Air fryers are very much the kitchen gadget of the moment, having skyrocketed in popularity amid the cost of living crisis for offering a cheap and energy-efficient alternative to ovens. And new research from consumer experts Which? suggests that they really could be worth the hype - but it does depend on what you’re cooking.
The consumer champion has carried out a test amongst air fryers, microwaves, slow cookers and ovens to find out which one is the cheapest to run for six homely recipes - and found that the gadgets emerging as up to three times cheaper than ovens to run, with equally good or better cooking results for popular foods.
Testers carefully calculated the cooking time, energy usage and cost, as well as taking into account the finished results to see which kitchen appliance is worth your money this winter and beyond.
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While Which? found that consumers can make considerable energy savings with an air fryer and microwave, it’s important to consider the initial outlay when looking at cost savings. For example, air fryers Which? has tested cost anywhere between £30 and £300. So even though an air fryer may save money on running costs compared to using an oven it could be a while before it pays for itself.
Emily Seymour, Which? Energy Editor, said: "Energy bills are a real concern for millions of households across the country, especially when many are already feeling the pressures of the cost of living crisis, and cooking is one of the everyday costs that really mount up over time.
"There has been a surge of interest in air fryers and smaller cooking appliances in recent months, and our research shows that the hype could be justified in some cases, as we’ve found these products cost less to cook certain foods than conventional ovens.
"The cost savings will soon be lost if you have to cook more than one batch though, so it’s still better to use your oven if you’re cooking large quantities. But for quick, small meals, we’ve found that it’s worth trying out the alternatives."
Here are all the foods that were used in the test, and the results and running costs of each appliance.
1. Roast chicken
The cheapest and quickest method for cooking a roast chicken was with a pressure cooker - costing just 11p and taking just 32 minutes. However, it did not give the distinctive crispy skin that the other appliances did.
The oven cost 39p to cook a delicious-looking roast chicken in 76 minutes, although testers noted that the meat was a little dry.
However, the air fryer cost 18p and cooked a perfect roast chicken – juicy flavoursome meat with a crispy brown skin. If you were to cook a roast chicken once a week for a year, this equates to a saving of nearly £11 compared to cooking in the oven.
While some claim that halogen ovens are cheap to run, Which? found the halogen oven tested used slightly more energy than the oven to cook the chicken, costing 40p. Although the chicken looked and tasted great, there are cheaper ways to get the same results.
2. Chips
Which? found that the cheapest appliance for cooking chips, and the quickest at 23 minutes, was the air fryer. It only cost 10p to cook two portions of chips, compared with almost three times (29p) that amount to cook the same quantity of chips in the oven.
However, the drawback of the air fryer is its capacity. The model Which? tested recommends only filling the basket halfway and using a maximum of 500g of chips - enough for two to three portions. So if you are feeding several people, or want to cook a few different food items simultaneously, the oven is more versatile than the air fryer or halogen oven.
The halogen oven was slightly cheaper than the oven, costing 23p. The chips cooked by all three appliances were similar in quality, with a mixture of over-cooked and under-cooked chips, even though testers stirred or shook them halfway through cooking.
3. Baking a cake
Perhaps surprisingly, the air fryer offered excellent results for baking a cake at the lowest cost - only 8p and with delicious results. It also baked in almost half the time of the oven, at 33 minutes against 56 minutes. The oven cost three times more than the air fryer at 24p.
However, due to the size limitations of the air fryer, Which?’s experts did have to make a smaller cake than for the other appliances. If you are planning a multi-tiered masterpiece it would be more efficient to stick to the trusty oven.
While the pressure cooker and halogen oven produced great cakes, they took longer than the oven and used more energy, costing 2p and 7p more respectively. For baking on a budget, the air fryer could not be beaten.
4. Soup
The cheapest appliances for making soup were the induction hob and pressure cooker - both cooked vegetable soup quickly and efficiently, costing just 9p.
Which? found that while the slow-cooked option was more hands-off and therefore more convenient, it was 22p more expensive, costing 31p in energy.
The induction hub got the top marks for quality of cooking, while the pressure cooker was the quickest, taking 19 minutes to cook the soup.
5. Steamed vegetables
Which? found that a microwave was the cheapest method for steaming vegetables - and was 3 to 4p cheaper than using an induction hob or pressure cooker, both of which cost 7p. However, the induction hob did give the best results.
The pressure cooker used slightly more energy than the induction hob and also overcooked the broccoli.
Testers noted that the benefit of using the microwave or hob was that you have more control over the cooking time, they took 5 minutes and 9 minutes respectively.
6. Jacket potato
The quickest and cheapest appliance for baking a large potato was easily the microwave - taking just 8 minutes to cook a soft and fluffy jacket potato, and using just 5p worth of energy.
The air fryer also proved its credentials, taking half the time of an oven and only using 9p worth of electricity. However, as with a lot of the other recipes Which? cooked, if you want to cook more than one potato at a time you may find yourself limited on space with several of the appliances tested. The oven took the longest amount of time and used 37p worth of energy - over 7 times more than the microwave.
Cooking results were strong across the board but the oven was best for crispy skin.
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