6 Healthy Air-Fryer Recipes For Children

Open any menu at any restaurant in Egypt, and flip to the kids’ section, what are you most likely to find? Loads of delicious deep-fried meals. As a mom who’s into balanced healthy eating, it has always amazed me that I can’t find any healthy options to feed my son from the kids’ menu. Okay, we get it, children love fried food, and for many moms, fried food is the reason why their children eat in the first place but we don’t really have to compromise. We can definitely feed our children healthy nutritious food that’s delish.

 

Recipes for children using Air-Fryer

 

Chicken Parmesan strips

Ingredients:

½ kg chicken breasts
1-2 eggs
2 tbs olive oil
½ cup flour
½ cup breadcrumbs or panko
½ cup Parmesan cheese

 

Steps:

1. Cut the chicken breasts into strips or nugget-sized pieces.
2. Marinate the chicken breasts [Basic marination: onion, lime, salt, and pepper. I add mustard, paprika, yogurt or buttermilk, spice mix, and olive oil]
3. Mix breadcrumbs or panko, with the grated Parmesan.
4. Cover chicken in flour, then dip in the egg mix then cover with the breadcrumbs or panko Parmesan mix.
5. Freeze for 30 minutes.
6. Place in Air-Fryer, spray with oil and set the temperature to 180°C and timer to 30 min.
7. Shake the tray halfway and return the strips back.

 

Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 kg lean ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Parsley, finely chopped
1 egg
Breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg (optional)
1-2 tbs olive oil

 

Steps:

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Shape into small balls.
3. Place in Air-Fryer spray or brush with oil, and set the temperature to 180°C and timer to 15 min.
4. Shake the tray halfway and return it back.

 

Barbeque chicken drumsticks

 

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken drumsticks
1-liter buttermilk
2 cups seasoned flour
BBQ sauce

 

Steps:

1. Marinate chicken and place it in buttermilk. Let it sit for a good two hours or overnight.
2. Coat the drumsticks with the flour mix completely. Make sure to shake it beforehand to get rid of the excessive buttermilk.
3. Place in Air-Fryer, spray with oil and set the temperature to 180-200°C and timer to 35 min.
4. Glaze with BBQ sauce (repeat twice).
5. Shake the tray halfway and return the drumsticks back.

 

Potato croquette

Ingredients:

2 cups potato, cooked and mashed
1 egg
1/2 onion, shallots or spring onion, finely diced or chopped
Parsley, finely chopped
1 spoonful white flour
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup beef mince or shredded chicken
Salt and pepper
1 egg, seasoned and beaten
Breadcrumbs

 

Steps:

1. Mix mashed potatoes, egg, onion, parsley, flour, mozzarella cheese, animal protein, and seasoning.
2. Shape into balls or thick sticks.
3. Dip in the beaten seasoned egg.
4. Coat with breadcrumbs.
5. Repeat dipping and coating if necessary.
6. Freeze for 30 min.
7. Place in Air-Fryer, spray with oil and set the temperature to 160°C and timer to 25 min.
8. Shake the tray halfway and return it back.

 

Mozzarella sticks

Ingredients:

Mozzarella sticks
Egg, seasoned and beaten
Breadcrumbs

 

Steps:

1. Dip the mozzarella sticks in the egg mixture.
2. Coat it with breadcrumbs.
3. Repeat the previous two steps one more time.
4. Place in Air-Fryer, spray with oil and set the temperature to 140°C and timer to 10 min.
5. Shake the tray halfway and return it back.

 

French fries, potato or sweet potato wedges

 

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes or sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in the desired shape
Olive oil
Vinegar
Salt and pepper
Oregano, dried coriander, paprika, garlic powder, and other spices (optional)

 

Steps:

1. Boil the potatoes or sweet potatoes, until they’re half cooked.
2. Mix fries/wedges/cubes with all other ingredients and massage the potatoes.
3. Place in Air-Fryer and set the temperature to 160-180°C and timer to 30 min.
4. Shake the tray halfway and return it back.

 

This last one might sound like stating the obvious, however, believe me, it took me a while to reach a texture that I actually like, which is soft from the inside, but still crunchy from the outside. Air fryer always gave me really dry fries.

 

It’s important to know that different Air-Fryer brands differ in terms of the ideal temperature setup and cooking time. Please check the label on your Air-Fryer brand. Some actually come with cool accessories that you can use to make brownies, muffins, and other desserts. Not sure though that they’re available in Egypt, I personally searched a lot and couldn’t find them.

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