Air Fryer Spinach Stromboli

I love air fryers; they are so much fun! This healthy air fryer stromboli recipe uses 1% cottage cheese filling, and it is delicious. Don’t knock it ’til you try it! Cottage cheese-as-a-filling is one of my favorite heart-healthy cheese hacks.

I wouldn’t say air fryers are a must-have kitchen tool, but they’re certainly fun to play with! FYI, I tried baking these spinach strombolis in the oven, and the spinach-and-cheese filling exploded out of the crust. The crust remained intact in the air fryer, for some reasons I don’t quite understand. (I used the same temperature, 400 °F both times.) I have this exact air fryer and it’s a lot of fun.

I used fresh spinach leaves because I needed to use them up, but frozen spinach (thawed, with the water squeezed out) would work just as well.

No-knead dough is delicious and easy, but it requires a long rising time. It’s important to mix the dough in the morning so the dough will be be ready for strombolis at dinnertime. I also shared my recipe for Greek Yogurt Pizza, if you don’t have hours to let the dough rise.

I served this spinach stromboli with Vegan White Bean Soup.

Print Recipe

Air Fryer Spinach Stromboli

Servings: 4

Equipment

• 1 air fryer

Ingredients

Stromboli Dough

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cups lukewarm water
• ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast

Stromboli Filling

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic (finely minced)
• 10 ounces spinach
• 1 ounce shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 ounce shredded Parmesan cheese
• ¾ cup 1% lowfat cottage cheese

Instructions

Make the stromboli dough in the morning:

• Stir together the flour and salt.
• Fill a small bowl with ½ cup lukewarm water. The water should feel neither hot nor cold when you dip your finger into it.
• Add ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast to the water and let it sit for 5 minutes to dissolve.
• Stir the water and yeast into the dough. You might need to add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to get the dough to a good consistency (you're looking for dough that's about the same consistency as your earlobe)
• Leave the dough in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Set the dough out at room temperature all day.

Cook the Stromboli Filling:

• Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
• Add the minced garlic to the hot skillet and cook for about 1 minute, until the garlic turns fragrant.
• Add the spinach leaves and cook until the leaves have fully wilted down. (You could also use frozen spinach, but be sure to thaw the spinach and squeeze the water out before adding to skillet)
• Remove the spinach and garlic mixture from the heat and set aside.
• In a small bowl, stir together the Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and cottage cheese.
• Stir the spinach and garlic mixture into the cheese mixture.

Put the strombolis together:

• Coat your hands with nonstick spray and divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.
• On a well-floured surface, flatten each piece into a circle. You can use a rolling pin, or you can just pull at the dough with your fingers until you have a round, flat circle (think miniature pizza)
• Put about ⅓ cup of the filling into the center of each dough circle. Fold the edges of the dough circle up and over as if you're wrapping a package.
• Lightly spray the air fryer basket with nonstick spray.
• Use a spatula to gently transfer the strombolis to the air fryer basket. (If your basket has really wide holes, you might want to cover with some aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick spray.)

Cook the stromboli:

• Preheat the air fryer to 400 °F. (Adjust temperature as needed, you may need more or less heat. This is what worked for MY air fryer.)
• Lightly spray the strombolis with nonstick spray (or an olive oil mister) to help with browning and crispness.
• Cook the strombolis for about 15 minutes at 400 °F. Flip halfway through, and periodically check on them. Air fryer cooking time is kind of touch-and-go, and your air fryer might cook things more quickly than mine, so keep an eye on it.