Is air frying actually healthier, or is it just a glorified convection oven?

Air fryers have become incredibly popular, with many people choosing them as a supposedly healthier alternative to traditional deep frying. But does that automatically make air-fried food healthier? Using less oil can reduce the amount of added fat and calories in some dishes, but the healthiness still depends heavily on what you're cooking and how you're preparing it. Air-frying heavily processed foods doesn't suddenly make them healthy.

I love my air fryer for chicken wings/drumsticks because I only need a small coating of oil and it’s not deep fried, but I still get a good crunch on the skins. We also buy frozen fries and garlic toast and air fry them. Those are the main things we use ours for.

I've been using an air fryer for around a year now. It's definitely healthier for dishes like chicken and fries. Not just healthier, but also tastier. If something can be cooked with an air fryer, I will use it over traditional deep frying.

I couldn’t live without my air fryer, if I am honest, and I tend to use my air fryer now over, say, my oven and also frying or deep-fat frying options, mainly because I have found it is cheaper to run an air fryer than my oven.

Of course, using an air fryer for processed foods is not going to make them healthier; they are made for convenience and not healthy from the start, but for foods that you prepare and cook yourself, I would say it is healthier than frying them.

I have made fried chicken in my air fryer in the past and didn't need to deep-fry or fry it, making it much healthier.

On Sep 14, 2026, Yarik said:

I've been using an air fryer for around a year now. It's definitely healthier for dishes like chicken and fries. Not just healthier, but also tastier. If something can be cooked with an air fryer, I will use it over traditional deep frying.

My favorite thing is bacon! Bacon gets nice and crispy in the air frier and is so much better than any other way.

What you all need to try is a slow cooker!

I know its nothing to do with the topic but boy oh boy does the food come out so tasty, cooking it for 8 hours from 12pm to 8pm if you have the right recipe.

I love our air fryer and because I use it so much I definitely notice the difference between air fry and deep fry.