Getting crispy vegetables in an air fryer comes down to three things: how wet they are going in, how much oil coats them, and how much room they have to breathe. Skip any one of these and you get steamed, floppy vegetables instead of browned, crisp-edged ones.

Step 1: Cut and dry

Cut broccoli into pieces about 1.5in across, zucchini into half-moons, and bell pepper into roughly 1in chunks. Even sizing matters more than shape, since pieces that are all similar thickness finish cooking at the same rate. After washing any vegetable, spread it on a kitchen towel or paper towels and pat it completely dry. Water on the surface turns to steam in the basket and steam is the main reason vegetables come out limp instead of crisp.

Step 2: Oil lightly but thoroughly

Toss the dried vegetables with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl until every piece looks lightly glossed, not dripping. A thin, even coat of oil conducts heat and helps browning; a heavy pool of oil just steams the vegetables from the outside in. If you're using a spray bottle instead of tossing, spray in two light passes rather than one heavy one.

Step 3: Load the basket without crowding

Spread the vegetables in a single layer in the air fryer basket. If they're piled two or three deep, the pieces in the middle will steam against each other and never crisp, no matter how long you cook them. For a full batch of mixed vegetables like this, work in two batches rather than one crowded one, or use a basket with a rack insert to add a second layer with airflow between.

Air fryer: 400°F, 15 minutes, shaking the basket at the halfway point.

Preheat the air fryer for 3 minutes before adding the vegetables; starting on a hot surface helps them begin browning immediately instead of slowly warming up and releasing moisture the whole time. At the 7 to 8 minute mark, pull the basket and shake it or toss the vegetables with tongs so the sides facing the heating element rotate. Return it and finish the remaining time. Vegetables are done when the edges are browned and slightly charred in spots and a fork slides in easily; softer vegetables like zucchini and pepper may finish a minute or two before broccoli, so check early if you're mixing very different vegetables.

Tips

  • Starchy vegetables (potatoes, squash) release more moisture than watery ones (zucchini, mushrooms), so give them a few extra minutes of dry time before oiling and don't mix them with high-moisture vegetables in the same batch if you want uniform crisping.
  • Parchment liners are fine for delicate items like sliced onions but skip them for anything you want deeply browned; the perforated basket surface is what lets hot air actually crisp the bottom of each piece.
  • Every air fryer model runs a little differently. If your batches are consistently pale after the times above, add 2 to 3 minutes rather than raising the temperature, which can scorch the outside before the inside catches up.
  • A single overloaded layer is the most common reason home cooks think their air fryer