Frying Food Has Never Been Easier With This $8 Hack

If you love to cook as much as we do, chances are you spend just as much time cleaning your kitchen. Sometimes, it seems like the piles of dirty dishes, oily kitchen towels, and countertop spills just don’t stop, so we’ll take any help we can get.

Our test kitchen-approved recipes make it easy to whip up chicken fried steak for dinner or a batch of fried green tomatoes to snack on between meals, but then you’re faced with one of our least favorite kitchen clean-up tasks: disposing of the used cooking oil. Luckily, our editors have found a game-changing way to accomplish this frustrating chore as quickly and painlessly as possible—and it’s just $9.

FryAway Pan Fry Cooking Oil Solidifier

Most home cooks know that pouring used cooking oil down the drain is not a good idea. It can (and probably will) clog your pipes, potentially jeopardizing your home’s entire sewer system. Not to mention, it’s pretty bad for the environment if not disposed of properly. You can certainly reuse your leftover cooking oil, but only once or twice, and leaving leftover hot oil in your frying pan can also get dangerous. Laura Lady, the founder and CEO of FryAway, recognized the frustrating task of dealing with leftover oil and brought the idea to Shark Tank in early 2023.

This plant-based powder congeals cooking oil into a solid, so it’s easy to remove from the pan and throw straight in your household’s organic waste, compost, or trash bin. We also love that it eliminates the need to throw away oil in a plastic container, which can take a long time to decompose in a landfill. 

Allrecipes senior editor Haley Scarpino keeps FryAway powder stocked in her kitchen. “FryAway changed how often I fry food at home,” she says. “It no longer feels daunting, and clean-up is much easier and safer. It's a staple in my pantry now and forever.” Editor Cally Rhine says she uses it for added convenience and to make frying food less messy. “And the way it solidifies—it's like magic!" 

Simply sprinkle the powder onto the used oil, wait for it to cool and harden, and toss. The Pan Fry solidifier works best with smaller quantities of cooking oil—use a ratio of one package per 2 cups of oil—and also works with bacon fat and other animal fats. The brand also offers a Deep Fry solidifier and a Super Fry solidifier for different uses. 

FryAway Deep Fry Cooking Oil Solidifier

If you dread cleaning out your deep fryer after using it to cook crispy chicken wings or beer-battered fish, FryAway has you covered. The Deep Fry Cooking Oil Solidifier is specially designed for deep fryers and each package is good for up to 16 cups of oil.

FryAway Super Fry Cooking Oil Solidifier

For households that work with larger quantities of oil, either for pan frying and deep frying, the Super Fry Cooking Oil Solidifier offers the best value. It comes with a convenient scoop for measuring—use one scoop of powder per 1 cup of oil—but the entire package is good for up to 20 cups. Make sure to store it in a cool, dark area away from heat and moisture to retain quality.

If you’re doing a lot of frying, you’ll want to have the best cookware for the occasion. Below are a few of our favorite frying pieces from Le Creuset, Breville, Lodge, and Anolon, starting at just $20. 

Our Favorite Cookware for Frying

Lodge 10.25-Inch Cast Iron Skillet

Chefman 4.5-Liter Deep Fryer

Le Creuset Signature Round Dutch Oven

Anolon Advanced Home Hard-Anodized Nonstick Skillet