Welcome toThe Cheaters Guide to Thanksgiving.
The air fryer is the single appliance that has had the biggest impact on my Thanksgiving cooking.
Here are my favorite Thanksgiving veggie sides that air fry like a dream.
Stuffed mushrooms
I would gladly eat a plate of these sausage-and-cheese stuffed mushrooms for a meal.
(It’s not hard to do.)
Theyre good any time of year, but the fungi really evokes the coziness of harvest season.
Buy the whole creminis, or white button mushrooms that look rather large.
If you might hand-select your batch from a bin, even better.
Heresmy recipe for air-fried stuffed mushrooms.
And unfortunately, you risk spoiling appetites before the big meal.
Instead, add them to the roster of side dishes.
Be sure to make a double batch or hide a few for yourself.
Youll thank me later.
Brussels sprouts
One of my favorite cruciferous veggies is Brussels sprouts.
Theyre fibrous, hearty, and a nice break from all the soft casseroles and mashed sides.
The salt should evenly coat the sprouts, too, after all the tossing.
Both whole sweet potatoes or peeled and cubed will cook quickly.
For sweet-potato cubes, peel them first and cut them into one-inch cubes.
Toss them in a bowl with enough cooking oil to coat them well, and scatter salt over top.
The sweet potatoes are finished when theyre fork-tender.
Toss them with your hands to thoroughly coat each bean.
Put the green beans in a single layer in the air fryer.
Cook them at 400F for about five minutes and check their progress until theyre finished to your liking.
You canread all the nutty details here, but heres the TL;DR.
Score the chestnuts with one long cut that goes across the entire length or width.
Put the chestnuts into the air fryer, cut side up.
Air fry them at 400F for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Squash
Cold-weather squashes are one of my greatest vegetable loves.
Split the squash (delicata, butternut, and kabocha all work well) and de-seed it.
Slice the squash into rounds, strips, or chunks of about the same size and thickness.
Put them in a bowl with a bit of salt and enough cooking oil to coat the pieces well.
Theyre done when theyve picked up some color and theyre fork-tender.
