Quick answer: Spices work well in an air fryer, as long as they are mixed with a little oil so they stick to the food instead of blowing around in the air flow, and added at the right moment: sturdy spices before cooking, more delicate ones partway through or at the end. Shaking the basket helps spread the seasoning evenly.
The air fryer cooks with a powerful air flow that circulates in a closed loop around the food. This movement of air changes the way spices are used a little compared with a frying pan or a conventional oven: a fine powder can blow away before it even touches the food, a delicate spice can burn before cooking is finished. A few simple steps are enough to get a result just as fragrant as in a pan.
Why hot air changes things
The fan that circulates hot air in the basket also moves the lightest particles. A pinch of turmeric or curry powder poured dry onto a vegetable, with nothing to help it stick, ends up partly at the bottom of the basket or stuck to the sides rather than on the food. The heat, too, is drier and more direct than in a pan: a spice that would easily burn in a very hot pan burns just as fast in an air fryer set high, especially right at the end of cooking when the food has already lost its surface moisture.
Mixing the spice with a little oil before cooking
The step that changes the most is coating the food with a little oil before adding the spice, rather than sprinkling it onto dry food. The oil helps the spice stick to the surface instead of blowing away, and it keeps the food from drying out during cooking. For vegetables or pieces of chicken, mixing the oil and the spice in a bowl before tipping them into the basket gives a more even result than seasoning poured straight over the food once it is already in place. The same principle applies to frying a spice in oil, covered in our page on frying spices in oil, and to dry rubs for grilling, covered in our page on dry rubs for grilling, two techniques that also work well before air-fryer cooking.
Choosing the right moment, depending on the spice
Sturdy spices, such as curry powder, turmeric or pepper, can withstand the whole cooking time and can be mixed with the food before it goes into the basket. More delicate spices give a better result added partway through, by opening the basket to shake the food, or right at the end, once cooking is finished. Our page on when to add pepper sets out this principle for peppers, which also holds for air-fryer cooking: pepper added at the end of cooking keeps more of its flavour than pepper cooked from start to finish.
Not overcrowding the basket
A basket that is too full stops the hot air circulating around each piece, which gives an uneven cook and a spice that sticks differently depending on the spot. Food cooks better arranged in a single layer, without overlapping. Cooking in several smaller batches rather than one overcrowded one, and shaking the basket partway through, helps spread the heat and the seasoning more evenly across the whole basket.
Spices well suited to this
In the Vanille Désiré range, several spices work well in air-fryer cooking, mixed with oil before the food goes into the basket:
- Madagascar curry, on vegetables or chicken.
- Madagascar turmeric, on potatoes or root vegetables.
- Madagascar ginger, on vegetables or poultry.
- Madagascar black pepper, best added towards the end of cooking.
- Madagascar pili-pili chilli, in a very small amount, mixed with the oil.
Recipes such as our roast potatoes with spices or our roast chicken with curry and lemon work just as well in the oven as in the air fryer, by adjusting the cooking time to the appliance used.
Our products
- See Madagascar curry
- See Madagascar turmeric
- See Madagascar ginger
- See Madagascar black pepper
- See Madagascar pili-pili chilli
Frequently asked questions
Should spices be added before or during air-fryer cooking?
Sturdy spices, such as curry powder or turmeric, can be mixed with the food before cooking; more delicate ones give a better result added partway through or at the end of the basket's cooking time.
Why do powdered spices blow around in an air fryer?
The fan that circulates the hot air moves the lightest particles; a powder poured dry, with no oil to help it stick, ends up partly at the bottom of the basket.
Is oil needed with spices in an air fryer?
Yes: a little oil helps the spice stick to the surface of the food instead of blowing away, and keeps the food from drying out during cooking.
Can curry powder or turmeric be used in an air fryer?
Yes, mixed with a little oil before cooking, on vegetables or poultry, just as for oven cooking.
The Vanille Désiré team
