Courgette quarters in an air fryer
Fresh — the short answer
200°C (392°F) for 15–18 min
- For
- 1000g in total, about 25mm at the thickest point, From the fridge
- In
- Multicooker with air fry, single layer, pieces not touching
- Preheat
- Yes, before the food goes in
- Part way
- shake the basket at about 8 min
- Check
- The cut faces have coloured and the pieces still hold their shape
- Safety
- Plug an air fryer directly into a wall socket. Do not run one from an extension lead. Full rule below.
Ten to twelve minutes quartered lengthwise, which is thicker than a stick and better for it.
Fresh
The quick answer
200°C (392°F) for 15–18 min
Piece size, for a published kilogram quartered lengthwise and then cut into 2.5cm pieces. Courgette varies enormously in water content and that is what moves the answer within the window.
- Assuming
- 1000g in total, about 25mm at the thickest point, From the fridge
- In
- Multicooker with air fry
- Loaded
- Single layer, pieces not touching
- Preheat
- Yes, before the food goes in
- Result
- Browned but not crisp
Preparation
Quartered lengthwise, cut into 2.5cm pieces, tossed in about a tablespoon of oil.
About 15ml of oil.
How to load the basket
Single layer, pieces not touching. The reference condition. Air reaches every surface, and times are the shortest the food will achieve.
While it cooks
At about 8–9 minutes: Shake the basket
Courgette releases a great deal of water and pieces sitting in it steam rather than brown.
How to tell it is done
- The cut faces have coloured and the pieces still hold their shape
- No pooled liquid in the bottom of the basket
Where these figures came from — fresh
- Applies to
- Specific to this model
- Why this rating
- A published row with a stated quantity, a stated preparation and an oil quantity, from the manufacturer's own guide for this appliance. Quantity is what makes a chart row checkable against the food in front of a reader, and this chart states one for almost every row.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-13
What this does not cover
- Published by the manufacturer for this appliance. It is evidence about this machine and is not general advice.
- This is a lidded cooking pot rather than a shallow drawer. Depth affects how much fits in one layer, and the quantity in the chart assumes the crisper basket.
Sources (1)
Ninja Foodi MAX Health Grill & Air Fryer AG551UK — Inspiration Guide and cooking charts (PDF)
SharkNinja Europe Limited — Manufacturer cooking chart (United Kingdom)
Relied on for: The temperature, time and quantity for courgette quarters.
States this directly
Passage read and verified
Retrieved 2026-08-13 from argos-support.co.uk
Retrieved from Argos's manual library for Argos product 735/0124, published alongside the instruction booklet as a second document.
Chilled
No time or temperature for this, and not by accident
Courgette quarters is sold and cooked chilled, so the question is a real one. AirfryerHQ holds no published figure for it: not one of the manufacturer manuals read for this catalogue gives a chart row for this food in this state.
We are not going to produce one by adjusting the fresh figure above. A time arrived at that way would appear on this page looking exactly like a time somebody measured, and you would have no way to tell the difference.
What we do hold for courgette quarters: fresh. Those are a different question, not a starting point for this one.
What usually goes wrong
Collapse into wet strings. Courgette is over ninety per cent water with no starch to hold it, and a thin cut has nothing left once the cell walls fail — which is why the thicker quarter survives where a stick does not.
Running the appliance safely
These apply to every food and every air fryer, so they are here once rather than repeated under each state above. They come from Electrical Safety First, from UK product-safety notices and from the manufacturers’ own manuals.
- Plug an air fryer directly into a wall socket. Do not run one from an extension lead.
- An unusual smell, an unusual noise, or scorch marks on the plug mean stop using it and contact the manufacturer.
- Do not overfill. Food touching the heating element is a fire risk, not a cooking problem.
- White smoke from fatty food is usually normal. Black smoke means unplug it immediately.
- Do not leave an air fryer running unattended.
- Leave clear space above and around the appliance, and never cover the air intake or the outlet.
- Aim for a golden yellow colour or lighter on starchy foods such as chips and roast potatoes, rather than a darker brown.
- Buy from a reputable retailer rather than a third-party marketplace seller.
- Clean the drawer, the plate and the element after use. Accumulated grease is what smokes, and then what burns.
- Register the appliance with its manufacturer. It is how a recall reaches you.
- Do not rely on the appliance's own thermal protection. A UK recall was issued because it did not operate.
Each links to its own page, with what it means in practice, what to do if it has already happened, and the source it comes from. Every safety rule AirfryerHQ holds.
Why courgette behaves this way
Courgette is over ninety per cent water in a soft, thin-walled structure with no starch and almost no sugar. There is nothing to crisp and very little to brown, and as soon as the cell walls fail the whole piece releases its water. Cutting thicker helps more than cooking hotter: a thick baton can lose its surface water and brown slightly before the centre collapses, where a thin slice cannot. It is also the food most improved by not crowding the basket, because the released steam has to go somewhere.
Where to go from here
The pages that answer the questions this one tends to raise.
- How food actually gets crispyWhy patting it dry, spacing it out and a little oil are all the same instruction — so you can apply it when a page runs out.
- Why published timings differIf another chart says something else, this is usually why — and which one to believe.
Easily confused with
- Courgette sticks — A different cooking problem with a different answer.
- Aubergine cubes — A different cooking problem with a different answer.