Every air fryer recipe you need for Christmas

If you don’t already have one, you’re bound to know someone who does (and the likelihood is they don’t stop talking about how amazing it is). Air fryer fever is in full force across the UK, with thousands of these machines sitting on our worktops chirping, beeping and whirring away as they blast our favourite foods with a gale of super-heated air.

Air fryers make light work of frozen food, crisping things up evenly (often in half the time it would take in a regular oven) – but that’s the tip of the iceberg. This nifty little appliance can cook dishes worthy of dinner parties, bake cakes, churn out batches of canapés – and even boil eggs. And at Christmas, when oven space is at a premium, the air fryer really comes into its own.

Over the past few months we’ve been putting our air fryers through their paces in the delicious. test kitchen, pushing the limits of what they can handle and working out which recipes they’re best suited to. These 12 festive dishes are actually better air-fried than baked or roasted in a traditional oven – something that surprised (and delighted) us.

12 essential Christmas air fryer recipes

Air fryer mince pies
Even the simplest mince pie tastes better than anything shop-bought when it’s freshly baked – or in this case, air-fried. These turnovers require just four ingredients and half an hour of your time: the perfect last-minute snack for festive entertaining.

Air fryer sage-butter roast potatoes
Discover how to make perfect roast potatoes in the air fryer. Tossing spuds with earthy sage butter complements the naturally buttery flavour of the potatoes, while the air fryer gives a super crisp and even finish.

Air fryer crispy ’nduja sprouts
Brussels sprouts crisp up beautifully in an air fryer – the outer leaves caramelising to golden shards. Tossing anything in ’nduja is a good idea, but it works particularly well here, creating a sweet, fiery, salty side.

Air fryer marzipan chocolate brownies
Brownies with a molten marzipan core and nutty top – ideal for entertaining or snacking on every time you pass through the kitchen. The way the air fryer works means you get a crackly top AND a gooey centre, so don’t be tempted to slice these before they’ve fully cooled.

Air fryer sesame egg mayo vol-au-vents
Boiling an egg in an air fryer? Yep, it works! The shell protects the eggs from the heat, allowing them to cook and turn solid exactly as they do when submerged in boiling water. The heat will also puff up the pastry cases more than a conventional oven and give them an even, glossy golden finish all over.

Air fryer eggnog cheesecake
Baked cheesecakes are guaranteed to please a crowd, and they’re brilliant cooked in the air fryer. The stable temperature and constantly moving air means the top is much less likely to crack, providing you with a cheesecake that looks as good as it tastes – which, when enriched with rum for an eggnog-esque flavour, is very good indeed.

Air fryer festive traybake with gravy mayo
Everything you love about a Christmas dinner in a single dish, all cooked in the air fryer – perfect if you can’t wait until the big day for those festive flavours (or you’re cooking for just one or two). The thickened beef stock enriched with mayo is a revelation too – you’ll be dipping everything in sight into it.

Air fryer cranberry-glazed chicken wings
These festive chicken wings are sweet, savoury and sticky. Perfect for a crowd served as a snack or as part of a larger buffet spread.

Air fryer mushroom and chestnut stuffing balls
These umami bombs are the ultimate addition to any Christmas spread, the classic stuffing combo of mushrooms and chestnuts amped up with miso.

Make them in advance and save precious oven space by air-frying 15 minutes before you dish up. Don’t worry about how wet the stuffing mix may feel. The magic of the air fryer will lock in that moisture for something crunchy on the outside but soft inside.

Air fryer mini stilton-rarebit scones with onion chutney
These mini cheese scones are a brilliant festive bake to make in your air fryer. Because the hot air gets blown around the inside of an air fryer, your scones will cook evenly and at the same time – in many regular ovens there are hotspots that can cause issues. There’s no need to coat the scones in oil as you want the air fryer to bake rather than ‘fry’ them – and the butter in the dough provides richness to get that crumbly texture.

Air fryer potato and smoked salmon canapés
The best canapés are the ones that look classy yet require minimal prep. These salmon-topped bites use tinned potatoes, a great, thrifty storecupboard standby. Made in an air fryer, they quickly become crispy little superstars.

Christmas leftovers turkey toastie
Treat your Boxing Day sandwich to an air-fryer upgrade in this easy recipe. When making toasties in the air fryer, think of them as a stack of ingredients rather than fillings encased in bread. Everything cooks at the same time (compare this to when the heat comes from below: you need to flip the toastie and wait for the centre to warm through), so if cheese, turkey or sprouts are exposed, they’ll get a nice crisp caramelisation too.

Read our guide to cooking your Christmas dinner sides in the air fryer next.