Vegan Practically

I am always hesitant when it comes to buying new small appliances. I don’t like cluttered countertops and I also don’t like purchases that then end up just sitting there gathering dust. It’s hard to know in advance sometimes whether whatever it is will be as useful as I might imagine it to be in advance. I also source a major purchase (maybe an air fryer is not quite a “major” purchase but it’s not the sort of thing I would just buy on impulse) for awhile before I go for it. So I considered an air fryer for about two years before I decided to buy one.

If you don’t know what an air fryer is, it’s a countertop appliance that works as a convection oven, by circulating hot air. In so doing, it cooks more efficiently than plain, non-circulating hot air. They don’t literally “fry” anything, so the “fryer” moniker is all about marketing, since almost everyone loves fried food and lots of people wish they could have something like it without the hassle of (and with a lot less oil than) a deep fryer. Air fryers come in two forms: the basket kind and the small oven kind (sort of like a toaster oven). They come in a variety of sizes, and the right size for you will depend on how many people you cook for or how positively disposed you are to leftovers (I love leftovers because they simplify my life for a few days).

I deliberated for a couple of years about whether I wanted an air fryer and, if so, which type. In the end, I decided to go for it, and started to keep an eye on Canadian Tire for sales. (note to non-Canadians: Canadian Tire does sell tires, but they also sell a whole lot of other things, including kitchen things, and they have incredible sales). I like to see what’s going on when I cook, so I figured an oven style would serve me better. When I saw the Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 flip-up on sale for $169.99 a couple of months ago, I knew I’d landed on the right one for me. When it’s not in use, it flips up to free up the counter space it otherwise would dominate. And it was less than half price (according to Canadian Tire, but to be honest I’ve never seen it actually selling for it’s so-called “full price.” That said, today it’s on sale for $229.99, which is a still a full $60 more than I paid).

I absolutely love it. Here’s why:

• Convection heat is better for cooking. I used to use my oven a lot, and that was fine, but it wasn’t convection heat and so things took longer. I have always loved the way convection heat crisps things up and makes them brown more nicely than a regular oven.
• The basket. Mine comes with a tray and a basket and an oven rack (for things like toast). The basket is the main thing for air frying because the convection heat can circulate around. I set the baking tray underneath to keep the oven clean. So far it’s worked well and I use the basket the majority of the time.
• The price. I had a convection oven in my last place, and I had considered buying one for my kitchen but couldn’t justify the expense (a couple of grand). For under $200 I now have a countertop appliance that works as well and didn’t break the bank.
• The convenience. Even though I used my oven quite a bit, there were always those days where it seemed like a big to-do to pre-heat it, prep the things, put them in the oven, set the timer, wait and wait…Somehow with the air fryer all of this feels simplified. So easy. And it pre-heats in a minute or less.
• Good for smaller portions. Related to convenience, I can now make, for example, one potato’s worth of oven fries or one portion of Gardein f*ishless filets. I would never turn on my actual oven to make a single portion of anything because it would seem wasteful and inefficient from an energy perspective, given the size of an oven and the length of time it needs to be on to cook things.
• It’s giving me a reason to experiment. Getting a new appliance is a great way to seek out new recipes as you get to learn what it can do. Now that I’m getting the hang of my air fryer, I’m able to make up my own recipes. For example, last night, riffing off the way an eggplant parmesan recipe I tried a few weeks ago prepared eggplant with a panko breadcrumb coating, I made BBQ panko-encrusted tofu. It was delicious.
• I got a flip-up oven so it doesn’t take up valuable counterspace when not in use. I was worried about the counterspace, and that contributed to my hesitation. But then I found one that actually flips up when not in use, and that problem has been 100% solved.

I use the air fryer a lot. This week alone I’ve already used it to make sweet potato fries, air fryer asparagus, air fryer brussels sprouts with a maple soy glaze, two different kinds of tofu (little crispy cubes on Monday, the BBQ panko-breaded tofu last night), Gardein filets, and a variation on “tuna burgers” from my childhood using chickpea salad, an english muffin, and some vegan parmesan. Not this week, but I’ve also air-fried broccoli, squash, little potatoes, fries (of course!), eggplant parmesan, frozen pizzas, mushroom, and red peppers. My only disaster was spinach, but why I chose to air fry spinach when it’s great steamed is a good question. The novelty, I guess.

I have some photos of the food but in general I have found that while fresh food photographs well, I’m not as happy with my photos of cooked food (working on it–there must be a knack since I’ve seen lots of inviting photos of cooked food). But okay here’s one:

For cooking temperatures and times I have found recipes on the internet to be a lot more helpful than the suggested times and temperatures in the accompanying booklet. Indeed, I have rarely found a booklet so unhelpful. For some things, it suggested lower temperatures than I found to be ideal, and longer cooking times than I ended up needing. Definitely the early days of the air fryer involved some trial and error.

I haven’t used my big oven since getting the air fryer. It’s not a total replacement. I doubt I’ll do any baking in the air fryer, since while it’s quite roomy, it’s not tall enough for things like bread or cakes, and it’s not roomy enough for regular-sized baking sheets, which rules it out for large-batch recipes like cookies. That’s not to say it’s not way roomier than I expected. It’s quite deep, and I can easily make a 12-inch frozen (or from-scratch) pizza in it.

So that’s my experience so far with my air fryer. I can’t believe I waited so long, considering how much use I’ve gotten out of it. I really like that it cooks things up so nicely with very little oil needed. I really like the flip-up kind that I have, but I’m told that the basket fryers are also excellent, if slightly less versatile (and you can’t see in the window to monitor how the food is doing). It’s a really great addition to my kitchen, and I look forward to experimenting with more recipes through the summer.

Do you have any favourite vegan air fryer recipes to recommend? If so, please share!

Happy air-frying and bon appétit!