Air Fryers vs Deep Fryers: 8 Reasons One is Better Than The Other

Between air fryers vs deep fryers, we are pretty sure you know air fryers are much healthier than deep fryers, but do you know which is more eco-friendly?

• Air fryers are energy-efficient kitchen appliances.
• Air fryers allow frying crispy food without (or less) cooking oil – the production of cooking oil is one of the leading causes of deforestation and pollution.
• Most air fryers are much easier to clean, which helps conserve clean water.

We have already discussed why air fryers are not exactly more energy efficient than Convection Ovens, and there are some interesting drawbacks to using air fryers. 

Here are our findings. (Read on for the full details)

Comparisons	Air Fryers	Deep Fryers
Cooking Time	Longer than Deep Fryers	Faster than Air Fryers
Health Considerations	Produces lower Acrylamide. Responsible for the production of CPOs, HCAs, and PAHs in food.	Produces higher Acrylamide. Causes formation of CPOs, HCAs, and PAHs in food.
Food Taste	Inconsistent crispiness	Provides real deep-fried consistency
Ease of Use	Set and forget	Requires constant attention while cooking
Cooking Versatility	Allows grilling, roasting, baking, and other cooking methods	Deep frying only
Cleaning & Maintenance	Easy to clean after every use	It can be messy and requires more cleaning effort
Average Unit Cost	$100 to $300	$30 to $200
General Safety	Safer to use inside your home	Fire hazard; the hot oil is dangerous around kids and pets

How does an Air Fryer work?

As the name suggests, air frying relies on the appliance’s innovative Rapid Air Technology that utilizes its internal heating element and airflow to give food its delicious crispiness.

So how do air fryers work? 

Basically, air fryers circulate hot air inside the appliance cooking chamber using a powerful fan for cooking food instead of submerging it in a container full of boiling oil.

And guess what? You don’t have to worry about burning your food when using air fryers; they have built-in temperature and timer adjustments that allow more precise cooking. 

In most cases, you won’t need cooking oil to fry food with an air fryer because the high heat and circulating hot air inside an air fryer are enough to give food a crispy texture.

Hence, you can enjoy the deep-fried taste without the unhealthy amount of cooking oil.

Here are some of the best Air Fryers.

Pros and Cons of Air Fryers

Pros	Cons
Requires no (or less) cooking oil	Air fryers can be slower to cook food than deep fryers
A healthier alternative to deep frying	Inconsistent food crispiness
Easier to use and clean	Can raise the number of COPs when cooking some food
Relatively safer to use compared to a deep fryer	More expensive than Deep Fryers
Provides other means to cook food besides frying	Air fryers are generally smaller, so they can only cook small batches of food
Energy-efficient cooking appliance

How does a Deep Fryer work?

The most obvious difference between an air fryer and a deep fryer is deep frying food involves submerging food in batches of boiling oil to achieve a golden brown, crispy texture.

Deep fryers work by keeping the oil at very high temperatures, and because the food is submerged in the hot oil, they cook quickly and evenly.

As the food cooks, the oil keeps the outside crispy and golden while the inside remains tender and moist.

Some deep fryers have a basket or other mechanism for lowering and raising the food into and out of the hot oil, making it easy to control the cooking process and avoid splatters and burns.

Additionally, many deep fryers have temperature controls, timers, and other features to help ensure that the food is perfectly cooked.

Pros and Cons of Deep Fryers

Pros	Cons
Produces satisfying, deep-fried food consistency	Requires a bath of hot oil to cook food
Can cook different types of food faster than an air fryer	Designed for deep frying food only
Generally cheaper compared to air fryers	Produces higher Acrylamide, HCAs, and PAHs
Cooked Food tastes better than Air Fryers	You need to constantly watch what you cook, or it might get burned
	Deep fryers can be a fire hazard and risky around kids
	Requires more effort and time to clean after every use

Air Fryers vs Deep Fryers: Side-by-Side Comparison

The cooked food from Air Fryers is generally healthier than Deep Fryers, however, in terms of cooking time and taste, Deep Fryers performed better than Air Fryers. There are also other considerations, such as ease of use, maintenance, safety, cost, and functionalities.

So, let’s go through each of them.

1. Cooking time

Air fryers vs deep fryers’ time of getting your food ready will vary depending on what you are cooking.

For instance, air fryers (in most cases) typically take between 10 to 25 minutes to heat and “fry”  your food. This includes chicken, fish, and pork chops.

Meanwhile, the hot oil that has reached the proper temperature on deep fryers can cook a lot of fo food in less time, typically within 3 to 10 minutes. However, this is not considering the time needed to heat the cooking oil to its optimum temperature. 

It also depends on how much cooking oil you use; more cooking oil means it takes longer to boil.

But if we really have to pick a winner, we would say that deep fryers typically cook more food faster than air fryers.

For reference, below is a comparison of the average time you will need to cook your favorite food using air fryers vs deep fryers.

Food	Air-Fryer Time	Deep Frying (with preheating)
Bacon	5 – 10 mins	14 mins
Burger	8 – 10 mins	14 – 16 mins
Meatballs	7 – 10 mins	14 – 16 mins
Steak	7 – 14 mins	14 – 16 mins
Pork Chops	12 – 15 mins	14 – 15 mins
Chicken Breast	22 – 23 mins	16 – 18 mins
Chicken Thighs	25 mins	12 – 15 mins
Chicken Tenders	14 – 16 mins	15 – 17 mins
Chicken Wings	10 – 12 mins	18- 20 mins
Chicken Nuggets	8 mins	13 – 15 mins
Shrimp	8 mins	12 – 13 mins
Cauliflower	10 – 12 mins	12 – 13 mins
Zucchini	12 mins	12 – 13 mins
Pickles	14 – 20 mins	12 – 13 mins
Potato Chips	15 – 17 mins	12 – 13 mins
Potato Fries	10 – 20 mins	12 – 13 mins
Brussels Sprouts	15 – 18 mins	13 – 15 mins
Onion Rings	10 mins	15 mins

2. Health Considerations

Air fryers have recently been touted as a healthy alternative to traditional deep fryers. This is because frying food in an air fryer uses only a fraction of the cooking oil required when deep frying them. 

And in most cases, an air fryer can fry food using 70 to 80 percent less oil than a deep-fryer, making air-fried foods “healthier” than deep-fried foods.

Moreover, a study also indicated that air-fried French fries contain up to 80% less fat than deep-fried fries.

So if you’re avoiding fatty snacks and food with too much oil but still want to enjoy the taste of your favorite deep fry food, an air fryer is for you.

And there’s more.

Besides the risk of getting too many calories from cooking oil, deep frying also produces Acrylamide.

Acrylamide is a potential carcinogen that can form when starch-rich foods are cooked using high temperatures, such as fried potatoes, aka French fries.

Below is the calorie comparison between popular fried foods when cooked using an air fryer and a deep fryer.

Food	Air Fryer	Deep Fryer
Fried Chicken	280	549
Fish	90	368
Calamari	143	1180
French Fries	226	340
Onion Rings	172	275
Chicken Nuggets	300	320
Pork Chops	215	300

Now, you might be thinking:

“Are air-fried foods healthy?”

Well, not technically.

An article on WebMD mentions that air frying a fish can raise the amount of Cholesterol Oxidation Products (COPs), a harmful substance connected to coronary heart disease, hardening of the arteries, cancer, and other diseases.

And finally, air frying and deep frying are directly connected to forming heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in food. 

The HCAs and PAHs are chemicals that may increase the risk of cancer, and they are formed when muscle meat like pork, chicken, beef, or fish is cooked using high-temperature methods, such as frying or grilling.

3. Food Taste

Let’s talk about the comparison between Air Fryer vs Deep Fryer taste of cooked food.

While food taste is subjective and varies from person to person, most people agree that deep-fried food tastes better than air-fried food.

This is because air frying can’t replace the real deep-fried consistency that can only be attained by cooking food in a vat of boiling oil.

However, we digress.

As we mentioned above, taste is subjective, and it all depends on your personal preference.

Some people prefer that thicker crust that comes from deep frying, while some appreciate the limited amount of cooking oil that enhances the natural flavors of the food.

But for reference, deep fryers will give a traditional taste and are best for thick or wet batters, while air fryers work best for foods with dry exteriors.

Other Considerations

We have talked about the main considerations between air fryers vs deep fryers. Now, let’s talk about the secondary concerns.

4. Ease of Use

Cooking food with an air fryer can be done with minimal effort and is a fairly hands-off process.

Just put your food in the air fryer, set the timer and temperature, and leave it to cook. Air fryers automatically shut off after the allotted time.

Meanwhile, cooking food with a deep fryer requires more attention and an involved cooking method.

For starters, deep frying often requires food to be dipped in wet batter. 

You will also need a lot of cooking oil and ensure that the cooking oil is at the right temperature before submerging your food if you want to achieve the best deep-fried results.

Additionally, you can’t really afford to leave your deep fryer alone while cooking something.

While newer deep fryer models have an automatic shut-off feature, you still need to be there to remove the food immediately when it’s done, or it might get burned thanks to the boiling oil.

5. Cooking Functionalities

Both air fryers and deep fryers can produce delicious crispy fried food. 

However, if you want a kitchen appliance that can do more than just fry food, then you’ll want to go with an air fryer.

Most air fryer models in the market today will not only let you fry food, but you can also use them for baking, roasting, grilling, and more.

On the other hand, a deep fryer is only good for deep-frying food into crispy finishes.

But we would like to hear from you too! Have you tried using a deep fryer other than deep-frying food?

6. Cleaning & Maintenance

Air fryers come ahead of deep fryers when it comes to this topic.

Cleaning deep fryers can be messy and requires more effort and attention. 

For instance, you will probably have tons of oily paper towels to dispose of after deep frying your food, and you’ll also probably have to think of something useful to do with the used and excess oil left in the deep fryer. 

Meanwhile, cleaning an air fryer can be a breeze. Since you’re not using plenty of cooking oil, there’s not much cleaning up to do.

In most cases, all you need to do after air frying your food is to remove the air fryer basket and put it in the dishwasher, remove the food particles left on your air fryer, wipe it clean, and you’re done.

The worse thing that can happen is you might need to clean the inside of the air fryer using a damp cloth with soap and water to remove grease and food debris.

7. Costs 

If we’re talking about initial investments, deep fryers are generally cheaper than air fryers.

• Air fryers typically range from $50 to $200+, with most right around the $100 mark.
• Deep fryers typically range from $40 to $200+, with many options available around $50-$60.

However, you also need to consider the cost of cooking oil when using a deep fryer, whereas most air fryers don’t require any oil to cook food.

Electricity Usage

Air Fryers	Deep Fryers
Between 1.4 and 1.7kWh	1.8kWh

8. Safety

If you have kids and children in your house, air fryers can be a safer alternative to a deep fryer.

As you may already know, cooking with a deep fryer involves boiling a lot of oil in an open container.

Even as an adult, you must keep a safe distance from the deep fryer and boiling oil to avoid the risk of scalding or getting burned.

Meanwhile, air fryers are completely covered with a lid while cooking.

What to Consider when Buying a Deep Fryer?

• Cooking capacity: Make sure that the cooking capacity of the deep fryer you buy is enough to prepare a meal for your family. Deep fryers come in different sizes, from small to medium to large.
• Safety features: Electric deep fryers are much safer than propane deep fryers since the former have sophisticated control features to keep your kitchen and family safe.
• Price: Newer deep fryer models with larger cooking capacities are generally more expensive, so make sure you know how much you are willing to spend for a new appliance.

Some of the most popular deep fryers on the market today include the Cuisinart Deep Fryer, Presto FryDaddy Electric Deep Fryer, and T-Fal Deep Fryer.

What to Consider when Buying an Air Fryer?

• Cooking capacity: Start by determining the amount of food you cook in the air fryer. If you have a larger family, then air fryers with bigger cooking capacity are best, if you live alone, go for smaller ones.
• Wattage: Air fryers with smaller wattage consume less electricity. However, if you want an air fryer that can go high temperature quickly, buy one with more wattage.
• Adjustable cooking settings: Look for air fryers that come with various cooking settings so you can air fry different food properly. Also, make sure you know what temperature settings you need for the foods you plan to cook before buying an air fryer.
• Safety features: Some air fryer models can get really hot when used. Hence, buying an air fryer with an insulated exterior should help lessen the threat of getting accidental burns.

If, at this point, you’ve decided to buy an air fryer, check out our list of the top 10 best air fryers to buy this year.

Air Fryer vs Deep Fryer: Which is Better?

Deciding whether you should get an air fryer vs a deep fryer for your home comes down to your personal cooking preference and needs.

If you want a more eco-friendly kitchen appliance that provides an easy way to cook healthier fried delicacies, go for an air fryer

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a cooking appliance that fries faster and provides you with a rich fried finish, go for a deep fryer.

Frequently Asked Questions