The air fryer craze has taken shoppers by storm in recent years due to how convenient they are to prepare a quick meal.
With so many brands to choose from, all you need to do is find out which one suits your kitchen and your needs best, and then get cracking on the thousands of recipes that are available.
Recently though, air fryers have seen another popularity spike - but this time, it's because of how much more energy efficient they are compared to classic ovens.
A study by the electronics company Instant Brands revealed that air fryers have a much more concentrated heat, in comparison to heating up an entire oven.
This means that food cooks faster and energy efficiency is improved.
Plus, according to Utilita, an air fryer only costs 14p per day to run - which is ideal for people looking for ways to slash bills during the current cost of living crisis.
With that in mind, here's eight things you can cook in the air fryer rather than the oven in order to save you money.
1. Chicken nuggets
This goes for most frozen dinnertime favourites, such as breaded chicken goujons and fish fingers. There's no need to turn on the oven, as these can all be cooked in the air fryer.
According to experts at Air Fryer World, if you're using frozen nuggets, they should be cooked for around 10-12 minutes at 205 degrees celsius. You should also flip them halfway through to make ensure they're properly cooked on each side.
2. Chocolate chip cookies
If you're craving a sweet treat and that unmistakable smell of warm cookies coming out of the oven, you can recreate this with an air fryer.
Whether you've bought premade cookie dough or you make it from scratch yourself, you could have the delicious dessert ready in a matter of minutes - much quicker and more energy-efficient than using an oven. Be sure to follow an air fryer specific recipe for the cookies, as putting them in for too long could burn them.
3. Homemade crisps
Who doesn't love snacking on a packet of crisps of an evening?
But these aren't always good for us, since they can contain high amounts of salt and oil.
For a healthier option, you can make homemade crisps in the air fryer by simply cutting up a potato into super-slim slices. Then just place them into the drawer with a spritz of cooking spray and a sprinkling of oil for around 15 minutes.
4. Baked potatoes
Also on the topic of potatoes, you can also make crisp and fluffy jacket potatoes in the air fryer - in a fraction of the time it takes to oven-cook them.
One TikTok user recently shared a viral hack for achieving the perfect baked potato every time - light and fluffy on the inside but crispy on the outside, which is hard to achieve if you're cooking it in the microwave.
Commenting on the video, one person even said they would "never go back" to oven-cooking after trying out this method.
5. Puff pastry
When you're craving a sweet breakfast, nothing hits the spot like a pastry.
And these can even be cooked in the air fryer, without losing their signature crispy and flaky texture. Most pre-rolled puff pastry needs around eight minutes to cook in an air fryer, if you're making them from scratch. To crisp up a shop-bought croissant or cinnamon roll, it should only take around two minutes.
6. Roasted vegetables
Most vegetables, including broccoli, peppers, courgette, mushrooms and carrots can be roasted to perfection in the air fryer.
Whether you want to have them as a side to the main meal or whizz them up into a pasta sauce or soup, you can cook them at a fraction of the time that they would take in the oven.
7. Frozen pizza
Putting a frozen pizza in the air fryer can give it the same crispy texture as the oven, but it won't take as long or use up as much energy.
Provided it's small enough to fit, and depending on the type of crust and toppings, Air Fryer World says they can often be cooked in around six to 10 minutes.
Deep dish crusts will take longer, whilst thinner ones won't need as long.
8. Steak
Although some people may choose to cook steak in a pan rather than in the oven, this can often be a messy ordeal - with oil, butter and seasonings getting everywhere.
But you can also cook steak in the air fryer - and it's much less of a mess, as well as often using less unhealthy oils to make it juicy.
The length of time depends on how you like your steak cooked, but as a rough guide it's 7-9 minutes for medium rare, 10-13 minutes for medium and 14-15 minutes for well-done.
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