Air fryers are marketed as a healthier alternative way of frying food but fried food has never been praised as healthy, has it? The process of soaking pieces of chicken in a bath of boiling oil has actually been associated with a bunch of negative health impacts.
But now the air fryer has arrived and changed the game. Right? By creating a crisp with very little oil, the air fryer can reduce the number of calories in fried food by up to 80% – which makes it a much, much healthier alternative.
But then again, deep frying has never been very healthy – therefore, it would be more interesting to see how the air fryer compares to other methods of cooking.
I have done some research and this is what I’ve come up with.
Do air fryers add extra calories?
Air fryers aren’t more than heating elements with a fan and they don’t add extra calories. The process of air frying itself doesn’t do more than blast hot air at the food to create a crispy outer surface. Adding oil to the food prior to air frying creates a better crisp but is fully optional, however, if oil is added the number of calories in the food will increase significantly.
I rarely add oil when air frying. In my opinion, the results are great even without the oil. The outer layer is dried out which makes it crispy. Of course, it doesn’t exactly resemble the crispy surface of the food that has been deep-fried but it’s a healthy alternative with a unique and delicious taste.
Thanks to a chemical reaction called the Maillard reaction, the air fryer is capable of producing a crisp much like that of a deep fryer – but without oil. That’s incredibly cool if you ask me.
Do Air Fryers Cut Calories?
Well, that’s entirely dependant on what you compare it to. Of course, in comparison ta deep fryer, the air fryer saves a lot of calories. People that have replaced their deep fryer with an air fryer have most likely reduced their daily caloric intake substantially.
Going from a pressure cooker to an air fryer may not change your caloric intake at all. That’s because neither of them requires oil – it’s just a bonus.
However, other things must be taken into consideration when talking about saving calories:
- Method of cooking: Deep frying requires oil and is, therefore, a bad choice when looking to save calories. Air fryers, pressure cookers, slow cookers, and most other methods of cooking don’t require oil but can still add a bunch of calories if the chef decides to add oil or other high-calorie ingredients. This tells us that the calories aren’t bound to the appliance but rather the method used.
- Choice of ingredient: Any ingredient, fat or lean, will not change simply by placing it in the air fryer. Store-bought onion rings, chicken nuggets, and fries will still contain the same number of calories as the package states. However, because you can avoid frying them in an oil-bath you can save a good portion of calories that would otherwise be added if deep-fried.
- Frequency: Weight loss caused by air fryers is highly dependant on frequency. Say, if you’re eating deep-fried foods multiple times per week you will see a huge difference by replacing your deep fryer with an air fryer. If you only happen to eat deep-fried foods one or two times a month the difference in your daily caloric intake may not be large.
Reducing your daily caloric intake is absolutely the most effective way to lose weight, therefore, the air fryer can aid in weight loss. According to Healthline, air fryers may come with other health benefits including the following:
- Air Fryers Reduce Fat Content: Fried foods are high in fat content because they are fried in oil – which is absorbed by the food. Every gram of fat equals 9 calories, whereas proteins and carbohydrates only amount to 4 calories per gram. Studies have shown that a high-fat intake can be connected to an increased risk of heart disease. Deep fryer recipes call for about 30-50 times more oil than air fryer recipes do.
- Reduced Amount of Acrylamide By Up To 90%: Apart from the added calories, deep-fried food is also exposed to an environment where harmful compounds such as acrylamide are formed. Acrylamide may be linked to cancer, according to studies.
How Many Calories Does an Air Fryer Save In Comparison To a Deep Fryer?
This depends entirely on what kind of food we’re talking about. In comparison to deep-fried foods, an air fryer can save a significant amount of calories. Down below is a comparison table that shows the difference between air-fried and deep-fried food – I’ve used commonly fried ingredients.
| Ingredient | AF Weight/Calories/Fat | DF Weight/Calories/Fat |
| French Fries | 100g/226/2g | 75g/230/11g |
| Chicken Breast | 100g/130/4g | 100g/260/13.2g |
| Chicken Nuggets | 100g/120/3.6g | 100g/296/20g |
| Fish & Chips | 1 Serving/600/14.5g | 1 Serving/1087/72g |
| Onion rings | 1 Serving/176/10g | 1 Serving/411/25g |
*AF = Air Fryer
*DF = Deep Fryer
*100g = 3.5oz.
As you can see the air fryer reduces the fat content of almost all food by a large amount in comparison to the deep fryer. Yet, the air fryer is capable of producing a similar crisp. While the outer crisp won’t be exactly as crispy as it would if it was deep-fried, it will still produce amazing results.
Does Air-Fried Food Taste As Good As Deep-Fried Food?
The air fryer has a unique taste which can be credited to the Maillard reaction which takes place when certain carbohydrates and reducing sugars are heated, the effect gives food its golden brown surface. The circulating hot air dries the outer surface of anything placed in the air fryer which also makes it crispier – but not as crunchy as deep-fried foods.
You can create a rich and full crisp in the air fryer too. Breading foods prior to placing them in the air fryer creates a crunchy surface while maintaining a juicy and tender interior.
Because the air fryer operates by circulating hot air around its cavity, chances are your breadcrumbs will be flying all over the place.
It creates a mess in the air fryer, and even worse; breadcrumbs may end up in the air fryer’s heating element. To prevent this from happening I’ve dipped foods in egg yolk before rolling them in the breading and it has worked perfectly for me.
The second best option is to coat the ingredients in a thin layer of oil, this creates a better crisp and could also work to prevent spices and breading from falling off. Using just a little bit of oil won’t add a lot of calories. Bathing ingredients in oil will, however, single-handedly change the entire nutritional value of the dish.
Overall, the taste is good and can be modified greatly by using spices, playing with cooking times, temperatures, and coatings.
How Do Air Fryers Really Work?
When I hear the word “fried” I imagine a piece of chicken submerged in a bath of oil, looking golden brown and dripping of fat. Traditionally, this was what fried meant but the game has changed in another direction. Air-frying food is nothing like deep-frying food, but how do air fryers work?
Air fryers are much like convection ovens – circulating hot air through the chamber to cook ingredients from all angles. The air fryer comes equipped with a heating element and a fan. The heating element heats the air surrounding it and the fan blasts it at the food placed inside the fryer.
Read More: The difference between air fryers and convection ovens.
The fan blows at all times to ensure that the food circulates back to the heating element – this guarantees that ingredients are evenly cooked. It doesn’t take more than 2-3 minutes for the air fryer to reach maximum temperature, thanks to its rather small size.
Every time the air fryer blasts hot air at the food it dries the surface a little, which, in the end, has created a crispy surface.
Stacking food in an air fryer doesn’t work because it blocks the air from reaching every side of the food. Well, it works but you would have to shake the basket once in a while to make sure that all sides are exposed at times.
Related Questions
Are Air Fryers Good For Low Carb Diets? Well, air fryers don’t really have an impact on carbohydrates. But sure, if you want to enjoy fried foods but stay away from trans-fats, the air fryer can come in handy. I’ve written an article on the topic of air fryers and low carb diets.
Do Air Fryers Destroy Nutrients? All types of cooking reduce the nutritional value of our foods, some more than others. The air fryer is good at retaining nutrients. I recommend reading this article that I’ve written.