My Easy Airfryer Calamari is as crispy and delicious as the real deal. By the real deal, I mean, deep-fried calamari. My family loved to order fish and chips and sometimes also calamari and chips. I have just never had success with making my own calorie rings. Well, I think this have changed.

The Easy Airfryer Calamari takes the same amount of time to prep, using a crumbing station takes a little time, but it is so worth it. So what is the difference then? The difference is in the healthy eating, the cooking and cleaning afterwards.

I used Mi Smart Airfryer to fry the calamari. Really, the new Mi Smart Air Fryer is so simple to use, and it takes up minimal space, making it perfect for any kitchen. Whether you’re a working mom of three, a career driven single gal who lives with her bestie or a hard-working career professional with no time to cook but mindful of your physique! This air fryer will up your cooking game by 100%! I am about to show you how it can up your frying game. For more Mi Smart Airfryer recipes, click here.

Health Benefits of air frying.

With the airfryer, you reduce the overall calorie intake significantly. By using the airfryer, you can reduce the calorie intake by 70 to 80%.  Just a warning: When crumbing food, like I have with this calamari, the difference is only with the oil, because the crumbing add loads or calories to food. So if weight loss or healthy eating is your aim, airfrying without crumbing or crumbed processed food, is not your best option.

To combat this, I bought myself a little plastic spray bottle and I fill it with olive oil. So if I airfryer the food, like chips, I spray the chips 2-3 minutes before the frying time is over. It gives a beautiful golden colour and the salt or spice sticks to the food.

Other advantages of air frying.

No oil wastage – I hate using old oil when frying, but I also hate wasting so much oil. The result is that I am always left with a pan or pot with oil that I have no use for. With the air fryer, that is no oil wastage.

No fried food smell – Another big plus is that, unlike deep-frying, air-frying won’t fill your home with the smell of fried foods for days. 

The airfryer is quicker.

I score about 15-20 minutes on cooking a whole chicken in the air fryer, in oppose to the conventional oven roasting method. Smaller pieces of chicken or fillets, takes literally minutes. To cook.  Cleaning the airfryer also takes a lot less time than cleaning a roasting tray.

Easy Airfryer Calamari

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound calamari rings, patted dry

250 ml / 1 cup buttermilk

125 ml/½ cup flour

1 large egg

60 ml/¼ cup milk

500 ml / 2 cups Panko bread crumbs

1 t sea salt

1 t chilli powder

Olive oil spray or non-stick spray

Method

Place the calamari rings in a bowl, cover with buttermilk and leave in the fridge overnight.

Set up a crumbing station. Get three bowls.

Place flour in a bowl and add the salt and chilli powder. Whisk egg and milk in a separate bowl. Combine breadcrumbs, salt, and a little more chilli powder in a third bowl.

Preheat an air fryer to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Remove calamari from buttermilk, shake excess buttermilk off. Dip the calamari rings in the flour first. Next, dip it in the egg mixture, and finally in the breadcrumb mixture.

Place just enough rings in the basket of the air fryer so that they do not overlap. Spray the tops with the olive oil spray or the non-stick cooking spray.

Air fry for 3 minutes. Flip rings, spray with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil, and cook for 3 minutes longer.

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