Summer vegetables in air fryer are a simple, healthy, and tasty idea to enhance seasonal vegetables like eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes, which reach their peak sweetness and flavor in summer. This colorful vegetable mix is perfect to enjoy both hot and cold: as a light side dish for meat or fish, as a vegetarian main course, or to enrich a summer savory pie, a rice salad or a cold pasta salad. Using an air fryer to cook summer vegetables has several advantages: it requires less oil than classic pan cooking, avoids the oven, and saves you from heat on the hottest days. The result? Roasted and golden vegetables on the outside, soft and flavorful inside, with a perfect texture and a full taste. To further enhance the aroma and freshness of the dish, I add freshly chopped basil at the end of cooking. Alternatively, you can use other herbs like oregano, mint, parsley, or marjoram, depending on your taste or what’s available in your pantry. If you’re looking for an easy, quick, and tasty idea to vary your summer dishes, summer vegetables cooked in an air fryer are a perfect solution: healthy, versatile, ready in minutes, and suitable for the whole family. Try them and let yourself be captivated by the lightness of summer!
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
- Energy 124.27 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 12.41 (g) of which sugars 11.73 (g)
- Proteins 2.22 (g)
- Fat 7.65 (g) of which saturated 1.02 (g)of which unsaturated 0.07 (g)
- Fibers 4.57 (g)
- Sodium 200.05 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 115 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Summer Vegetables Cooked in Air Fryer
- 1 eggplant
- 1 pepper
- 9 oz cherry tomatoes
- 8 leaves basil
- 2 pinches salt
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Bowl large
- 1 Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Paper
How to Cook Diced Vegetables in Air Fryer
To prepare summer vegetables in an air fryer, first wash and dry all the vegetables. They should then be diced not too small, to prevent them from burning or drying out too much. Start with the pepper: remove the stem and seeds, then cut it into large segments and remove the internal filaments (1). Cut the segments into pieces about 1.5-2 cm (0.6-0.8 inches) wide (2). Slice the eggplant into slices about 2 cm (0.8 inches) thick (3).
Cut each slice into cubes about 2 cm (0.8 inches) wide (4). Simply halve the cherry tomatoes (5). Gather all the vegetables in a large bowl and season them with a pinch of salt and the oil (6).
Cook the summer vegetables in the air fryer at 180°F for about 15 minutes. Halfway through cooking, stir them with a spoon (10). In the end, you should obtain a mix of soft and slightly golden vegetables (11). Depending on the air fryer models and the size of the vegetable cubes, cooking times may vary by 2-3 minutes. Once ready, transfer the vegetables to a bowl and add the fresh basil (12). Mix well.
You can serve the summer vegetables either hot or at room temperature, or use them for other preparations, like savory pies, pasta salads, or rice salads, or use them as a pizza topping.
Storage
You can store the vegetables cooked in the air fryer in the fridge for 2 or 3 days, in a sealed glass container.
Tips and Variations
If you want to add an extra touch of flavor to this summer vegetable mix, you can also use a spring onion or half a Tropea onion: slice it fairly thin and cook it with the other vegetables.
