Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink
  3. Evergreens

Air fryer arancini: Your favorite appetizer just got a lot easier to make

There's no need to break out the deep fryer anymore

By
Arancini on a serving platter
Anima Visual/Unsplash

Deep-fried risotto balls. Is there anything in the world more tempting than arancini? These crispy, crunchy, cheesy, creamy, salty, savory balls of pure bliss are impossible to turn away at any cocktail party. Serve them with an extra dusting of cheese and an array of sauces from marinara to pesto, and you have what is sure to be the hottest, most delicious dish at your soiree. The only problem – if we can even call it a problem – is that arancini is rather an indulgent dish. Between the buttery, cheesy, creamy risotto and the often gorgeously deep-fried outer crust, these little beauties aren’t exactly easy on the waistline. And between all the holiday eggnog, the countless Christmas cookies, and buckets of exquisite gravy for days, it isn’t exactly the healthiest of seasons, to be sure.

But what if we told you you can actually make arancini at home without all of the extra fat and oil with the use of your trusty air fryer? Not only will they taste every bit as indulgent and delicious, but they’ll be far easier to make with absolutely none of the oily, greasy mess of a deep fryer.

Recommended Videos

So if you’re a sucker for incredible air fryer recipes and are looking for the perfect holiday appetizer this season, these delicious arancini are the perfect answer.

Arancini
Liudmyla/Adobe Stock

Air fryer arancini recipe

You can make these delicious arancini with any leftover risotto recipe, but for the holiday season, we absolutely love it with this pumpkin risotto.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups risotto, leftover and chilled
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup panko
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • Mozzarella, cut into 8 1-inch pieces
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Preheat air fryer to 375F.
  2. In three separate bowls, prepare a dredging station. In the first bowl, add flour. In the second bowl, add your two eggs and whisk. In the third bowl, add panko, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, pepper, and oil.
  3. Divide the risotto into 8 equal rice balls, inserting one piece of mozzarella in the center of each, forming the risotto around the cheese. Repeat with all the risotto balls.
  4. Working one at a time, dip each risotto ball into the flour, then into the egg wash, and finally into the panko mixture, ensuring each ball is thoroughly coated.
  5. Drizzle the basket of the air fryer with olive oil and place the balls into the air fryer. Cook for 14-16 minutes or until crispy and golden brown, flipping the balls halfway through the cooking process.
  6. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.
Lindsay Parrill
Lindsay Parrill
Former Contributor
Lindsay is a graduate of California Culinary Academy, Le Cordon Bleu, San Francisco, from where she holds a degree in… Read Full Bio
Topics
Food & Drink
The best beers to pair with your summer yard games
Anderson Valley

When it comes to leisure activities during the summer months, it’s difficult to beat the appeal of a round of yard games. What could be more fun on a hot, sunny day than besting your friends and siblings in an epic backyard brawl? I can’t think of anything.

I’m talking about games like croquet, lawn darts, bocce, ladder ball, cornhole, and more. The only thing that makes the experience better is having a frosty, refreshing beer firmly in one of your hands. But just like how you don’t enjoy every yard game, not just any beer will do.

Read more
Food & Drink
Jagermeister goes citrus with new orange release
Alcohol, Beverage, Liquor

Alcohol is the ultimate gathering tool. No matter what event you have coming up, you can almost always bet on a good drink (unless it is a baby shower; then maybe not). From the moment I joined the United States Army, I became quite familiar with the presence of Jagermeister. It was a constant pillar of our get-togethers for two main reasons. The first was that we didn’t make a lot of money, and it has always been one of the more accessible liquors when we walked down the booze aisles of the Class 6 (picture a 711 on a military post). The second reason is that it is the perfect shot drink. It never needed a mixer. It is designed to be poured as a shot straight from the freezer. However, Jager is also versatile enough to make some great cocktails. Now, the brand dropped the perfect summer upgrade with an orange twist.

Jagermeister has always been about bringing people together. – Cindy Wang Simms, CMO,Jägermeister US.

Read more
Food & Drink
Bib & Tucker’s first bottled-in-bond bourbon is aged twice the legal minimum
Alcohol, Beverage, Liquor

Bib & Tucker is releasing its first bottled-in-bond bourbon, and the Columbia, Tennessee brand went well past what the designation actually asks for.

Bottled-in-bond is one of the oldest and strictest standards in American whiskey. The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 requires that a whiskey be distilled in a single season by a single distiller at a single distillery, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. No wiggle room on any of it.

Read more