Having this air fryer calamari wasn’t on the menu last week. I was supposed to prepare a different seafood dish until I came across the package of calamari rings at the supermarket.

As you know, calamari is one of our favorites and it is actually my son’s most favorite appetizer of all time. So the sight of the calamari changed my plan and I grabbed a pack immediately without even thinking what other ingredients I would need to prepare the calamari rings.

And I wasn’t thinking about using the air fryer either because I’ve just always thought of calamari as deep-fried like what I did in this crispy fried calamari.

Then the hubs asked me if I’m going to air fry the calamari. Being a country boy of the North Carolina mountains, having grown up on deep fried food, he still retains that love. However, since his massive heart attack, not only has he quit smoking, I’ve changed his diet to a more healthy fat free regimen, much to his dismay. So I thought, oh yeah, why not continue using my air fry method of keeping him alive?! 🙂 So I browsed the web and came across this air fryer calamari recipe. I had all the ingredients except for the buttermilk. I just used whole milk instead and here’s the finished product.

They were delicious!

Just like any other breaded dish, preparing this breaded calamari can be time consuming and tedious. But I have to say it is so worth it because we really enjoyed the crunchy results.

We didn’t have them as appetizer, though, as we do at a local restaurant which has a scrumptious calamari beginner. We had them for dinner paired with jasmine rice. Yum!

Do you like calamari, too? Have you prepared air fryer calamari before?

Happy Foodie Friday, friends!

See more recipes HERE!