max223•1mo ago

Frozen veggies in the air fryer, I was wrong about them

I spent two years avoiding frozen broccoli and green beans in the basket because they always came out soggy or burnt at the same time. Last month my wife grabbed a bag of frozen Brussels sprouts from Aldi and tossed them in with oil and garlic powder at 380 for 12 minutes, shaking twice. They came out crispy on the outside and tender inside, no thawing needed. So is the trick just higher heat and not overcrowding, or do some frozen veggies still need a pre-steam before they go in?

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aaron7401mo ago

That 380 for 12 minutes is the sweet spot, I used to do 400 and burn everything. Now I just dump frozen green beans in with a splash of oil and they come out perfect every time.

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gray_morgan1mo ago

I saw this video from a food science guy on YouTube a while back, he said the ice crystals on frozen veggies are what messes up the texture. They release water as they cook, so if you overcrowd the basket it turns into steam instead of crisp. That made sense to me because my first few tries I was piling everything in there. Also he said to give them a quick rinse and pat dry before tossing in oil, it sounds weird but it actually helps. Still, I never tried Brussels sprouts, so maybe the smaller things just work better than the big broccoli florets.

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