If your looking for low calorie air fryer recipes, easy air fryer snacks or air fryer dinner recipes, look no further! These healthy air fryer recipes are a great way to stick to your weight loss goals while eating foods you love. The best part about all of these easy air fryer recipes is that none of them taste like diet food.
LOW CALORIE BAGEL BOMB AIR FRYER RECIPES:
Bagel bombs are one of my favorite low calorie air fryer recipes. This great recipe allows you to stuff them with just about anything!
The Best Breakfast Bagel Bombs – Bacon, Egg & Cheese
Calories / Macros: 127 calories, 15.3g carbs, 3.9g fat, 7.1g protein
I love to make these on Saturday mornings, this easy recipe takes only a few minutes to make and the whole family will love it. There have been over 20 posts in the Lose weight, eat pizza facebook group praising this as their new favorite breakfast recipe.
Easy Big Mac Bites (Burger Bombs with Big Mac Sauce)
Calories / Macros: 97 calories, 13g carbs, 0.75g fat, 7.75g protein
I love a good big mac but what I don’t love is all the excess calories that come with it. This delicious recipe will curb your big mac craving, leave you feeling full and satisfied.
Calories / Macros: 95 Calories: 12.4g carbs, 1.9 fat 6.3g protein
Who does love buffalo chicken everything? This simple recipe is one of my favorites, most of the time I’ll use a store bought buffalo chicken dip to make the cooking process even easier.
LOW CALORIE AIR FRYER APPETIZER RECIPES:
I know, by now you’ve gone through this list going, “none of these can possibly be healthy snacks and there’s absolutely no way these are low calorie / foods I can eat to lose weight”. All I can say is welcome! I spend most of my time coming up with recipes that are high in protein, low in calories, low in fat and things you’ll actually want to chow down on. Think of all of my recipes as a healthier twist on your favorite food.
Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Fries
Calories / Macros: 270 Calories, 55.1g carbs, 2.6g fat, 8.1g protein
Have you ever made french fries in the oven? They take forever, never get crispy, and are just overall blah. One of the best things about air frying is the use of hot air. An air fryer spins hot air all around the food your cooking allowing it to get a nice crispy outer shell that can’t be achieved in the oven.
Calories / Macros: 91 Calories, 9g carbs, 5g fat, 3g protein
This is by far one of my favorite air fryer recipes, The delicious golden brown potato skins, packed with bacon, cheese, and topped with a dash of sour cream is so delicious you might just eat the whole plate. At only 91 calories a potato skin you won’t even have to worry!
Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings
Calories: These chicken wings will range from 80-100 calories per wing.
By air frying these instead of baking them you’ll get extra crispy chicken wings every time. You can even experiment with your own seasoning blends like adding chili powder or garlic powder.
LOW CALORIE AIR FRYER EGG ROLL RECIPES:
Did you know you can make egg rolls at home in the air fryer? They come out super crispy and delicious! Of course you can make classic egg rolls but we like to find tasty ways to change things up here. These air fryer egg rolls have been made so many times with raving reviews and they only require a handful of ingredients you either have on hand or can grab from the grocery store.
Air Fryer / Baked Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls
Calories / Macros: 183 calories, 13g carbs, 6g fat, 17g protein
Jesse and I made these egg rolls as our main course for almost two weeks straight. They are spicy, crunchy and delicious. What more could you want from an egg roll?
Calories / Macros: 110 calories, 13.4g carbs, 1.1 fat, 10.5 protein
Are you sensing a flavor theme here? The flavor theme is that I didn’t gain a whole bunch of weight eating carrots and celery. I gained a whole bunch of weight eating Big Mac’s and Buffalo chicken dip. Recipes like this one help me stay on track and still eat the foods I love. It’s a win for my taste buds and waist line.
LOW CALORIE AIR FRYER DINNER RECIPES:
Most of these meals are air fryer chicken recipes. Why? Chicken is a super lean meat that is low on calories but packs so many grams of protein – keeping you fuller longer.
Raising Canes Recipe – Tenders & Sauce
Calories/ Macros: 83 Calories per chicken tender, 7g carbs, 0.25g fat, 13.5g protein.
This is one of my favorite chicken tenders recipes. I use chicken tenderloin instead of chicken breasts to get the calories low. I also give you my low calorie copy cat raising cane’s sauce in this recipe – it’s so easy to make and it’s 1/2 the calories of what you’ll get at canes.
Healthy Fried Chicken Pasta (using air fryer, low calorie)
Calories / Macros: 388 Calories, 45 g carbs, 6 g fat, 40g protein.
Wait, I can eat pasta while trying to lose weight? I thought I had to be a low carb queen to lose weight. low-carb diets have gotten a lot of press lately because the keto diet became trendy, unfortunately aren’t a sustainable way to lose weight. The only way to lose weigh is by being in a calorie deficit. When you follow a low-carb diet you are cutting out an entire food group (and the one that gives you energy you need to function!) which places you in a calorie deficit. When you come off the diet you’ll begin eating carbs again and gain back the weight you lost. Through a low calorie diet you can create a healthy relationship with food.
Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers
Calories / Macros: 109 calories per chicken crisper, 17.4g carbs, .2g fat, 10.8g protein.
This honey chipotle chicken crisper recipe is a healthier alternative to chilli’s version. This can be made as a main course or as an appetizer. I love to make 4-5 of these for a super filling dinner.
High Protein Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan Pasta
Calories / Macros: 535 Calories, 50g carbs, 15g fat, 60g protein
I know you’re thinking “Kristen over 500 calories?” If I’m on a low calorie diet I can’t have anything higher than 400-calorie mains. Yes you can. Most of the time when you hear low calorie diet you think you immediately need to be eating 1200 calories a day. 90% of people do not need to be eating that low of calories. By using a TDEE calculator like quicktdee you can find how many calories you need to consume to lose weight.
Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets ( Low Calorie, No Egg, No Flour )
Calories / Macros: 247 Calories, 10g carbs, 4g fat, 46g protein
If you don’t want all the pasta and sauce in the above recipe you can just make these chicken cutlets. I use a large whole chicken breast in this recipe, you can make this with a dipping sauce or sprinkle some lemon juice on top. Serve this great dinner option with green beans, cauliflower rice, zucchini fries, brussels sprouts or any other fresh veggies or side dishes you love.
TWO INGREDIENT DOUGH AIR FRYER RECIPES
Calories / Macros: 158 Calories, 29g Carbs, .5g fat, 8g protein.
The bagel bomb recipes use two ingredient dough also known as weight watchers dough as the base of the recipes. Don’t feel like making bagel bombs? Don’t want to waste almost 300 calories on a bagel? This recipe is your new go to. Low calorie and 8g of protein to keep you full!
FAQ
The best air fryer is going to depend largely on what your family needs are, before purchasing a new air fryer I would ask myself some of the following questions:
How many people am I cooking for? If the answer is an entire dinner party of people, the best option for you is going to be an air fryer with a large basket or a duel basket. If you’re cooking for one a single-basket air fryer will do just fine.
How much counter space do I want to dedicate to another kitchen appliance? If the answer is not a lot going with a smaller air fryer is going to be best.
Do you care about the aesthetic of an air fryer? I can recommend an air fryer with a strong heating element for under $50, except it’s bright red and kind of an eye sore.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:
Under $100: Phillips 3000 Series Air Fryer – Currently it’s on sale for 50% off!
Under $50: Instant Pot Vortex – I’ve bought this one for family and they love it!
Air Fryer we use: Ninja Foodi 10 Quart Duel Basket – This beast of an Air Fryer is my favorite kitchen appliance we own. We’re able to easily make dinner for the whole family fast because of the two large baskets!
To use an air fryer you will preheat to the desired temperature then place food into the air fryer basket for the amount of time specified in the recipe. Once cooking time is complete you’ll remove food from air fryer and serve.
Most recipes that can be oven baked or deep fried can be made in an air fryer. When air frying instead of baking the cook time will be drastically reduced. When you air fry instead of using a deep fryer the cook time will increase.
The best way to clean an air fryer is with soap and water after it has cooled. The air fryer basket should not be cleaned in the dishwasher. Placing the air fryer basket in the dishwasher destroys the non-stick coating on the basket which will cause food to stick over time.
If you want to keep your air fryer like new you shouldn’t put it in the dishwasher. (This goes for all non-stick cookware!) The best way to keep the basket clean is to wait for it to fully cool then rise with water and soap. If you have food caked on the bottom let the air fryer basket soak in soapy water until food can easily be washed away. If you need to scrub the basket only use a little bit of pressure so you don’t damage the non stick coating.
