How To Cook Vegetables In the Air Fryer

Save time and cook delicious vegetables in your Air Fryer! We’ve got tips and cook times, along with plenty of recipes to get you started.

Roasting vegetables has become easier in recent years, thanks to the Air Fryer. It’s one of the new “in” appliances for modern kitchens and for good reason. 

I love my air fryer. It’s something I use all the time and I’m fairly obsessed with it. That’s why I’ve dedicated a large section of this site to air fryer recipes.

The air fryer is one of those magical appliances that changed the way that I cook, and it can do so for you as well. But, there’s a common misconception that you can only cook appetizer-type foods like wings or mozzarella sticks in an air fryer. That’s not true at all. 

It can be an amazing vegetable roaster, allowing you to create some perfectly cooked veggies for your whole family to enjoy. In this article, we’re going to explain why you should use your air fryer to cook vegetables before giving you some helpful tips on how to do it the right way every time. 

Video: Cooking Air Fryer Veggies

Why Cook Vegetables in the Air Fryer?

1. The first reason to cook vegetables in your air fryer boils down to time. You can roast quickly, typically for 10 minutes at the most. Some veggies, like Brussels Sprouts, actually take only 7 minutes. Typically, the harder the vegetable, the longer it will take. 
2. Your vegetables will come out soft and perfect every time. What’s more, you can create a perfect caramelization on the outside. It works wonders with carrots.
3. You can create perfectly browned roast vegetables. Simply add another two to four minutes to your cooking time if you want them browner. This all comes down to personal taste. 
4. Most of these recipes are set it and forget it style. You do all of your seasoning in a separate bowl, you put everything in your preheated air fryer, and then you just wait for the appliance to do its job. There’s not a lot of tossing and flipping to be done. 
5. It’s super energy efficient. You’re not going to have to heat up your oven to roast some vegetables. So, you’re using less electricity or gas, depending on your oven. 
6. It frees the oven up for other dishes. You could be roasting your veggies while baking something completely different in the oven. 

General Tips for Cooking Vegetables in the Air Fryer

Okay, so now that you understand why you should cook your vegetables in the air fryer, it’s time to go over a few helpful tips that can be applied across the board. 

For all of our basic air fryer vegetable recipes, we recommend tossing your veggies with cooking oil, salt, and pepper. 

However, we recommend doing this in a separate bowl. Don’t season and douse with the oil while the vegetables are in the air fryer basket. 

Why, you ask? 

The oil and seasonings can drop through the holes of the basket, meaning you’re wasting a lot of that seasoning and your vegetables might come out bland. By using a bowl, you’re making sure that the seasoning and oil stay where you want them. 

It’s also a good idea to try and get your veggies into a single layer when in the air fryer basket, or as close to a single layer as possible. This ensures that they will cook evenly. 

Finally, it’s never a good idea to spray cooking spray into your air fryer directly. When you spray cooking spray onto a non-stick surface, it can become sticky over time. Consider using a mister, or, just use cooking oil in a separate bowl like we discussed earlier.

How to Cook Vegetables in the Air Fryer

Air Fryer vegetable directions are pretty straight forward for most of the basic recipes we’re going to be discussing. 

First, preheat your air fryer to 400°F. This is the preferred cooking temperature for all of the recipes on our list. 

Next, you’ll place your vegetables into a bowl, preferably while the air fryer is heating up to preserve time. Now, you’ll cover the veggies in some kind of cooking oil and season them with salt and pepper. Remember, when you’re cooking something like mushrooms, you’re using more oil because they tend to soak a lot of it up. 

Arrange your vegetables in the basket and try to get them into one single layer. Some overlap is okay but you want to get as close to one layer as possible. 

The average cooking time for roasted vegetables is 10 minutes. Something like green beans, however, will only cook for five. If you want to add some brown to those veggies, cook them for another two to four minutes. Then, once they’ve reached the desired doneness, transfer them to a plate and serve! 

Type of Vegetable	Air Fryer Temp.	Cooking Time	Link to Full Recipe
Carrots	400°F	10 Minutes	Instructions
Green Beans	400°F	5 Minutes	Instructions
Broccoli	400°F	10 Minutes	Instructions
Mushrooms	400°F	10 Minutes	Instructions
Eggplant	400°F	10 Minutes	Instructions
Brussels Sprouts	400°F	7-10 Minutes	Instructions
Asparagus	400°F	5 Minutes	Instructions
Zucchini	400°F	8 Minutes	Instructions
Yellow Squash	400°F	8 Minutes	Instructions
Cauliflower	400°F	10 Minutes	Instructions

How To Make Tastier Vegetables In The Air Fryer

Up until now we’ve been talking about some very basic air fryer vegetable recipes. However, there’s a whole world of possibilities out there, and we have some more advanced recipes to share with you so that you can really get the most out of your air fryer. 

You can easily add some intense flavor to our roasted carrot recipe by creating Air Fryer Carrots with a Honey Glaze.

Green beans deserve a little more than salt and pepper. You can add some breading to create Green Bean Fries. 

If you’re tired of the same old roasted broccoli, you can use our recipe for Broccoli with Parmesan and Garlic to add some incredible flavor in there. 

Instead of regular mushrooms, you can create perfect Stuffed Mushrooms in your air fryer by adding some breadcrumbs, cheese, and cream cheese. 

Our recipe for Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan takes the side dish of roasted eggplant and turns it into an entree. 

If your kids hate Brussels sprouts, get them to try these Crispy Balsamic Brussels Sprouts. They’re sure to impress. 

You can turn your roasted asparagus into a tremendous appetizer by making some Bacon Wrapped Asparagus in the air fryer. It only takes 10 minutes of cook time. 

Forget regular old zucchini. Your meal deserves Air Fryer Zucchini Chips accompanying it. Just add some all-purpose flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs! 

You can create a true Southern delight with Air Fryer Southern Fried Squash. Add some cornmeal, breadcrumbs, and seasoning to create something truly unique. 

Plain old cauliflower not good enough for you? Try some Buffalo Cauliflower with breadcrumbs, seasoning, wing sauce, and of course some ranch or blue cheese dressing.

In Conclusion

With the air fryer, there’s so many delicious possibilities for getting vegetables on the table quicker and easier than ever. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do!