You've probably heard people talk about how air fryers can cook literally anything, but for some reason, canned foods tend to get forgotten about in those discussions. We can understand why, too. Air fryers cook using rapidly circulating hot air to develop a browned, crispy texture on your food.
This textural improvement is most obvious when you're cooking food that's already pretty dry. Canned foods, though, come packed in water and brine, meaning that folks tend to tip them into stews and soups before flinging them into the air fryer. Well, that tendency ends here.
The super-quick convection action of your air fryer helps to dry the surface of certain canned foods rapidly, meaning that they're capable of developing that much-desired crispiness in no time at all, while still keeping a juicy, moist interior. Cooking canned foods in your air fryer can also help you mix up how you serve them, turning staples like chickpeas and cannellini beans into snacks you can munch on with a cold beer, or canned fruits like pineapple and peaches into a dessert fit for a king. The best part? All you need to do is open a can, tip it into the basket, and tap a button.
1. Chickpeas Chickpeas are kind of a miracle ingredient, people. These humble legumes have an incredible amount of textural possibilities up their sleeve, turning silky-smooth when blended into hummus or retaining a satisfying bite when popped into a curry.
Our favorite way to cook them, though, is using dry heat to turn them int.