If you have never made baby bok choy in your air fryer, you are totally missing out. Air fryer baby bok choy is one of life's joys, and it takes less than 10 minutes, from chop to finish.
No air fryer? No problem! Make my baked baby bok choy instead!
Air Fryer Baby Bok Choy Basics
Y'all, I don't know why it took me so long to put baby bok choy in my air fryer! Bok choy is one of my family's favorite veggies, and since I perfected this method, air fryer baby bok choy has been on our supper menu at least once a week. Some weeks, it's more like two or three times.
When you cook baby bok choy in the air fryer, the leaves get crispy and the stems get perfectly sweet and tender. All that you need to make it is a little bit of spray oil, a sprinkle of garlic powder, and approximately nine spare minutes.
If you don't do oil, you can toss your baby bok choy in a little bit of soy sauce whisked with maple syrup. The maple syrup will help the soy sauce cling to the leaves, so they won't get dry during cooking.
Besides the obvious time savings from the air fryer, you save even more time on this recipe by not chopping the bok choy into bite-sized pieces. Instead, you cook up the whole leaves in the air fryer. They look beautiful on the plate, and they taste freaking delicious.
Seriously. It's that easy. Our rice bowls haven't been the same since.
How to Use Air Fryer Baby Bok Choy
There are so many ways to serve up your baby bok! It works great as a side dish alongside...basically anything.
We also like to pile it onto our sushi bowls or serve it over sesame noodles with air fryer tofu or a handful of cashews. I also have a Tofu Ramen recipe coming up that uses air fryer baby bok choy as a delicious topping.
Basically, anywhere you'd add some sauteed baby bok choy, you can use air fryer baby bok choy instead.
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Baby Bok Choy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 bunches baby bok choy
- spray oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Slice the bottoms off of your bok choy bunches, and separate the leaves. Rinse them well, and shake off any excess water. It's okay if they're a little damp. You just don't want them dripping wet.
- Transfer the clean bok choy leaves to the air fryer, then coat them in spray oil. Sprinkle on the garlic powder, shaking to make sure all of the leaves get some of that garlic goodness.
- Cook at 350F for 5-6 minutes, shaking after 2 minutes.
HeathCliff Rothman
Best baby bok choy I've ever tasted. Surprised me because I tasted sauteed baby bok choy that has been quite good - but not lip-smacking good like this. and so easy. I added a splash of Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce.
Becky Striepe
Ooh that sounds like a delicious addition!
Paul Kern
Simple, easy, and healthy. Really enjoyed this, especially after sprinkling some Balsamic Vinegar & Soy Sauce
Becky Striepe
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Paul! Balsamic and soy sound like delightful toppings.
Ruth
Pretty good! We just bought an air fryer at the thrift store, and so we're experimenting with different ideas. I used 1 top of olive oil and a few shakes of garlic powder. Didn't need salt. The leaves were a tad crispy, and the stems stayed juicy yet had some crunch.
Ruth
1 tsp., not 1 top.
Becky Striepe
Sounds great, Ruth! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Rita Pino
Becky, My family and I love it. I am always looking for new ways to enjoy Bok Choy. You have surely perfected it. Simple to do, still nutritious and quick.Thank you sooooooo much. Lovers of Bok Choy.
Becky Striepe
Oh you are so welcome! As a fellow lover of bok choy, this makes me very happy to hear!
Linda B.
Hi - Newbie air-fryer user question for you... Can you please describe what "Cook at 350F for 5-6 minutes, shaking after 2 minutes" means? Take the boy choy itself out, shake each piece? Take the tray out and shake the whole tray of bok choy? What's the goal of shaking it? Is it to "stir" it, or to get moisture off of it? Other? Thank you! -Linda B.
Becky Striepe
Oh you just need to shake the basket to move things around. Sorry if that was confusing!
Kana
The book choy in the picture looks mature; not like baby bok choy
Becky Striepe
Maybe that's just because it's a close-up? It's definitely baby bok.
Hanny
Allergic to garlic what instead
Becky Striepe
You can use onion powder instead, if needed.
Tina S
I had baby bok choy in my fridge and I was wondering how to incorporate it into my dinner menu. I happened upon this recipe and to say the least it was a hit during my dinner party. I have shared it and I will use it again. Thank you.
Becky Striepe
Oh, I am so glad it was a hit! And I'm pretty jealous that you were able to have a dinner party. I miss parties!
Joan Conrad
How did you get so smart. Anxious to try the bok choy.
What kind of spray oil do you tend to like?
Becky Striepe
For the spray oil, don't use the kind you buy in a can at the store -- it can damage your air fryer's nonstick coating, I learned recently! I invested in a non-propellant oil sprayer. This is the one I have, though I'm sure you can find others: https://amzn.to/2Z1AuSo
The cool thing about these is that they're refillable, so you can use whatever liquid oil you like.
Becky
While cleaning my bok choy for dinner tonight I was wondering whether or not it could be cooked in the air fryer so I looked online and found your recipe. Made it and it was delicious!
In addition to the garlic powder and oil, I also added a couple splashes of low sodium soy sauce and several sprinkles of ground ginger. Thank you for the recipe!
Becky Striepe
Ooh great additions! Thank you for taking the time to rate and review!
Kitchen
We recently bough an air fryer too. This looks amazing to try. btw its necessary to have the oil sprayed? because the purpose of air fryer is to eat no oily food right?
Becky Striepe
It's pretty dry if you skip the oil. For me, the purpose of the air fryer is to use a bit less oil and cook food quickly. A spray is a lot less than you'd use in a pan, for sure.
Dianne
I AM missing out, because I've never thought to make veggies in the air fryer. That needs to change ASAP!
Becky Striepe
Ooh you're going to love it! I also have been cooking frozen cauliflower in there lately with spray oil and granulated garlic for a quickie lunch mix-in. I'd never done frozen veg before and definitely want to play with that more - it's so easy!
Cadry
I don't know which I'm more excited about - making this air fryer bok choy OR your tofu ramen recipe! Hopefully it won't be too long of a wait. In the meantime, I need to get to the grocery store for some bok choy.
Becky Striepe
Oh yay! I just finished testing and shooting the ramen, and it will be up in a few weeks!