The Best Non Toxic Air Fryer Options of 2023
Air Fryers are the best! They give you the ability to get that deep fried crunch that you would get by deep frying without the deep frying oil. That means less calories and less cholesterol and an overall healthier version of your favorite crispy recipes. I love to cook homemade French fries and breaded chicken in my air fryer. Chicken wings also turn out awesome in the air fryer! I even use it to heat up left overs like pizza and breadsticks.
But, unfortunately a lot of air fryers are made with plastic…. And plastic has a bad reputation these days, especially when heated to cooking temperatures, so we’ve compiled a list of our favorite non toxic air fryer options.
What are we looking to avoid when looking for a safe air fryer?
We want to avoid PFTE, PFOA and BPA chemicals. We also want to avoid teflon. Remember when all our cooking pans were coated with non-stick teflon a few years back? Well, it’s since been found that as teflon breaks down, it’s also not so good for us, so our list includes all Teflon Free Air Fryers.
There are many articles out there on the affect of plastic on not only our environment, but also our bodies. I’ve been trying to eliminate as much plastic as I can from my families lives. Once you try to reduce it, you will realize how much of it you actually use. I know it will be a several year effort to try to clean up the way we cook, eat, clean, store and live, but I’m up for the challenge, and I’m happy to share all my research along the way in hopes of helping you too.
What is Teflon?
Many non-stick coatings for cooking items today are manufactured from Teflon. Teflon is suitable for use in packaging, textiles and furniture, but can become toxic when used for cooking. Teflon breaks down as it rises above 500 degrees (260 degrees Celsius), causing toxins to be released into food and the air. All of the Air Fryers we recommend are Teflon free.
What is PTFE?
PTFE is the acronyms for Polytetrafluoroethylene.
It is a synthetic resin produced by the polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene.
It’s known by many trademarks such as Polyflon, Teflon, Fluor and others.
It is often used as a nonstick coating in cookware among other uses.
It has been found that PTFE can be harmful when it breaks down at high temperatures. There is many studies on this topic and far too much information available to put into this article, but if you would like more information on this topic, this polytetrafluoroethylene article https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/polytetrafluoroethyleneis a great starting point
What are PFA’s?
Since the 1960’s, the FDA has authorized specific PFAS for use in specific food contact applications. Some PFAS are used in cookware and in food appliances for their non-stick properties. Additional information from the FDA regarding PFA’s in food use is available here.
https://www.fda.gov/food/process-contaminants-food/authorized-uses-pfas-food-contact-applications
Modern research has indicated that PFA exposure can be harmful to human health. Research is still ongoing on this topic and more information on the effects of PFA on humans be found here:
Our favorite non toxic air fryers
Please note that the information we provide on the air fryers we review in this article come from several sources. We researched each model on the companies website that makes the model as well as in forums and via the support organizations of each company. The information in this article is accurate to the best of our knowledge, but we will continuously update this article with any additional information found. If you have additional or conflicting information on any model in this article please reach out to us so we can add that information. This article is intended to help you make a decision on the safest air fryer to use at home, but all information should always be verified upon purchase as models change quickly in this space.
Are Air Fryers Safe to use?
Philips Premium Air Fryer XXL has a reputation for being the greatest air fry machine with no tflon. Its 7 liter capacities make it ideally suited for cooking for families. A digital touchscreen offers programmable temperature settings and a temperature control, allowing easy and precise cooking.
Are Air Fryers Healthy?
This article lists the safest air fryers we have found.
Air Frying your food is considered much healthier than deep frying.
The concept of the air fryer is to give you that same crunch that you get from a deep fryer but without using the deep fryer. Deep Fryers typically use unhealthy oils, heated to a very high temperature to cook your food. Heating the oil to that high of a temperature has been shown to not be healthy. The cooking oils used are usually not the healthiest oils and full of saturated fat. Cooking your food completely submerged in oil whether a healthy oil or not adds a lot of fat and calories.
Air Fryers are able to cook your food by blowing hot air all the way around the food. Typically air fryers use a basket with grates that allows the air to circulate around the food. The cooking method is similar to the way a convection oven cooks food. This allows the food to get crispy on the outside and remain moist and juicy on the inside.
Cooking without submerging the food in the oil significantly reduces the fat and calories in your foods like French fries and breaded chicken.
Do all air fryers expose you to acrylamide?
What is acrylamide?
This definition comes from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Acrylamide is a chemical that is used in the manufacturing of many industrial products such as paper. Acrylamide can also be formed when certain foods are cooked at high temperatures, notably potatoes and some grains. French fries and potato chips have measurable amounts of acrylamide in them. Acrylamide is also found in cigarette smoke among other things.
You can learn all about Acrylamide in this great article from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/acrylamide/index.
Air fryers themselves do not contain acrylamide, it is a created by a chemical reaction that happens when cooking certain foods at very high temperatures.
To reduce your exposure from food to Acrylamide from your air fryer, you should fry your food at no higher than a temperature of 338 degrees Fahrenheit
More information on acrylamide can found on the FDA website: https://www.fda.gov/food/process-contaminants-food/acrylamide
Do all air fryers have a Prop 65 warning?
No, not all air fryers have the prop 65 warning, however they all should have the Acrylamide warning which you can read about in the section above.
I think this warning is a little deceiving because it’s not the device that holds the warning, it’s really the cooking of certain foods at a high temperature that carries the warning. So, the issue would be there even if you were cooking those foods in your oven at a high temperature. Ovens are generally considered safe so it would be interesting to see if new ovens also carry this same warning.
If you want to avoid exposure to Acrylamide then you should not cook potatoes in your air fryer or any kitchen appliance small or large at a temperature higher than 338 degrees Fahrenheit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the safest air fryer?
See our list above of the safest air fryers we have found in our research!
What is the non-stick coating on the air fryer?
Every air fryer is made differently. For the exact make up of your air fryer please refer to the manufacturers documentation on your model. An overview of the models we researched is above
Do all air fryers have PFAS?
No, not all air fryers have PFAS. See our list below of the safes air fryers we have found in our research!
Is there an air fryer without Teflon?
Yes, not all air fryers have teflon. See our list above of the safest air fryers we have found in our research!
Are Ninja air fryers BPA and PFOA free?
The ninja air fryers we have researched were not free of BPA or PFOA free. They have many different models, so if you have a specific model you would like us to research and you don’t see it shown here, then please add it to the comments and we will do our best to research it for you.
Is the Instant Vortex Air Fryer Teflon free?
We are actively researching the Instant Vortex Air Fryer models and will post our finding to this article soon.
Are air fryers safer than microwaves?
Airy Fry Technology and Microwave Technology are completely different. We will review both technologies below along with their pros and Cons in a separate article to be published soon!
Classic Cuisine Halogen Tabletop
This in some articles is considered an “Air Fryer”, however it’s based on completely different technology. This model actually cooks your food in a safe glass bowl, but its techonology is slightly different than a traditional air fryer. It uses halogen heat, convection and infrared technologies to cook the food. These units use heat and a fan to blow the heat around the food, but using halogen and infared light to cook.
I also could not find any information on whether this unit is free of toxins at this point in time, but we will do an article on Halogen cooking shortly!
Non Toxic Air Fryers we are Still Researching
Big Boss Air Fryer
Geek chef
Oster
Gourmia air fryer
Hamilton Beach
Nutrichef
Philips
Air Fryers that do contain BPA, PTFE, PFA or toxic chemical Warnings
Cuisinart TOA-70 Air Fryer Toaster Oven Combo
Even though this model is stainless steel and looks safer than the plastic models, it does contain the following chemicals so we have removed it from our list:
This product contains Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Fluorinated Ethylene and Propylene, Perfluoroalkoxy alkane Polymer (PFA)
Ninja AF101 4 quart Air Fryer
the Ninja AF101 air fryer does not state that it is teflon, BPA, PTFE or or PFA free, therefore we do not recommend this model if you are looking for a non toxic air fryer.
Ninja DT201 Foodi Stainless Steel Air Fryer Oven
Although this model is listed on other sites as being non toxic, I was not able to find any information on any non-toxic properties of this air fryer and it does list the prop 365 warning.
This model does get excellent reviews on Amazon, so if your not concerned about purchasing a non-toxic model then the Ninja DT201 is a good choice for you.
Emeril Everyday Air Fryer Collection
The Emeril Everyday collection includes several different air fryer models.
The Emeril website includes a chemical disclosure statement for each model of air fryer. I love this transparency. I didn’t have to go searching to find out what the models were made of. There is a link for each product. These chemical disclosures are all related to the California Prop 365. Due to the chemicals used in the Emeril collection we cannot recommend them as a non toxic air fryer to purchase, but if you are not concerned about this then you should take a look at the Emeril line of air fryers. Many come with a rotisserie spit which is a nice feature to have.
Air Fryers that were listed elsewhere as being non toxic, but we could not find supporting evidence of those claims…
Ninja Max XL Air Fryer
the Ninja AF101 air fryer does not state that it is teflon, BPA, PTFE or or PFA free, therefore we do not recommend this model if you are looking for a non toxic air fryer.