Demand for air fryers has soared by 3000% in a year as people are looking for ways to offset soaring fuel bills this winter.

The cooking gadget is able to cook a wide variety of food and has been found to be significantly more cost-efficient than cookers.

Research by Utilita found that air fryers run at an average cost of £55.71 a year, while an electric cooker runs at £335.57 a year.

Another study by Hometree in September found that while an oven with an average wattage of 3kW costs about 34p to run for 20 minutes, a 1kW air fryer would cost 10p.

READ MORE: Cost of living: What kitchen appliances use the most electricity?

The appliances have a heating element on the top with a large fan to distribute the heat, meaning that they do not need much time to pre-heat and the food cooks quickly and evenly.

Glasgow Times: Air fryer sales up 3000 per cent as households look to lower cost of livingAir fryer sales up 3000 per cent as households look to lower cost of living (Image: NQ)

Air fryers sell for about £60, but more expensive ones can cost more than £200.

The top-selling air fryers have risen in popularity by more than 3,000% since this time last year and are up 2,000% since the summer, price comparison website PriceRunner said.

PriceRunner consumer spokeswoman Evelina Galli said: “Air fryers, as we know, are massively popular right now and our data backs this up, with the most popular models on our website seeing more than significant increases since this summer alone – up 7,000% on some models – although we actually started seeing an uprising in air fryers back in 2020/2021 when they were all the rage on TikTok.”

Kitchen retailer Lakeland also said it had seen unprecedented demand for its range of air fryers, with more stock expected later this year.

It reported more than 1,500 views of the Lakeland Digital Crisp Air Fryer in 24 hours alone.

Lakeland consumer spokeswoman Wendy Miranda said: “There is very little you can’t cook in an air fryer.

“Our recent survey found that social media, particularly Tik Tok, is the first place Gen Z turns to for cooking inspiration and kitchen hacks, so no surprises that nearly five billion searches have been racked up.”