Using an air fryer has become more and more popular as of late. It is not only a lot easier than other cooking methods, but it can also be quicker, more efficient, and a lot less challenging to clean afterward. Chicken wings are a beloved snack worldwide that typically needs to be fried before being eaten. You can use an air fryer for this instead of frying them in oil. But, which method is healthier? How do air fryer chicken wings calories vs fried compare?
Table of Contents
- Are Air Fried Chicken Wings Healthier?
- Are Air Fryers Healthier For Other Similar Snacks?
- Should you Replace your Deep Fryer with an Air Fryer?
- The difference in Calories: Air Fryer Chicken Wings Calories Vs Fried
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings Calories vs Fried – FAQs
Are Air Fried Chicken Wings Healthier?
The most common way chicken wings are cooked is by frying. This is so that they are properly cooked all over and throughout. Raw chicken is unsafe to eat, so this is incredibly important.
When being fried in a pan, chicken wings are typically submerged in oil, or at least half submerged. All this oil helps them evenly cook.
As proven by all chicken wings in existence, this leads to a delicious and crispy outer layer on the wings. When they are covered in batter or seasoning, the frying process makes them insanely crispy. No wonder so many people love them.
So, being fried in a pan certainly leads to good results, but is it healthy?
Well, unfortunately, it is not very healthy at all. It is not inherently unhealthy as nothing is unhealthy as long as it is in moderation. However, when being fried in oil, a lot of the oil stays on the chicken wing. Or gets absorbed by the wings. This increases the number of calories in your chicken wings by a lot. After all, oil is very strong in caloric density.
And this is precisely why air fryers have become such a huge trend. They use nothing except pure heat to consistently cook food all over while doing it entirely evenly.
Frying chicken wings in an air fryer will lead to the same results as a crispy shell or an even cook. Yet it removes all of the calories that are naturally added by the oils. Not only does it remove this, but you also do not have to take the time to heat up the oil or clean afterward.
So the answer is yes, air fryer fried chicken seems to be healthier than deep fried chicken.
While an air fryer might seem like an expensive cooking device, it saves so much time. And money, as you also no longer need to be buying oil only to throw it away after frying a single dish.
Are Air Fryers Healthier For Other Similar Snacks?
While you might assume it would be a one-off chance for your favorite snack to be made healthier, you will be happy to learn that an air fryer can cook a lot of the most popular snacks while still reducing the calories by 70-80%.
There are a lot of foods that need to be fried to be properly cooked and served. Many of them also require you to deep fry them to make sure they are as crispy and as perfect as you would expect them to be. With an air fryer, you can cook all of these foods and more with so much less hassle.
The other foods that an air fryer can help you cook are:
- Hash Browns
- French Toast Sticks
- Bagel Bites
- Curly Fries
- Dehydrated Apples
- Tater Tots
- Potato Chips
- Mozzarella Sticks
- Onion Rings
- Cheese Bites
- Chicken Nuggets
If you are a parent, or an adult that still likes cool snacks, you will be pleased to know that you can also cook dino nuggets in an air fryer. This will help ensure they are healthier and can also be a lot easier for you to do.
Should you Replace your Deep Fryer with an Air Fryer?
If you are thinking about the health benefits and if you should throw away your deep fryer in favor of an air fryer, you will want to put careful consideration into this. There are many pros and cons to both choices. Thoroughly explore them before you make a final decision.
Why you should throw away your deep fryer is quite easy to argue. They are unhealthy and can cost a lot of money and time in the long run. Think about how much time you spend filling it with oil, heating it up, cleaning it, and then repeating the process. On top of that, each time you change the oil you have to pour a lot back into it.
This is definitely expensive over time. Even if you use the most basic cooking oil, it will still be expensive. If you are using something such as peanut oil or virgin olive oil, the price will be insane for just a year of oil.
An air fryer gets rid of this hassle. You have to clean it, obviously. Yet it is a much easier process and does not have to be done all the time. You no longer have to clean oil out of it. After all, cleaning can be a huge pain due to how greasy the oil is.
There are also no wait times anymore. You just turn the air fryer on and it will heat your food consistently without the temperature wavering at all.
While the math is not entirely accurate, I would assume that after a year of owning an air fryer instead of a deep fryer, you will have saved enough money that the air fryer has essentially paid for itself.
Why shouldn’t you get an air fryer? Well, the answer to that question is decided by how much you cook and enjoy your food that is deep fried.
While an air fryer does a very good job. it can never quite compare to the perfect crispiness that a deep fryer delivers. Also, when deep frying you can use different oils for different effects.
Peanut oil is popularly used by the food chain Five Guys to fry their fries. The oil gives them a delicious flavor that no other oil can give them. This cannot be done by using an air fryer.
The difference in Calories: Air Fryer Chicken Wings Calories Vs Fried
You may be thinking that the caloric values may not be too different when an air fryer and a deep fryer are compared. You would be, surprisingly, quite wrong. Oil is known to be unhealthy. But I never really think it gets shown just how many calories are in it.
The average serving of 6 chicken wings has a calorie count of 1200 calories per serving. This will change depending on the batter, seasoning, marinade, and serving size.
However, when these tasty treats are air fried instead, this number drops all the way down to 270 calories. That is an insane difference. It can really make you question just how many calories you intake a week, based solely on oil cooking.
Air Fryer Chicken Wings Calories vs Fried – FAQs
Is air frying healthy?
Air frying is not necessarily healthy or unhealthy because it is all about moderation. However, air frying is certainly a healthier alternative to deep frying as you no longer have oil being absorbed by your food and sometimes doubling the calories in the food.
Are air-fried chicken wings good for weight loss?
If you are trying to lose weight and decide to swap from deep frying your chicken wings to air frying them, then yes this is brilliant for weight loss. When deep frying chicken wings, the meat absorbs some of the oil that it is being cooked in. This can really affect the number of calories in your wings, as it can sometimes double their calories from the oil absorbed alone.
Are wings better in an air fryer or oven?
Wings are better in an air fryer for sure. When in an oven, the heat is mostly coming from the top or the sides, so to perfectly cook chicken wings you would need to turn them over halfway through the cooking process. However, when using an air fryer, the bottom shelf is vented and will allow the air to be properly ventilated around the entire cooking chamber, evenly cooking your chicken wings to perfection.
How many calories does deep frying add?
While it is difficult to give an exact number, deep frying adds a lot of calories to your food. This is because the food will absorb some of the oil it is frying in and this will also mean the calories in the oil are added to the food. Oil is shockingly high in calories and air frying is said to remove about 70-80% of calories from your food.
