Why Own an Air Fryer

Why own an air fryer? Well, the Air Fryer has gained such popularity over the years, due in large part to the convenience factor. This humble kitchen appliance allows you to cook so many foods easily and quickly in the air fryer sitting on your counter, rather than turning on the oven or using the microwave.

The air fryer is a tool that truly makes cooking easy because it’s compact yet powerful and can reheat, fry, bake, roast, or dehydrate foods in a no-fuss kind of way. Even cleaning your air fryer is easier than cleaning an entire oven.

Sometimes it’s hard to resist the crunchy texture and incredibly satisfying taste of foods that have been deep fried. You can get that same crispy crunchy texture in an air fryer without the oil.

Air fryers use hot air to fry food items. They circulate air at a very high temperature and use the process of convection to fry, bake and roast things. They make it possible to fry foods using very little oil so you can eat healthy without compromising taste

It’s true. You can cook healthier at home with an air fryer, with less mess, less fuss, and all the great texture and flavor of deep frying. The air fryer takes away the hassle of oil but still produces a great crunchy texture and taste.

Although I’ve probably already covered the most important benefits of an air fryer, let’s take a look at the biggest benefits of owning an air fryer.

» You might be interested in Air Fryer vs Deep Fryer – Which is Best and the Best Air Fryer Tips and Tricks.

Top Benefits of Owning an Air Fryer

An air fryer is much cleaner and faster to use. It’s easy to maintain, and it doesn’t require a lot of space to store it. If you’ve been thinking about whether to get one, I highly recommend giving the air fryer a try. You won’t look back. Trust me.

You can see all our air fryer recommendation in our guide on which air fryer you should buy, that includes 5 of the best air fryers you can buy today to help you choose a model.

What is An Air Fryer?

In a nutshell, an air fryer is meant to mimic how a deep fryer cooks foods, giving them the golden, crispy exterior we all love – but without the extra oil you have to use. 

In an air fryer, food does not need to be submerged in hot oil to fry. Instead, you lightly spray the exterior of your food with cooking oil and it crisps thanks to the circulating hot air.

The heating coil and the fan of an air fryer work together. Similar to a fan oven, it simultaneously heats and circulates hot air around the food, crisping up its exterior while cooking the inside to the perfect temperature, often in half the time of roasting or baking it.

>> Check out these air fryer brats and air fryer ribs, quick and easy recipes for the air fryer.

Why Own An Air Fryer?

The biggest reason to buy an air fryer is to achieve the same affect as a deep fryer, but in a much healthier manner. However, there are many other great reasons to use an air fryer for cooking at home.

Here are a few of the main reasons you might consider buying an air fryer.

1. Less Mess

While there are some deep fryers that keep a firm lid on the splatters, literally, they still produce a lot of mess to clean up. With a deep fryer, you have to change the oil regularly, and clean the greasy, grimy interior. Not to mention that while cooking, the oil often splatters around the kitchen.

And let’s not even discuss those times when you accidentally knock the whole machine over and oil pours everywhere. Yes, I’ve done that before. It was a huge disaster.

An air fryer is much cleaner because there is no messy oil left behind in the fryer, except the little bit that might drip from the food as it’s cooking. It’s easy to wipe down after each use. There’s no splatter. Not a problem if you knock it over.

>> If you’re interested in alternative ways to cook food faster and more conveniently, you might also like the Instant Pot. Learn more about the Instant Pot and decide if you should get one.

2. It’s Healthier Than Deep Frying

Deep frying your food can add an incredibly amount of calories and fat to the final product. Plus, many oils used for deep frying are unhealthy and high in trans fats.

Air frying, on the other hand, only requires a small amount of added oil, if any (many foods don’t require oil to cook well in the air fryer). You will still get the crispy exterior – crispy french fries or onion rings, for instance – but without the added calories and fat.

3. It’s Versatile

An electric air fryer isn’t an incredibly expensive kitchen appliance. For around $70, you can get a very good air fryer that allows you to do a lot of different types of cooking at home, in one appliance.

The best air fryers allow you to fry, bake, grill, roast and dehydrate. So you can use it for french fries, a whole roast chicken, any type of frozen foods, pizza, vegetables, even steak. We’ve cooked cinnamon rolls, breakfast sandwiches, muffins. You name it.

You can get one that fits your lifestyle, whether that is one of the smallest air fryers that doesn’t take up much space in your kitchen or a double-basket air fryer so you can get more done at the same time.

4. It’s Energy & Time Efficient

The air fryer has saved us an incredible amount of time. It doesn’t require a lengthy preheating time, so you can just put it in and cook it immediately. This is way less time than it takes in the oven to do the same thing.

For instance, when cooking frozen french fries, it takes 10 minutes to preheat the oven and 25 minutes to cook the french fries. In the air fryer, it takes just 18 minutes to cook frozen french fries, with no preheat time. That’s nearly half the time it takes in the oven.

And speaking of the oven, using an air fryer is much more energy efficient than using your oven to cook the same food. The appliance is small and it takes much less energy to run it than it would your oven.

It also keeps the room cooler, which is a major plus during the summer when you really don’t want to use the oven at all.

» Try these 11 Quick & Easy Air Fryer Snacks.

5. It’s Great for Reheating Foods

Not only can you cook most things in an air fryer, reheating food in the air fryer is a way to make it even more useful. There are several benefits to reheating food in an air fryer.

• It’s a quick and easy way to reheat food.
• It keeps food from overcooking or burning.
• It’s easy.
• It keeps the food crispy and fresh tasting.

» Read also What you Shouldn’t Put in an Air Fryer.

See an Air Fryer in Action

One of the best ways to understand how an air fryer works is to watch it in action. You can see the Philips air fryer in action in the video below. This will show you how an air fryer works, and how it can crisp up the food without the oil of a deep fryer.

Why Use an Air Fryer

An air fryer is an incredibly easy way to cook just about anything. You place the food in a fryer-style basket and hot air rapidly circulates all around the food, making the food crisp – much like deep-frying, but without the oil. You can cook anything you’d make in the oven.

• I use a Ninja MaxXL air fryer (pictured left). If you don’t have an air fryer yet, check out these options to find one that fits your needs.
• See reviews and prices for air fryers on Amazon.
• Here’s a printable Air Fryer Cooking Times Cheat Sheet to get you started.
• Click to find more recipes to make in your Air Fryer.
• Learn how to make fun things in the air fryer, like potato wedges, pork belly bites, and chicken wings.

CONCLUSION

Many of the air fryers on the market today have very similar features, but if you know what you’re looking for, you can find the perfect one for your needs.

We hope that our well-researched list will help you choose the model that’s right for you. If you buy one, we’d love to hear what you think and if it met your expectations. Leave us a comment!

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Laura Lynch

Laura is a passionate foodie and owner of Air Fry Anytime She is dedicated to sharing delicious recipes and helpful tips for using air fryers at home. With years of experience in the kitchen and a love for healthy, flavorful cooking, Laura has become an expert at using air fryers to create amazing meals that are both nutritious and delicious.