Have Air Fryers Made Us Eat Unhealthier Easy-Cook Foods? The Debate
- Kristen Davidson
- May 23
- 6 min read
Air fryers have taken over our countertops and social feeds, promising quick, crispy results with little to no oil. Marketed as a healthier alternative to deep frying, they’ve become the must-have gadget in modern kitchens. From busy mums to university students, everyone seems to have one. Sales of air fryers in the UK surged by over 400% between 2021 and 2023, according to retail analysts.
Their appeal is obvious:
Fast cooking times
Less oil, less mess
Energy-efficient compared to ovens
A new way to crisp, roast, bake, and even reheat
But behind the glowing reviews and viral TikTok recipes lies a growing concern:
Have air fryers helped us eat better, or have they made it easier to reheat ultra-processed, nutrient-poor food at home?
Think about it. Supermarket freezer aisles are now filled with "air fryer ready" nuggets, frozen pastries, breaded cheese sticks, and sugary churros. These foods go from box to plate in under 10 minutes, and that’s the problem.
Convenience is good. But when speed and simplicity come at the expense of nutrition, we need to pause and ask: Are air fryers the hero of healthy eating or just another enabler of junk food made faster?
Let’s explore both sides of the debate with a clear view because, like any trend, what matters most isn’t the tool itself but how we use it.
The Promise of Healthier Cooking
When air fryers first emerged, they were marketed as a revolutionary way to cook food with minimal to no oil, retaining the crispy texture people love while significantly reducing fat content. Compared to traditional deep frying, the health benefits were obvious:
Less oil = fewer calories
Faster cooking = more likelihood of home-prepared meals
No frying smell, less mess
Many health-conscious cooks embraced air fryers to roast vegetables, crisp tofu, cook lean proteins like fish or chicken, and even bake healthier versions of chips and desserts. Used wisely, air fryers can support a balanced, whole-food diet.
The Rise of Ultra-Processed Air Fryer Foods
But there’s a flip side.
As air fryer popularity soared, the food industry saw a golden opportunity. Supermarket freezers are now stocked with “air fryer-ready” convenience products, including frozen nuggets, mozzarella sticks, hash browns, pies, pre-battered fish, sausages, pastries, and even dessert bites. Many of these foods are ultra-processed, high in sodium, low in nutrients, and primarily designed for taste, texture, and convenience.
In short, the air fryer became the ultimate enabler of the "lazy food fix."
Rather than cook from scratch, people now chuck in a handful of frozen items and call it dinner. And let’s be honest; when life is busy or energy is low, it’s tempting. But what does that do to our long-term health?
Convenience vs Consciousness: The Real Question Behind the Air Fryer Debate
At the heart of this discussion is a simple truth: air fryers aren’t the problem. How we choose to use them is. Like any kitchen tool, they’re neutral. It’s the habits, attitudes, and choices surrounding them that define their impact on our health.
The Pros: A Friend to the Time-Poor and Health-Minded
Air fryers have rightfully earned praise for their role in modern, health-focused kitchens. When used with intention, they’re a fantastic tool for:
Busy families and individuals seeking to prepare real food quickly. Chopped vegetables, marinated proteins, and even homemade falafel can be crisped and cooked in under 15 minutes, making them ideal for weeknight dinners without the stress.
Encouraging more meals at home. For many, cooking used to mean boiling or frying in oil. The air fryer offers a more appealing option, being quick, easy, and far less messy, making people more likely to skip the takeaway.
Versatility for better nutrition. From crisp chickpeas to roasted vegetables, air-fried tofu, or even baked apples with cinnamon, the options are endless and don’t need to be processed to taste good.
When used effectively, the air fryer can bring joy and ease to healthy cooking.
The Cons: A Gateway to Lazy, Ultra-Processed Eating
However, the very features that make air fryers so convenient can also contribute to less mindful eating. Here’s how:
Over-reliance on freezer foods. It’s incredibly easy to throw in frozen chips, nuggets, or sausage rolls and feel like you’ve made a meal. These foods are often low in fibre, high in refined carbs, salt, and additives, and they rarely satisfy long-term hunger or nourish the body.
Promoting snack-style eating. With such fast results, many start grazing rather than sitting down to balanced meals. With a few hash browns here and a couple of fish fingers there, it becomes easy to replace whole meals with quick bites that offer little nutritional value.
The ‘health halo’ effect. Because it’s cooked in an air fryer, there’s often a mistaken belief that it’s automatically healthier. But whether it’s deep-fried or air-fried, a processed cheese-filled bite is still a processed cheese-filled bite. Swapping the cooking method doesn’t redeem the ingredient list.
This is a familiar pattern. Just as a microwave can steam broccoli or reheat a greasy takeaway, and a blender can make a nourishing green smoothie or a sugar-laden milkshake, the air fryer reflects your choices, not your health goals.
So, What’s the Verdict?
Let’s be clear: the air fryer isn’t the hero or the villain. It’s the mirror.
It reflects your choices, not your health goals.
Fill it with colourful veg, nourishing proteins, and real ingredients, and it becomes a modern ally in your journey toward better health. But fill it with beige, breaded, ultra-processed “quick fixes,” and you’ve made it easier to eat empty calories faster than ever.
Your air fryer doesn’t decide what you eat. You do.
It’s not about blaming the tool. It’s about reclaiming control over how you use it.
Finding the Balance: From Machine to Mindset
The good news? You don’t have to ditch the air fryer. You have to shift the mindset around what goes in it. Here’s how to turn convenience into consciousness:
Stock real food, not just real fast food: Frozen green beans, broccoli florets, sweet potato cubes, salmon fillets, or prawns are all air fryer-friendly and nutrient-dense.
Batch cook for real-life ease: Roast chickpeas, falafel, or chunks of spiced vegetables for a protein-rich snack or a quick lunchbox topper.
Save the beige stuff for ‘sometimes’: Keep the frozen spring rolls and mini pizzas for the occasional treat, not your Tuesday dinner plan.
Explore your creativity: Try homemade veggie fries, halloumi bites, or quick tofu cubes with tamari and garlic. Cooking from scratch in an air fryer can be faster than waiting for a takeaway to arrive.
Remember: your freezer doesn’t have to be a junk drawer. It can be your secret weapon for real food, made simple.
Final Thoughts: Convenience with Intention
Air fryers have revolutionised the way we cook. But now, it’s time to change how we think.
Used mindfully, they can help us eat better, faster, and with less fuss. Used mindlessly, they can normalise ultra-processed habits that quietly erode our energy, mood, and health.
The challenge and the opportunity is to bring real food back into the rhythm of busy lives. To let flavour, nourishment, and satisfaction sit on the same plate as speed and ease.
Because convenience doesn’t have to mean compromise.Not when we choose better.Not when we know better.
Food Companies Jump on the Bandwagon: UPFs Made for the Air Fryer
It didn’t take long for big food brands to spot an opportunity. As air fryer sales skyrocketed, supermarket shelves began filling with new labels: “Air Fryer Friendly!”, “Ready in 8 Minutes!”, “Crisps to Perfection!” The convenience was irresistible, but the contents? Not so much.
What’s inside many of these ready-to-air-fry foods?
Ultra-processed coatings packed with additives, flavour enhancers, and preservatives
Low-quality oils and synthetic ingredients to mimic crisp and crunch
Little to no fibre, protein, or actual whole-food nutrition
From frozen cheesy bites to battered chicken balls and sugar-dusted fake churros, these aren’t meals. They’re products engineered for instant pleasure and viral appeal. And food companies know exactly how to market them.
The TikTok Trap: When Dinner Becomes a Scrollable Trend
Enter the world of “Air Fryer TikTok,” where millions of views go to creators showing how to crisp up five frozen snacks in under 10 minutes. These clips are quick, addictive, and oddly satisfying, just like the foods they feature.
This combination of fast food + fast media is creating a new kind of eating behaviour:
Eating based on what's trending, not what your body needs
Snack-style grazing without thought or balance
A dopamine hit not just from the food but from the visual experience of watching it cook and crunch
Suddenly, food isn’t about nourishment or even proper meals. It’s about convenience, instant gratification, and digital approval. And the industry is loving it.
From Dinner to Addiction
Let’s be clear: this isn’t cooking. It’s consumption. And when UPFs dominate our air fryer habits, we risk:
Losing touch with whole foods and simple cooking
Training our taste buds to crave only hyper-palatable textures and flavours
Reinforcing emotional or boredom-based eating habits driven by screen time
It’s no longer just about what’s in our basket. It’s about what we’re being conditioned to desire.