a much better alternative to an oven.
They're great for heating up the egg mixture while keeping the crust crisp and delectable, whereas a microwave may cause the texture of the eggs to become chewy, and an oven requires a longer cooking time. In an air fryer, reheating should take no more than four to seven minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. You can adjust the cooking time based on the size of your quiche. The inside will take longer to cook, which is why we recommend checking that it's warm before removing it from the air fryer. In addition to quiches, we recommend using your air fryer to reheat all sorts of leftovers.
Static Media owns and operates Tasting Table, Mashed, and The Daily Meal.
Poach eggs in under 15 minutes
Have you ever marveled at the culinary perfection that is the poached egg? Did a spirited attempt to make it at home lead to disastrous results? Next time you give it a go, try using an air fryer. While unlikely, it's actually a great hack for home cooks who are used to poached egg explosions. You must be open to compromise — while the process is simpler, it takes longer than the traditional method. Using a pot averages between six to eight minutes and the air fryer takes 15 minutes.
Cook time aside, it's an easy way to poach eggs and we recommend giving it a try. Along with your air fryer, you need ramekins for each egg you want to poach. Small and cylindrical, ramekins are used to bake dishes like soufflé and crème brûlée. First, preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. You begin by greasing your ramekins and then filling each with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water. Next, place them inside of the air fryer for five minutes. Add the eggs and a pinch of salt and pepper, or the seasoning blend of your choice. Cook at 360 degrees Fahrenheit for an additional four to seven minutes.
It's finished when the egg white is firm. After you remove the ramekins from the air fryer, use a spoon or spatula to carefully free the freshly poached eggs. French cuisine purists may scoff, but everyone deserves a delicious egg Benedict.