Just because I love to cook meals from scratch does not mean I have the ability to resist mozzarella sticks or hash brown patties. Did you know that your air fryer is an absolute pro at cooking things like this? Having these normally restaurant foods at home on special occasions is such a treat! So I picked some of my favorite Trader Joeâs foods (hello orange chicken!) and threw them in the air fryer! Here are 10 Trader Joeâs Foods That Are Perfect for Your Air Fryer! Plus Iâve included my recommended temperature and time settings for everything I tried!
Move over slow cooker, this is the year of the air fryer! We snagged one a few months ago and weâre absolutely loving it. I didnât think this level of crispness was possible without A LOT of hot oil. But *spoiler alert* â it SO is.
WHAT CAN YOU COOK IN AN AIR FRYER?
Our two favorite things to cook in the air fryer are my chimichangas and the hash brown patties from Trader Joeâs. I swear to all the food gods, these guys are crispier and fresher than anything the McDonaldâs drive through could ever produce! Youâll just have to try it if you donât believe me.
You can cook almost anything in the air fryer, but I like it most for these kinds of recipes:
- Foods that are usually deep fried, which can be air fried with just a small amount of spray oil (usually foods prepared at home like chimichangas, egg rolls, or french fries).
- Foods that are usually cooked in the oven, but take much less time to cook in the air fryer (usually prepared foods from the store, such as chicken nuggets, hash browns or sometimes raw veggies). The air fryer needs 1-2 minutes to preheat, while the oven usually requires 8-10 minutes.
I think itâs important to try new cooking methods at home, even if you didnât fully prepare the food from scratch, to help keep food the boredom away. And itâs probably still cheaper than eating out, right?
The food doesnât have to be from Trader Joeâs â any brand of frozen foods that are similar to the ones Iâve found at my local TJâs should substitute just fine with the temps and times Iâve noted. But itâs also important to remember that all brands of air fryers are different and you may need to adjust for your specific air fryer.
The air fryer isnât just for âusually friedâ foods â think about trying some air-fried broccoli with nutritional yeast, or homemade crispy sweet potato fries!
WHICH KIND OF AIR FRYER DO YOU HAVE?
I own the Philips 2.75 qt Viva Air Fryer (affiliate link!), and I absolutely love it! Frozen things that are normally baked or fried come out crispier than Iâve ever tasted. Plus you almost always save time by not having to heat up the oven, so thatâs definitely a win.
If youâre air frying for more than 2 or 3 people, I would suggest going with the bigger size air fryer. It looks large, but most foods require air frying only a single layer of food at a time.
10 TRADER JOEâS FOODS THAT ARE
PERFECT FOR YOUR AIR FRYER
Below are 10 Trader Joeâs foods that are perfect for your air fryer! Now, of course you could cook these items in your oven or the microwave, but then they wouldnât be crispy AF and incredibly impressive. Iâve tested all of these foods in the air fryer personally, and included my preferences on time and temperature!
All instructions are assuming the air fryer is preheated for about 2 minutes, and none of the frozen foods were thawed. My air fryer is analog, and the temperatures noted are approximate. Youâll see âspray oilâ referenced a lot â I like to use Chosen Foods Avocado Spray Oil (affiliate link!), but any spray oil will work. Avocado oil has a high smoke point which is good for frying (especially air frying!).
