Air Fryer Calamari

This Air Fryer Calamari is light and crispy, made with less oil and not greasy at all. Made with fresh or frozen calamari its coated in breadcrumbs with adjusting of salt and pepper.

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Australian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings people

Calories 271kcal

Author Kim

Equipment

Air Fryer

Ingredients

400 grams Squid tubes cut into rounds (circles)
½ cup Plain/All purpose flour
3 medium Eggs
1 ¾ cups Panko Bread crumbs
1 tablespoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
½ teaspoon ground paprika
½ teaspoon tumeric
Spray oil

Instructions

Organise Breading Station: Set out 3 bowls of similar size. Add the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder to bowl 1. Whisk the 3 eggs together in bowl 2. Next, add the panko crumbs, ground paprika and tumeric to bowl 3.
Bread the Calamari Pieces: One at a time dip the rings in the flour and shake off excess, then dip into egg, then press into breadcrumbs on both sides. Set aside, laying flat on a wire rack covered in baking/parchment paper. Repeat this process until all calamari rings are breaded.
Preheat air fryer to 200 degrees c / 400 degrees F for around 3 minutes
Prepare to Air Fry: Add the first batch of calamari to the Air fryer laying flat in one layer, trying not to overlap pieces (this will ensure that the heat can flow evenly throughout the air fryer to cook properly)
Air Fry the Calamari in Batches: Spray the calamari rings liberally so that all pieces have received a good spray. Cook at 200C/400F for 5 minutes.
Repeat until all done: Remove from air fryer and set aside on a separate wire rack covered with baking/parchment paper. Repeat this process, cooking the squid in batches until its all been done.

Notes

If using fresh Calamari: If using fresh calamari tubes, make sure to trim any excess bits and pieces around the sides/edges. Pat dry with kitchen towel/paper towel to remove excess moisture. Slice the tubes in ¼ to ½ inch pieces, depending on your preference.
If using frozen Calamari: Defrost the calamari before breading it otherwise it wont stick. Its best to defrost the calamari overnight in the fridge. Drain any excess moisture off and pat calamari dry with paper towel/kitchen towel.
Flour: Plain flour or all purpose flour is good to use as the first step. Any type of superfine flour would work to coat the calamari and this is what helps the egg to stick to the calamari to form a sticky base for the breadcrumbs to stick to.
Eggs: these are essential and help the breadcrumbs to stick. If you don’t have enough eggs, you could get away with using less eggs, by mixing in a little milk to make them go further.
Breadcrumbs: I love using Panko breadcrumbs, but regular or wholemeal breadcrumbs would be great too.
Salt and Pepper: Sea salt and ground black pepper is ideal for salt and pepper calamari. You could also use a Lemon Pepper spice blend if that’s available where you live.
Garlic Powder: this helps to add a little extra flavour. If you don’t have it you could leave it out, or substitute it with onion powder. I wouldn’t recommend substituting it with garlic salt unless you’re adjusting the amount of sea salt, otherwise it will be too salt.
Tumeric and Paprika: these spices add a beautiful golden golden colour to the calamari. If you don’t have both, one would still work, or you can leave them out. I used plain ground paprika, but your could also try smoked paprika, sweet paprika, or spicy paprika, all of which will add a slightly different flavour.
Spray Oil: I typically use olive oil spray as only a little is needed. However you could also use vegetable oil spray or coconut oil spray.
Air fryer baskets tend to cook quicker than Air fryer ovens. For this recipe I used my 5.6 litre/6 quart Tefal XXL Deluxe basket Air Fryer. I cooked all the calamari in two batches.

Nutrition