Air Fry Corn on the Cob, Vegan

four air fryer corn on the cob on black plate with lime on side and salt and pepper shaker in the background

Course: party food, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: air fry corn on the cob, air fryer corn, air fryer recipes, vegan recipe corn

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 25

Servings:

Calories: 132kcal

Author: Cindy Rainey

Yes, you can air fry corn on the cob and get the moistest, juicy, most flavorful corn without boiling water, lighting your grill, or heating the oven. This recipe will walk you through all the steps so that you can learn how to air fry uicy delicious corn on the cob too!

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Equipment

air fryer

Ingredients

4 ears of corn husked with silk removed
2½ Tablespoons vegan butter
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

Husk the corn if you didn't already buy it that way and remove the silk threads. Trim the ends from the corn. Check the size of the corn, comparing it to the size of your air fryer basket. If it is too large, then cut it down to size. Wash, dry, and set aside.
Melt the vegan butter (please see notes - use ONLY vegan butter). Whisk in the smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Preheat the air fryer to 370° and set the cooking time to 15 minutes if your air fryer asks at this time.
While the air fryer is preheating, brush the corn with the melted butter mixture.
Line the air fryer basket with parchment paper, a basket liner, or foil. The butter mixture will make a mess.
Air fry at 370° for 14 minutes. At the halfway point, pull out the basket and with tongs, carefully turn the corn.
When finished cooking, allow to cool till comfortable to eat.
Add a squeeze of lime, salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

I used the Instant Pot Vortex 6qt for this recipe. Air fryers do differ and your results might differ as well.

I normally advise that if you are not vegan, you can use the butter of your choice. This is NOT TRUE for this recipe! Dairy butter might burn at these high air fryer temperatures. I only recommend using vegan stick butter. If you would rather not, then use oil instead and melt butter on the top after air frying. I have never done that and so can't guarantee the outcome. But don't cook with dairy butter in the air fryer!

If your air basket is too small to accommodate four pieces of corn, then cook in batches of two each OR cook three if that is all you will need. I would not change the other ingredients. You will just have a little melted butter with ingredients leftover in your bowl. Or use it all for extra flavor.

Nutrition