Air fryers are reaching new heights of popularity, not only for their supposed health benefits, but also because they claim to use less energy than ovens. We bring our testing to the debate to see whether this fashionable appliance really can save you money.
To conduct our test, we compared a Morphy Richards Health Fryer (currently around £100) to an electric fan oven by cooking chicken breasts, fish fingers and chips and a full roast dinner.
Watch our video above or read all about our findings below.
Before you buy an air fryer in the sales, take a look at our round-up of best air fryers for 2022 to find the best option for you.
1. Recipe one: chicken breasts
- We cooked two chicken breasts according to the manufacturer's instructions, while monitoring the energy usage.
- Both appliances needed time to heat up, but our air fryer's smaller cooking chamber meant it preheated in only three minutes, while the oven took ten minutes.
- The air fryer took 28 minutes to cook chicken breasts to perfection and the oven needed around 40. The air fryer also used about 16p less electricity overall than the oven.
- There was a difference in the cooking result, too. The chicken prepared in the air fryer had a nice golden-brown colour and the oven chicken looked more pale. The air fryer chicken was a little dry while the oven-cooked chicken was a bit more juicy.
Chicken breast cooking costs
| Cooking method | Total energy usage (kWh) | Total cooking time (min) | Cost (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air fryer | 0.356 | 28 | 12p |
| Oven | 0.841 | 40 | 28p |
2. Recipe two: fish fingers and chips
- We prepared a typical kids' dinner: fish fingers and 330g of chips, which is around two portions.
- Since our air fryer only had one cooking chamber, we needed to cook the fish fingers and chips separately. This meant that it took around the same time as the oven, but was a bit more fiddly.
- Overall, the air fryer still used less electricity and came in 13p cheaper than the oven.
- The air fryer chips were similar in appearance to the oven chips, only slightly more crispy. Both versions of the meal had good flavour, with no discernable difference between them.
Fish fingers and chips cooking costs
| Cooking method | Total energy usage (kWh) | Total cooking time (min) | Cost (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air fryer | 0.402 | 35 | 14p |
| Oven | 0.8 | 36 | 27p |
3. Recipe three: a roast dinner
- Our final recipe was a full roast dinner of chicken, roast veg and yorkshire puddings for four.
- There wasn't much difference between them when it came to taste and texture. However, having to load and unload the air fryer basket after cooking each part of the meal was a bit of a faff.
- We found that when it comes to cooking bigger meals, the difference in cooking time and energy usage between the air fryer and the oven became smaller.
- However, at 26p, the air fryer still came in 30p cheaper than the oven.
Roast dinner cooking costs
| Cooking method | Total energy usage (kWh) | Total cooking time (min) | Cost (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air fryer | 0.758 | 77 | 26p |
| Oven | 1.64 | 96 | 56p |
Find out how ovens and air fryers compare to other appliances in Oven, air fryer, slow cooker or hob? Comparing the cheapest ways to cook.
Our findings: It depends
So will an air fryer actually save you any money? It depends.
Using the example of our chicken breast, we found that if you only cook for one person, you'd save around £34.32 per year by switching to an air fryer four times a week.
However, if you're cooking for a family and your four meals a week look more like our fish fingers and chips example, it will take longer to see any savings. According to Which? experts, you would have to cook 476 roast chickens before you made back enough money to pay off that original £100 purchase. However, you would also save 182 hours of waiting time if you use the air fryer.
How many meals would make a £100 air fryer worth it?
| Food | Energy cost per meal | Cooking time per meal | Time saved | Meals to save £100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full roast | 26p | 77 mins | 105 hrs | 333 |
| Roast chicken | 18p | 53 mins | 182 hrs | 476 |
| Chicken breast | 12p | 28 mins | 125 hrs | 625 |
| Fish fingers and chips | 14p | 35 mins | 12.8 hrs | 769 |
As our calculations are based on very specific examples, your savings might also vary depending on the type and size of air fryer you're using, energy efficiency of your oven, and how you like your food cooked.
Overall, we found that the air fryer probably won't be your savior against the cost of living crisis as it will take a long time before you see a return on your investment.
Before you decide to buy one, consider other less trendy appliances that could also save you energy, such as a microwave oven.
If you still think the air fryer is the better option, make sure you purchase the very best model for your needs. Take a look at our best air fryers for 2022 or go to our air fryer reviews to see all the models we've tested.
Want to know more about our rigorous testing? Head over to the how we test air fryers guide.
undefinedsource https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/video-air-fryer-vs-oven-which-is-really-cheaper-aLDZr5N9xaXL