29 Leftovers That Taste Better When Air-Fried

Taking home leftovers when you order more food than usual at a restaurant or when there's so much food left at a family party is infinitely better than letting them go to waste. Considering that plenty of food today is seemingly either getting more expensive or shrinking in portion sizes, it would be wise not to waste food whenever possible. And yet, some people avoid leftovers because they can't reheat them properly or aren't convinced that they'll taste as good as when they were first served.

Here's the good news: If you have an air fryer, reheating leftovers won't be a problem. Air fryers cook food by circulating hot air inside an enclosed chamber, similar to how a convection oven works. The difference is that an air fryer uses rapid, high-intensity air blowing through a heating element, whereas a convection oven has a gentler airstream. This is why food dries out more quickly and gets crispier in an air fryer.

Another advantage of air fryers is that preheating isn't a strict requirement, especially when you're simply reheating food (although it is important for reheated food to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill harmful bacteria, according to the USDA). You can save time, have fewer items to wash afterward, and enjoy warm food that often ends up tasting better than before. To that end, here are 29 common leftovers you will surely enjoy even more if you reheat them in an air fryer.

Microwaving leftover potatoes often makes them soggy, so an air fryer is the way to go. Roasted potatoes are usually cut in halves, quarters, or discs, so there's plenty of surface area that turns golden and crispy, like a shell that keeps the inside soft and moist. You can also do the same with leftover baked potatoes. Place them cut-side up in the basket and sprinkle with oil, spices, and some grated cheese for a sharper flavor.

It's hard to find other food more compatible with air frying than french fries. Whether they've sat at room temperature (which cooked food should only do for up to two hours) or in the fridge, they reheat well in an air fryer. Leftover fries retain just a little bit of oil that bubbles up when subjected to the heat in the air fryer. They basically re-fry even if you don't add more oil, so they come out crispy on the outside and soft inside.

There are many ways to reheat pizza. Many are fans of steaming the leftover slices in a covered skillet with a bit of water. Others get creative with a waffle maker. But reheating pizza with an air fryer arguably makes it taste better. The toppings and cheese get charred just enough for a bit more texture and smoky flavor. Just don't fry it for longer than five minutes so the bread won't dry to a crisp.

Crunchwraps, whether they're from Taco Bell or made at home, taste even better when reheated in an air fryer. It toasts the tortilla but keeps the filling (usually ground meat with lettuce, tomatoes, and nacho cheese sauce) tender and saucy. Air-frying refrigerated or frozen Crunchwraps also works. Just thaw them for about a minute in a microwave, then air-fry at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit for three to five minutes. This browns the tortilla nicely and makes it more delicious.

A traditional patty has a crunchy, yellow shell (in our Jamaican beef patty recipe, the color comes from turmeric and curry) that retains the oil rendering from the ground beef filling. This explains why Jamaican patties turn soggy when they're at room temperature or in the fridge for hours. Fortunately, air-frying revives the pastry. As with fries, the crust gets refried in the little oil it holds, restoring its flakiness and crispiness.

When you spend a lot of time and effort making perfect quiche, you wouldn't want to ruin any leftovers by reheating it the wrong way. And one of the best ways to do this is with an air fryer. Quiche is just thick enough that even if the top browns slightly, the rest of the custard will stay soft and silky. Finally, the crust turns flaky again as hot air circulates inside the fryer.

One of the best ways to cook sausages is in a skillet with a bit of oil. This produces some caramelization as rendered fat mixes with the spices in the meat. When you air-fry cooked sausages, that caramelization comes back. And if the sausages are encased, the outside becomes super flavorful and crispy, giving a better snap when you bite into them. On the inside they stay juicy, and taste like they're fresh off the grill.

Reheating steak is a little complicated because you wouldn't want to overcook it, and it's easy to do that when you have a medium-rare steak to start with. Some people simply use an oven. Others do the sous-vide method. But we'll make a case for air frying leftover steak. Setting the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for five minutes or less can warm it through, depending on the steak's thickness, and revive the crust without losing the pinkish center.

Breaded chicken, especially fast-food leftovers, is best reheated with an air fryer. It's mostly thanks to the breading, which retains a lot of oil from the first round of cooking. As the oil heats up, it re-fries the exterior of your nuggets, tenders, and drumsticks, making them crispier and more golden, but just as juicy inside. As for saucy wings, air-frying usually caramelizes the sauce, which makes the flavors sharper and more delicious.

Reheating pork cutlets in the air fryer can be tricky. If the temperature is too high or the frying goes on too long, the meat will turn dry and tough. But if the cutlet is breaded and air-fried properly (at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for five minutes, less if the cutlet is thin), only the outside will get crispy; the meat within will stay tender. For soggy cutlets, adding a little oil can make them taste good again.

Another common leftover that reheats very well in an air fryer is roast meat. Roast chicken, especially if there's still a lot of skin left, warms up nicely in this appliance. The hot air caramelizes the exposed sides, giving the chicken a sharper flavor while keeping the inside moist. The same happens with roast pork, where the skin often becomes crispier.

More people should know that air frying is the best way to revive cold, stale croissants. Convection heating reverses the starch retrogradation that would have occurred while the croissant cooled in the fridge. The hot air releases trapped moisture from the crystallized starch and the fat in the butter, while the outer layer dries a little and becomes flaky again. This is why soggy, day-old croissants taste better when reheated in an air fryer.

Leftover fruit or meat pies are common after Thanksgiving, which means your air fryer will get plenty of use after this holiday. Just like with quiche, pies are thick enough to form a nice crust on top while the middle stays warm and moist when you reheat them in an air fryer. The crust comes out flakier and crispier, too. If you love pie crusts, that's another excellent reason to use an air fryer.

A leftover grilled cheese sandwich tends to be soggy, especially if you refrigerate it. But don't worry, because you can make it as toasty as it originally was with an air fryer. Just keep the temperature at 300 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit to keep the bread from burning, and line the basket with parchment paper in case hot, melted cheese oozes out. With an air fryer, you can easily enjoy leftover grilled sandwiches from a fancy restaurant at home.

Leftover sandwiches can also be heated in the air fryer. The bread comes out brown and crispy, which honestly tastes better than soggy, day-old bread. It's what you want for reheating sandwiches with wet ingredients, like egg sandwiches. But if you don't want a crispy sandwich, wrap it in foil. This keeps the bread from getting toasted. A tip: remove tomato slices and other moist veggies before frying, and you can kiss soggy sandwiches goodbye.

Nobody likes soggy veggies, especially asparagus. But instead of throwing out these leftovers from your evening dinner, chuck them in the air fryer the next morning. Convection cooking pulls out moisture, which is what you want to do with leftover asparagus. But first, sprinkle some olive or avocado oil and season it however you like, then roast them in the air fryer. They'll turn out more fragrant, firm, and a little crunchy on the tips.

If leftover cruciferous vegetables don't sound appetizing to you, things might change once you reheat them in the air fryer. Unlike a microwave, which usually turns these veggies soggy and mushy, an air fryer extracts moisture effectively, leaving broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts warm and crunchy. This method also works even if you freeze these vegetables. Just thaw them in the microwave for a minute, then reheat thoroughly in the air fryer.

If you have leftover chilled or frozen stuffed mushrooms, you can count on an air fryer to reheat them properly. Mushrooms retain quite a lot of moisture, especially if they've been cooked in sauce or broiled the first time around. Air frying releases that moisture, some of which ends up steaming the filling. So, instead of becoming crispy like most food, stuffed mushrooms become moist and chewy out of the air fryer.

Leftover dumplings are so easy to repurpose. Even when frozen, you can dunk them straight into a hotpot, or in an air fryer basket to thaw, and then roast. Although if you haven't tried crispy dumplings yet, we highly recommend the latter. Dumpling wrappers have more flavor when toasted, plus you won't have to stress if juice leaks out of the dumplings. Even when they get a little dry, air-fried dumplings taste fantastic.

The easiest and quickest way to reheat spring rolls is with an air fryer, especially if they have a pork filling. They'll often retain enough of the oil from when they were first cooked, so there's no need to add more. If they're veggie rolls, air frying still works because the cooked wrapper will protect the vegetable filling from burning. Speaking of the wrapper, it's the star of the show: It gets crispier than ever in the air fryer.

If you habitually have stale nacho chips at home (or you tend to order too many loaded nachos from Taco Bell), the air fryer is your best friend. Convection heating is probably the most effective way to make stale chips firm and crispy again. They come out browner and sometimes develop a smoky flavor. As for leftover loaded nachos, air frying reheats the ground meat in its own fat and makes the cheese sauce taste sharper.

The key to reheating leftover fish in an air fryer is to avoid setting the temperature too high or frying it too long. With leftover salmon, it will reheat well at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit for less than five minutes, depending on how thick or large the salmon steak is. Pro tip: Wrap it in foil to preserve the moisture and keep the top from burning too quickly.

Most recipes for fish fingers are very similar to chicken tenders, so it's unsurprising that they taste better when reheated in an air fryer. Breaded fish fingers usually turn soggy in the fridge, so it helps to crisp them up again in the air fryer. Thinly-breaded fish sticks need more careful handling, though, because they are prone to overcooking. Fortunately, the foil-wrapping technique also works to keep fish sticks moist in the fryer.

Many people hesitate to reheat seafood because they tend to become tough and rubbery once overcooked. This is because excessive heat shrinks the collagen and protein in seafood meat. But with leftover calamari, reheating it in the air fryer works because it becomes very easy to control the temperature and cooking time. Moreover, calamari is typically breaded, so the drying and crisping that happens in the air fryer becomes an advantage, not a cooking failure.

Reheating leftover meatballs in an air fryer practically roasts them. If they were originally cooked in a thick sauce, air-frying them will create delicious caramelization. If they were deep-fried, they'll develop a nice crust, which enhances their flavor and texture. Just like the other meat-based leftovers above, meatballs have fat, which will render and keep the insides juicy. If they ever come out dry, simply add your favorite sauce.

Barbecue ribs smothered in sauce caramelize so well in the air fryer that your mouth will water just looking at them. They taste even better if you set the temperature on high in the last minute of cooking and allow the edges to char ever so slightly. This gives the ribs a more charred flavor without drying out, provided you add more sauce to the meat so it stays hydrated as it warms.

If you're one of those people who think cheese tastes better when burnt, then air fryers should be your go-to appliance for reheating cheesy rolls. Bread becomes toast when you reheat it in an air fryer, but when it's covered in syrup or butter and topped with cheese, the topping may brown before you fully reheat the rest of the bread. The bread can stay moist, and the cheese turns gooey — with some burnt edges, too, if you want them.

Breakfast burritos taste best while still warm and crispy from the griddle. That's why many reheat leftover burritos in a non-stick pan or microwave. But reheating them in an air fryer is better. Since hot air circulates in the basket, the flour tortilla can brown and crisp up more evenly. It's also less likely to fall apart in the air fryer because you don't have to constantly flip or move it around.

Most people won't think of reheating leftover mashed potatoes in an air fryer, but you can absolutely do this. Not only will it warm the mash, but it will also produce crispy bits on top. What's great about air-frying mashed potatoes is that you can add binders like flour and egg, and proteins like chicken or ground pork to make mashed potato balls.