Air Fryer Pros and Cons for Busy Moms

Hey Mama!

Weeknights are busy…you rush home, get everyone fed and bathed and in the bed just to do it again.  Sound familiar?  A tool that has helped our family is the Air Fryer. I’m sharing my air fryer pros and cons for busy families. 

*DISCLOSURE: I only recommend products that I would use myself. This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I may get a commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my Disclosure for more information.

1. Air Fryers Cook More Quickly

Want to cut down your cooking time?  Toss your meal into the air fryer and expect it to cook about 20% more quickly than with a regular oven. The Blue Jean Chef has an awesome cooking times guide for just about anything you want to cook in your air fryer.  You can get the guide from bluejeanchef.com.

2. Cooking with an air fryer is healthier.

The air fryer requires little to no extra oils.  Your fries won’t come out soaking in hot oil, but they will be just as tasty. For some foods, you may need to spray the air fryer basket with a non-stick spray or wipe lightly with some oil.  Even Webmd.com has gotten on board with air frying, reporting that it can “cut calories by 70 to 80%” compared to regular frying.  Check out the full air fryer report on Webmd.com.

3. Air Fryers use less energy than large ovens.

The cost of electricity and natural gas continues to go up, and so does the cost of running full-sized appliances in your home.  Air fryers use about 35% less energy than a gas oven. Compared to using an electric oven, air fryers use about 50% less energy.  These numbers were calculated by the folks at CNET.com.  Check out their full post on how to save money on your energy bill, if you’d like to read how they got those numbers.

4. Clean up is easier with an air fryer.

Compared to filling a pot with oil that will splatter everywhere, air frying is much cleaner. Most air fyers will have a non-stick surface that just requires a little hand washing to clean up.  No oil splatters and no oil splatter burns on your skin. 

5. Air fryers won’t heat up the kitchen.

When you live in the southern US, you will do whatever you can to keep your kitchen cool, especially in the summer months.  Air frying won’t heat up the entire kitchen, so you can feel free to cook your favorite foods all summer long without the concern of sweating through your meal prep.

1. Air Fryers can take up a lot of space.

If you are limited on space, you will need to pick an air fryer that suits your limits.  Consumer Reports shares the best small air fryers in this report. With smaller air fryers, you won’t be able to cook as much food at one time. So there are definitely trade offs. 

2. Air Fryers can be really expensive.

You can find inexpensive air fryers, but you get what you pay for.  BUT, you can pay hundreds of dollars for a name brand and not have the best experience.  

I have three air fryers:

1. Dollar General: I love shopping at DG…I got a small air fryer for $7 from there.  It doesn’t hold much, but it is perfect for cooking fish sticks.  So, that’s the only thing we use it for.  It even stays outside so the house doesn’t smell like fish 🙂

2. PowerXL Vortex: This air fryer is larger than my DG one and works great.  It doesn’t take up too much space, but I did buy a shelf for our kitchen specifically to have a place to put it. My favorite thing to cook in this one is meatballs.  7 minutes and they are done! We used this one almost every day until I got the next one. 

3. Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Oven: I saw this one on HSN and loved the fold-up feature.  I waited until it was on sale and I had coupons and Kohl bucks.  I could not justify spending $300 on an air fryer oven, but $100? That I could do. We use it every day.  

3. Air Fryers can be hard to clean.

I know I said in the Pros section above that Air Fryers are cleaner than cooking with oil.  But, sometimes you can be left with a stuck-on mess that requires a little scrubbing.  Most of the time, a little soak with some Dawn Spray-On soap will do the trick.  

The Ninja oven though is a little different.  You can’t just soak it in the sink.  You can soak the wire mesh tray and the cooking pans/rack.  You have to wipe out the inside of the oven frequently to keep it clean. I just use a damp wash cloth and it work fine. It has a nice drip tray that can be taken out and washed, too. You’ll have to wipe out the bottom of the oven as well. But, the Ninja oven has a nifty little trick for that.  When it’s folded up, there’s a button to release the bottom panel.  Wipe it down and you’re good to go!

Should you get an air fryer?  Yes, yes you should.

It is in my opinion that everyone should have an air fryer.  So, what are you waiting on?  Go get one!