5-Ingredient Air Fryer Recipes: 200 Delicious and Easy Meal Ideas Including Gluten-Free and Vegan

Life is filled with countless little pleasures - crispy, crunchy fried food is one of them.

Thanks to the invention of the home air fryer, which relies on hot air rather than hot oil to "fry" foods, you need not wait for weekend splurges or special occasions to savor this simple delight. You can enjoy fried foods anytime, with a fraction of the fat and calories and none of the messy cleanup left in the wake of traditional oil-fried foods.

But why stop there? What if your favorite fried foods (and so many more) could be made with a small number of familiar ingredients, minimal preparation and little time? If that sounds too good to be true, think again, because such recipes are yours for the making in 5-Ingredient Air Fryer Recipes.

All of the recipes in this collection require no more than five ingredients (excluding salt, pepper, water and cooking spray), and most can be fully prepared in just 15 to 20 minutes. Each recipe is unique, designed exclusively for the air fryer and downright delectable. The results are every bit as irresistible as higher-fat options - perhaps even more so. Moreover, each dish is delicious proof that a recipe needn't rely on expensive, hard-to-find ingredients and complicated steps to be excellent.

Whether you are a novice or a well-seasoned air-fry cook, you will find recipe after recipe that delivers impressive results, time and again. This collection will inspire you to head to the kitchen to let the air-frying fun begin. The recipes will carry you through every type of occasion, from an impromptu party with friends to quick meals before and after work, as well as through every season of the year.

Camilla V. Saulsbury is the author of more than 20 cookbooks and is a freelance food writer, recipe developer, cooking instructor and creator of the healthy cooking blog powerhungry.com. She's been featured on Good Morning America, Today and the Food Network, and in The New York Times.