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If you own an air fryer and have grown tired of your routine crispy chicken tenders and potato wedges, it’s time to add the best air-fryer cookbook to your shelf. A good cookbook reveals the in-plain-sight secrets you might not have thought of and introduces techniques and recipes that are likely more thoroughly tested than the random videos you’ve seen online. “Having a cookbook is a way to have a template to go off,” says Andrea Nguyen, author of Vietnamese Food Any Day and writer of the blog Viet World Kitchen. And a good air-fryer cookbook will show you how to take cooking with your kitchen appliance to the next level.
There’s just one problem: What cookbook should you get? Search “air fryer cookbooks” on Amazon and you’ll have 4,000 results to choose from. That’s why we asked three air-fryer power users and cooking experts—Nguyen, as well as an Epicurious editor and a TikTok creator—for their recommendations on the best air-fryer cookbooks right now.
Andrea Nguyen, cookbook author: Air Fryer Perfection by America’s Test Kitchen
Nguyen notes that it can be tricky to find the best air-fryer cookbook because appliance brands update their air-fryer models often, so a button or feature on one year’s version might not be on the next one’s. “By the time a book comes out, an air-fryer model may have changed,” Nguyen says.
That’s why she recommends America’s Test Kitchen’s air-fryer cookbook. Even though the book was released in 2019 and won’t account for cooking features on models that have come out after that, the recipes were tested extensively by ATK readers who used a range of air fryers.“They test things to death,” Nguyen says. “Before they ever settle on a recipe, they get so much feedback from their staff as well as their readers. So their recipes are pretty trustworthy.”
Anna Hezel, senior editor at Epicurious: Air Fry Every Day by Ben Mims
Many people’s first instinct when they get an air fryer is to treat it like a deep fryer, but the two are fundamentally different. That’s why Epicurious editor Anna Hezel appreciates the realism Ben Mims brings to air-frying in his cookbook, Air Fryer Every Day. He likens the air fryer to a convection oven that excels at evenly roasting things.
“Ben's book doesn't force any fried foods into the air-fryer mold that don't naturally lend themselves to the air fryer,” Hezel says. One recipe she especially likes is his take on a crispy rice salad where he fully cooks his grains on the stovetop and then roasts them in the air fryer, yielding a soft interior but crunchy exterior.
Nguyen seconds Hezel’s recommendation, citing Air Fry Every Day as one of her favorite air-fryer cookbooks as well. “As a recipe developer, Ben's someone I totally trust,” Nguyen says. “They're just really simple recipes.” (And Nguyen’s biggest takeaway from the book? Make sure to shake the food in your air fryer to ensure it’s periodically getting turned and cooking evenly.)
Ariana Monica Ruiz, TikToker: The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook by Linda Larsen
Most of the time, air-fryer enthusiast and TikTok influencer Ariana Ruiz goes online for air-fryer inspiration or makes her own recipes. But she likes Linda Larsen’s The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook for its variety and out-of-the box ideas. When she wants to make a more intricate recipe, she turns to this book to learn new techniques.
She particularly likes the cookbook’s approach to air-fried chicken. Ruiz explains that while it’s definitely not the same result you’d get from deep-frying, the chicken gets nicely crispy—and it’s a fantastic dish in its own right.
