2020 and 2021 are the year of the air fryer, and today we’re talking about 30 of the best healthy air fryer recipes under 500 calories per serving! Your air fryer is a powerhouse for cooking fast, healthy, and delicious meals with TONS recipes you can try out.
What Is An Air Fryer?
I don’t know if anyone truly understands the science behind the air fryer, but we’re going with it. Essentially, the air fryer is air heated to high temperatures in a small space, causing the pressure inside the air fryer to rise, and cook your food faster, and make them crispy and delicious.
In many cases, the air fryer can replace the traditional pot and oil deep frying method and cut down drastically on the amount of oil used for cooking. Overall, this allows your food to be healthier and a lot safer to cook because you’re not dealing with high-temperature oil that can leave you burned!
Healthy Air Fryer Recipes
When it comes to healthy air fryer recipes, I looked for a few things on my quest to find the best healthy air fryer recipes. First, I stayed away from the chicken wings, burgers, and regular fries. Instead, I found recipes like fried tofu, zucchini coins, cauliflower buffalo wings, and a healthier blooming onion.
I’ve also found must-try southwest egg rolls, chicken fajita, and Caprese chicken the whole family will love! All the recipes I’ve found are under 500 calories per serving, and of course, because they’re made with an air fryer, they have less fat than if you were to do them deep-fried!
Want to learn more about any of the recipes? Click the recipe title link or photo to head over to the author’s website page! You can find the author of each recipe listed below the image, so make sure to give them full recognition for all their hard work.
Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Tenders
Recipe & Photo By Your Healthy Beginning
Number of Servings: 10 Tenders
Total Time: 20 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 10
Nutrition: Calories: 135 Fat: 4g Carbs: 14g Protein: 10g
Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp
Recipe & Photo By Your Healthy Beginning
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 20 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 10
Nutrition: Calories: 344 Fat: 16g Carbs: 39g Protein: 12g
Air Fryer Spring Rolls
Recipe & Photo By Your Healthy Beginning
Number of Servings: 8
Total Time: 60 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 10
Nutrition: Calories: 188 Fat: 5g Carbs: 31g Protein: 8g
Air Fryer Onion Rings
Recipe & Photo By Your Healthy Beginning
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 50 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 7
Nutrition: Calories: 211 Fat: 4g Carbs: 34g Protein: 8g
Air Fryer Zucchini Sticks
Recipe & Photo By Your Healthy Beginning
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 60-70 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 9
Nutrition: Calories: 214.75 Fat: 4g Carbs: 33.25g Protein: 9.25g
Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts
Recipe & Photo By Your Healthy Beginning
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time:27 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 5
Nutrition: Calories: 68 Fat: 5g Carbs: 4g Protein: 1g
Air Fryer Tofu
Recipe & Photo By Well Plated
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 35 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 9
Nutrition: Calories: 96 Fats: 4g Carbs: 9g Protein: 7g
Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
Recipe & Photo By Your Healthy Beginning
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 60 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 5
Nutrition: Calories: 150 Fat: 9.3g Carbs: 16.6g Protein: 1.3g
Sriracha Cauliflower Apps
Recipe & Photo By 730 Sage Street
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 3
Nutrition: Calories: 197 Fats: 21g Carbs: 1g Protein: 0g
Air Fryer Asparagus
Recipe & Photo By Your Healthy Beginning
Number of Servings: 2
Total Time: 15 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 5
Nutrition: Calories: 105 Fat: 6.7g Carbs: 8.5g Protein: 5g
Fried Zucchini Coins
Recipe & Photo By Savory Tooth
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 25 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 10
Nutrition: Calories: 130 Fats: 9g Carbs: 2g Protein: 7g
Air Fryer Dino Nuggets
Recipe & Photo By Your Healthy Beginning
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 2 hours
Number of Ingredients: 11
Nutrition: Calories: 278 Fat: 14g Carbs: 14.7g Protein: 20g
Turkey Burgers
Recipe & Photo By Courtney Sweets
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 21 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 8
Nutrition: Calories: 209 Fats: 9g Carbs: 2g Protein: 31g
Southwest Egg Rolls
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 42 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 18
Nutrition: Calories: 508 Fats: 27g Carbs: 37g Protein: 33g ( a few calories high, but you’ll be fine)
Air Fryer Mushrooms
Recipe & Photo By Sweet Peas & Saffron
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 52 Minutes (includes 30 minutes of marinade time)
Number of Ingredients: 3
Nutrition: Calories: 59 Fats: 4g Carbs: 4g Protein: 4g
Air Fryer Honey Lime Shrimp
Recipe & Photo By Sweet Peas & Saffron
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 40 Minutes (includes 30 minutes of marinade time)
Number of Ingredients: 6+
Nutrition: Calories: 187 Fats: 7g Carbs: 7g Protein: 23g
Air Fryer Stuffed Caprese Chicken
Recipe & Photo By Peanut Butter & Fitness
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 42 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 8
Nutrition: Calories: 356 Fats: 14g Carbs: 9g Protein: 44g
Air Fryer Cauliflower with Lemon-Garlic Aioli
Recipe & Photo By 40 Aprons
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 22 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 9
Nutrition: Calories: 148 Fats: 13g Carbs: 6g Protein: 2g
Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Recipe & Photo By Life Made Sweeter
Number of Servings: 6
Total Time: 40 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 8
Nutrition: Calories: 165 Fats: 14g Carbs: 8g Protein: 5g
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Pizza Slices
Recipe & Photo By Slimming Eats
Number of Servings: 2
Total Time: 40 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 12
Nutrition: Calories: 379 Fats: 9g Carbs: 59g Protein: 15g
Vegan Parmesan & Herbs Polenta Fries
Recipe & Photo By Minimalist Baker
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 50 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 4
Nutrition: Calories: 286 Fats: 14g Carbs: 34g Protein: 5g
Air Fryer Orange Chicken
Recipe & Photo By Spoonful of Flavor
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 25 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 11
Nutrition: Calories: 305 Fats: 9g Carbs: 21g Protein: 33g
Baked Sweet Potato Cauliflower Patties
Recipe & Photo By Cotter Crunch
Number of Servings: 7
Total Time: 35 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 13
Nutrition: Calories: 85 Fats: 2g Carbs: 9g Protein: 2g
Air Fryer Chicken Breast
Recipe & Photo By Yellow Bliss Road
Number of Servings: 6
Total Time: 20 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 7
Nutrition: Calories: 216 Fats: 9g Carbs: 1g Protein: 32g
Chicken Fajita
Recipe & Photo By Whole Kitchen Sink
Number of Servings: 2-3
Total Time: 25 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 6
Nutrition: Not Specified
Chicken Paresman Meatballs
Recipe & Photo By The Bettered Blondie
Number of Servings: Not Specified
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 9
Nutrition: Calories: 102 Fats: 8g Carbs: 2g Protein: 15g
Stuffed Peppers
Recipe & Photo By What Molly Made
Number of Servings: 6
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 12
Nutrition: Calories: 403 Fats: 15g Carbs: 39g Protein: 26g
Stuffed Zucchini
Recipe & Photo By Cooking LSL
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 14
Nutrition: Calories: 231 Fats: 10g Carbs: 7g Protein:13g
Italian Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps
Recipe & Photo By Jennifer Banz
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 22 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 10
Nutrition: Calories: 416 Fats: 36g Carbs: 6g Protein: 20g
Achari Aloo Tikka (Tandoori Potato Appetizer)
Recipe & Photo By Carve Your Craving
Number of Servings: 6
Total Time: 45 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 15
Nutrition: Calories: 137 Fats: 5g Carbs: 21g Protein: 4g
Air Fryer Blooming Onion
Recipe & Photo By Plated Cravings
Number of Servings: 6
Total Time: 35 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 8
Nutrition: Calories: 140 Fats: 6g Carbs: 16g Protein: 3g
Crispy Air Fryer Eggplant
Recipe & Photo By Running to the Kitchen
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 38 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 8
Nutrition: Calories: 140 Fats: 6g Carbs: 16g Protein: 3g
Air Fryer Granola (yes you can)
Recipe & Photo By Cook It Real Good
Number of Servings: 4
Total Time: 15 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 7
Nutrition: Calories: 293 Fats: 17g Carbs: 31g Protein: 6g
Air Fried Salmon
Recipe & Photo By Sailor Bailey
Number of Servings: 2
Total Time: 14 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 5
Nutrition: Not Specified
Air Fryer Shrimp Taco Bowl
Recipe & Photo By Good Noms Honey
Number of Servings: 8
Total Time: 70 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 12
Nutrition: Calories: 198 Fats: 8g Carbs: 8g Protein: 14g
Air Fryer Caramelized Bananas
Recipe & Photo By Okonomi Kitchen
Number of Servings: 2
Total Time: 7 Minutes
Number of Ingredients: 4
Nutrition: Not Specified
