Easy Air Fryer Dinners for Busy Nights

Cooking steak at home is usually a high-stress event. You have to get a cast-iron skillet smoking hot, set off every fire alarm in your house, and deal with grease splattering all over your stove. There is a better way. Welcome back to The Crispy Basket. Today, we are making the juiciest steak of your life with zero smoke. By cutting the steak into bites, we create more surface area for the seasoning to cling to. The air fryer blasts these bites with intense heat, creating a beautiful “sear” on the outside while keeping the inside pink and tender. We … Read more

The promise of the air fryer was simple: “Healthy french fries that taste deep-fried.” But if you have ever sliced up a potato, thrown it in the basket, and turned it on, you know the reality is often disappointing. You usually end up with fries that are burnt on the tips, raw in the middle, and weirdly limp. Welcome back to The Crispy Basket. Today, we are mastering the definitive test of air frying. To get a fry that stands up straight, has a glass-like crispy exterior, and a fluffy mashed-potato interior, we have to respect the chemistry of the … Read more

If you have spent any time on food social media lately, you have likely seen Smashed Potatoes. It’s a brilliant concept: take a baby potato, boil it until tender, and then physically smash it flat before roasting it. Why smash it? Because smashing creates jagged, rough edges and cracks. And in the culinary world, rough edges = maximum crispiness. While the oven version is great, it takes forever. Welcome back to The Crispy Basket, where we do things faster and crispier. Today, we are making Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes. The intense hot air circulation of the air fryer turns those … Read more