Steph de Sousa's air fryer recipes for easy weeknight dinners.

So, you're obsessed with your air fryer… or your friends won't stop raving about their air fryers so now you're wondering what all the fuss is about. 

Whichever camp you sit in, I'm on a mission to help you make the most of your appliance with recipes that are easy to make and packed full of flavour — perfect for the whole family. 

So here are four of my favourite, affordable recipes from my new cookbook I am sure you will love. 

Happy cooking! 

1. Epic crispy chilli chicken.

Get ready for a flavour explosion of spicy, crunchy, irresistible chicken! You can make this meek and mild or mind-blowingly hot. You drive this bus.

Epic crispy chilli chicken. Image: supplied.

Serves: 4

Prep and cook time: 25 mins

What you need:

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

• ¼ cup cornflour

• 2 tbsp sesame oil

• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce

• 500g chicken thigh fillets

• Diced olive oil cooking spray

• 1 long red chilli

• Sliced finely 2 green onions

• Sliced finely

• 1 tsp sesame seeds

• To serve: Microwave white rice

For the sticky sauce:

• ¼ cup chilli oil

• ¼ cup honey

• ¼ cup dark soy sauce

• Chilli flakes (optional)

What you do:

1. Start off by mixing the garlic powder, onion powder and cornflour in a big zip-top bag.

2. Next, combine the sesame oil and soy sauce then toss in your chicken pieces, give it all a good stir making sure every piece gets a nice coat of the mixture.

3. Throw your chicken in the zip-top bag and give it a really good shake, coating your chicken all over in the flour mix.

4. Now, spray your air fryer basket with some olive oil, then place your chicken pieces in the basket. Make sure they're not all clumped together. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you might need to cook these in batches. Give your chicken a spray of olive oil.

5. Pop your chicken in the air fryer. Set the temperature to 200°C and the timer for 10-12 minutes, or until they're fully cooked. Give them a shake halfway through so every piece gets crispy.

6. While the chicken is getting all crispy and delicious, let's make the sticky sauce. Grab a largish pan and add the chilli oil, honey and soy sauce, and bring it to a sizzle over medium heat. Toss in your chilli flakes, if you're using them.

7. Once the chicken is cooked, add it to your sizzling sticky sauce and stir well so every piece is nicely coated.

8. For the finishing touch, sprinkle over the sliced fresh chilli, green onions and sesame seeds. Voilà! Your air fryer crispy chilli chicken is ready to be devoured over warmed-up microwave rice. Enjoy your meal!

Watch: Need a sweet treat for after? You can make that in an air fryer too! Post continues below.

2. Spice-it-up chicken fajitas.

Say yes to a mid-week fiesta! Try these fajitas with chicken, rump steak, or even cauli. Whatever you fancy, it's all delish! Mix it up and munch on!

Spice-it-up chicken fajitas. Image: supplied.

Serves: 4

Prep and cook time: 30 mins

What you need:

• 1 tbsp ground cumin

• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

• 1 tbsp dried oregano

• 1 tsp onion salt

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp pepper

• 4 chicken thigh fillets, cut into finger-sized pieces

• 2 medium red capsicums, sliced

• 2 medium onions, sliced

• Olive oil, to drizzle

What you do:

1. Gather all your spices, salt and pepper, put them in a large bowl, and give them a good mix.

2. Grab your chicken pieces and plop them in the bowl with your spices. Get your hands in there and massage those spices into your chicken until they're thoroughly coated.

3. Add your sliced capsicums and onions to the same bowl. Give everything a good mix so the veggies get some of that spice love too.

4. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over your spiced chicken and veggies. Give them another good mix to ensure everything is well coated.

5. Once they're ready, transfer your spiced chicken and veggies into the air fryer. Set the temperature to 200°C and the timer for 25 minutes. Make sure to give your chicken a shake or turn them over to ensure they cook through evenly.

3. Lemony barramundi parcels.

If you are looking to impress someone with your cooking expertise, this is the one for you. This not only looks great, but is also very yummy.

Lemony barramundi parcels. Image: supplied.

Serves: 2

Prep and cook time: 30 mins

What you need:

• 1 bunch broccolini

• 2 x 200g barramundi fillets

• Salt and pepper

• 1 lemon

• 100g butter, chopped

What you do:

1. Trim the broccolini stems to roughly match the length of your barramundi fillets. This makes everything nice and neat!

2. Lay out a large piece of foil and top with a piece of baking paper. They need to be large enough to lovingly wrap up your fish and broccolini. Think of it as a cosy blanket for your ingredients!

3. Season your barramundi fillets with salt and pepper then place your broccolini in the middle of the baking paper and your fish on top, like they're both ready for a snooze.

4. Now, slice your lemon into thin rounds. Place 3 lemon slices on top of each barramundi fillet.

5. Next, place your butter on the lemon. Add a little more salt and pepper for good measure. Butter plus citrus equals delicious!

6. It's time to wrap up your parcels! Make sure they're secure because we don't want any of those yummy juices to escape. That's liquid gold, my friend!

7. Remember, it's like wrapping a present: bring the sides of the baking paper up to meet on top, then fold down a few times. Do the same with the ends and tuck them under to keep everything sealed. It's like origami for food!

8. Pop both your parcels into the air fryer basket and set the temperature to 180°C and the timer for 20 minutes or until your fish is cooked through.

9. Just like it's Christmas morning, unwrap your delicious parcels!

4. Flavour-packed Italian meatballs.

Now, sit back, relax, and get ready for the aroma of Italian cuisine to fill your kitchen. Pop these meatballs over spaghetti and you will be loving yourself sick!

Flavour packed Italian meatballs. Image: supplied.

Serves: 16

Prep and cook time: 45 mins

What you need:

• 500g pork and veal mince blend

• ¼ cup milk

• ½ cup panko breadcrumbs

• ¼ cup diced bacon

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• ¼ cup finely grated parmesan

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp pepper

• Olive oil cooking spray

• 700ml bottle tomato passata

• To serve: Cooked spaghetti and extra parmesan

What you do:

1. First, grab a big bowl and pop in your pork and veal mince, the milk, breadcrumbs, bacon, fennel seeds, parmesan, tomato paste, parsley, salt and pepper.

2. Now, get in there with your hands and mix it up until it's nice and combined!

3. Once that's done, roll the mixture into balls about the size of a golf ball.

4. Now, let's get your air fryer ready! Spray it with a bit of olive oil and place your meatballs in a single layer inside. Spray the tops of the meatballs with some more olive oil.

5. Time to cook! Set the temperature to 200°C and the timer for 10 minutes, but don't forget to turn them halfway through and give them another spritz of olive oil.

6. After 10 minutes, take out your meatballs and remove the plate at the bottom of your air fryer basket. You can also use a baking pan or dish that fits your fryer if that works better for you.

7. Place your meatballs back in the basket and pour over the bottle of tomato passata.

8. Put it back in your air fryer. Set the temperature again to 200°C and the timer for 20 minutes, giving it all a good ol' stir halfway through. Then it's just a matter of serving it all with bowls of spaghetti and more parmesan.

If you're now convinced and want to buy a great air fryer, I recommend the Sunbeam SteamFry 7L.

Steph de Sousa's new cookbook, Air Fryer Queen is available now, RRP $29.99 (on sale now for $15 at Target).

For more air fryer recipes, visit Steph's website here.

Feature image: Supplied.