Air fryer arancini
Crispy golden rice balls with a gooey mozzarella center, made in the air fryer instead of a pot of oil and dunked in warm marinara.
- 100 min total
- 40 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $2.35 a serving
- 640 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 3½ cups vegetable broth
- 1½ cups arborio rice
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 2 large eggs, divided
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup marinara sauce, warmed, for dipping
From your pantry
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Each serving has about 640 calories, 20 g protein, 87 g carbs and 22 g fat, and costs about $2.35 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No shredded mozzarella? Provolone slices work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring the broth and salt in a medium over high heat. Stir in the rice.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook 18 to 20 minutes, stirring twice, until the rice is tender and thick.
Low heatTimer: 19 min
Stir in the butter, parmesan and pepper. Spread the rice on a plate and refrigerate 30 minutes, until cold and firm.
Timer: 30 min
Dolly’s tip: Warm rice won’t hold a shape, so it has to be properly cold. Leftover risotto works perfectly here.Beat 1 egg and stir it into the cold rice.
With wet hands, flatten 3 tablespoons of rice in your palm, put of mozzarella in the middle and close the rice around it into a ball. Make 12.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Dolly’s tip: Keep a bowl of water nearby. Wet hands stop the rice from sticking to you.Set out three bowls: the flour, the second egg beaten, and the panko mixed with the Italian seasoning. Roll each ball in flour, then egg, then panko.
the air fryer to 390°F and brush the balls all over with the oil.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Air fry in one layer, in batches if needed, for 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway, until deep and hot in the middle.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 11 min
Dolly’s tip: If a little cheese bursts out of one, it’s still delicious.Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Serve hot with the warm marinara for dipping.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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