How to Turn the Leftover Parmesan Rind into Crackers

If you love air frying, and also love new and original culinary ideas, DaniMade Kitchen’s latest recipe checks both of those boxes.

I’m a big fan of air frying. Not using a hot stove in the summer keeps my home cooler, and I’m constantly seeing air-fryer inspired recipes repurposing things we’d usually just toss out into healthy, delicious snacks.

For example, during the pandemic, I discovered a great recipe where you take the stalks from broccoli, throw them in a blender with some grated parmesan cheese, then you form the mixture into barrel shapes, coat them with breadcrumbs, pop them in the air fryer and voila, you have a delicious (and way healthier) version of tater tots… (which I guess would be called Broccoli Tots?).

Danielle’s recipe is reminiscent of that. Instead of tossing out a Parmigiano Reggiano rind, she rinses and dries it, and then uses a very sharp knife (In her video she’s using the Dynasty Damascus Paring Knife) to scrape off the rind’s outer layer. Danielle then cuts the rind into small squares and air fries them to create tasty cheese-it-like crackers, but without flour or any other ingredients.

After air frying the rind, Danielle suggests adding it to simmering soups and sauces to enhance their flavor. Here’s the text accompanying Danielle’s recipe:

Happy Air FryDay! 🧀 Use the parmigiano rind for soup, sauces and now these! If you add it to the pot of soup or sauce while simmering it adds so much flavor!! Parmigiano cheese is naturally salty, so it’s adding salt during the cooking process that gives the dish a delicious umami flavor.