Whether you’ve just unwrapped a shiny new air fryer for Christmas or you’re watching your kilojoules post-festive season, Slimming Eats Made in the Air Fryer is a handy guide to getting the most out of your appliance.

A follow-up to bestselling cookbook Slimming Eats, this companion features 80 new recipes that can all be made in your favourite appliance, and better yet, contain 600 calories or less.

Whether you’re new to the world of air frying or you’re already a seasoned pro, you’ll find new ways to use your air fryer, from fragrant curries to fast pastas, crunchy fritters, party foods, sweet treats and more.

Garlic bread sausage rolls with marinara sauce

Two crowd-pleasers come together in these garlic bread sausage rolls, packed with Italian herbs and spices and wrapped in flaky pastry, with an optional marinara sauce for dipping.

INGREDIENTS

• 500g pork mince
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• olive oil spray
• 160g self-raising flour
• 180g fat-free Greek yoghurt (see tip)
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• 10g fresh parmesan, finely grated
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• pinch of salt

Marinara sauce

• 80g passata
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp sugar (or granulated sweetener)
• ½ tsp garlic granules
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano

Italian seasoning mix

• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp garlic granules
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp dried rosemary
• ¼ tsp fennel seeds, crushed
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• pinch of red chilli flakes (optional)

METHOD

1. To make the marinara sauce, whisk the ingredients in a jug until well combined, then set aside.
2. To make the Italian seasoning, mix the ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Place the pork mince in a separate bowl and mix with the maple syrup and Italian seasoning mix. Grease your hands with olive oil spray and shape the mixture into 6 sausages.
4. Preheat the air fryer to 200C for a couple of minutes.
5. Line the air fryer basket with non-stick baking paper and spray with olive oil spray. Add the sausages and air-fry for 5-6 minutes, until they are lightly golden and almost cooked through (it doesn’t matter if they are still a little undercooked in the middle). Remove and set aside.
6. Place the flour and Greek yoghurt in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until the mixture forms a ball. Roll the ball around the sides of the bowl to collect any additional flour/dough stuck to the edges.
7. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it a couple of times, then divide into 6 pieces and roll out each one into a rectangular shape roughly the same length as the sausage and just over double the width.
8. Place a sausage in the centre of one of the rectangles and fold the dough around the sausage to make a sausage roll (the ends should be open). Pinch the dough roughly to seal.
9. Place each sausage roll in the air fryer seam-side down and air fry for 10 minutes at 180C, turning for the last 3 minutes.
10. Mix the butter and garlic in a bowl with the fresh parsley. Brush over the top of the sausage rolls, sprinkle with parmesan and serve with the marinara sauce on the side, warmed slightly if you prefer.

Makes 6

Tip: It’s important to use Greek yoghurt here, not Greek-style yoghurt – otherwise you won’t get a proper dough.

Fire meatballs with cheese

The simple addition of gochujang (Korean chilli paste) to homemade meatballs adds a fun, fiery twist to a weeknight classic.

INGREDIENTS

• 500g beef mince
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp onion granules
• ½ tsp garlic granules
• pinch of salt and ground black pepper
• olive oil spray
• 100g mozzarella, torn into pieces
• 2 spring onions, chopped, to serve

Sauce

• 2 tbsp gochujang
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp sesame oil

METHOD

1. To make the sauce, whisk all the ingredients, along with 120ml water, in a jug. Set aside.
2. Place the beef in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda, spring onion, soy sauce, onion and garlic granules, salt and pepper and mix with 2 tablespoons of water until all the ingredients are combined. Spray your hands with the olive oil spray and shape the mixture into about16 meatballs.
3. Preheat the air fryer to 190C.
4. Line the air fryer basket with non-stick baking paper and spray with olive oil spray. Add the meatballs and air-fry for 8 minutes. Turn the meatballs halfway through cooking and spray again with olive oil spray.
5. Transfer the meatballs (and any juices) to a 20cm cake barrel and pour over the sauce. Remove the non-stick baking paper from the air fryer basket and place the cake barrel in the air fryer. Air-fry for 5 minutes.
6. Scatter the mozzarella over the top, reduce the temperature to 180C and air-fry for a further 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melted and lightly golden on top.
7. Sprinkle with the chopped spring onions and serve.

Serves 4

Serving suggestions: Serve with rice and sliced cucumber (the cucumber helps to balance the heat). These are equally delicious without the cheese.

Loaded Sriracha fries

Siobhan Wightman gives hot chips an upgrade with a spicy paprika seasoning and Sriracha mayo, made with low-fat yoghurt (shh!).

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg potatoes, peeled and sliced into fries
• 80g Chinese leaf cabbage, shredded
• 1 red capsicum, finely diced
• 60g onion, finely diced
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp cooking oil of your choice
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 60g grated cheddar, to serve
• 2 spring onions, sliced, and sesame seeds, to serve

Seasoning

• ½ tsp sweet paprika
• ½ tsp onion granules
• ½ tsp garlic granules
• salt
• olive oil spray

Sriracha mayo

• 2 tbsp light mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp plain fat-free yoghurt
• 2 tsp sriracha

METHOD

1. Soak the potatoes in ice-cold water for at least 45 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
2. Preheat the air fryer to 190C for 2 minutes.
3. Place the cabbage and red capsicum directly into the air fryer basket. Add the onion, chilli powder, paprika, salt and black pepper and oil. Toss to mix, then air-fry for 8-10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic and shake the basket halfway through cooking. Remove the vegetables and set aside.
4. To prepare the fries, add the paprika, garlic granules, onion granules and salt to the potatoes and toss to coat. Spray a few times with olive oil spray.
5. Preheat the air fryer to 200C and cook the potatoes for 22-25 minutes. Toss a couple of times in the basket throughout cooking. Transfer to a warmed plate.
6. To make the Sriracha mayo, whisk the mayonnaise with the yoghurt in a bowl, then add the Sriracha. Add a little water if necessary to loosen it slightly for drizzling.
7. Reheat the cabbage mixture for a couple of minutes and place it on top of the fries. Top with the grated cheddar, drizzle all over with Sriracha mayo and sprinkle with sliced spring onion and sesame seeds.

Serves 4

Tip: You can increase the Sriracha to your desired taste if you wish to add more heat to the Sriracha mayo.

This is an edited extract from Slimming Eats Made in the Air Fryer by Siobhan Wightman, photography by Andrew Burton, food styling by Lou Kenney, published by Yellow Kite.