Air fryers are a great addition to your kitchen if you want to cook food quickly and healthily. They work by circulating hot air around food, similar to a convection oven, and can produce crispy and evenly browned food without the need for much oil.
There are a variety of air fryers on the market, from budget-friendly options to premium models, and they come in different sizes and styles. Here's a list of some of the best air fryers to consider:
- Ninja Double Stack: This air fryer has a unique design with two stacked baskets, allowing you to cook two portions of food while taking up minimal counter space. It performed well in tests, cooking food evenly and maintaining separate temperatures in each basket.
- Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501: This 5-quart air fryer is a great budget option. It has a sleek design, an easy-to-use touch control panel, and seven preset cooking options. While it may require some experimentation to get perfect results, it produces crispy fries and juicy chicken wings.
- Samsung Combi Smart Microwave Oven: If you're short on space, this combination air fryer and microwave is a great choice. It has intuitive controls and performs well across various functions, although it may take a bit longer to crisp foods compared to dedicated air fryers.
- Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1: This compact air fryer is excellent at crisping food and reducing cooking smells thanks to its air filters. It has a window and interior light, allowing you to monitor the cooking process. However, it may require some experimentation to find the right cooking times and temperatures.
- Ultenic K10 Smart Air Fryer: This air fryer is perfect for beginners, with automatic programs and a reminder to shake the food during cooking. It produced golden and evenly cooked fries and crispy chicken wings without the need for added oil.
- Ninja Double Oven Air Fryer: This large-capacity air fryer has two separate cooking cavities, offering versatility and convenience. It has 12 cooking functions and a Smart Finish feature to synchronize cooking times for different foods.
- Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill: This outdoor air fryer is perfect for those who love to cook outdoors. It's a multi-functional appliance that can grill, smoke, and air fry. It uses wood pellets to infuse food with a smoky flavor and produces tasty, crispy fries.
- Dreo ChefMaker: This premium air fryer is a cut above the rest, delivering precise cooking results. It has a transparent glass basket, an easy-to-use interface, and dishwasher-safe components. It includes a temperature probe for precise cooking, making it ideal for cooking meat to perfection.
- Cosori Pro III Dual Blaze: This smart air fryer can be controlled via your phone or smart speaker, offering remote convenience. It has 12 preset cooking options and produces evenly cooked food without the need for preheating or shaking the basket.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Best Overall | Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer |
Best Value | Cosori TurboBlaze Air Fryer |
Best Splurge | Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer |
Best Small | Ninja 4-Quart Air Fryer |
Best Dual-Zone | Ninja DZ071 Foodi FlexBasket Air Fryer |
Best Large Capacity | Instant Pot Vortex Plus 10-Quart Air Fryer |
Most Versatile | Typhur Dome |
Best Air Fryer Toaster Oven | Instant Omni Plus Air Fryer Toaster Oven |
What You'll Learn
Best Overall Air Fryer
The Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer is a user-friendly tool with a reasonable price and the strongest cooking results of any machine we’ve tested. It has a wide, square-shaped basket that can accommodate batches of fries or wings without overcrowding. The air circulation and power have provided the best results for almost every food we've tried, including tricky coconut shrimp and Brussels sprouts. It’s quiet enough to run in a busy kitchen, and the nonstick interior makes cleanup easy.
The Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer is slow to preheat and lacks smart functions. It also doesn't have the advanced functionality or WiFi controls some models offer. If you're planning to air fry for a crowd frequently, you might be better off with an extra-large model.
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Best Value Air Fryer
If you're looking for an air fryer that offers the best value for money, the Cosori TurboBlaze Air Fryer is an excellent choice. With a 6-quart capacity, this air fryer packs a lot of power and functionality into a compact and sleek design. Here's why it's a great choice for those seeking the best value:
Performance and Features
The Cosori TurboBlaze Air Fryer delivers impressive performance at a very reasonable price point. While it may not achieve the same level of crispness as some higher-end models, it still produces delicious results. It has a special mode for cooking frozen foods and includes additional functions like keep warm and proof, making it versatile for various cooking tasks.
Ease of Use and Cleaning
This air fryer is a breeze to use, thanks to its intuitive controls and easy-to-read display. The basket and crisper plate are also dishwasher-safe, making cleanup a breeze. No more scrubbing or self-cleaning required!
Size and Capacity
With a 6-quart capacity, the TurboBlaze offers plenty of room for cooking family meals or larger batches. Its square basket design maximizes cooking space, and its compact size makes it ideal for kitchens with limited counter space.
Price and Value
The Cosori TurboBlaze Air Fryer truly shines when it comes to value. At a price point well below that of its competitors, it offers a wide range of features and delivers consistent cooking results. It's an excellent choice for those seeking a powerful and versatile air fryer without breaking the bank.
In summary, if you're in the market for an air fryer that offers a great balance of performance, features, and affordability, the Cosori TurboBlaze Air Fryer is a fantastic option. It checks all the boxes for functionality, ease of use, and value, making it a top choice for those seeking the best bang for their buck.
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Best Splurge Air Fryer
If you're looking for a large, versatile, and powerful air fryer, the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer is a great choice. It's one of the most expensive options on the market, but it offers a huge capacity and a range of functions that make it a worthwhile investment.
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer is a combination toaster oven and air fryer, with a capacity of 23.9 quarts and 1,800 watts of power. It can fit a 13-inch pizza, a whole chicken, or up to six slices of bread, making it ideal for cooking for a large family or group. It has 13 preset functions, including air fry, toast, bagel, bake, roast, pizza, cookies, reheat, warm, dehydrate, proof, and slow cook.
One of the standout features of this air fryer is its smart sensors and heating elements, which sense the interior temperature and adjust their strength to eliminate hot and cold spots, ensuring even cooking. It also has a clear viewing window so you can keep an eye on your food as it cooks.
However, due to its large size and high price, this air fryer may not be the best option for those with limited counter space or a smaller budget.
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Best Small Air Fryer
If you're looking for a small air fryer, you can't go wrong with the Ninja 4-Quart Air Fryer. This small air fryer outperformed every other air fryer in our tests with six different foods. It's perfectly nonstick for cleanup, quiet while running, and, thanks to the compact footprint, it's easy to store. Though the settings are simpler than some advanced models, it does the trick for every classic air fryer function. It’s a smart pick for solo cooks and apartment dwellers, whether they're beginners or advanced.
There are smaller air fryers out there than this one (we've tried ones that hold just 2 quarts), but at the end of the day, they don't save much counter space over this one.
The Instant Vortex Mini 4-in-1 is another small air fryer that packs a big punch, with a diminutive size and solid cooking results. With a 2-quart capacity, the Instant Vortex Mini 4-in-1 is the smallest air fryer we've tested, but it held its own against much larger machines. Though the Instant Mini’s square basket is a quart smaller than that of the Ninja 4-Quart Air Fryer, it comfortably fits one or two servings of food thanks to its wide, shallow shape.
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Best Dual-Zone Air Fryer
Dual-zone air fryers are a fantastic option for those who want to cook multiple foods at once, or for those who want to cook larger quantities of food. Here are some of the best dual-zone air fryers on the market:
Ninja Foodi DualZone Air Fryer
This air fryer has two 4-quart baskets, allowing you to cook two different foods at two different temperatures simultaneously. It also has a "Smart Finish" feature, which ensures that all food is cooked at the same time. It also has additional functions like dehydrating, broiling, baking, and roasting. It is available for $178 at Amazon.
Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone Air Fryer
This air fryer has a large capacity of 9.5L, making it perfect for cooking for a large family or group of friends. It has two separate zones that can be programmed to cook at different temperatures and times, allowing you to cook multiple foods at once. It is available for £159 at Amazon.
Ninja Double Stack XL Air Fryer
This air fryer has a unique design, with two 4.75L drawers stacked vertically, allowing it to take up minimal counter space. It comes with stainless steel racks that can be placed in each drawer, providing even more cooking space. It has a wide range of cooking modes and functions, and there is virtually no heat transfer between the two drawers. It is available for $250 at Amazon.
Philips Dual Basket Air Fryer 3000
This air fryer has two drawers, one 6L and the other 3L, allowing you to cook core parts of a meal simultaneously. It has a quiet fan, and its touchscreen controls are easy to master. It cooks food evenly and consistently, and it is available for £99.99 at Currys.
Cosori Dual Basket Air Fryer
This air fryer has a large capacity of 8.5L and comes with several presets, including air fry, roast, grill, reheat, dehydrate, bake, preheat, and shake. It cooks food quickly and powerfully, and it is available for £129.99 at Amazon.
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Frequently asked questions
The best air fryer for a large family would be one with a large capacity. The Instant Vortex Plus 10-Quart Air Fryer is a great option, as it has a 10-quart capacity and can fit a whole bag of frozen French fries, up to two pounds of chicken breasts, and even a larger cake pan. It also comes with a rotisserie function and accessories, making it a versatile option for large families.
For a small family, a compact air fryer with a capacity of around 2 to 4 quarts would be suitable. The Ninja 4-Quart Air Fryer is a great option for small families, as it has a 4-quart capacity and can cook up to two servings of food. It also has additional cooking functions like reheat, roast, and dehydrate.
If you're looking for an air fryer with multiple cooking functions, consider the Instant Omni Plus Air Fryer Toaster Oven. It has a large 19-quart capacity and can bake, broil, air fry, and even dehydrate. It also comes with a rotisserie function and various accessories, making it a versatile option for those who want multiple cooking functions.