Top 10 Air Fryer Pros and Cons for Your Health

Have you heard of air fryers? It seems like over the last few years they suddenly became really popular with tons of air fryer recipes, tutorials, and manuals flooding the internet. Are they as amazing as everyone says they are? Read this list of the top ten pros and cons to using air fryers and you can choose for yourself.

What is an air fryer?

Air fryers may have been given the wrong name because they don’t actually fry your food. It’s actually a small type of convection oven that circulates hot air around your food with a fan, resulting in crisped-to-perfection food. Convection ovens have been around for a while, but in 2010, the air fryer was launched and things haven’t been the same since.

Air fryers are perfect for foods that are typically deep-fried, roasted vegetables, or things you want to dehydrate. You can even bake cakes or cookies in the air fryer. It is quite a nifty kitchen appliance that many people love.

Here are ten pros to using an air fryer.

Pros to using an air fryer:

1. Healthier than deep frying.

The number one (and probably the biggest) reason people buy air fryers is the health benefits. With an air fryer, you can still enjoy your favorite snacks, like french fries or mozzarella sticks, or your favorite meals like “fried” chicken or wings, guilt-free. Air fryers don’t use nearly as much oil (70-80% less than) deep-frying does so you can feel good about your food choices.

2. Quick and easy meal

An air fryer is super easy to use. (Even the kids can use it.) A point in favor of the air fryer is how quick and easy it is. Instead of spending all day in the kitchen to make a meal just pop in your food, wait until it’s cooked and you’re all set to go. With today’s busy lifestyles, air fryers make things so easy.

3. Crispy and Crunchy

Even without all the oil, the air fryer cooks your food to a perfect crispy and crunchy delight.

4. Small appliance

An air fryer is a smaller appliance and won’t take up your whole kitchen. Most air fryers are typically about the size of a coffee maker and it fits nicely into a corner of the counter and doesn’t take up a lot of space.

5. Doesn’t make your kitchen smell

Deep-fried foods are delicious, but a big complaint that comes from frying food is the smell that lingers in your kitchen and house and on you. Another win for the air fryer is that it doesn’t make the room smell like fried oil.

6. Perfect for frozen foods and reheating leftovers

Air fryers are great for a lot of meals and dishes, but they are absolutely perfect for frozen foods, as well as reheating leftovers. (Better and healthier than the microwave, some claim.) The air fryer is great at crisping up frozen foods, sometimes making them taste even better. (And no thawing necessary.)

7. Faster cooking time

A faster cooking time is another great thing about the air fryer. Often your food will be done cooking in the air fryer in the same amount of time it would have taken you to just preheat the oven. Air Fryers cook way faster than traditional ovens, and even most convection ovens as well. Looking for a fast meal, especially on days you don’t feel like cooking? The air fryer is the way to go.

8. Doesn’t heat kitchen up

Because of its compact smaller size, air fryers won’t heat up your whole kitchen, which is nice (especially on really hot days.) You can use your air fryer on any day of the year and still feel comfortable with the inside temperature.

9. Faster clean up

An air fryer is a pretty minimal job to clean. With surfaces that wipe off easily, many parts that are dishwasher safe, and eliminating the need to wash multiple pots, pans, and counters the air fryer is nice and simple to clean.

10. Hardly no preheating time (if any)

Cons to using an air fryer

1. Not great for a large family

Because of the small size of the air fryer it is pretty hard to cook a big meal if you have a large family. It would take multiple batches, and the previous batches could get cold.

2. Not as tasty

As a counter for the number one on the pro-air-fryers side, while it is great that the air fryer uses less oil, sometimes that means that you are giving up all the delicious flavor of your favorite deep-fried dishes. Many claim that it tastes the exact same, but you are getting rid of most of the oil, and that may affect the taste.

3. Not dishwasher safe

It depends on the type of brand you get but with most air fryers only some parts are dishwasher safe, not all the whole thing.

4. Not good for wet things

Things like batter or super wet foods, or bread crumbs, will just fall to the bottom and the fan will just blow them off. If you want to cook something with batter it’s best to freeze them before placing it in the air fryer.

5. Food can burn/dry out quickly if not careful

Because of the quicker cook time it is very easy for the food to burn or dry.

6. Often small power cord

7. Make a loud noise

One of the biggest downsides to air fryers is the noise it puts off.

8. Learning curve on the cooking method

The appliance itself is easy to use but the cooking method takes a little getting used to.

9. Many cheap models

There are a few knock off models out there that may end up breaking or not working properly.  A quality model is typically under $100 but too cheap may not get the best of your budget.

10. The air fryer is heavy

Final Verdict

So, what do you think? Is an air fryer worth getting?

Have you had experience with them? Are we missing any pros or cons? Let us know in the comments below!