My friend in Phoenix said she never preheats her air fryer

I was at her place and she just put frozen chicken strips straight in from the freezer. She said it saves time and the results are the same. I tried it with some Ore-Ida fries for 12 minutes at 400 degrees and they came out perfectly crispy. Does skipping the preheat actually work for everything, or just certain frozen foods?

4 comments

4 Comments

alexpalmer1mo ago

Yeah, that tracks. I mean, frozen stuff is already, like, super cold and the air fryer heats up so fast anyway. Might be a total waste of time to preheat for anything that comes out of the freezer.

joelh291mo ago

Ever wonder if it wears out the heating element faster?

williams.luna9d ago

I get what you're saying, but I'd argue preheating still matters for frozen foods if you want that crispy outside. @alexpalmer, I've found that without preheating, frozen fries often come out unevenly cooked and a bit oily on one side. It might cost you a couple extra minutes, but the texture difference is worth it to me.

the_julia1mo ago

Whoa, your friend is onto something! I totally do the same thing with my air fryer now. I never preheat for frozen stuff, like those exact fries or even frozen meatballs. They always come out fine. I did try it with fresh broccoli once though, and it was a bit soggy, so maybe it's just a frozen food hack. Saves a solid five minutes, so why not?