Making Air Fryer Dumplings is great if you want extra crunch without deep frying or the effort of watching a pan. You can use this technique with any store-bought or homemade dumpling you like, fresh or frozen!
At risk of becoming “the water lady,” I have to say that a bit of water in the air fryer makes a world of difference. Keep reading to see what I mean.
How to Cook Dumplings in an Air Fryer
If you love to cook your dumplings with almost zero supervision and a satisfying crunch, you can cook them in an air fryer.
When we first tried this method, we did it the way that seemed to be the accepted convention—brush or spray the uncooked dumplings with oil, and bake at various temperatures until crispy.
Yet, something was bothering us. Our results—and all the aforementioned air fryer dumpling recipes—seemed rather…dry.
When it comes to air frying, you can sometimes not only overcook your food, but really dry it out. Such was the pitfall with our first air fryer dumpling attempts.
When we cook pan-fried dumplings with the crispy bottoms in a pan, we start the dumplings with oil, but then add water to steam them. The water cooks off, and then you’re left with those golden crispy bottoms AND tender cooked dumpling wrappers on the top. This is the conventional method.
So I decided to apply the same logic to cooking them in the air fryer, and it worked much better! The result is almost like a reversed pan-fried dumpling. The bottom is more tender and the top of the dumpling has a super crunchy ridge of pleats that will definitely satisfy any crunch cravings you may have.
Just see for yourself the difference between the “no water” air fried dumplings and the partially steamed air fried dumplings!
Another win for mashing up traditional Chinese cooking methods with more modern techniques!
You can cook virtually any dumpling this way!
You can use this technique for Japanese gyoza, Korean mandu, or any Chinese dumpling or potsticker—either homemade or storebought, fresh or frozen. You could also do this with frozen wontons!
Pork, chicken, beef, seafood fillings—no matter the dumpling, you can cook it in the air fryer. Check out our full list of dumpling filling recipes.
And don’t forget to make a batch of our Perfect Dumpling Sauce and Chili Oil to go alongside!
A Convenient Method for Air Fryer Fans
If I’m being 100% honest, the jury is still out in our family on this technique. Sarah insists that cooking a pan of dumplings on the stove is not only better (it is, for the record) but also easier.
Sarah’s right in that the air fryer technique is more a substitute for deep-frying than for pan-frying, which remains king in our books. The resulting dumpling is really for those who prioritize crunch over juiciness.
On the issue of ease, though, some of us disagreed. If you forget a pan of dumplings on the stove it’s quite easy to accidentally burn them, ruining the whole batch. With the air fryer, you get the benefit of a built-in timer that stops the cooking process.
While the dumplings are going, you can tend to other things, whether that be your kids, your pets, or that show you’ve been binge watching.
Prioritizing crunch
We cook the dumplings at 400°F/200°C for 10-14 minutes (ranges are there to account for whether the dumplings are fresh or frozen, small or large). We found that a higher temperature and slightly longer cook yielded much crunchier dumplings.
If you don’t care as much about the crunch, you can back off on the cook time by 2 minutes or so.
So here are the pros and cons of this technique:
Pros:
- Very little supervision required
- No flipping needed to get high crisp coverage on the dumpling (if you want a crispy-all-over pan-fried dumpling, you do need to flip them)
- Whereas pan-fried dumplings are crispy, these get cronchy
Cons:
- Brushing each dumpling can be a little tedious. To make things easier, you might consider getting an oil spray.
- With less moisture in the air fryer, these are not as juicy as dumplings that have been steamed, boiled, or pan-fried the traditional way.
How to Cook Dumplings in an Air Fryer: Instructions
Place the dumplings in your air fryer basket. Space them apart so there’s about a 1/4 to ½-inch (1cm) of room or so between them. If using frozen dumplings, do not thaw before cooking.
Brush or spray the dumplings on all sides with a thin coat of oil.
Tip!
Don’t have a pastry brush or oil spray? Just oil your hands, and rub the dumplings all over with your hands to coat them!
Use your fingers to sprinkle the dumplings with ¼ cup water using a flicking motion. For any last bits that you can’t splash on, just pour into the base of the air fryer basket.
Air-fry at 400°F/200°C for 10-12 minutes if using fresh dumplings, or 12-14 minutes for frozen (depending on size and number of dumplings).
For a smaller number of dumplings (e.g., for one person), air-fry them for the shorter end of the time range. Because the air fryer basket is not as full, they will cook faster. There’s no need to preheat the air fryer; just let it go.
We find that you don’t have to flip the dumplings during cooking either, making the process that much easier.
Serve with our perfect dumpling sauce for dipping!
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Recipe
Air Fryer Dumplings
Ingredients
- fresh or frozen dumplings
- 1-2 tablespoons neutral oil
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Place the dumplings in your air fryer basket. Space them apart so there’s about 1/4 to ½-inch (1 cm) of room or so between them.
- Brush or spray the dumplings on all sides with a thin coat of oil. You can also just oil your hands and rub the oil all over the outside of the dumplings.
- You can also use your favorite oil spray. We don’t have an oil spray, so we like to use a natural bristle pastry brush for this, as it allows for a much thinner coat than with silicone brushes.
- Use your fingers to sprinkle the dumplings with ¼ cup water using a flicking motion. For any last bits that you can’t splash on, just pour into the base of the air fryer basket.
- Air-fry at 400°F/200°C for 10-12 minutes if using fresh dumplings, or 12-14 minutes for frozen (depending on size and number of dumplings). For a smaller number of dumplings (e.g., for one person), air-fry them for the shorter end of the time range. Because the air fryer basket is not as full, they will cook faster. There’s no need to preheat the air fryer; just let it go.
