Air fryer breakfast

Time

9 min

Temp

400 °F / 204 °C

Air fryer bacon at 400 °F (204 °C) for about 9 minutes is the cleanest way to cook bacon at home — no stovetop splatter, no oven sheet pan to scrub. Flip at the 5-minute mark. Drain the drip tray between batches so the rendered fat does not start smoking.

Time

5 min

Temp

350 °F / 177 °C

Store-bought bagels (Thomas's / Lender's / Einstein Bros / NYC-style bakery) toast in 5 minutes at 350 °F (177 °C) — cut-side up for 3 min, flip to cut-side down for the final 2 min — for a deeper golden toast and more even warm-through than a pop-up toaster delivers. The convection cook hits both faces and the side crust simultaneously, so a sandwich bagel comes out evenly hot rather than crisp-on-one-side / cold-on-the-other. Day-old or 2-day-old bagels actually toast BETTER than fresh (slightly stale crumb dehydrates faster). Frozen bagels work the same recipe — no thaw, +90 seconds. For alternate techniques: from-dough bagels (300 °F / 12 min after a baking-soda boil) and bagel chips (sliced thin rings, 350 °F / 4 min) both work in the same basket — see the breakfast category for related entries.

Time

10 min

Temp

330 °F / 165 °C

Refrigerator-tube biscuits (Pillsbury Grands! Buttermilk is the high-volume default) bake in 10 minutes at 330 °F (165 °C), no flip — the convection air delivers a deeper golden top and crisper sides than the oven version, in roughly half the time. Single-layer on parchment with 1 inch between biscuits (they double in width during cook). Brush melted butter on the tops at 7 minutes for the bakery-shop finish. The flaky-layer pull-apart that the tube promises actually shows up here, where the high-velocity heat sets the butter layers fast instead of melting them flat. Pair with sausage gravy, jam, or split for a fried-chicken sandwich.

Time

8 min

Temp

325 °F / 163 °C

A breakfast burrito air-fries at 325 °F (163 °C) for about 8 minutes, flipping once halfway, until the tortilla is crisp and golden and the filling is hot at 165 °F (74 °C). Fill with cooked eggs, cheese, and meat, wrap tightly seam-side down, and skip the oil — the dry tortilla crisps on its own.

Time

14 min

Temp

400 °F / 204 °C

Breakfast potatoes at 400 °F (204 °C) for 14 minutes with a shake at the halfway mark give you crisp-outside, fluffy-inside cubes without stovetop splatter or a pan to scrub. The 10-minute cold-water soak removes surface starch — it is the single biggest difference between mediocre and great air fryer potatoes.

Time

8 min

Temp

400 °F / 204 °C

Breakfast sausage links or patties air-fry at 400 °F (204 °C) for about 8 minutes, flipping once halfway, until browned and cooked to 160 °F (71 °C). Lay them in a single layer with space between, and skip the oil — they render plenty of their own fat as they cook.

Time

10 min

Temp

320 °F / 160 °C

Refrigerator-tube croissants (Pillsbury Crescent Rolls is the high-volume default) bake in 10 minutes at 320 °F (160 °C), no flip — the convection chamber lifts the lamination into noticeably puffier, flakier rolls than the oven version, in roughly half the time. Single layer on parchment with 1 inch between rolled crescents (they roughly double during cook); brush with egg wash if you want the bakery-shop golden sheen. The 320 °F temperature is critical — the laminated butter scorches above 330 °F before the centre flakes properly, so this runs a touch cooler than biscuits. Pair plain with butter and jam, or fill before rolling (cheese, ham-and-cheese, Nutella) for stuffed-crescent variants. For day-old bakery croissants — already fully baked, so they want a separate 300 °F / 3 min reheat — see the storage note rather than this recipe.

Time

5 min

Temp

350 °F / 177 °C

Crumpets toast in the air fryer in about 5 minutes at 350 °F (177 °C), flipped once, until the bottom is crisp and the holed top is dry and ready for butter. A crumpet is a soft, yeasted griddle cake, cooked on one side only so the top sets full of open holes — and it is sold fully cooked, so the air fryer is purely a toaster here, drying and crisping rather than baking. Start them holes-up so the surface firms, flip near the end to crisp the dense smooth base, then drown the warm holes in butter that melts straight in. Unlike a English Muffins, which you split through the middle to expose its nooks and crannies, a crumpet is toasted whole with its holes already facing up — same teatime-bread idea, different structure. It toasts much like a thick slice of Texas Toast or a quick round of Naan, but stays softer and spongier inside. Top it sweet with jam, honey, or lemon curd, or go savoury with Marmite and a poached egg. 4 ways to serve it: classic butter-and-jam, savoury Marmite-and-egg, cream-tea clotted cream, or cinnamon-sugar butter.

Time

8 min

Temp

320 °F / 160 °C

Danish pastries air-fry in about 8 minutes at 320 °F (160 °C) with no flipping, puffing up into deep-golden, flaky layers with a set, bubbling filling. Start with refrigerated or frozen laminated danish dough — cheese, fruit, or cinnamon — brush the tops with a little beaten egg for colour, and space them apart in a single layer. The key is the lower temperature: laminated pastry browns quickly, so gentler heat lets the buttery layers cook through before the top scorches. Cook frozen danishes straight from the freezer with a couple of extra minutes, and add any icing or glaze only after they've cooled so it sets instead of running off. Unlike Croissants (a plain laminated crescent with no filling), Cinnamon Rolls (soft rolled dough that's frosted), Apple Turnovers (a folded puff-pastry triangle), or Monkey Bread (pull-apart caramel-coated dough balls), a danish is a flat, open laminated pastry built around a sweet filling. 4 ways to make them: cream cheese, fruit, cinnamon, and almond.

Time

14 min

Temp

350 °F / 177 °C

A Dutch baby air-fries in about 14 minutes at 350 °F (177 °C), no flipping, puffing dramatically up the sides of the pan into a golden, crisp-edged German pancake. The trick is heat: butter an oven-safe pan that fits your basket, preheat it empty in the air fryer, then pour in a smooth, rested egg-flour-milk batter — the batter hitting the hot greased pan is what makes it billow up the sides. Keep the basket closed for the full time (opening it early collapses the puff), and serve it the moment it's done, because a Dutch baby deflates within a minute or two of coming out. Unlike Pancakes (individual flat rounds poured on a griddle) or Waffles (cooked in a waffle iron), a Dutch baby is a single pour-and-bake pancake with a custardy centre and crisp, dramatic edges; and unlike Funnel Cake (fried lacy batter), it bakes in the dry heat of the air fryer with no frying oil. 4 ways to make it: classic lemon-sugar, berry, apple-cinnamon, and savory cheese-herb.

Time

12 min

Temp

300 °F / 149 °C

Egg bites (the air-fryer copycat of Starbucks' sous-vide egg bites — blended eggs and cheese set into silky, custardy little domes in a silicone mould) cook fresh in 12 minutes at 300 °F (149 °C) with no flip. The technique-flag: blend (don't whisk) eggs with cottage or cream cheese plus a hard cheese until smooth and frothy, grease every cavity of a 7-cavity silicone egg-bite mould, fill three-quarters full, and air-fry low-and-slow at 300 °F so the custard sets gently instead of seizing. The air fryer's gentle convection at low temperature mimics the water-bath sous-vide method the coffee-shop version uses — no immersion circulator, no oven water-bath, one mould in the basket. 4 variants: the bacon-and-gruyère benchmark (the definitive Starbucks copycat); egg-white-and-roasted-red-pepper (the lighter, high-protein pick); sausage-cheddar-and-jalapeño (hearty Tex-Mex); and spinach-feta-and-sun-dried-tomato (vegetarian Mediterranean). 5 non-negotiable warnings (300 °F NOT 350 °F+ — high heat soufflés then collapses the bites into rubbery, weeping pucks; use a greased silicone mould — liquid egg runs through the basket grate and metal tins stick and over-brown; blend the base rather than whisk it — the creamy custard texture depends on it; fill cavities only three-quarters full — overfilled bites merge into one sheet and won't unmould; pull at just-set with a slight jiggle and let carry-over heat finish them — overcooking turns them rubbery). The ideal make-ahead, high-protein, grab-and-go breakfast: egg bites store in the fridge for 4 days and freeze for a month, reheating far better than scrambled eggs because the custard holds. Complements the breakfast-egg cluster — sister to Scrambled Eggs, Hard-Boiled Eggs, Frittata, and Quiche. Distinct from Frittata (a single large open-face bake, not portioned mould bites), Quiche (a pastry-crust egg tart), and Scrambled Eggs (loose curds, not set custard domes). High-SERP capture for the air-fryer-egg-bites query — overwhelmingly the Starbucks-copycat query, the meal-prep / high-protein / keto-breakfast query, and the silicone-egg-bite-mould query, with steady year-round volume and a New-Year / back-to-routine January spike.

Time

4 min

Temp

350 °F / 177 °C

Store-bought English muffins (Thomas's Original is the high-volume default; Bays and Trader Joe's track identically) toast in 4 minutes at 350 °F (177 °C) — cut-side up for 2 min, then flip cut-side down for the final 2 min — for a deeper golden toast and crisper nook-and-cranny texture than a pop-up toaster delivers. The convection cook hits both faces and the round side crust simultaneously so an Eggs-Benedict base comes out evenly warm and structurally sound rather than crisp-on-one-side / cold-on-the-other. Day-old fork-split muffins toast BETTER than fresh (slightly stale crumb dehydrates faster and crisps deeper). Pair plain with butter and jam, build an Egg McMuffin–style breakfast sandwich, or use as the classic Eggs Benedict base.

Time

6 min

Temp

350 °F / 177 °C

French toast air-fries at 350 °F (177 °C) for about 6 minutes, flipping once halfway, until golden and set. Soak thick slices of bread in an egg-milk-vanilla custard, let the excess drip off, and lay them on a sprayed parchment liner so the custard sets without sticking.

Time

7 min

Temp

380 °F / 193 °C

Frozen french toast sticks at 380 °F (193 °C) cook through in 7 minutes with a flip halfway. The lower temperature keeps the cinnamon-sugar coating from burning while the bread interior thaws and warms — straight-from-the-bag breakfast in under 10 minutes.

Time

5 min

Temp

370 °F / 188 °C

A fried egg cooks in the air fryer at 370 °F (188 °C) for about 5 minutes — no flipping — cracked whole into a greased oven-safe ramekin or silicone mould until the white sets fully and the yolk stays runny. Grease the vessel well (egg dropped onto a bare basket runs through the grate), crack the egg in, and pull it the moment the white turns opaque for a sunny-side egg, or cook 1–2 minutes longer for over-medium-to-hard. 4 variants: a sunny-side-up benchmark, an over-medium set yolk, a crispy lacy-edged version in a hotter oiled mould, and a soft basted-style. Distinct from Scrambled Eggs (whisked and stirred into loose curds), Omelette (beaten, filled and folded), Frittata (thick, fillings mixed throughout), and Hard-Boiled Eggs (cooked whole in the shell on the rack) — this is a single egg cracked whole and fried with the yolk intact.

Time

15 min

Temp

320 °F / 160 °C

A frittata bakes in the air fryer at 320 °F (160 °C) for about 15 minutes — no flipping — in a greased oven-safe pan until set at 160 °F (71 °C). Whisk eggs with cheese, cooked veggies, and meat, pour into the pan, and pull it when the center is just set and no longer wet.

Time

16 min

Temp

270 °F / 132 °C

Air fryer hard-boiled eggs at 270 °F (132 °C) for 16 minutes give you a fully-set yolk with no green ring, and crucially they peel cleaner than boiled eggs. The shells get a faint toasted speckle from the dry heat — harmless and a useful visual cue that they are done.

Time

9 min

Temp

400 °F / 204 °C

Frozen hash brown patties at 400 °F (204 °C) for 9 minutes with one flip at the halfway mark deliver fast-food-style crispness without the deep-fryer mess. The dry convection heat crisps both surfaces evenly — flipping is what gets you the uniform golden colour edge-to-edge.

Time

14 min

Temp

320 °F / 160 °C

Muffins bake in the air fryer at 320 °F (160 °C) for about 14 minutes — no flipping — in silicone cups or a muffin pan that fits the basket. Fill the liners about two-thirds full and pull them when a toothpick comes out clean. The lower temperature keeps the tops from scorching before the centers set.

Time

9 min

Temp

330 °F / 166 °C

An omelette cooks in the air fryer at 330 °F (166 °C) for about 9 minutes — no flipping — in a greased oven-safe pan or silicone mould until the eggs puff and set at 160 °F (71 °C). Whisk the eggs, pour them into the greased pan (loose egg runs through a bare basket), scatter fillings on top, then slide it out and fold. 4 variants: a Western/Denver benchmark, a simple cheese omelette, a pre-cooked veggie version, and a meat-lover's. Distinct from Scrambled Eggs (stirred into loose curds), Frittata (thicker, fillings mixed throughout and not folded), and Egg Bites (small muffin-cup portions) — this is a folded omelette set flat in a pan.

Time

10 min

Temp

350 °F / 177 °C

Pancakes work in the air fryer at 350 °F (177 °C) for about 10 minutes — no flipping — when you bake the batter in a greased shallow pan or silicone mold rather than pouring it loose. You can also use the same setting to reheat and lightly crisp store-bought or leftover pancakes laid flat in the basket.

Time

3 min

Temp

350 °F / 177 °C

Pop-Tarts warm up in the air fryer in about 3 minutes at 350 °F (177 °C) with no flip — better than a toaster for an evenly warmed, lightly crisped pastry, since you're heating a pre-baked toaster pastry through rather than baking from raw. The whole trick is protecting the frosting: cook frosted tarts frosting-side up, leave them un-flipped, and keep the heat moderate so the icing softens and turns glossy instead of bubbling and scorching. 4 variants: the classic frosted benchmark straight from the box; unfrosted tarts (no frosting to burn, so a little hotter and flippable); refrigerated/frozen Toaster Strudel-style pastries cooked from frozen with the icing piped on after; and homemade jam-filled hand pies baked from raw pie dough at 350 °F for 8–10 minutes. No oil, single layer, and a 1–2 minute rest before biting — the filling runs much hotter than the shell.

Time

25 min

Temp

320 °F / 160 °C

A quiche bakes in the air fryer at 320 °F (160 °C) for about 25 minutes — no flipping — in a pie dish that fits the basket, until the custard is set at 165 °F (74 °C). Blind-bake or use a pre-made crust, fill with the egg-and-cream custard plus cheese and fillings, and tent with foil if the top browns too fast.

Time

10 min

Temp

380 °F / 193 °C

Breakfast sausage links cook through in 10 minutes at 380 °F (193 °C) with one flip. The browning is more even than a stovetop pan because the convection air hits the entire surface, including the underside lifted by the basket grate.

Time

6 min

Temp

300 °F / 149 °C

Air fryer scrambled eggs at 300 °F (149 °C) for 6 minutes in a silicone ramekin give you soft, restaurant-style curds without standing over a stovetop pan. The trick is one stir at the halfway mark — it breaks up the bottom curd so the texture stays even edge to edge.

Time

9 min

Temp

375 °F / 191 °C

Turkey bacon air-fries in about 9 minutes at 375 °F (191 °C), flipped once at the halfway mark, until the edges are crisp. Because it's lean and renders almost no fat of its own, a light mist of oil is what crisps the edges — and turkey bacon stays paler and drier than pork, so judge it by crisp edges rather than waiting for a glossy pork-bacon look. Lay the strips flat in a single layer; they're light enough to lift in the airflow, so rest a rack on top if your basket pulls them toward the element. Most turkey bacon is cured and pre-cooked, so you're really crisping it to taste. It's the leaner alternative to Bacon — which is pork, renders its own fat, and cooks hotter and longer — and distinct from leftover bacon strips, which covers warming already-cooked strips back to crisp. 4 ways to make it: plain, cracked black pepper, maple-glazed, and everything-bagel.

Time

3 min

Temp

380 °F / 193 °C

Waffles crisp up in the air fryer at 380 °F (193 °C) in about 3 minutes — no flipping. The basket can't cook batter, so this is for reheating and crisping already-made waffles (homemade, store-bought, or leftover): lay them in a single layer and pull them golden and crunchy on the outside, warm inside.