Avocado oil is one of the healthiest oils you can use, but can you use it in the air fryer? Is avocado spray a good choice for air frying, or are there better options when you want to give vegetables a sheen of oil before cooking? At what point will avocado oil and other oils smoke when heated in your air fryer?
We’ll answer those and other air-frying questions so you can get the best results from your air fryer. Read on to get all the information you need on avocado oil, its health benefits, and whether it can be used in your new favorite countertop appliance.
An air fryer is a countertop convection oven that cooks food by circulating heated air. Air frying gives food a crispy texture without all the fat and calories of frying. These handy appliances are also great for reheating chosen food leftovers such as empanadas. Buy an air fryer, and you will find it’s indispensable for making delicious recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
A standard air fryer
Air fryers may seem like an oil-free cooking option, but avid air-fryer chefs get the best results when adding a spritz of oil to food. The oil is needed to crisp the exterior of the food to a golden brown and keeps food moist while air frying.
Air frying with a bit of healthy oil is a far healthier option than cooking food in a pot full of boiling oil. Choosing a healthy oil to spray on meats and vegetables is the best way to add flavor to your recipes.
Not every oil option can handle high temperatures without smoking and scorching. Since air fryers cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, not every oil is a good choice for air frying.
Avocado oil is a relatively healthy oil choice
The good news is that avocado oil spray is an excellent choice for air frying your favorite foods. The smoke point of avocado oil is as high as 450 degrees Fahrenheit, so it can take air-frying temperatures without breaking down or burning. Avocado oil will give your foods a crispy texture and beautiful color.
Don’t think that avocado oil will leave all your food tasting like guacamole. This oil has a neutral flavor that doesn’t add or detract from your food. Avocado oil just adds a crispy texture and golden color to air-fried foods plus all its health benefits.
Air frying and avocado oil, with its health benefits, neutral flavor, and high smoke point, are a perfect match. Giving your favorite foods a light coating of avocado oil before air frying will keep them from sticking and give them a golden brown, crispy texture.
Making avocado fries in an air fryer - the tray can be prepped with avocado oil to prevent sticking.
While it is one of the more expensive oil options for air frying, avocado oil is used sparingly when spritzed onto meats, seafood, and vegetables. A little avocado oil goes a long way. The health benefits, neutral flavor, and performance of avocado oil in air frying make it worth the price.
Spray vegetable oil can be used in an air fryer to keep food from sticking and to add a crispy exterior to your favorite air-fryer foods. However, it’s best to use a mister for spraying since non-stick cooking sprays can cause the baskets of air fryers to flake and chip.
Invest in an oil mister and fill it with your favorite cooking oil to mist on foods and to ensure they come out of the air fryer easily without sticking to the basket or tray. Filling an oil mister will also be healthier since it won’t contain propellants or other ingredients such as emulsifiers, food-grade alcohol, or nitrous oxide.
Avocado oil can be used as a healthy substitute for cooking spray in most cases. It may not be a good choice for greasing and dusting pans for baking since the flour may not stick to them.
A plus of using avocado oil as a cooking spray when sautéing vegetables or scrambling eggs is that it doesn’t have a flavor of its own. The neutral taste of avocado oil lets the flavor of your favorite foods shine through.
Keep in mind that avocado oil is one of the more expensive cooking oils, so you may want to use it sparingly. Still, plenty of home air fryer chefs think avocado oil is worth every penny.
Avocado oil is made from avocado fruits. First, avocado oil manufacturers remove the avocados’ pits and skins. Then the fruit is pressed. By pressing the avocados and then spinning them in a centrifuge, the avocado oil is separated from the avocado pulp.
3 things you may not have known about avocado oil
Just because you can spray non-stick cooking spray directly on foods when air frying doesn’t mean you should. Filling an oil mister with avocado oil or another oil option is a healthier choice since your oil will only have one ingredient instead of the added ingredients and propellants of non-stick cooking sprays.
Your air fryer basket will stay in better shape if you keep away from non-stick cooking sprays. These sprays will make non-stick coatings of air fryer baskets chip and flake over time. Nobody wants their air fryer baskets to deteriorate or for the non-stick coating to flake off on food.
While an oil mister will make spraying on avocado oil or other oil choices easier, you don’t have to use an oil mister when air frying. Instead, place your meat or vegetables in a bowl and pour enough avocado oil in to give the food a light coating. A few teaspoons should suffice. Stir to coat all pieces evenly and air fry for great results.
You can also brush oil over meats and vegetables. Using a brush may coat larger pieces of meats such as salmon steaks or chicken breasts more evenly before air frying than an oil mister. A barbecue brush or pastry brush will work well in spreading avocado oil evenly.
Avocado oil is among the healthiest oils you can choose. The advantages of using avocado oil in cooking include these benefits:
While avocado oil is a healthy choice for air frying, it’s not the only option you have. Here are other oils that can coat foods for air frying along with their smoke points. Knowing the smoke points of oil will help you choose the right one for the temperature and air fryer recipe.
Olive oil gives foods a wonderful, slightly fruity flavor, but watch its smoke point. Extra virgin olive oil smokes at 325 degrees, so it is not best for air-frying at high temperatures. Leave the extra virgin olive oil for sautéing and salads and choose an extra light olive oil for air frying since it has a higher smoke point.
Praised for health benefits, coconut oil is mostly saturated fat. Use it for air frying only if you keep the temperature to 350 degrees or less since coconut oil scorches at higher temperatures.
Another oil that can stand up to high temperatures without burning is grapeseed oil. This healthy oil that comes from the seeds of grapes has a smoke point of 420 degrees.
Known for its results when deep fat frying, a light coating of peanut oil will give foods a crispy texture when air frying, too. Its smoke point is 450 degrees, so it can easily withstand air-frying temperatures.
Ghee, or clarified butter, gives foods a delicious buttery taste. Ghee doesn’t burn like butter in an air fryer since its smoke point is 450 degrees, 100 degrees higher than the smoke point of butter.
Walnut oil is also a healthy choice for air frying, and it has a high smoke point of 450. It does have a strong, nutty flavor, though, so consider that when pairing it with recipes.
