If your children come home from school absolutely starving, these three easy air fryer snacks are perfect to have up your sleeve!
They’re quick, use simple ingredients and don’t require you to spend ages in the kitchen. I’m sharing cheesy garlic baguettes, crispy tortilla samosas and cheesy spaghetti hoop pastries — and all three went down very well with my family.
They’re also really easy to adapt depending on what you have in the fridge or cupboards.
So if you’re looking for some quick after-school snack ideas for the kids, here are three to try.
1. Air Fryer Cheesy Garlic Baguettes
Let’s start with probably the easiest recipe of the three.
These little cheesy baguette slices take just a few minutes in the air fryer and come out lovely and crispy around the edges with melted cheese on top.
You can keep the seasoning mild for younger children or add a little cayenne pepper if your family likes some heat.
Ingredients
- Baguette
- Butter or spread
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Onion granules
- Garlic granules
- Paprika
- Mixed herbs
- Cayenne pepper, optional
- Sunflower oil spray, if needed
Method
1. Slice your baguette into individual pieces.
2. Spread a little butter or your preferred spread over each slice.
3. Sprinkle over some onion granules and garlic granules.
4. Add a generous amount of grated cheddar.
5. Finish with a sprinkle of paprika and mixed herbs. If you like a little spice, add some cayenne pepper too.
6. Preheat your air fryer and arrange the baguette slices in a single layer.
7. Air fry for approximately 3 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the baguette is crispy.
Serve them while they’re still warm and the cheese is lovely and melty!
Make Them Your Own
This is one of those recipes where you can really just use whatever you have.
Try adding sweetcorn, finely chopped peppers, cooked chicken, tuna or a little pizza sauce underneath the cheese.
You could basically turn them into mini air-fryer pizzas!
2. Crispy Air Fryer Tortilla Samosas
These were a big hit with the kids!
Instead of making traditional samosa pastry, we’re using tortilla wraps, which makes the whole process much quicker.
I made mine quite small by cutting each tortilla into quarters, making them a lovely size for an after-school snack.
Ingredients
- Tortilla wraps
- Lamb mince
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon garlic & ginger paste
- Salt
- Spices of your choice
- Sunflower oil spray
For the flour paste
- Plain flour
- Water
Method
1. Prepare the filling.
Add the lamb mince to a pan and cook until browned and most of the liquid has evaporated.
2. Add the sliced onion and continue cooking until the onion has softened.
3. Add the garlic & ginger paste, salt and your chosen spices. Mix everything together and cook until the filling is ready.
Allow it to cool slightly while you prepare the wraps.
4. Make your samosa ‘glue’.
Mix a little plain flour and water in a small bowl until you have a thick paste. This will help hold the tortilla together.
5. Prepare the tortillas.
Cut each tortilla wrap into four pieces for mini samosas. If you want larger ones, you could simply cut each tortilla in half.
6. Fold the samosas.
Use a little flour paste along the edge of the tortilla and fold it into a small cone or samosa shape.
Don’t worry if the tortilla tries to open up — add a little more flour paste and press it together again.
7. Spoon in some of the lamb mince filling.
Add a little more flour paste around the open edge and seal the samosa.
Repeat until you’ve used your filling.
8. Air fry.
Arrange the tortilla samosas in a single layer in the air fryer and lightly spray them with sunflower oil.
Air fry for approximately 3 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
You can turn them halfway through if you want, although mine were small enough that I didn’t find this necessary.
3. Cheesy Spaghetti Hoop Air Fryer Pastries
This final idea might sound a little unusual, but trust me!
The slightly sweet tomato sauce from the spaghetti hoops works really nicely with the melted cheese and crispy puff pastry.
And because we’re using a ready-rolled pastry sheet, there’s hardly any preparation involved.
Ingredients
- 1 ready-rolled puff pastry sheet
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Spaghetti hoops
- Sunflower oil spray
Method
1. Unroll the puff pastry sheet and cut it into six pieces.
2. Add a little grated cheddar to each piece.
3. Spoon some spaghetti hoops over the cheese. Don’t overfill them or they’ll be difficult to seal.
4. Fold each piece of pastry over to form a triangle.
5. Press the edges together with a fork to seal them.
6. Poke a few small holes into the top of each pastry.
7. Place the pastries in your air fryer and lightly spray with sunflower oil.
8. Air fry for approximately 9 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up and turned beautifully golden.
Allow them to cool slightly before giving them to the children because the filling will be very hot.
Easy After-School Snacks Without Lots of Fuss
One of the reasons I love using the air fryer for snacks like these is simply the convenience.
When the kids come home from school hungry, you don’t necessarily want to turn the oven on and start making something complicated.
All three of these ideas are relatively inexpensive and can also be changed according to what your family enjoys.
The cheesy baguettes are brilliant when you need something in just a few minutes.
The tortilla samosas are a fun shortcut when you fancy something a little more substantial.
And the cheese and spaghetti hoop pastries are an easy one to make with ingredients children already tend to enjoy.
More Air Fryer Snack Filling Ideas
Once you’ve got the basic idea, you can experiment with different combinations. You could try:
- Cheese and sweetcorn
- Tuna and cheese
- Chicken and cheese
- Pizza sauce and mozzarella
- Leftover cooked mince
- Beans and cheese
- Cooked vegetables and cheese
They’re also a useful way of using up small amounts of leftovers rather than letting them go to waste.
Which One Would You Try First?
For me, the tortilla samosas are such a clever little shortcut, but those cheesy baguettes are hard to beat when you want something really quick!
I hope these three easy air fryer snack ideas give you a little inspiration for those hungry after-school afternoons.
If you try them, feel free to change the fillings and seasonings to suit your family — that’s half the fun of recipes like these.
Enjoy! ❤️
