Your Pop-Tarts Deserve The Air Fryer Treatment

We can all get a little bit robotic when it comes to preparing certain foods. Cold leftovers go into the microwave. Chicken breasts, into the oven. And Pop-Tarts, into the toaster. While the toaster does a very nice job of warming up this tasty breakfast pastry — which has a terrifying edible mascot — there is another way to heat new life into what is, uncooked, a rather dry, crumbly experience (not to knock on people who eat them "raw," but...)

Giving them a spin in your air fryer, though, yields results far superior to those of the toaster. The convection air, which gets blown all around the Pop-Tarts, actually does crisp up the crust, and make the filling inside pliable, soft, and gooey. But the real magic is in the frosting. If you air fry a Pop-Tart with frosting, you will both witness and taste the absolute delight that is caramelized frosting. Yes, that sugary topping can actually turn a little bit golden under the heat of your air fryer, adding a surprising depth of sweetness to the treat.

Let's get into the air fryer technique for making your best Pop-Tarts ever (seriously, they are that good cooked this way). First of all, depending on what style of air fryer you have, you can probably make anywhere from one or two, to four or even six at once (if you have, for example, a toaster oven-like model like the Ninja Flip Toaster Oven & Air Fryer with a large basket). It shouldn't affect the time or temperature you air fry your Pop-Tarts at, because they're so slim to begin with.

It's ultimately going to come down to your preferred "doneness," but we recommend starting at 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, for about two minutes. This is just to start; if you pull them out after two minutes and you'd like them to be a bit more golden and crispy, put them back in at intervals of 30 seconds. Again, it's about how dark you prefer your Pop-Tart crust to be (and how caramelized you want the frosting). Also, we highly recommend applying some salted Irish butter to the crust side after you pull the 'Tarts from the air fryer, and consuming them while they're still warm.