Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

I just recently started Weight Watchers again for the new year. It’s time to really get it together. Last year was a mess with eating and I feel like I didn’t focus on the healthy eating as much as I should have. Since I got this air fryer I’ve made so many dishes so it’s definitely helping me eat better. The things you can do with it, are endless.

This chicken recipe is marinated with Greek yogurt. The yogurt makes it super juicy and moist. I love the flavor it gives, too. Instead of using a marinade with oil this is a healthier lighter alternative. You have to give this recipe a try!

Please keep in mind not all air fryers are created equally. You may need to adjust the temp and cook time to your specific model type.

Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:
1 cup non fat Greek yogurt
2 T ranch seasoning
1 T olive oil
6-8 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless

Directions: In a small bowl mix together Greek yogurt, ranch seasoning and olive oil. In a deep dish pan or zip lock bag add the chicken and cover chicken with the Greek yogurt mixture on both sides. Let marinade for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

To cook, preheat the air fryer. Spray the basket or rack with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the air fryer with foil for easy clean up. (Note: I have an oven air fryer) Add chicken to the rack and cook at 370° for 17-19 minutes, flipping halfway through. I like the nice charred edges on the chicken, however you can reduce time if you prefer. Check the chicken with an instant read thermometer. The internal temp at the thickest part of the thigh should be 165°. You may need to cook the chicken in batches, or if you have an oven air fryer, you can add 2 racks and rotate racks half way through. Let rest a few minutes before enjoying.

Air Fryer French Toast Sticks

I’m obsessed with my new air fryer! I’ve had it since before the holidays and I honestly can’t get enough. I’ve been trying out so many delicious recipes. This recipe was one that surprised me! French toast sticks! Super simple, yet the flavors were awesome. Personally, I feel like it’s much easier than in a pan, and let’s be honest that’s pretty easy too.

Try this recipe if you want a quick breakfast. Keep in mind, every air fryer is different. The cook time and temperatures will vary.

Air Fryer French Toast Sticks

Ingredients:
8 slices of white bread or Texas toast
4 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 t vanilla extract
cinnamon, sprinkle (optional)

To serve:
favorite syrup
powdered sugar

Directions: In a bowl add in the milk, eggs and vanilla and whisk well together. Cut the slices of bread into thirds. Spray the air fryer rack or basket with cooking spray. Dip each stick into the egg mixture quickly on both sides. Remove from the egg mixture and place directly on the rack or in the basket. Complete with all break sticks. Sprinkle each stick on both sides with cinnamon, if desired. Preheat the air fryer. Add the rack or basket into the air fryer and cook at 350° for about 7-8 minutes flipping half way through. Cook until crispy. Remove from air fryer and sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with syrup.

Notes: You can add regular sugar to the bread as well as the cinnamon. Personally I use the cinnamon and then powdered sugar. You can do whatever you like. I like mine on the crispier side as they are better to dip.

Fried Eggplant with Tomato & Burrata

The Italian in me, loves fried eggplant. This recipe I made fried eggplant in my air fryer. You can also just do the same steps however, you would have to bake in the oven at 400 for probably 20 minutes flipping half way through. However to make this full recipe I added some fresh tomatoes and burrata cheese. OMG game changer.

This dish so so light and fresh and perfect for a meatless meal!

Fried Eggplant with Tomato & Burrata

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, peeled or unpeeled
2 eggs, whisked
1 1/2-2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 T Italian seasoning
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
olive oil or cooking spray

Extras:
fresh tomatoes
fresh burrata cheese
extra virgin olive oil
fresh or dried parsley or basil for garnish

Directions: Prepare the eggplant by slicing into 1/2″ rounds, discard the top. Add eggs to one deep bowl and season with salt and pepper and add the Italian bread crumbs to another bowl. Whisk in the cheese and seasonings.

First dip the eggplant rounds into the egg mixture, making sure to remove any excess egg. Next dip the eggplant into the breadcrumb mixture and fully coat on both sides and edges. Remove and set aside. Finish breading each slice of eggplant.

Preheat the air fryer. (Note: my unit preheats at 400° for 4 minutes) Spray the air fryer pan (or basket) with olive oil or olive oil cooking spray. Place the eggplant rounds flat as to not overlap. Spray the top of eggplant with olive oil. Place in the air fryer at 375° for about 12-16 minutes, flipping or shaking half way through. Once you flip the eggplant, if you feel the breading is a little dry spray with a little more oil. I would continue to watch the eggplant and cook to your desired crispiness.

Remove the eggplant from the air fryer and sprinkle with salt if so desired and enjoy. See below with how I served my fried eggplant. I served with fresh tomatoes and burrata. Just drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and some dried parsley and salt.

Note: I was fully prepared to cook my eggplant about 20 minutes or so, just based on a few recipes I’ve seen. However, after I started watching it, I decided to remove before it got to dark in color. Mine cooked rather quick. Just note that every air fryer is different. These times and temps are based on my specific air fryer.


Air Fryer “Fried” Eggplant

The Italian in me, loves fried eggplant. I usually make it by frying on the stove or by baking in the oven. Decided to try it with my air fryer and boy was I glad I did. It came out fantastic. So little oil used, and the crisp and flavor was spot on. I will totally make this again. ( I actually made 2 times in 1 week already…shhh don’t tell anyone.)

Check out my recipe below. Keep in mind. All air fryer are not the same. You may need to adjust cook time and temp to your specific air fryer. Also, there is several ways to remove the moisture from the eggplant. For example you can put in a colander and sprinkle with salt. However, this recipe I didn’t do that at all. Using the air fryer the eggplant didn’t’ get mushy at all.

Air Fryer Fried Eggplant

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, peeled or unpeeled
2 eggs, whisked
1 1/2-2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 T Italian seasoning
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
olive oil or cooking spray

Directions: Prepare the eggplant by slicing into 1/2″ rounds, discard the top. Add eggs to one deep bowl and season with salt and pepper and add the Italian bread crumbs to another bowl. Whisk in the cheese and seasonings.

First dip the eggplant rounds into the egg mixture, making sure to remove any excess egg. Next dip the eggplant into the breadcrumb mixture and fully coat on both sides and edges. Remove and set aside. Finish breading each slice of eggplant.

Preheat the air fryer. (Note: my unit preheats at 400 for 4 minutes) Spray the air fryer pan (or basket) with olive oil or olive oil cooking spray. Place the eggplant rounds flat as to not overlap. Spray the top of eggplant with olive oil. Place in the air fryer at 375 for about 12-16 minutes, flipping or shaking half way through. Once you flip the eggplant, if you feel the breading is a little dry spray with a little more oil. I would continue to watch the eggplant and cook to your desired crispiness.

Remove the eggplant from the air fryer and sprinkle with salt if so desired and enjoy. See below with how I served my fried eggplant. I served with fresh mozzarella and burrata. Just drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and some dried parsley and salt.

Note: I was fully prepared to cook my eggplant about 20 minutes or so, just based on a few recipes I’ve seen. However, after I started watching it, I decided to remove before it got to dark in color. Mine cooked rather quick. Just note that every air fryer is different. These times and temps are based on my specific air fryer.


Air Fryer Stuffed Mushrooms

I love stuffed mushrooms.  For someone who never loved mushrooms until I was older, it’s something I really enjoy making now.  You can really mix up recipes and add anything you want to a make a stuffed mushroom.  Any flavor combo you like. 

These were made in the air fryer and they came out SO delicious.  They were tender but not soggy at all, which unforunately is a common occurence for mushrooms since they have a high water content. 

If you love mushrooms and have an air fryer, give these a try. They are so quick to make.  Just keep in mind each air fryer is different and the cook times are estimated based on my specific air fryer.  I use an oven air fryer vs a basket one.  However, you can make this in either, you may jut have to adjust the temp and time.  If you are interested in my air fryer, check out tool bar above that says “Shop Items I Use.”

Air Fryer Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:
8-10 oz white button mushrooms, cleaned
8 oz cream cheese, soften (whipped or in the tub will work too)
1/2 small onion, diced
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup Romano cheese, finely grated
1 garlic clove, grated or finely minced
1 T olive oil
1 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t dried parsley
1 t garlic & herb seasoning, optional (Check it out on top tool bar, “Shop Items I Use”)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper

Directions: Remove mushroom stems and diced up.  In a medium bowl add in the cream cheese, onion, garlic and mushroom stems.  Mix well.  Add in the bread crumbs, Romano cheese, seasoning and oil and mix well until fully incorporated.  Taste mixture and adjust seasoning to taste.

 

Fill each mushroom evenly with the cream cheese mixture.  You want the filling to be slightly heaping.  Preheat air fryer.  Mine preheats at 400° for 4 minutes.   Place mushroom on rack (if using oven air fryer, that’s what I have) or place in basket. 

Cook mushrooms at 360° for 6-8 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don’t get very dark on top.  I originally started cooking for 8 minutes and ended up taking them our early since they were golden on top and the mushrooms were tender.  I cooked about 6 minutes.  Remove from air fryer and enjoy!

Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin

I just recently purchased an air fryer! So far, I’m loving it. I’m going to probably be expermenting with it often, so I will definately be sharing any tips and recipes with you.

This first one is going to be for a pork tenderloin. It came out PHENOMNAL. I loved the extra little char on the pork. The flavor was delicious and it cooked rather quickly. Check out the recipe below. I also added the air fryer oven that I have on my Amazon items I use at the top of this page.

Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin, 2-3lbs
1/2 T olive oil
2 t ranch seasoning
2 t garlic & herb seasoning
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Directions: Preheat your air fryer at 400° for 4 minutes. (Note: That’s my air fryer preheat, 400° for 4 minutes you can preheat however long your specific air fryer recommends) Next rub the pork with olive oil and season with the seasoning. Rub in to make sure pork is fully coated. You don’t want a lot of extra oil on the pork. Just enough to get the nice char.

Add to your air fryer rack or basket. Cook at 400 for 18-20 minutes. Flip half way through. Remove from oven and let rest. I like my pork completely cooked, meaning very little if no pink at all. You can reduce or add time depending on your preferred doneness. I recommend you use a instant read thermometer to check temperature.

Note: Every air fryer is different. You may have to adjust the recipe to your specific type and model of air fryer. The best thing to do is use an instant read thermometer to check your pork. My air fryer is listed in Items I use on top of this page as well as the garlic & herb seasoning