Air Fryer Avocado Fries Recipe

French fries are an absolutely delightful food when it comes to taste, but they're not so much of a delight when you think about the health implications. After all, those delicious fries are essentially pure starch that has been deep-fried in oil that's not exactly heart healthy. Sure, your taste buds will thank you, but your heart and arteries probably won't. So how about a snack or side that's a decidedly healthier choice but with a very similar crunch? Sound good? Great, because these air fryer avocado fries taste awesome, too, thanks to this recipe from chef and recipe developer Susan Olayinka of The Flexible Fridge.

"These are wonderful and are healthy yet they remain crunchy due to the battered coating," says Olayinka. "These will definitely be a replacement for traditional fries as they crunch the same, to be honest."

If you still haven't gotten on the culinary band wagon and gotten yourself an air fryer, perhaps this recipe will help you finally climb aboard. Contrary to what you may think, you can get a great air fryer while still on a budget. And for the record, despite their name, they are not actual fryers at all. Rather air fryers are compact and highly efficient convection ovens that use super hot, circulating air to cook foods to the approximate taste and feel of a fried dish but without all that deep frying in fatty oil. It's often a "have your cake and eat it too" situation, only with fries.

As noted, beyond those titular avocados, you probably have everything you need to prepare this recipe in your kitchen already. All told, the recipe calls for four medium avocados, a couple of eggs, some all purpose flour, plenty of panko bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and some paprika.

If you are serving these crispy avocado fries as a snack or appetizer, you'll also definitely need some great dips. Sure, there is always ketchup or mustard, but also try something new, like Thousand Island dressing, ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, or something with a spicy kick to it. For that fast food at home experience, consider whipping up some copycat Cane's Sauce from chicken restaurant Raising Cane's, or even a batch of copycat McDonald's Szechuan sauce.

Avocados are a notoriously finicky food. Delicious, yes, and healthy, but they can be tricky to prepare just right. Once sliced open, then brown quickly, losing their texture and freshness. What's worse, it be hard to tell from the outside which avocados are at prime ripeness. That is, unless you know what you're looking for!

According to Avocados from Mexico, there are a few things to check. Properly ripe avocados will have dark skins that yield just a bit to pressure without feeling too soft. Bright green skin indicates a not-yet-ripe avocado, while soft, dented, or wilted skin is even worse. While eating a soft avocado probably won't hurt you, it may not be great texture-wise. That one is past its prime and best used for compost. And, if you're confronted with an avocado that's not quite right, you can think ahead a bit and ripen it yourself.

Begin the recipe by cutting the avocado lengthways and pulling them apart, taking out the pits, and then peeling the avocados. It is much easier to remove the skins when you have previously halved the avocado, for the record, so we recommend that you follow this order of steps.

Lay each pitted and peeled avocado half face down on a chopping board and slice them along the long axis (that is, vertically) into ½ inch pieces or a bit thinner if preferred.

Now get three mixing bowls. In one, place the eggs and mix them together. In the second, place the all-purpose flour. In the third bowl, place panko breadcrumbs, ⅛ teaspoon salt, pepper, and paprika, and stir those together until well incorporated

To prepare the avocado slices, take one piece at a time and coat it in flour, then in egg, and then finally the panko breadcrumb mixture. Set breaded slices aside onto a lined baking tray and repeat these steps for all other avocado pieces.

Once all the avocado slices are breaded, lightly coat them with a spray cooking oil, ideally olive oil or even avocado oil. Now line the tray or interior fry chamber of your air fryer with parchment paper and then transfer the avocado fries onto it. Don't crowd the tray — it's better to take a few extra minutes and cook everything in batches to make sure the avocado fries are crisp. Cook each batch of avocado fries for eight minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Repeat this until all the air fryer avocado fries are cooked.

Once all of them are cooked, transfer the fries to a serving dish, sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon salt, and serve them with the dipping sauce of your choice. And, though we don't think it will be too difficult to eat this when you're eating in a group, you should know that these are best eaten right away. "Unfortunately, these don't keep very well as the outer coat and tends to go a bit soggy after a while," says Olayinka, "so [they are] best eaten fresh."