24 Air Fryer Pros, Cons, And Considerations

What are air fryers?

An air fryer is a small convection oven, it has a heating element at the top with a fan to circulate the hot air. As air fryers are small the cooking space heats up to high temperatures quickly.

The fan’s circulation of this hot air ensures food is evenly cooked and crispy.

More information on how air fryers work.

13 Air fryer pros

Safe

Air fryers are safer than traditional fryers. Traditional fryers use a lot of oil, this oil is heated up to a high temperature which can burn you if touched. The oil can also start a fire.

Air fryers use little to no added oil. Air fryers cook your food by circulating the hot air. This hot air surrounds the food to evenly cook it.

Most air fryers also have a timer. Once the time set has elapsed the air fryer is turned off. This prevents food from becoming burnt if left on for longer than intended.

That said the air fryer basket and the food within it will get very hot. Be sure to use tongs when removing food to avoid touching the basket with your hands.

When removing be careful not to pull our the basket out too fast. Once removed place the basket on a heatproof matt, to avoid damaging your worktop.

Healthier

Air fryers use little to no added oil, because of how they work. Air fryers crisp your food by circulating hot air around your food.

When deep frying or roasting, your food will absorb oil as it cooks. This is because food in a traditional fryer will be submerged in hot oil to cook. While excess oil remains in the roasting tray.

Even if the recipe you are following suggests adding oil, the amount will be relatively small. You may also decide to add a little oil to reduce the amount of food that sticks to the air fryer’s basket. In both cases, as the air fryer cooks the food, any excess oil will drip into the bottom of the air fryer basket.

As the excess oil has dropped to the bottom of the basket, it will not be absorbed or remain on the food. Meaning fewer calories from the food, due to less oil.

Preserves Nutrients

Air frying not only avoids the food from absorbing oil but also keeps it moist. The hot air that circulates, crisps the food, creating a barrier that stops too much moisture from escaping, retaining moisture and the nutrients of the food.

Crispy Food

Air fryers crisp your food to perfection every time. The hot air circulated within an air fryer will surround the food placed in the air fryer’s basket. This means more food comes into contact with the heat than in a convection oven.

Your food is then evenly cooked and will have a crispy texture all around. Rotating the food or shaking the basket halfway through the cooking time can also help.

You can use your air fryer to cook food in different ways if you’re not wanting to crisp your food every time.

Versatile

Air fryers can do so much more than french fries or chicken pieces. Over the years as people have experimented with their air fryers. The list of air fryer recipes has increased significantly.

Air fryers allow you to cook almost any food to create delicious meals from scratch. As well as reheat your favorite meals.  

From toast to cake, vegetables to meat an air fryer can cook them all through a range of different functions. You can use your air fryer to bake, reheat, roast, grill, and steam your food.

Reheat and do not lose the crisp

Air fryers can reheat crispy foods. Before I got an air fryer, I didn’t even attempt to reheat french fries, pizza, or fried chicken. As the microwave would always leave them hot but soggy. Not appetizing.

You need to be careful that you do not overcook the food. Otherwise, you will replace soggy french fries with dry or burnt french fries. You can avoid overcooking your food by regularly checking the food as it is reheated in the air fryer.

Save you time

Air fryers heat up and cook your food in less time than traditional ovens.

Air fryers are smaller than traditional ovens. This enables them to reach high temperatures in several minutes. Even if your model of air fryer needs to pre-heat, it will still pre-heat and cook your food faster than a conventional oven.

For example, the total cook time in my fan oven for french fries is 35 minutes including pre-heating. In my air fryer, it is 18 minutes.

Extra oven

When entertaining, an air fryer can provide extra cooking space. When entertaining and cooking a few different recipes it can be difficult to fit it all in one oven. As well as juggle all the timings and temperatures to cook the food as desired.

Having an air fryer allows you to cook food separately from that in the oven. Freeing up oven space. Providing an alternative for cooking smaller dishes.

Easy to use

Air fryers are simple by design. My Tower air fryer has a temperature and timer dial. Some models have digital displays that perform the same function. That’s it.

More advanced air fryers might have pre-set options to help you cook certain types of food.

To cook food in the air fryer…

1. Set the temperature and the time to pre-heat the air fryer.
2. Once the light goes off the air fryer has pre-heated.
3. Remove the food basket and add a single layer of food.  
4. Reinsert the food basket including the food
5. Set the timer for the cooking duration
6. Wait
7. Serve your cooked food

Some recipes suggest you rotate or shake the food in the basket halfway through the cooking time, this allows the hot air to evenly cook and crisp the food.

Easy to clean

When frying food either in a pan or fryer, you are always left with the need to clean up. I am sure like me you always end up with oil splattered all over the hob, worktop and wall, this takes time to wipe down and is a bit of faff trying to find every splatter mark.

If you have a fryer the oil needs to be disposed of correctly and fryer cleaned, adding to the total cleaning time.

If using a convection oven, you will likely have a sheet pan or rack with baked-on food to clean.

With an air fryer you have none of the above making for an easy clean up. As the air fryer basket contains your food there is no splattering of oil after you have finished cooking. You might get some when transferring food from the basket to the plate. This is minimal as most excess oil will have dripped to the bottom of the basket. This splattering can be avoided by moving the plates closer to the air fryer.

If your food has not stuck to the air fryer basket, a simple wipe around in some hot soapy water with a non-abrasive cloth or sponge is all that is needed. If food has stuck to the basket, the best option is to soak the basket for a few minutes before trying to remove the food.

Do not use wire wool or anything abrasive. This will damage the basket and result in more food sticking next time.

Even if your model contains items that can be washed in the dishwasher, I recommend washing them by hand. This will help the basket retain its non-stick properties.

Low-cost oven

In November 2022 on Amazon, the lowest-priced air fryer you can buy is around $35, and in the UK £35. There are more expensive air fryers which you can buy at around $270 in the US or £300 in the UK. Though do check reviews to avoid purchasing lower-quality air fryers.

Compared with a countertop convection oven at $500.

Running costs, I discuss in more detail below. Air fryers use less energy, making them cost-effective to run vs. other cooking appliances. But it does depend on what you are cooking and how much.

Fewer Smells

The auto turn-off function on the air fryer turns off the air fryer once the timer has run down. This will help you not burn your food. Avoiding smoke filling your kitchen.

Air fryers also don’t use any oil, so unlike a deep fat fryer, you will not get any strong odors from any recycled oil. Air-fried food will also not smell or taste of oil, unlike food from a fryer.

As with other cooking appliances, if you keep the air fryer clean it is unlikely that it will give off any strong smells.

Save space

My Tower air fryer is a small appliance, it takes up 832 inches of cubed space on our countertop. Other air fryers are bigger, but even those are smaller than a convection oven.

Air fryers are a bit taller than countertop convection ovens. In our kitchen, I can fit the air fryer under the overhead cupboards. It sits there in the corner until I need to use it.

The good news is air fryer manufacturers have thought about how they look. Air fryers are not ugly appliances, in my opinion. So, it’s not something I find myself wanting to hide.

If you do need to store your air fryer because you don’t have the space. You can put it in a cupboard, but based on its height it would either need a deep or tall space to fit in.

6 Air fryer cons

Limited capacity

My Tower air fryer has a small basket, with a capacity of 4 liters (3.8 quarts). This limits how much food I can cook at any one time. There are bigger models available. For example, the Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone has a basket capacity of 9.5 liters (10 quarts), split over two baskets. Other models are even bigger up to 14 liters (14.8 quarts)

If hosting friends and family, you may still struggle to cook enough portions in your air fryer. I have a large family to feed. If we are all eating the same thing at the same time, I will not be using our air fryer, it is too small. You can cook the food in batches, but that extends the cooking time and is a faff.

The air fryer comes into its own when only some of us need a meal quick or we are entertaining large groups. When entertaining I use the air fryer for part of a meal I am cooking, an appetizer for example.

For a single person, a couple, or a smaller household an air fryer is perfect.

Dry and Burnt food

Air fryers circulate hot air, this air can be up to 400 F (200c) in most air fryers. Some air fryers can heat up to 500 F (260 c). At these temperatures, if you put the food in for too long it will dry out and/or burn.

Air fryers do come with timers, which once they have run down the air fryer will stop. If you put a slice of bread in the basket and set the timer for 20 mins. It will burn, and the auto turn-off function will not save the bread.

Experimentation and potential food waste

Your air fryer will likely come with some guidance notes on how long and at what temperature to cook certain food. This will most often be part of the user manual. Unfortunately, these guidance notes will not cover all the foods you may want to cook.

You will need to experiment and go on a learning curve. Online recipes or cheat sheets can act as a guide. Experimenting takes time, as you will need to keep regularly checking the food to make sure it does not dry out or burn. If the food does burn you will end up wasting the food you intended to eat.

If cooking meat I suggest using a meat thermometer to check the food is cooked.

If you become distracted and don’t keep a note of how long something took to cook, you might need to start from scratch the next time you cook the same food.

Not as crunchy

Air fryers make food crispy, but they will not make them as crunchy as a traditional deep fryer.

Unfortunately cooking food in the air fryer for longer or adding extra oil will not make it crunchier. It will more than likely dry the food out or overcook it.

It’s a trade-off you will have to accept.

Not all foods

Unfortunately, despite its versatility. There are still some foods that an air fryer is not suited to cooking.

• Foods with a wet batter – The batter will drip off or be blown off, making a mess and likely burn on the bottom of the basket.
• Large items of meat – Whole chicken or other roasting meat will likely cook unevenly.
• Cheese – I have cooked cheese on toast fine but putting camembert will not work well. It will melt too quickly and not be the same as if in the oven.
• Grains and pasta – These are best suited to being cooked on your hob or other appliances like a rice cooker.

Noisy

Air fryers have a powerful fan that operates at high speeds and circulates the hot air around to cook the food. The fan will make a noise.

A free noise monitoring app calculated that my Tower air fryer generates 63 decibels of noise on average. This was when I stood right next to it, further away the monitor registered 55 decibels on average. This is not any louder than our extractor hood which generated a noise of 72 decibels on average. With all the other noise in our house, I do not notice the noise from the air fryer.

The noise levels an air fryer generates will depend on the model. Most will generate between 65-70 decibels. An air conditioning unit operates in the range of 50-75 decibels. A tumble drier operates at 60-70 decibels.

If noise is going to be a critical factor. Check the product specifications or other customers’ reviews.

5 Additional considerations

On reading the above you may now have decided if you will buy an air fryer or not. There are some additional considerations to review before buying an air fryer.

Not always healthy

You are what you eat, as the saying goes. It’s the same for air frying. If all your meals include french fries, chicken nuggets, or breaded fish. This is not as healthy as using the air fryer to steam cook salmon and vegetables in a foil packet.

If by purchasing your air fryer takes you down the route of eating more food that would normally be fried. Then it’s likely to be detrimental to your health over the long term.

If you use your air fryer to help you prepare healthy meals as part of a balanced diet. Air frying is a healthier cooking method than frying. I included it as a pro on this basis.

Additional appliance to store

An air fryer is an extra appliance, it will take up room in your kitchen. If you have a small kitchen, you might not have the space to leave it out all the time.

Due to most air fryers’ height, you might not find it easy to store in your cupboards either.

If you are replacing a convection oven or are willing to have another appliance on your worktop. Then the space it occupies is quite small compared to a convection oven. Therefore I included its space-saving credentials as a pro.

If you do find space on your worktop when in use remember to move it so it has space around it. Air fryers do get hot and cooking in enclosed spaces can cause them to overheat. Make sure you have moved it away from any flammable items, walls, and under your cabinets.

Dishwasher safe

Not all parts of an air fryer can go in a dishwasher. To preserve the non-stick benefits of most models’ baskets. I would avoid dishwashing anyway.

Air fryers are easy to clean and I recorded this as a pro. You shouldn’t need to put anything in the dishwasher.

If you want to make cleaning even easier you could use parchment paper or an air fryer liner.

Carcinogens?

Air fryers do not cause cancer. The choice of food and how that food is cooked is what determines the scale of the cancer risk.

Air fryers like other cooking methods use high temperatures to cook your food. Doing so cause naturally occurring chemical reactions within your food. These chemical reactions can create by-products that are deemed to be harmful. 

You will likely read many articles talking about how air fryers cause the formation of harmful compounds and the formation of acrylamide. Others may reference polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines. The reality is most cooking methods do. The creation of these by-products is not exclusive to air fryers.

Acrylamide

Acrylamide is listed as a carcinogen. Acrylamide forms when starchy food like potatoes, french fries, cakes, biscuits, and bread is cooked above 245 F (120 c). It is not added to foods it is created naturally when cooking food. As a result, Acrylamide will be created if you bake, fry, grill, toast, or roast these types of food.

A study in 2015 provided evidence that air frying reduced acrylamide content in fried potatoes by 90% vs. using a deep fryer.

To reduce the amount of acrylamide, air fry your food so it is a golden yellow color. This will reduce the amount of acrylamide created.

If you want to know more about Acrylamide and its health risks, the US Food & Drug Administration and the UK Food Standards Agency have more detailed information.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs)

PAHs and HCAs are formed when cooking meat at a high temperature. Again, this is not exclusive to air frying. Most cooking methods will cause these chemicals to form.

If you want to know more about PAHs and HCAs and how to reduce them in cooking. Please read this fact sheet from the National Cancer Institute.

Cooking time

Air frying is faster at cooking foods than a convection oven. This is down to the fan which circulates the hot air in a small space. Air frying will not be as fast as deep-fat frying.

I have never owned or known anyone that has a deep fat fryer or chip pan for that. On this basis, I included timesaving as a pro. As air frying is faster than the other methods of cooking, I was using it before it arrived.

Total cook time can though be longer if cooking multiple batches of the same food. This might be because your air fryer cannot cook the same meal for everyone at the same time. I included this under the limited cooking capacity con.

Running Costs

Air fryers are cheaper to run based on their headline power consumption.

That does not mean your electric bills will plummet if you always use your air fryer instead of a microwave or toaster.

To get the most out of an air fryer it is best to use it to cook the foods in the portion sizes that it is most suited to cooking.

For example:

• Cooking a single slice of toast in our air fryer took 6 mins and used 0.094-kilowatt hours. Including pre-heating. Our two-slice toaster toasted two slices of toast in 2 mins and used only 0.034-kilowatt hours. Note, our air fryer is only 4.2 quarts so I can only toast one slice of bread at a time.
• Cooking 16 fish fingers in an air fryer will require two batches, taking 16 mins (including 3 mins preheating) and 0.36-kilowatt hours to cook them all. A conventional oven will take 25 min (including preheating) and use 0.9-kilowatt hours to cook the lot.

If your toaster allows you to put down one slice at a time. This will save energy and mean the air fryer will never be as efficient as the toaster. Regardless of how many slices you are toasting.

If though you only wanted to cook 8 fish fingers, the air fryer would be even more efficient to run compared to the convection oven. As 8 fish fingers would only need one batch.

Final word

I hope the above pros, cons, and considerations helped you learn what an air fryer can and cannot do.

At the end of the day, you need to make an informed decision. Remember your needs will be unique to you and your situation. Only you can decide if an air fryer is right for you, and if it will help you cook the types of food you eat.

Personally, my air fryer has helped me in the kitchen. It is great for helping me cook snacks or meals for my entire family when they are on the go.

This means we use it regularly as it is a busy house. But we do not cook everything in it. Air fryers can do a lot, way more than their designers ever intended. That does not mean all other kitchen appliances are redundant though.

If you do decide to buy an air fryer you will learn like I did what works well and what doesn’t. I hope though that through my postings you learn a lot faster than I did.

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What Can And Can’t Go In An Air Fryer – A roundup article summarizing what you can and can’t use in an air fryer. With links to more detail on how to use certain materials and items safely.