From weeknight dinners to leftovers, air fryers have reshaped how families cook and save at home.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — What started as a popular kitchen trend has evolved into a household essential, with air fryers now found in 7 out of 10 American homes. While most people use it for the same handful of things — fries, chicken nuggets, maybe reheating last night’s pizza — new consumer research from the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) highlights that nine in ten air fryer owners say they’d like to learn more ways to use it.
That gap — between what the appliance can do and what most people actually do with it — turns out to be costing households more than they realize. Not just in untapped convenience, but in real grocery spending, food waste, and weeknight stress.
Here’s what frequent air fryer users know that occasional ones don’t.
Dinner isn’t the only opportunity — it’s just the most obvious one
Most occasional users reach for the air fryer at dinnertime—and stop there. Frequent users, however, treat it as an all-day appliance.
They use it for breakfast and morning snacks, quick lunches (especially among the 25% of full-time workers who are fully home-based and need something faster than a sandwich or delivery), after-school snacks for kids, and evening bites that don’t require turning on the oven.
The frozen food aisle has answers for all these occasions — quick proteins, breakfast items, sides and snacks that cook in minutes and taste good coming out of the air fryer. Most people just haven’t made that connection yet, partly because only about a third of frozen and refrigerated products currently include air fryer instructions on the package.
It’s also just cheaper — and that matters more right now
Home-cooked meals average $1.94 per eating occasion. Restaurant meals average $8.41. That $6.47 gap has grown by more than a dollar since 2019, and with nearly 9 in 10 consumers concerned about grocery and restaurant prices, more households are choosing to stay in.
The air fryer makes that easier to sustain. It heats up faster than an oven, uses less energy, and produces results people actually want to eat — which means fewer nights where “cooking at home” ends in a last-minute takeout order because nothing sounded appealing.
Sixty-five percent of users say it’s faster than their oven, and 93% consider it energy-efficient. Those aren’t minor perks—they’re meaningful advantages when you’re trying to make home cooking a regular habit, not just an occasional effort.
Where to start
For people who want to use their air fryer more but aren’t sure where to begin, frequent users point to a few consistent starting points: look for frozen and refrigerated products that include air fryer directions on the box, check recipe sites and YouTube for quick tutorials, and think beyond dinner.
The foods that work best — and that frequent users come back to most — are frozen potato products, snacks and appetizers, fresh proteins, and frozen meals. Chicken wings and French fries are the most searched air fryer recipes for a reason. But the appliance handles breakfast items, baked goods, and quick lunch solutions just as well, and those are the occasions most people haven’t explored yet.
Air fryers are capable of far more than people typically use them for. The barrier isn’t the appliance—it’s simply not knowing where to start.
Ready to put your air fryer to work? Visit Your Kitchen’s BFF at EasyHomeMeals.com for easy air fryer recipes, meal inspiration, and a chance to win a Typhur Sync Air Fryer through the Easy Home Meals Instagram giveaway.
About National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA)
NFRA is a non-profit trade association representing all segments of the frozen and refrigerated foods industry. NFRA sponsors national promotions ReDiscover Dairy & Frozen (January), March Frozen Food Month, June Dairy Month, and Summer Favorites Ice Cream & Novelties (June/July); and provides consumer information such as lifestyle content, meal preparation tips, recipes and sweepstakes opportunities through its Easy Home Meals consumer website and social media properties. To learn more, visit nfraweb.org and easyhomemeals.com.
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SOURCE National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association
