Cooking times
A Five-Food Air Fryer Meal Prep Session, Timed and Costed
Published by the RecipeAirFryer editorial team · How we source times · Updated
Five meal prep staples cooked one after another in a single air fryer take 79 minutes of cooking and about 43 minutes of prep. The session makes 20 portions and costs at most 52.0p in electricity at the UK price cap, or 36.2¢ at the US average rate.
Key findings
- That works out at 2.6p or 1.8¢ of electricity per portion.
- The basket is in use for 79 minutes, but hands-on time is closer to 43 minutes, because each item can be prepped while the last one cooks.
- The five items use 3 temperatures, from 130°C to 200°C.
- Cook from the lowest temperature up, so the basket never has to cool down between items.
- Chicken Breast20 min
- Roasted Vegetables16 min
- Sweet Potato Cubes16 min
- Hard Boiled Eggs13 min
- Meatballs11 min
The session, in cooking order
Items are listed from the lowest temperature to the highest.
| Item | Temperature | Prep | Cook | Portions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard Boiled Eggs | 130°C / 270°F | 1 min | 13 min | 6 |
| Chicken Breast | 190°C / 375°F | 5 min | 20 min | 2 |
| Meatballs | 190°C / 375°F | 15 min | 11 min | 4 |
| Roasted Vegetables | 190°C / 375°F | 12 min | 16 min | 4 |
| Sweet Potato Cubes | 200°C / 400°F | 10 min | 16 min | 4 |
| Total | 43 min | 79 min with preheat | 20 |
Storing what you cook
Cool everything and get it into the fridge within two hours. Cooked chicken, meatballs and vegetables keep for three to four days chilled, which covers a working week if you cook on Sunday.
Reheat until steaming hot throughout, and only once. An air fryer brings back the texture of roasted vegetables and meatballs far better than a microwave does.
How these figures were worked out
The figures are counted from the 304 recipes published on RecipeAirFryer.com on 2026-10-08. Each recipe has one temperature, a time range, a prep time, an ingredient list and a serving count, and those fields are what is counted here.
The times and temperatures are the starting points given on each recipe page for a standard basket air fryer. They are not laboratory measurements, and air fryers differ between models, so treat the counts as a description of this recipe set, not of every air fryer.
Energy cost uses a 1,500 W air fryer with one 3-minute preheat for the whole session at 26.32p per kWh (Ofgem price cap, October to December 2026) and 18.31¢ per kWh (EIA U.S. residential average, July 2026). It is an upper limit.
Sources
- Ofgem energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (26.32p per kWh, GB average, Direct Debit)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A (18.31 cents per kWh, U.S. residential average, July 2026)
You may quote these figures with a link to this page. If you spot an error, tell us through the contact page and we will correct it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you meal prep in an air fryer?
Yes. Five staples take 79 minutes of basket time cooked in turn and make 20 portions. The limit is basket size, so each item is cooked as its own batch.
What order should you cook meal prep in an air fryer?
From the lowest temperature to the highest. The basket heats up faster than it cools, so eggs and bakes go first and potatoes and meat last.
How long does air fryer meal prep keep?
Three to four days in the fridge for cooked meat and vegetables, chilled within two hours of cooking. Reheat until steaming hot and only reheat once.