Air fryers are best known for cooking meat in a short amount of time and with very little oil. Since vegans don’t eat meat, they might think purchasing an air fryer would be useless, but they are mistaken.
Vegans can use an air fryer for fresh or frozen vegetables and for cooking just about any plant-based food that can be fried on the stove or baked in the oven, as long as it doesn’t contain wet ingredients like sauces. Entire vegan meals can be cooked in air fryers, including meat substitutes, such as tofu and black bean burgers.
Vegetables can be prepared quickly in an air fryer and taste great when roasted with a little oil and seasonings such as garlic and herbs. Although you cannot use an air fryer to cook pasta or raw grains such as rice, you can bake bread or biscuits and even make a snack of crispy chickpeas.
Air fryers are also handy for cooking frozen packaged foods, and there are plenty of frozen foods that are vegan-friendly, such as french fries, onion rings, and of course, vegetables. Frozen vegan specialty foods such as veggie burgers and “chik’n patties” can also be heated up in the air fryer.
In short, vegans can cook meals in an air fryer, crisp up a quick snack, or heat up leftovers, just like their omnivore counterparts. The only difference is that vegans will not be including meat or animal products, such as butter or eggs, in any recipe they decide to make.
How Do Vegans Use an Air Fryer?
Air fryers are popular because they cook rapidly but also because they are so easy to learn how to use. Even a person with very little experience in the kitchen can quickly master the skill of using an air fryer.
Vegans use an air fryer exactly like everyone else—they prepare the food according to the recipe and add a little vegetable oil or vegetable spray, if necessary. Then, they place the uncooked food into the basket in a shallow layer and slide it into the preheated oven to cook for the specified length of time.
An air fryer works more like a convection oven than a frying pan, so foods cook evenly without burning. Whereas a frying pan concentrates the heat directly under the cooking surface of the pan, an air fryer has a fan that blows the heated air around the food on all sides to maintain a consistent cooking temperature.
Most foods cook best when they are arranged in a single layer in the basket; if the layer is too thick, the food in the middle may not get exposed to the heat to cook sufficiently. During the cooking process, you may have to periodically stir, rotate, shake, or turn over the food in the air fryer basket.
The digital control panel on the front of the air fryer is clearly labeled so you can confidently set the temperature and cook time. Some control panels also have buttons that are pre-programmed with the time needed for cooking popular foods, but most of these pre-sets are for meats, so vegans will probably not have much use for them.
You can also buy special pans to insert into the basket that allow you to cook everything from pizza to doughnuts to bread. There are silicone cups that can be used for muffins and cupcakes, and even a skewer set-up for making vegetable kabobs.
Best Vegan Air Fryer Ideas
Air fryers are extremely versatile, but many people never learn anything beyond cooking simple frozen or packaged foods. It takes just a little research and a bit of imagination to broaden your cooking repertoire.
Vegans can get ideas for what to cook in their air fryer by doing a simple web search for “vegan air fryer recipes.” You can find hundreds of delicious recipes for vegetables and plant-based dishes on websites and social media, and there are even some vegan air fryer cookbooks available for purchase.
Some of the tastiest recipes showcase vegetables as the star of the dish, though you may need to blanch them before putting them in the air fryer to ensure a thorough cook. Fresh green beans take less than 10 minutes to roast to a tender but crispy texture, and they taste scrumptious when seasoned with garlic, salt, and a lemon slice.
Root vegetables, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, and carrots, do very well in an air fryer when they are cut into cubes or fries. Imagine sweet potato fries that are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a touch of salt or maybe some cinnamon and brown sugar.
Tofu cut in cubes or strips can be air-fried for an appetizer or as part of a meal with just a few simple steps. Marinade pressed, extra-firm tofu in soy sauce, oil, and spices such as garlic, and then arrange in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Cook for 15 minutes at 375 degrees for a crispy, tasty, protein-rich snack.
Many air fryer recipes can be made vegan by substituting plant-based ingredients for animal products such as cheese or meat. For example, in making Portobello stuffed mushroom caps, you can use vegan cheese and nut butter, or make vegan cream cheese substitute from cashews and yogurt.
Air-fried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are a quick, crunchy snack that’s a hit with vegans and non-vegans alike. Just coat canned chickpeas with olive oil, season to your taste, and air fry them at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Are Air Fryers Worth It For Vegetarians?
Many people are confused about the difference between vegans and vegetarians, as there are many similarities. Both vegans and vegetarians refuse to eat the meat from any animal, as well as fish and seafood, but unlike vegans, some vegetarians will add eggs, milk, cheese, or other products that are made by animals.
Vegetarians will love cooking their meals and snacks in an air fryer as much as their vegan and omnivore friends do. An air fryer is a great addition to the kitchen of any type of vegetarian who eats a plant-based diet, whether it’s ovo-vegetarian (adding eggs only), lacto-vegetarian (dairy only), or ovo-lacto vegetarian (both eggs and dairy).
Vegetarians can cook anything in an air fryer that vegans can, plus a bit more, depending on their personal dietary choices. For example, ovo- and ovo-lacto vegetarians might enjoy using an air fryer to hard- or soft-boil eggs. Whole, in-the-shell eggs are placed in the fryer basket, and no water is necessary to bring them to the desired firmness.
Eggs can also be fried or scrambled in an air fryer, but you’ll need to use an insert accessory pan to keep the uncooked eggs from dripping through the bottom of the basket. Another alternative is to line the basket with aluminum foil, curling up the edges slightly to form a low barrier.
Cheese is sometimes a problem in an air fryer because the high heat melts it, and it sticks to the pan or drips through the holes or slits in the basket, causing a mess to clean up. But recipes that use cheese, including grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza, turn out great when air-fried.
Making personal air fryer pizzas is a great idea for a fast family dinner or even a party. You can start with any dough, either homemade or purchased, add sauce and cheese, and then customize with your chosen toppings. Use a pizza pan insert so the cheese toppings don’t blow off onto the basket bottom.
While you can’t make everything in an air fryer, you can make most of your favorite recipes, and nearly all of them can be adapted for vegan or vegetarian diets.