Eating fried foods is a guilty pleasure that we all have in life! However, frying is not the healthiest way to cook food. There are ways to make the food you love taste great while not slathering them in grease! Here are a few methods for you to try if you find that you are reaching for the deep fat fryer after a long day.
How to Make Fried Foods Healthier
Change Your Cooking Oil
Do you like to cook your food in corn oil, sunflower oil, or vegetable oil? You may want to make a change to olive oil to fry your foods. While olive oil has many health benefits, it is actually more stable at high temperatures when compared to its other oil counterparts. This means you can use it for longer in the fryer while still maintaining the nutritional values of the food. The best olive oils to use is Virgin or Extra Virgin olive oil.
Change Your Frying Device
Instead of using a deep fat fryer, you could shallow fry your foods. You’ll use less oil. Another option would be to use an air fryer. An air fryer works by circulating hot air around the food by coating the surface of the food in a thin layer of oil. You only have to use a small percentage of oil in comparison to your normal frying methods. The trick is to get a quality air fryer as many brands don’t deliver on taste. Be sure you get one that gives you that crispย fried feel to your meals.
Change Your Batter
If you are a big lover of fried chicken or a nice battered cod you know the importance of having a good batter for a great tasting meal. If you make a clever swap from normal flour to gluten free, this will absorb less grease. The gluten in flour helps stick to food well meaning it will absorb more oil.
Use Carbonation
This is another way to improve the quality of fried foods. If you use a carbonated liquid like club soda/fizzy water or baking soda in the batter, this is a way to release gas bubbles which will reduce the amount of oil that’s absorbed into your food. So if you combine this with the gluten free flour it’s a better way to be a bit more healthy in your fried meals.
Is Your Oil Temperature Just Right?
This is something that a lot of people overlook when they’re trying to make a fried meal that is healthy. You need to make sure that the oil temperature is between 325ยฐ F to 400ยฐ F.
If your oil isn’t hot enough, the food won’t cook as fast as normal. This gives it more chance to soak up oil. If you fry at too high a temperature, your oil will burn or smoke, which doesn’t make your meal taste good at all!
There are many different options to the dry frying method, so try one of these methods and see if it improves your overall health and quality of your foods.
20 comments
Fried foods generally don’t sit well with me, so I am going to have to try these methods if I want something fried. Thanks for the great tips.
It’s only in recent years that I stopped frying everything, I do like using extra virgin olive oil for when I need to fry my sweet potato fries
French fries are my guilty pleasure but I always feel so bad after eating them because I know they are so horrible for me. Thanks for these healthy cheats!
I have actually never fried anything myself. I voice been interested in maybe getting the air fryer it’s a good thing to know that you need a good quality one to get good flavor.
I’ve never thought about frying stuff in extra virgin olive oil but it is a great idea! It’s a whole lot healthier for you than vegetable oil. I am very interested in trying it.
I never knew why hubby adds carbonation to some of his batters until reading your post. It’s because it helps reduce the oils in the fried foods. Talk about an AHA moment. *smacks forehead*
These are some great tips. Haven’t tried an Air Fryer but I’ve heard great things about them. Didn’t know that you have to get a good one in order for things to taste right.
Well I think you just changed my life cause I love just about any and everything fried. I think most food tastes better fried! You’ve also inspired me to try carbonation. It’s been on my food experiment list ๐
These are some great tips, it is amazing how just changing a few little things can make something just a little more healthier.
I am so glad to see a post like this! I heard a long time ago that fried foods weren’t necessarily bad for you, but it’s the way you fried them. Oil temperature is everything! I love the idea of gluten free flour, I’m gonna grab a bag just for frying!
Changing out the oil and cleaning the device is a big step toward taste and making fried food better.
We eat fried foods maybe one per month if that. These are great tips.
Carbonation is a great way to add not only flavor but a little extra something to foods. I love all these ideas for fried foods made healthier. I’ll be trying a few of them.
We haven’t deep fried food for a long time in our home. More often, we stir fry. I have been hearing a lot about air fryers lately. They sound very interesting and a better way to cook.
I had no idea that seltzer would reduce the amount of oil absorbed by the food. That is wonderful news. I am always trying to make smart food choices and these are great tips.
I don’t have an air fryer. I think I do need to get one since my family loves fried food. They would eat fried anything! Thanks for the tip of keeping the oil heated up to a certain temperature. That really makes sense.
I was looking at air fryers at the store the other day. I love fried foods but avoid them because of health issues. I’ll have to give it a try!
I just started figuring these things out a few months ago. Changing the type of oil I used was the first thing I did and it made a huge difference!
I often use club soda to make my batters and it does really make a difference. They food comes out less greasy and crunchier.
I didn’t realize that it was possible to make fried foods healthier. lol This is great information to keep in my back hip pocket.