Air Fryer Arancini

Arancini are Italian rice balls filled with either cheese, meat and vegetables, or both. The rice ball is usually breaded and then deep fried. I made these Air Fryer Arancini in you guessed it, an Air Fryer! They came out wonderful, so delicious and cheesy and are much lighter than the deep fried version. They were sooo delicious I had to stop myself from eating all of them!

I made these Air Fryer Arancini right after I made my Shrimp Risotto because both recipes use the same type of rice,. You need 2 cups of leftover risotto for this recipe. You can make this recipe with regular leftover white rice, but you will need to season it before using it. I will tell you how to season it below in the notes section.

What are Arancini Balls made of?

Arancini Balls are made with Arborio Rice. Arborio Rice is short grain rice that is also used to make risotto. This rice is mixed with seasoning, stuffed with mozzarella or meat and peas, rolled in breadcrumbs, and then either deep fried, baked, or air fried.

What do you eat with Air Fryer Arancini?

Arancini make a great appetizer or snack, but if you wanted to pair them with a meal, I think a simple Italian Meat dish or a thick Ragu over pasta would be perfect!

Ingredients need to make Air Fryer Arancini:

• Leftover Risotto
• Breadcrumbs
• Egg
• Mini Mozzarella Balls or Meat Mixture( Meat mixture consists of ground beef, frozen peas, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, black pepper, and garlic)

Can you bake Arancini in an oven?

Yes you can. Follow the directions below, but instead of putting them in your air fryer, you can bake them in the over at 425F for 25-30 minutes depending on the size. Be sure to pinch the rice around the cheese well or else the cheese will melt out as the rice balls as they bake.

INSTRUCTIONS 

• If you are making meat stuffed Arancini, cook the meat, salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano in a pan with a little oil. When it is just about done, add the marinara sauce and peas and let it heat up. Once it is cooked, let it cool so that you can use this to stuff the rice balls.
• Add eggs to a bowl and scramble.
• Add risotto to a bowl with a 1/4 cup of bread crumbs. Mix
• Add the remaining breadcrumbs to a bowl and set aside
• Place a large spoonful of the risotto mixture in your hands, and then add a mini mozzarella ball in the center. Using you hands, form the risotto around the mozzarella. You can add more risotto on top if it makes it easier. I like to wet my hands before rolling the balls because then the mixture won’t stick to my hands.
• Roll the arancini into a ball, place it in the egg mixture, and then place it into the breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet as you make the others. 
• If you are making meat arancini, place a large spoonful of risotto into your hand, then add a little bit of the meat mixture in the center, and then form a ball in your hand. You may need to use more risotto to close the ball. 
• Tip – if forming the ball becomes sticky and difficult, lightly wet your hands. This will help the mixture stick less to your hands. 
• Roll all riceballs into the egg mixture and then the breadcrumbs. 
• Cook riceballs in an air fryer at 400 for 12 minutes, flipping them over after 6 minutes. If you are baking these in an oven, cook them at 425F for 25-30 minutes depending on size.
• Serve with marinara sauce

Helpful Tips

• Wet your hands slightly before your roll the arancini into balls. This prevents the mixture from sticking to your hands.
• If you find that the balls are larger than you would like, you can always cut the mozzarella smaller.
• Using string cheese, cut into pieces works great.
• I like to spray the arancini with cooking spray or avocado oil before I put them in the air fryer or the oven.

If you like Air Fryer Arancini, you may also like:

Shrimp Risotto

Puerto Rican Arroz con Pollo