Air Fryer Calamari

This crispy air fryer calamari recipe is perfect for special occasions. Serve these squid rings with homemade lemon garlic aioli or marinara sauce.

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Keyword: air fryer calamari, air fryer squid, air fryer calamari recipe, crispy calamari, air fried calamari

Prep Time: 45

Cook Time: 8

Total Time: 53

Servings: servings

Calories: 629kcal

Equipment

air fryer

Ingredients

1 lb calamari cleaned and sliced into rings
1 cup milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
1/3 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
2 tsp old bay seasoning or to taste
3 tsp granulated garlic or to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper or to taste
2 tsp salt or to taste
fresh parsley for garnishing

Instructions

First, start by thoroughly cleaning the calamari and slicing the hood into rings. Or purchase squid that’s already been cleaned like this one. Make sure the rings are equal in size to ensure they cook at the same speed. If you’ll also be cooking the tentacles, make sure to cut them into smaller pieces so they cook evenly.
Next, place the calamari in a bowl and add the milk and lemon juice to make homemade buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate the squid in the marinade for at least 30 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine the all purpose flour, semolina flour, stone ground yellow cornmeal, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and old bay seasoning. Whisk the ingredients together to combine.
Remove the calamari from the refrigerator.
Shake off the excess buttermilk from the squid rings and tentacles before transferring the pieces to the flour mixture. It’s important to work in small batches to ensure each piece of calamari is completely covered in the breading. Transfer the breaded pieces to a separate plate.
Discard the leftover marinade.
Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F for 5 minutes.
Once preheating is complete, lightly spray the inside of the air fryerwith non stick cooking spray. This one works really well.
Gently place the calamari inside the air fryer in one layer. Make sure you don’t overcrowd so that each piece cooks evenly.
Air fry at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until they’re nice and crispy. Open the air fryer half way through to flip them over for even cooking.
Finally, remove them from the air fryer, top with fresh parsley and serve with your choice of sauce on the side.

Notes

Purchase squid that’s already been cleaned, like this one, to make things a little bit easier.
Make your own homemade lemon garlic aioli for serving. Mix together 3/4 cup of mayonnaise with 1 tbsp of lemon juice, 1 clove of finely minced garlic, 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of ground black pepper.
Cooking times may vary depending on how thick you slice the rings.
Always read your air fryer manual before using it.

Nutrition