Are air fryers better for your health? (2024)

A reader asks: “I’ve heard air fryers are a good way to lower energy costs. Is this true and are they a healthy way of cooking?”

Victoria Taylor, Senior Dietitian at the BHF, says:

While air fryers were originally marketed as a healthier way to cook chips, recently people have realised they can be used to bake or grill lots of foods. Most use less energy than an electric oven, because they are smaller and heat up more quickly.

Are air fryers healthy?

Whether air frying is healthier depends on what you are cooking and what you compare it to.

Air fryers work by rapidly circulating hot air, which gives food a crispy outer layer without having to add much, if any, fat. Turning 1kg of potatoes into air-fried chips for four people can be done with one tablespoon of oil, which would make them low in fat – lower than most oven chips you can buy, and a lot lower than deep-fried chips. So if you often eat deep-fried foods, switching to an air fryer could be helpful.

If you’re cooking a food that you wouldn’t normally add fat to when you cook it, whether that’s ready-made oven chips, bacon, sausages or breaded chicken, being cooked in an air fryer is unlikely to make it healthier. Air frying or oven baking are both good ways to cook healthy foods such as fish, chicken without a coating, vegetables and baking potatoes.

• Learn more aboutfat and what it does in your body

Are air fryers cheaper to run than ovens?

An air fryer is likely to save you money on your energy bill compared with an oven, especially if you are cooking for one or two people. Air fryers can be expensive to buy, so if you don’t have one already, consider how much you will use it.

It could be worth checking whether your local BHF Home shop has any pre-owned models (all electrical appliances are tested before they go on sale).

Microwaves are also a healthy way of cooking, and energy costs can be even lower than an air fryer.

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