What's healthier, an air fryer or a stove?

December 3, 2025 •

4 min read

According to the Cleveland Clinic, air frying is a healthier option for creating crispy food because it essentially eliminates added oils. This sparks a crucial debate in many kitchens: what's healthier, an air fryer or a stove? The answer depends less on the appliance itself and more on the specific cooking method used.

Quick Summary

The healthiest cooking method, whether using an air fryer or a stove, is determined by the specific technique and ingredients. Air fryers often lead to lower fat and calorie intake than deep frying, while stove-based methods like steaming or sautéing with minimal oil can also be very healthy.

Key Points

Less Oil, Less Fat: An air fryer is healthier than a stove's deep-frying method because it uses a fraction of the oil, reducing fat and calories significantly.
Method is Key: A stove is highly versatile and can be used for very healthy, oil-free methods like steaming or boiling, which are healthier than any frying.
Reduce Harmful Compounds: Air frying can produce up to 90% less acrylamide than deep-frying potatoes, although some potential risk remains.
Nutrient Retention Trade-offs: Quick air frying can preserve some nutrients better than prolonged oven cooking, but some omega-3 fats in fish may be reduced.
Ingredients Matter Most: The healthiness of your meal ultimately depends more on the whole foods you cook than the appliance itself.
Complementary Appliances: Using both a stove and an air fryer offers the greatest flexibility for preparing diverse, healthy meals.

Understanding the Appliances and Methods

Both the air fryer and the stove are essential kitchen tools, but they operate on fundamentally different principles. A stove is a versatile heat source, allowing for a wide range of cooking methods, from boiling and steaming to pan-frying and sautéing. An air fryer, by contrast, is a specialized convection oven. It uses a high-powered fan to circulate hot air around food, cooking it quickly and creating a crispy exterior without needing a large amount of oil.

The Air Fryer: Minimizing Fat and Maximizing Crunch

When people ask, "what's healthier, an air fryer or a stove?", they are often comparing air frying to deep-fat frying, a common, though not mandatory, use of a stove. In this comparison, the air fryer is a clear winner. By circulating hot air instead of submerging food in oil, air frying drastically reduces the fat and calorie content of meals. Some studies have shown that air-fried foods can have up to 80% less fat than their deep-fried counterparts.

The Stove: The Versatile Contender

The stove's health potential lies entirely in the user's hands. It is the appliance of choice for some of the healthiest cooking methods available, including:

Steaming: This method uses moist heat from boiling water to cook food, requiring no added oil and preserving many water-soluble vitamins.
Boiling: Primarily used for pasta, grains, and some vegetables, boiling uses water and is completely fat-free.
Sautéing: This involves cooking food quickly in a pan over high heat with a small amount of oil. The key to keeping this method healthy is using minimal, heart-healthy oils like olive oil.
Baking and Roasting (in an oven attached to a range): Often lumped in with stove cooking, an oven can be used to roast vegetables or bake lean proteins with very little added fat, much like an air fryer, but with a larger capacity.

Health Considerations Beyond Calories

While calorie and fat reduction are major health factors, other nutritional aspects play a role in determining the healthier option.

Acrylamide Formation

Acrylamide is a chemical compound formed in starchy foods (like potatoes) when cooked at high temperatures. It is a potential carcinogen, and deep-frying is known to produce high levels of it. Air frying significantly reduces acrylamide formation compared to deep frying, by as much as 90% in some cases, although it is not completely eliminated. Certain stove methods, like boiling or steaming, do not produce acrylamide at all. High-heat stove-top methods like pan-frying, however, can also create this compound, depending on the temperature and duration.

Nutrient Retention

Air fryers cook quickly, which can help retain heat-sensitive nutrients like Vitamin C and folate, potentially better than an oven's longer cooking times. However, some studies suggest that air frying fatty fish, like sardines, could potentially reduce healthy omega-3 fats and increase cholesterol oxidation products (COPs). Adding herbs like parsley or chives can help mitigate this effect. Similarly, while steaming on a stove is excellent for nutrient retention, boiling can cause some water-soluble vitamins to leach into the cooking water.

Comparison Table: Air Fryer vs. Stove Methods


Feature	Air Frying	Pan-Frying (Stove)	Steaming (Stove)
Oil Required	Minimal to none	Can vary, often more than air frying	None
Fat/Calories	Significantly reduced vs deep-frying	Variable; can be high depending on oil quantity	Very low
Crispiness	High, emulates deep-fried texture	High, depends on technique	None
Acrylamide Risk	Reduced vs deep-frying, still possible	Possible at high temperatures	None
Nutrient Retention	Good, due to faster cooking	Can be lower with high heat	Excellent, retains water-soluble vitamins
Food Versatility	High for crispy foods, reheating	High for most foods	Best for vegetables, fish
Cleanup	Fairly easy, dishwasher-safe parts	Can be greasy and messy	Very easy, just a pot and steamer basket

Making the Healthiest Choice

Ultimately, the healthiest choice depends on what and how you cook. For achieving a crispy, 'fried' texture with dramatically less oil, the air fryer is superior to pan-frying on a stove. However, if your typical stove use involves steaming, boiling, or roasting with minimal added fat, the stove remains an equally healthy—and more versatile—appliance. The key takeaway is to focus on the cooking method and the quality of the ingredients, not just the device itself. A balanced diet of whole foods, regardless of the cooking technique, is the most important factor for good health. For more detailed advice on cooking methods and their health implications, consult resources like the Cleveland Clinic's health information pages.

Conclusion

In the debate of what's healthier, an air fryer or a stove, there is no single winner. An air fryer is the clear choice for replicating fried foods with significantly less oil, reducing fat and calories, and lowering acrylamide risk. However, a stove offers unparalleled versatility and enables some of the healthiest cooking methods, such as steaming and boiling, which require no oil at all. For the health-conscious home cook, the best approach is to utilize both appliances strategically. Use the air fryer for quick, low-fat versions of crispy favorites, and leverage the stove for its broad range of healthy, oil-free cooking techniques. By choosing fresh, whole ingredients and mindfully selecting your cooking method, you can ensure both appliances contribute positively to your overall health and wellness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Air fryers are essentially smaller, more powerful convection ovens. While nutritionally very similar, an air fryer can offer quicker cooking times and more efficient heating, which may help retain more nutrients. However, an oven offers more space for cooking larger, roasted dishes.

Yes, absolutely. A stove can be used for numerous oil-free methods, such as steaming vegetables, boiling pasta or grains, and simmering soups and stews. These methods are often among the healthiest ways to prepare food.

Air frying reduces calories primarily for foods that would typically be deep-fried in oil, like French fries or breaded chicken. It achieves this by cooking with circulating hot air instead of relying on large amounts of added oil.

While high-heat cooking can produce the compound acrylamide, a probable carcinogen, air frying produces significantly less of it than deep-frying. There is no conclusive evidence linking dietary acrylamide from air frying to cancer in humans, and following proper cooking guidelines can further minimize risk.

Generally, air frying is healthier because it requires far less oil. The healthiness of pan-frying depends entirely on the amount and type of oil used. It is easy to add too much oil when pan-frying, increasing fat and calorie content.

The air fryer is designed specifically for this purpose, using convection heat to achieve a satisfyingly crispy, brown exterior with minimal oil. A high-heat oven can also provide a similar result, especially for roasted foods.

Air fryers generally pose fewer safety risks than deep-frying on a stove, as they don't involve a large vat of hot, splattering oil. As long as instructions are followed, an air fryer is a safer alternative for preparing 'fried' foods.