Three Christmas sides you can cook in an air fryer

Make Christmas dinner a breeze by cooking your sides in the air fryer, says Prudence Wade

The air fryer is the perfect place to handle Christmas side dishes (Haarala Hamilton/PA)

“This one goes out to all the lost carrots over the years that have been just cut into rounds and boiled,” says chef Poppy O’Toole, who goes by Poppy Cooks on social media.

“I’m sorry you went out like that. We will do better. Here’s to more carrots being roasted in honey and going out in style. They deserve it.”

To make this dish vegan, replace honey with maple syrup and use a dairy-free alternative to butter – and you can boost the flavour even more by adding a crushed garlic clove to the honey and butter mix.

Honey roast carrots

This dish is so easy there will be no excuses for boring festive sides (Haarala Hamilton/PA)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 carrots, peeled and sliced in half lengthways

Vegetable oil, for spraying

2 tbsp runny honey

1 tsp butter

Salt and ground black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the air fryer to 180C/350F.

2. Get the carrots in the air-fryer basket and spray them with the vegetable oil. Then cook them for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a microwaveable bowl, melt the honey and butter together for about 30 seconds, until liquidy, then season well.

4. When the carrots have been in the air fryer for 10 minutes, tip them into the honey and butter mixture and mix well so that they are all coated, then pop them back into the air fryer for a further 10 minutes, until sticky, glazed and tender. Depending on the size of your carrots, you may need to cook them for a little longer, so cook in five-minute intervals until tender.

Roast potatoes

Save oven space by crisping up your spuds in the air fryer (Haarala Hamilton/PA)

“Believe it or not, I’m no stranger to a roast potato or two (or seven), and I’ve made it my life’s work to ensure you have the best potatoes on your plate every time,” says O’Toole.

“With an air fryer, the process is much quicker, which means potato gets to your mouth in half the time – always a good thing.

“For me, the perfect roast potato has a crispy exterior while still maintaining a beautifully fluffy interior, and this recipe does exactly that.”

Serves: 2-4, depending on greed

Ingredients:

4 Maris Piper, russet or red skin potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp fine salt

Method:

1. Heat the air fryer to 160C/325F.

2. In a mixing bowl, toss the potatoes in the oil and salt, and tip them into the air-fryer basket.

3. Cook for 30 minutes, giving them a proper aggressive toss every 10 minutes, and even poke them with a fork if you want to fluff up the insides further.

4. Increase the heat to 200C/400F and cook for a further six minutes, until golden and crispy.

Chestnut and bacon sprouts

Two festive favourites brought together in a glorious mash-up (Haarala Hamilton/PA)

“Sprouts are underrated and can be such a delicious vegetable side. When they are cooked right, and not pure mush, they add texture, flavour and colour to any dish,” says O’Toole.

You can easily customise this dish to your guests’ dietary requirements – skip the bacon if anyone is vegetarian, and swap out for vegan butter if necessary.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

50g butter, melted

500g fresh or frozen Brussels sprouts (if fresh, cut in half)

100g bacon lardons

50g pre-cooked chestnuts, chopped

Sea salt flakes and ground black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the air fryer to 180C/350F.

2. In a large bowl, mix the butter with the sprouts, season with salt and pepper and place in the air-fryer basket. Just chuck over the bacon lardons.

3. Cook for five minutes then add in the chestnuts. Cook for another five to 10 minutes, checking at five-minute intervals until cooked to your liking.

‘Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Air Fryer Cookbook’ (Bloomsbury Publishing, £20).