Small Batches: Air Fryer Scrambled Eggs for One

Wow, I just made the best scrambled eggs in my air fryer. How many times have you experienced rubbery scrambled eggs? Mine are light and creamy! Who could imagine that an air fryer can cook eggs. “Back in the day,” it was common to give a toaster or an electric skillet as a house warming gift. But, I’ve upped the gift. My batchelor grandson is getting started in the real world, and I’m planning on giving him a small air fryer for Christmas. I think this might be the perfect gift for a very busy person who doesn’t have alot of time to cook meals, needs dishes tailored for one person and doesn’t have much cooking experience. I plan to give him several recipes which are easy to cook without many ingredients or fuss. Scrambled eggs is one of my success stories. Now, let’s serve the eggs with hot sauce, homemade air fryer biscuits and a tangerine.

Small Batches: Recipes for One Person

Air fryers are great for heating up leftovers (french fries and tortilla chips) or cooking frozen meals. But air fryers can do much more. I’ve been mixing up all kings of things and experimenting with ideas using my own small air fryer. (I purchased an identical air fryer for my grandson.) I have discovered a diversity of recipes for my tiny air fryer,

The problem with many recipe magazines for small air fryers and cookbooks, “for one person,” is that often the recipes aren’t really downsized for one person. Many times, the recipes still make enough to serve 4 to 6 people. So, I have been meticiously working on downsizing these air fryer recipes so they really are just enough portions for one to two people.

Some of my favorites so far are include a baked potato (both Russet and sweet potatoes), scrambled eggs, old-fashioned oatmeal, homemade Bisquick biscuits (delicious), soft Bisquick cookies, brownies and granola. (I’m working on homemade pizza.) Plus, roasted vegetables and garlic potatoes work great in the air fryer. I love air fryer oatmeal so much, that I now have it every morning for breakfast.

Oh, Those Air Fryers

After several of my friends raved about how much they liked their air fryers, I finally broke down and purchased one for myself. I found an inexpensive ($40.00) Chefman air fryer on Amazon.com. It is simple and basic, and does everything I need to do. In fact, I like it so much that when this one finally wears out, I’ll probably invest in an appliance which is more elaborate.

This air fryer is small. The air fryer basket is just 6″ in diameter and holds a 2-quart capacity which is perfect for one person.

Here are my scrambled eggs. I found a small pan on Amazon which just fits in the air fryer basket and works great for cooking meals for one person.

The main disadvantages of this model of air fryer is that the timer (hence the heat) doesn’t work when set for only one or two minutes. Plus, it is difficult to see where the timer is set. Since the air fryer cooks from the top down and outsides to the middle, many things don’t cook evenly. — The top burns and the inside doesn’t cook. (You must stir, when possible.) But, never mind the small details, we can work with these issues.

Accessories

I plan to include several useful accessories to go along with the air fryer in my Christmas gift (which is becoming more elaborate every day). After several exhaustive Amazon searches, I found small 4″ and 5″ diameter baking pans which fit neatly in the air fryer basket for recipes such as brownies. I like to use tongs to lift the hot baking pans out of the air fryer basket (you can’t get a hot pad into the air fryer to pick up the pan). I am also including lots of round 6″diameter parchment paper to place in the bottom of the basket which are handy for some dishes such as cookies, granola and foods with alot of liquid (hamburgers).

What is an Air Fryer?

Air fryers work by a fan which circulates hot air around the cooking food. This is actually convenction cooking. The hot air blowing around speeds up the cooking time. In this Chefman brand of air fryer, the fan is in the top of the fryer, so the food cooks from the top and down.

It is important not to stack the food up, such as french fries, as the fries on the bottom won’t cook and the ones on top may be burnt.

In my opinion, the term — air fryer — is misleading. These appliances don’t really “fry” the food. I find that you must coat the food item with oil to obtain that crispy “fried” coating. However, there are plenty of other dishes which can be cooked in an air fryer. After I understood that distinction, I moved past “frying” and on the multiple of other things which can be succesfully cooked/baked in an air fryer.

Scrambled Eggs — Success Story

Today, I’m featuring scramble eggs. The eggs turned out creamy; without any fuss. And, I made them using only the cooking pan (no additional bowls).

Clean up is simple — the stainless steel baking pan has a non-stick coating, so washing the pan after breakfast by hand is easy, too. (After reading the fine print, I discovered that I had purchased small coated stainless steel pans which shouldn’t go in the dishwasher. )

To make cleanup easier, I fill the pan with water as soon as I finish cooking and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then it is easy to wash out the non-stick, stainless steel pan.

Ingredients for Scrambled Eggs

Here are the ingredients for my scramble eggs. (Yes, they are more than just eggs.) A little milk helps thin the eggs resulting in creamy eggs. A pinch of salt and pepper adds seasoning. A pat of butter or margarine on top adds flavor. And, the oil is for oiling the pan to get things started.

This recipe is titrated for the 4″-diameter baking pan and two large eggs. If you use a different brand of air fryer or larger baking pan then you may need to adjust the cooking time.

To make these scramble eggs; first oil the baking pan. Then, break the eggs into the pan. Add the milk, salt and pepper (if using). Beat vigorously with a fork until the eggs are blended. Add several pats of butter or margarine on top.

My air fryer has a grate in the bottom of the basket for air to cicrulate. I found that I had to turn the grate upside-down so the baking pan would lay flat and not spill the contents out.

Set the temperature to 300 degrees and the timer for five minutes. As soon as you firmly put the air fryer basket into the fryer, it will begin to heat up and cook. No pre-heating is needed with this Chefman model.

Cook for four minutes. The timer will “ding” and the appliance will cut off. (No way to “overcook” these eggs.) Then pull out the air fryer basket and give the eggs a stir. The eggs cook from the outside to the middle; the centers will be watery. Stirring the eggs once or twice during cooking is important.

Replace the air fryer basket with the eggs and set the time to cook an additional four minutes. “Ding.” The eggs are cooked. Using the tongs, remove the baking pan.

The eggs may still seem a little runny. Give several more stirs. Let the scrambled eggs sit a few minutes and they will set up to be creamy and soft.

NOTE: Since my air fryer timer is unreliable at low times — I actually set the timer for 8 minutes and set my cell phone timer to “ding” after 4 minutes — stirring the eggs at this point.

Breakfast is served. Great with hot sauce (Tabasco Sauce if you are in Louisiana), fruit and air fryer biscuits.

I am having a great time experimenting with cooking foods in the air fryer. I hope that my grandson enjoys the air fryer as much as I do. (We will see about that!) My goal is to type up an assortment of favorite recipes to include with the air fryer which serves one person, such as only three biscuits. Maybe too ambitious for a Christmas give … but then I still have several days to go.

Merry Christmas!