The Best Non-Toxic Air Fryers
Follow Clean Mindful Living On Social Media
*Please note that as an Amazon Associate and an associate of other companies, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. I appreciate your support! Click here to see the full affiliate disclosure.
Who doesn’t love fried food? It’s so delicious, but I try to avoid it as much as I can. Fried foods that are cooked in oils can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and they can also increase inflammation in your body. The good news is that you can still get that great taste of fried food without harming your body by using a non-toxic air fryer.
What Are The Negative Effects of Air Fryers?
There are 3 things to think about when using air fryers. One is per- and polyfluorinated compounds (also known as PFAS). PFAS are manufactured chemicals that break down very slowly. Because of this, they tend to build up in our bodies over time and cause negative health effects. Unfortunately, PFAs are found in many things in our environment like food packaging, non-stick cookware, drinking water, and water-resistant clothing, carpets, and furniture.
Some air fryers are coated with PFAS so they are easier to clean and have a non-stick feature. PFAS can then get into our food and cause health issues like developmental delays in children, infertility issues, cancer, immunotoxicity, increased cholesterol, and increased risk of obesity. They can also be hormone disruptors (source).
The second negative effect can be the formation of acrylamide. Acrylamide is classified as a probable human carcinogen and is formed when foods are heated above 250 degrees F. Not only can acrylamide be formed with air fryers, but it can also form with baking, roasting, and frying as well.
Foods that are high in carbohydrates like potatoes, french fries, and baked goods have the highest levels of acrylamide while meats and veggies have smaller amounts. Foods that are blackened or have a toasted appearance have higher amounts of acrylamide. (Source) How do you decrease acrylamide formation? Don’t overcook your food (try not to get that blackened effect) and soak your potatoes before cooking. Soaking raw potato slices in water for 15-30 minutes before cooking helps reduce acrylamide formation (source 1, source 2).
The third thing to think about is cooking fish in an air fryer. When cooking fish in an air fryer, the levels of cholesterol oxidation products (COP) can increase which can lead to cancer, heart disease, and other health issues. Research shows that you can add parsley or chives (or a mixture of the two) to fish before cooking and it will decrease the levels of COPs (source). Another thing you can do is avoid cooking fish in an air fryer!
What Are The Benefits of Air Fryers?
Because air fryers use a fan to blow hot air around your food, they use less oil than regular frying. You can get the same great taste of fried foods without clogging your arteries. Compared to regular frying, air frying is more heart-healthy and can be a very safe way to cook as long as you season your fish with parsley or chives, choose a non-toxic, PFA-free air fryer, and don’t overcook your food. It can also be more convenient and can require less cleanup.
The air fryers that are listed below are not only free of PFAs, but also have additional functions like baking, broiling, and roasting. In addition, some even have more capabilities like making yogurt, dehydrating, pressure cooking, steaming, slow cooking, and more. Check out my list below of the best non-toxic air fryers that are free from harmful PFAS!
1. Instant Pot Duo Crisp Ultimate Lid, 13-in-1 Air Fryer and Pressure Cooker Combo
This non-toxic air fryer does not contain PFAS. The inner pot that touches the food is stainless steel and even the inside of the cover is stainless steel. In addition, it combines 13 cooking functions in one oven. These functions include air fryer, pressure cooker, sauté, slow cook, steam, warm, roast, bake, broil, dehydrate, yogurt, sous vide, and bread proofing. This safe air fryer has step-by-step cooking instructions on a large LCD display to help make cooking easier. I don’t own an air fryer at the moment, but if I decide to get one, this one would definitely be in the running.
2. Gourmia GTF7350 6-in-1 Multi-function, Stainless Steel Air Fryer Oven
In my non-toxic groups, many people were asking the question, “Is Gourmia air fryer safe?” The answer is yes! Well, except for the aluminum baking tray. I would recommend either using a glass dish or buying a small stainless steel cooking tray from Amazon since you don’t want aluminum in your food.
This safe air fryer is stainless steel and is free of PFAS. I emailed the company to make sure it was PFA-free. It fits an entire 12″ pizza or 6 slices of toast and has 6 functions: air fry, bake, warm, broil, bagel, or toast. It also comes with adjustable toast shades, time, and temperature.
3. Big Boss 16Qt Glass Air Fryer Oven
This safe and non-toxic air fryer is not only an air fryer. It has many functions. With a wide temperature range from 180℉ to 400℉, this large PFA-free air fryer allows you to air fry, bake, grill, roast, and toast. It circulates hot air around food to cook your meals faster with its powerful built-in fan and 360° air convection system. It includes adjustable time and temperature control, and it even includes a cookbook with 50 recipes. It’s a large enough air fryer to cook for 3-6 people, is 16-quart, and can easily fit a whole chicken.
4. Nutrichef Convection Countertop Toaster Oven – Healthy Kitchen Glass Air Fryer
With this non-toxic air fryer, you can cook, bake, grill, steam broil, roast & air fry. This 18-quart air fryer is small enough to fit on your countertop, but large enough to cook meals for the whole family. It works to cook food faster with a built-in fan and it comes with two wire cooking racks and plate tongs. It’s PFA-free and safe!
5. Nuwave Bravo Air Fryer Toaster Smart Oven Stainless Steel
This non-toxic air fryer is made of stainless steel and aluminum. The only aluminum surfaces are the crumb tray and the inner walls. If your food isn’t touching the inner walls, this air fryer is still a great choice. You will also have to get rid of the grill/griddle plate coated with PTFE, but the racks, the baking pan, and the air fryer basket are free of PFAS and aluminum. You’ll know which one is the toxic grill/griddle plate. It’s black and looks like it’s coated with PTFE. Just to clarify, PTFE is a PFA and is also known as Teflon.
This safe air fryer has four different rack positions and has 12 preset cooking functions for grilling, air frying, baking, broiling, roasting, dehydrating, reheating, defrosting, toasting, and more. It also has top and bottom heater adjustments. For instance, if you’d like a crispier crust on a pizza, increase the heat at the bottom of the oven. It has a wide range of temperature control (50°-500°F) and 100 pre-programmed recipe pre-sets in addition to 50 slots where you can save and recall your own favorite recipes.
6. Fritaire Self-Cleaning Air Fryer 5 Quart with 360 Visibility, Non-Toxic, BPA-Free, 6-in-1 Functions
This non-toxic air fryer’s glass bowl is BPA-free, Teflon-free, plastic-free, and phthalate-free. It has 6-in-1 cooking functions. You can cook the perfect steak, chicken, seafood, french fries, or toast. In addition, you can use it as a dehydrator or even use it to bake a cake. This safe air fryer is also self-cleaning. Simply fill the glass bowl with soapy water and let the hot air stream circulator rinse it out from the inside.
Final Thoughts on Non-Toxic Air Fryers….
Air frying can be a great way to cook food if you use a safe air fryer and take the precautions listed above. Our environment is full of toxins and it’s impossible to avoid every toxin in our lives, however choosing a non-toxic air fryer is something easy to do! Every non-toxic choice helps to protect our bodies and helps lead us down the path of a healthier life.
Are you also interested in switching over to non-toxic personal care products like deodorant, shampoo, hand soap, body wash, sunscreens, or face moisturizers/night creams? Click the hyperlink above to see more articles!
