Do you crave fried foods but you're wary of their effect on your waistline? You may want to consider adding the air fryer to your arsenal of kitchen tools. It’s a relatively new — and incredibly popular — appliance that helps create healthier versions of the fried foods you love, from french fries to chicken wings.
“The popularity is because it’s a new way to be ‘healthier,’” says Robin Plotkin, a registered dietitian and culinary nutritionist based in Dallas. “Especially for people following low-carb diets, this is a fun new way to achieve the goals they’re trying to achieve without feeling deprived.”
How Air Fryers Work
The air fryer works like a convection oven and sits on your countertop. It uses circulating hot air — and some oil if you choose — to cook and crisp the food in the basket inside. You can use it without adding any oil, or you can add a little, which Plotkin says generally amps up the flavor. “Nutrition doesn’t matter if you don’t eat the food, so you really want the food to taste good, and that is where I would say use some oil so you can enjoy the food,” she says. Either way, cutting down on the amount of oil used will reduce your intake of fat and calories. Cleveland Clinic estimates air frying instead of deep frying will help you cut down your calorie intake by 70 to 80 percent.
Jane Pelcher, RDN, a recipe developer and nutrition blogger based in Mountain View, California, says it’s one of the best kitchen appliances she’s ever purchased. “It’s easy to use and I can air fry my foods in less than half the time it would take in the oven,” she says. The result is food that’s crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Tips for Making Healthy Foods in Your Air Fryer
Keeping it healthy comes down to the foods you’re making. “Whether or not the air fryer is healthy depends on what you put in there,” Pelcher says. “Frozen precooked fish sticks, fries, and wings were most likely deep fried beforehand, so heating them up in the air fryer does not make them healthier. Roasting fresh tomatoes and broccoli, air frying raw proteins, and making fries from scratch is the nutritious way to go.”
You’ll also want to be careful not to overdo it. The air fryer is a healthier alternative to deep frying, but that doesn’t make it the healthiest cooking method around. Cleveland Clinic cautions that air frying might result in people thinking it’s okay to eat fried food more frequently than they should. “If you’re eating this type of food over and over and over, it’s eventually not going to be as healthy for you as you originally intended it to be,” Plotkin says. “Eat it occasionally, play with it, cook with it, and make it a part of your cooking toolbox.”
How to Choose an Air Fryer to Buy
There are many air fryers on the market, including ones from brands like Cuisinart, Philips, and NuWave. They range in price from about $50 to $350. Pelcher says they can be great for people living in small spaces with no oven or stove, such as college students living in dorms. One thing you’ll want to consider is the amount of counter space you have, because they come in different sizes. Also consider your lifestyle when choosing the right air fryer for you. A small one, for instance, may be difficult if you need to feed a family, Plotkin says. Most can cook about 1 to 3 pounds at a time, according to Cleveland Clinic.
Tips for Cleaning Your Air Fryer
Overall, Plotkin says hers is convenient and easy to clean. Pelcher says the higher-end fryers usually have a removable basket bottom that allows you to wash and remove food from every inch of the air fryer basket. Those without a removable bottom are more difficult to clean, but soaking it in warm soapy water for an extended period of time should do the trick.
Other Helpful Tools for Air Frying Food
Pelcher recommends buying a pair of tongs and a food thermometer when you purchase your air fryer. “The food is hot after it cooks, so the tongs will help you transfer the food safely to your plate,” she says. “Also, having a food thermometer to take the temperature of your meats will prevent you from serving raw proteins.”
The Best Air Fryer Recipes for Beginners
The air fryer may not be for everyone, but Plotkin says it’s a good addition to your home kitchen if you have the space and preference for fried food. “Is it for people who are trying to mimic that fried-food flavor with a healthier twist? Absolutely,” she says.
Here are 20 recipes to try.
Air Fryer Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts
Doughnuts aren’t the healthiest breakfast item, but air-fried doughnuts offer a lighter alternative for the health conscious. They’re lower in fat because there’s much less oil used here than with deep frying. To keep things light, this recipe from Stay Snatched calls for sprinkling them with a mix of stevia and cinnamon instead of table sugar at the very end.
Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
Zucchini is an excellent source of vitamin C. Though research shows that heat reduces the amount of vitamin C content in food, raw zucchini offers 12 milligrams (mg), or 20 percent of your daily value (DV), in just ¾ cup, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). One delicious way to enjoy this veggie: as fries. Oven-made zucchini fries often end up mushy — not so with the air-fried version! These lightly breaded fries from Gimme Delicious come out of the air fryer crispy, and they’re low carb and allowed on the trendy high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet.
Banana Bread for Two
There’s perhaps no better way to get your potassium and comfort-food fix than by noshing on bananas in bread, as this recipe from Averie Cooks does. (FYI: Per the USDA, a single medium-size banana offers 422 mg of potassium, or 8.9 percent of the DV.) As for banana bread, it’s traditionally baked in the oven, but cooking it in an air fryer instead results in even more softness in the center. To maximize healthiness, opt for plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends; unsweetened peanut butter, which offers protein, per the USDA; and walnuts for the heart benefits of their omega-3 fatty acids, per the American Heart Association, instead of chocolate chips.
Air Fryer Keto Low Carb Fried Chicken
Coat the chicken drumsticks in coconut flour, eggs, and a homemade pork rind breading before sticking them in the air fryer for 20 minutes. The result is irresistibly crispy drumsticks, as demonstrated in this recipe from Wholesome Yum. Plus, the grain-free breading clocks in at just 3 grams of carbohydrates per drumstick, which keeps the entrée keto-friendly.
Crispy Air Fryer Kale Chips
For salty-food snackers looking for a lighter alternative to traditional potato chips, consider the kale chip, such as with this recipe from Simple and Savory. You’ll get the satisfying crunch of a traditional potato chip with extra nutrients, to boot, such as calcium, vitamin K, and vitamin C, notes the USDA. This recipe calls for a cashew crust that’s seasoned with garlic, tamari sauce, and nutritional yeast. That makes it more interesting than traditional kale chip recipes, and the air dryer gives the chips a more even crispiness than a conventional oven.
Air Fryer Keto Onion Rings
Try to re-create your favorite restaurant side dish at home with this idea from Wholesome Yum. This seven-ingredient recipe helps you cut carbs (with a low-carb breading) and trim fat, too, by air frying instead of deep frying.
Crispy Air-Fried Tofu
A common complaint about tofu is its soft and rubbery texture. Enter air-fried tofu. When mixed with a cornstarch or potato starch marinade and cooked in the air fryer, the result is crispy tofu pieces ready to be added to your stir-fry or grain bowl. Bonus: This recipe, which comes from Glue & Glitter, is vegan!
Turkey in the Air Fryer
Save time when prepping your Thanksgiving meal — or any other time when turkey’s on the menu — by incorporating the air fryer. This turkey breast tenderloin recipe from Berry & Maple takes just 30 minutes to make and comes with a short ingredient list of spices you likely already have in your kitchen.
Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas
For a quick and easy afternoon snack, toss chickpeas with a little olive oil and seasoning and cook them in the air fryer. Start to finish, this recipe from Sweet Peas and Saffron takes only about 15 minutes to make. Plus, they’ll maintain their crispiness for a few days when stored in a jar without the lid on.
Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower
Sub cauliflower for chicken to put a meatless spin on a buffalo “wings” recipe, whether you’re looking for an appetizer or a side dish. Cauliflower “wings” can also be made in an oven, but an air fryer makes the bites extra crispy on the outside while maintaining pillowy lightness inside. This specific recipe comes from Laura Lea Balanced.
Easy Air-Fried Meatballs
Keto-friendly, these beef and sausage meatballs from Sweet C's are a tasty addition to pasta or zucchini noodles and create less mess when made in the air fryer instead of your stovetop. To cut down on calories, consider swapping out the protein and using lean ground turkey or chicken instead.
Perfect Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, carotenoids, and fiber, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. They’re veggie all-stars, but maybe you’re not a fan because you think of them as soggy or mushy. Cooking them in the air fryer will change that. This recipe from Glue & Glitter outlines how to make them crispy and delicious — just be sure not to crowd the basket.
Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Chicken tenders get a healthy twist when air-fried versus deep-fried. These from Sweet Peas and Saffron are lightly breaded and call for just 1 tablespoon of oil for the four-serving recipe. Each serving clocks in at under 200 calories and can be on your dinner table in under 30 minutes.
Air Fryer Baked Potato
The humble baked potato gets a delicious upgrade when air fried, such as in this recipe from Salt Pepper Skillet. It’ll come out of the fryer crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and ready for you to add the toppings you desire.
Air Fryer Salmon
Salmon is packed with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, according to the Mayo Clinic. You may be used to baking or grilling salmon, but try it in an air fryer next time to eliminate the need for any extra oil. This recipe from Courtney's Sweets outlines just how to do it and features a chili lime seasoning for an extra punch of flavor.
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Air Fryer Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
The air fryer delivers crisper sweet potato fries than oven-baked varieties, and healthier fries than those that’ve been deep-fried. According to a review published in June 2019 in Food Science and Nutrition, sweet potatoes are good for your ticker, thanks to their fiber, and may help protect against disease because of their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen explains how to cook them in fry form in under 30 minutes. Good news: The hardest part is slicing the sweet potatoes!
Air Fryer Avocado Fries
This recipe from Sandhya's Kitchen is all about the healthy fat that avocados offer. Eliminate the unhealthy oils used in a deep fryer by air frying avocados, which are rich in good-for-you monounsaturated fatty acids, notes the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. They’ll come out crispier and healthier than with the usual method.
Easy Air Fryer Rotisserie Roasted Whole Chicken
Scoring that extra-crispy chicken skin is the goal here. Just make sure your air fryer is large enough to fit the whole chicken before you get started. This recipe from Stay Snatched also takes longer than the others on this list (about an hour and a half) but can likely feed the whole family when it’s done.
Crispy Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breasts
The air fryer’s magic lies in making foods crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. This chicken breast recipe, which comes from Gimme Delicious, showcase that perfectly. They also contain just 1 g of carbs per serving, making them a good option for people following low-carb diets such as keto.
Kelly Kennedy, RDN, LDN
Medical Reviewer
Kelly Kennedy is a licensed dietitian-nutritionist with over 14 years of experience in digital media. She previously managed and oversaw nutrition content, recipe development, meal planning, and diet and nutrition coaching at Everyday Health. She developed and reviewed various meal plans, books, slideshows, and online tools, and oversaw the creation of more than 500 unique recipes. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a master's degree from the State University of New York College at Oneonta.
Kennedy enjoys anything that takes her outside, from gardening and playing in the yard with her kids to hiking and even feeding her pet chickens.
