Many people purchase and use air fryers for cooking healthy foods, but can you air fry without oil? Unlike deep fryers, an air fryer reduces overall fat content and calorie intake. Research shows that an air fryer can reduce calorie intake by 80%, leading to improved health.
An air fryer can cook food quickly and save you a lot of time. For example, you can cook a chicken breast in an air fryer quickly than a deep fryer or oven. Likewise, it is relatively easier to clean your air fryer than other cooking equipment.
Can you air fry without oil?
Summary
Although you can air fry without oil, it is crucial to season your food before cooking it. You can put the food in your air fryer’s basket, set the required temperature and time, and cook the food. An air fryer allows for a simple cooking or frying procedure.
Some high-end air frying machines will signal you or make a sound, allowing you to shake the basket. However, if you have an average-quality device and want to air fry without oil, make sure you shake the basket several times to prevent the food from sticking.
One easy way to prevent his problem is by using parchment paper. Because an air fryer uses cutting-edge hot air circulation technology to cook the food quickly, you may or may not want to use the oil.
The hot air circulating will cook the food evenly, leading to the crispier outside while maintaining the tenderness on the inside. Therefore, you don’t need to use the oil. However, if you want to use oil, make sure it is no more than two teaspoons.
In addition, if you want to cook food that enhances your overall health and wellbeing, we recommend avoiding the oil. That way, you can significantly cut the number of calories and fat content. However, some food items require you to use oil for extra crispiness.
What Food Items can you Air Fry without Oil?
Air fryers have become popular in recent years because many people want to consume healthier food. It is an essential countertop appliance in your kitchen that uses advanced technology to cook your food.
It is similar to a convection oven, allowing you to place the food in the basket and run the machine. The hot air cooks the food evenly, resulting in crispier, delicious, and healthy food. Here are some of the food items you can air fry without oil.
Fried Foods
The primary purpose of using an air fryer is to cook fried food items. Some of the food that you can air fryer without oil are sweet potato fries, onion rings, French fries, and home fries. You can also air fry tofu without using the oil. Make sure you toss the tofu in arrowroot powder before putting it in the basket. That way, you can fry crispier tofu.
Roasted Veggies
An air fryer is a perfect cooking tool for roasting vegetables without using oil. We recommend cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant, carrots, chickpeas, kale chips, and Brussel sprouts for cooking in your air fryer.
You can also use your air fryer for baking. Although you can cook as many items in one go, we recommend avoiding too many items to achieve more crispiness. The space between each piece is essential because it enables the hot air to circulate accurately.
Remember to line the air fryer’s basket with parchment paper to bake food items like apples, pears, bread, potatoes, muffins, and brownies. Research shows that vegan-baked food items relatively less time than non-vegan foods.
For example, your air fryer will take no more than five minutes to bake cookies. On the other hand, a traditional oven takes at least 10 minutes to bake cookies. So, using an air fryer allows you to shorten the bake time.
Frozen Foods
An air fryer is an excellent choice for cooking frozen food without oil. For instance, you can cook veggies, frozen veggie burgers, bread slices, vegan pizza, etc. Likewise, you can also cook fish sticks, pizza rolls, pizza bagels, chicken nuggets, and potato skins in your air fryer.
Some of these items may require a small quantity of oil. However, if you still don’t want to avoid oil, make sure you use the needed seasonings. Here are a few recipes that you can air fry without oil.
Sweet Potato Wedges
Sweet potato wedges are a vegetarian recipe that you can air fry without oil. You will need two medium-sized sweet potatoes. Make sure you wash, peel, and cut them into wedges. Other ingredients include one tablespoon of garlic powder, one tablespoon onion powder, half tablespoon paprika, and a quarter tablespoon chili powder.
Set the temperature to 375 for about 15 minutes. Put the wedges in a bowl and add seasonings. Make sure the seasonings cover the wedges. Once your air fryer reaches the set temperature, add potato wedges to the basket. Shake the food every five minutes to prevent sticking or burning. Serve!
Brussels sprouts
Brussels sprouts are another recipe you can air fry without oil. If you want to relish the same taste as you do in your favorite restaurant, make sure you focus on ingredients and cooking methods.
You will need two cups of chopped Brussels sprouts, one tablespoon of maple syrup, and one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. You can also use sea salt for sprinkling, but this is optional.
Remember, this recipe requires setting the air fryer’s temperature to 400 degrees for eight minutes. Use the liquids and salt to cover the Brussels sprouts in a bowl while the machine preheats.
Once the temperature reaches 400 degrees, put the sprouts in the basket to start the cooking process. Check the food for about 4-5 minutes and continue cooking until you achieve crispier and browned sprouts.
Can you air fry without oil – Final Words
People have more tendency toward air fryers because they offer a healthy, reliable, and cost-efficient way of cooking food. Although some food items require you to use 1-2 tablespoons of oil for extra crispiness, you can air cry without oil. Until Next Time!
