I've made over 45 recipes in the air fryer this year. Here are 8 of my favorites.

From cookies and churros to calzones and grilled cheeses, I've tried over 45 air-fryer recipes in 2021.

I love using my air fryer since cleanup is usually a breeze and once you start the cooking process, you can pretty much leave it alone until it's finished. Plus food normally heats up faster because of the circulating air and temperature control.

Out of the 45 recipes I've experimented with this year, here are my favorites that you should also add to your list of air-fried go-tos:

Earlier in the year, I made my meals for a week strictly in the air fryer and tried these chicken thighs that came out juicy and evenly cooked.

The recipe calls for kosher salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano, and onion powder, but you could coat your thighs in whatever seasonings you'd like, or even marinate them for a few hours beforehand.

Prior to using my air fryer, I'd have to broil skin-on chicken thighs to get the same type of crispy, well-seasoned crust, but it would take much longer and the kitchen would always get smokey.

I still make food blogger Jennifer Banz's recipe several times a month and love it.

Grillers may think air frying a steak is preposterous, but Gordon Ramsay's recipe was so good it even surprised me.

To make this simple take, I rubbed a 2-inch-thick steak with a combination of 11 ingredients, including ground coffee, ancho-chili powder, paprika, dark-brown sugar, salt, pepper, ground coriander, ground mustard, ground ginger, and dried oregano.

After letting it sit for 15 minutes, I popped it in the air fryer for 20 minutes, 10 on each side.

This was the best steak I've ever made. It was perfectly cooked inside — super juicy that it practically melted in my mouth. It also had an incredible combination of salty and sweet flavors thanks to the unique rub.

Cooking steak is usually a pain, but this recipe made it shockingly simple.

Testing my breakfast-making skills with the air fryer changed the way I look at cooking the most important meal of the day.

Cooking bacon in the air fryer (per A Pinch of Healthy's instructions) was so incredibly easy and mess-free since there was no grease flying everywhere or a leftover smoky kitchen.

Simply place the strips next to one another in the basket and air fry depending on how crispy you like your bacon. If you're not sure how long to cook it for, you can always peek into the basket to check up on it.

Once the grease cools off, you can dispose of it or wipe it out of the air-fryer bin.

If you love the salty-meets-sweet, crunchy orange chicken that the Chinese fast-food joint Panda Express is known for, you'll love Lite Craving's popular recipe.

The list of ingredients is quite short, calling for an egg, chicken, cornstarch, orange juice, ginger, oyster and soy sauce, honey, and red-pepper flakes.

Start with air frying your flour-coated chicken chunks, then toss them with an easy-to-make, tangy sauce.

It's a quick, straightforward recipe for when you're craving a fast-food alternative that's a bit more wholesome.

Even though I'm a major French-toast person, I hate when it's too soggy in the middle.

But Love Bakes Good Cakes' simple recipe yields a perfectly crunchy, caramelized coating that covers the entire stick since you finish the bread with a generous mixture of sugar-cinnamon prior to air frying,

As long as you don't overcrowd the basket, the French-toast sticks come out with an unbelievably crispy exterior and soft inside. They barely even need syrup.

You don't have to worry about them getting burnt either because the air fryer evenly cooks each piece.

To make an evenly cooked frittata with a perfect consistency, use an air fryer.

Put nearly anything into your egg mixture — veggies, meat, or cheese — and simply air fry it for about 25 minutes.

It's the perfect breakfast for a crowd or to meal prep for yourself.

Last month, I made five Thanksgiving side dishes in an air fryer, and the Kitchn's string-bean recipe was a game-changer.

This recipe couldn't be easier and can be modified based on what types of spices you like.

Simply coat your string beans in olive oil and seasoning and toss them into your air fryer. After about 10 to 12 minutes, they come out tender, slightly blistered, and delicious.

My favorite series of air-fryer recipes I tried over the course of the year involved cooking Oreos in a number of different ingredients.

Inspired by a TikTok recipe from the user @pearls_kitchen, which used crescent-roll dough, I branched out and also tried the technique with cookie dough, cinnamon rolls, pie crust, and phyllo.

The crescent-roll and cookie-dough Oreos came out the best and were made even better with a little Nutella slathered on prior to wrapping and frying.