The 1-Calorie Revolution: How Frylight Changed UK Cooking Forever

I'll confess something. For years, I resisted Frylight. Stubbornly, unnecessarily, pointlessly. My mum had been using that distinctive yellow can since before I was born, and in my twenties I decided this made it somehow uncool—a product for people who cared about things I didn't yet understand, like where calories came from and whether frying an egg needed to involve quite so much fat.

Then I started tracking my food. And suddenly, that 1 cal spray didn't seem so uncool anymore.

What Actually Is Frylight?

Here's the thing about Frylight: it's been around since 1977, which means it's been helping UK households cook with less fat for nearly fifty years. That's not marketing spin—it's a product that's genuinely outlasted trends, fads, and about seventeen different government healthy eating campaigns.

But what's actually in the bottle? Frylight is essentially oil blended with water, lecithins (an emulsifier), xanthan gum (a thickener), natural flavourings, and a small amount of alcohol that evaporates during cooking. The olive oil version, for instance, contains 51% extra virgin olive oil. The rest is what allows it to spray rather than pour—and what brings those calories down so dramatically.

The result? Each spray delivers just 1 calorie and 0.1g of fat. Compare that to a tablespoon of regular olive oil, which clocks in at roughly 120 calories and 14g of fat. Even if you're heavy-handed with the trigger—five or six sprays to coat a pan—you're looking at maybe 6 calories versus 120.

The maths speaks for itself. Actually, I did the maths. During my spreadsheet phase (three years of tracking every single calorie, much to everyone's concern), I calculated I was saving over 700 calories a week just by switching from poured oil to spray. My mum, predictably, said she'd been telling me this for years.

The Complete Frylight Range in 2026

Frylight has come a long way from a single cooking spray option. The current range covers most cooking needs, and yes, I've tried nearly all of them.

Sunflower Oil Spray

The original. Contains 51% sunflower oil, and it's the most versatile of the lot. Works for frying, roasting, baking—basically anything where you'd normally reach for cooking oil. The flavour is neutral, which is exactly what you want for most everyday cooking.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray

For when you want that distinctive olive oil taste but still want to keep the calories in check. I use this one for Mediterranean dishes, roasting vegetables, or anything where the oil is actually part of the flavour rather than just a cooking medium.

Butter Flavour Spray

This one surprised me. I was sceptical—butter-flavoured spray sounds like the sort of thing that shouldn't work—but it's actually brilliant for baking and for giving toast that buttery taste without the butter. Worth noting: despite the name, it contains no dairy. The flavouring comes from a non-dairy source.

Coconut Oil Spray

A more recent addition to the range. Contains coconut oil for that subtle tropical hint, and it's become my go-to for anything vaguely Asian-inspired. The coconut flavour is there but not overwhelming.

Garlic Oil Spray

Exactly what it sounds like. Garlic-infused oil in spray form. I'll be honest—this one divides opinion. If you love garlic, it's a convenient shortcut. If you're garlic-neutral, you might find it a bit much. My housemate has banned it from the kitchen. His loss.

Air Fryer Oil Spray

And here's where things get interesting. Frylight recently launched a dedicated air fryer spray, which addresses one of the most common questions I get asked.

Can You Use Frylight in an Air Fryer?

Right, let's tackle this one head-on because there's a lot of confusion out there.

The short answer: Traditional Frylight sprays are not recommended for air fryers. The reason? They contain lecithin and other emulsifiers that can build up on non-stick surfaces over time, potentially damaging the coating.

The longer answer: This is why Frylight created their Air Fryer Pure Oil Spray specifically for high-temperature cooking. Unlike the regular range, this one is pure oil—a blend of avocado and rapeseed oils—with nothing else added. It's designed to handle temperatures up to 250°C and won't gum up your air fryer basket.

If you've been using regular Frylight in your air fryer without problems, you're probably fine in the short term. But for the longevity of your appliance—and they're not cheap—the dedicated spray is worth considering.

Is Frylight Actually Healthy?

Let's be honest about this, because I know what some of you are thinking. "1 calorie per spray sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?"

The good news: there isn't really a catch. Frylight contains no artificial ingredients, is approved by both the Vegan Society and the Vegetarian Society, and is suitable for coeliacs. The alcohol content—which some people worry about—evaporates completely during cooking. Scientific testing can't even detect it after the pan heats up.

What Frylight does well:

• Drastically reduces fat and calorie intake from cooking
• Contains real oils (not synthetic alternatives)
• No artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives
• Gluten-free and vegan-friendly

What Frylight doesn't do:

• Replace oil entirely in recipes where fat is essential (some baking, for instance)
• Work perfectly for everything—eggs can be tricky
• Make deep-frying healthy (nothing makes deep-frying healthy)

I've read criticism that Frylight is "processed" and therefore bad. But so is the olive oil sitting in your cupboard—pressing olives and bottling the result is processing too. The question isn't whether something is processed; it's whether the processing makes it less nutritious or adds harmful ingredients. In Frylight's case, it doesn't.

Frylight and Slimming World: What You Need to Know in 2026

If you're following Slimming World, here's the key information: Frylight is FREE on the plan. No Syns—or rather, no Swips, as they're now called since Slimming World rebranded their points system in January 2026.

This makes Frylight incredibly popular among Slimming World members. When regular cooking oil costs you Swips and Frylight costs you nothing, the choice becomes obvious for anyone watching their intake.

The important caveat: you need to use it as a spray. Taking the lid off and pouring defeats the purpose (and technically wouldn't be free anymore). But used as intended—a few sprays to coat your pan—it's one of those genuinely useful tools for anyone counting.

Where to Buy Frylight in 2026

Frylight is stocked in virtually every major UK supermarket. You'll find it in Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, and most convenience stores. Aldi and Lidl occasionally stock it or their own-brand alternatives.

The best prices I've found recently:

Prices fluctuate, obviously, and supermarkets love a promotion on Frylight—particularly around New Year when everyone's watching their weight.

How to Use Frylight Properly

This might sound obvious, but there's actually a technique to getting the best results.

For frying: Hold the can about 15-20cm from your cold pan and spray in a sweeping motion. Two to three sprays should cover a standard frying pan. Heat the pan after spraying—adding spray to a hot pan can cause it to burn before distributing evenly.

For roasting: Spray directly onto vegetables or potatoes before seasoning. The oil helps seasonings stick and promotes that lovely crispy exterior. I usually do two or three passes for a tray of roast potatoes.

For baking: Use the Butter Flavour spray to grease tins, or spray directly onto pastry for that golden finish. Works particularly well for things like filo pastry where you'd normally brush with melted butter.

The honest limitation: Frylight doesn't work brilliantly for frying eggs. The whites tend to stick more than they would with a proper glug of oil or knob of butter. I've tried various techniques—colder pan, hotter pan, more spray, less spray—and the results are always slightly disappointing. For eggs, I cheat and use a tiny amount of real butter. My mum would be horrified, but some things are worth the calories.

The Bigger Picture: Does Frylight Actually Help with Weight Loss?

Let's be realistic. Frylight is not a magic solution for weight loss. It's a tool—one that makes it easier to reduce calorie intake without dramatically changing what you eat.

If you're cooking at home regularly, the calories from cooking oil add up faster than you'd think. Using a tablespoon of oil twice a day adds nearly 250 calories to your daily intake—that's roughly 1,750 calories a week, or half a pound of potential weight loss you're leaving on the table.

Switching to Frylight doesn't require willpower. It doesn't mean eating less or choosing different foods. It's one of those rare changes where you're getting practically the same result (cooked food) with significantly fewer calories.

That said, if you're already at a healthy weight and not counting calories, the benefit is marginal. And if you're someone who values the flavour that good olive oil brings to cooking, no 1 cal spray is going to replace that. I still keep proper olive oil for salads and finishing dishes—because flavour matters too.

Frylight vs Other Cooking Sprays

Frylight isn't the only cooking spray on the market. Supermarkets sell their own versions, and brands like Crisp n Dry and KTC offer alternatives.

The main differences come down to:

Ingredients: Some competing sprays are pure oil (higher calories but potentially better for air fryers). Others mimic Frylight's water-emulsion formula.

Price: Own-brand sprays are typically cheaper—sometimes significantly so. Tesco's rapeseed oil spray is only 2 calories per spray but costs considerably less.

Flavour range: Frylight has the widest variety of flavoured sprays if that matters to you.

My take? Frylight remains the best-known and most widely available option, but the own-brand alternatives are perfectly fine for most uses. If budget is tight, switching to a supermarket version will save you money without much sacrifice.

Making It Work Long-Term

I've been using Frylight for about four years now. It's become one of those background products—something I buy without thinking, use without noticing, and only appreciate when I'm somewhere without it.

The key to making any healthy swap stick is making it invisible. You shouldn't have to remember to use Frylight, or congratulate yourself for using it, or feel deprived because you're not using something else. It should just be what you grab when you need to oil a pan.

That's the real success of Frylight, I think. It solved a problem—too many calories from cooking oil—in a way that required almost no behaviour change. You still fry things. You still roast things. You just do it with fewer calories.

My mum, who's been using it since that first yellow can appeared in 1977, put it simply: "It's just how we cook now." And after nearly fifty years, that's not a bad legacy for a cooking spray.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Frylight healthy?

Yes, Frylight is generally considered a healthy cooking option. It contains no artificial ingredients, is gluten-free, vegan-approved, and delivers just 1 calorie per spray compared to approximately 120 calories per tablespoon of regular oil. The small amount of alcohol used as a preservative evaporates completely during cooking.

Can you use Frylight in an air fryer?

Traditional Frylight sprays are not recommended for air fryers as the emulsifiers can damage non-stick coatings over time. However, Frylight has launched a dedicated Air Fryer Pure Oil Spray designed specifically for high-temperature cooking up to 250°C, using pure avocado and rapeseed oils without added emulsifiers.

Is Frylight good for you?

Frylight can be good for you as part of a balanced approach to cooking. It allows you to use up to 95% less fat than poured oil, making it particularly useful for those watching their calorie intake. However, it's a tool for reducing fat, not a health product in itself—eating a variety of whole foods matters more than which cooking spray you use.

Is Fry Light spray healthy for weight loss?

Frylight can support weight loss efforts by significantly reducing calorie intake from cooking. Replacing a tablespoon of oil (120 calories) with 5 sprays of Frylight (5 calories) saves over 100 calories per cooking session. For someone cooking twice daily, this could mean saving 1,500+ calories per week without changing what they eat.

What is in Frylight cooking spray?

Frylight contains oil (the type varies by product—sunflower, olive, coconut, etc.), water, alcohol (as a preservative that evaporates during cooking), lecithins (an emulsifier), natural flavourings, and xanthan gum (a thickener). The olive oil version, for example, contains 51% extra virgin olive oil.

Is Frylight free on Slimming World?

Yes, Frylight is free on Slimming World when used as intended as a spray. Following the January 2026 changes to Slimming World's programme, it remains free of Swips (formerly Syns). You should use it as a spray rather than pouring it, as that would change its classification.