Are Air Fryers Worth It
Air fryers are worth it if you like to cook foods quickly with minimal cleanup. Sure, some are bulky and may feel like a usurper of your counter space, but most people who use them learn the benefits right away. They’re especially great for prepackaged frozen foods and leftovers, like french fries or dumplings, that would normally get soggy or rubbery in a microwave. In the Kitchen Appliances Lab, we like using ours for quick dinners. All types of proteins, like chicken, pork chops and salmon, cook up quickly and become golden brown and juicy veggies become nicely blistered or caramelized. We especially like air frying root vegetables, like mini potatoes and diced butternut squash and beets.
Budget Pick: Cosori Pro Air Fryer
*At the time of publishing, the price was $85.
The Cosori Pro Air Fryer was the best pod-shaped model we tested for under $100. Although the Cosoris 3.7-quart capacity is slightly larger than that of the Philips Premium Airfryer HD9741/96, it doesnt cook as evenly, but considering its relatively low price, we think its results were good enough. The Cosoris many preprogrammed settings werent as accurate as those of the Philips, eitherwe preferred using the manual controls for selecting the time and temperature instead. Like the Philips, the Cosori has a square-shaped basket that fits more food than the round baskets in other models. The Cosori also comes with a recipe booklet, which is helpful if youre new to cooking with convection technology.
Like the Philips, the Cosori has a removable basket to hold your food while it cooks. We prefer this design to the removable trays of a lot of newer models, because trays tend to fall out when you flip the bucket upside down to transfer food to a platethis was the case with the Ninja AF101 Air Fryer we testedand when the tray comes flying out, it could potentially cause burns. We also like that the Cosori has a plastic guard that covers the baskets release button , which prevents you from inadvertently pressing it while shaking your food. Without the guard, its easier to accidentally press the button, which would release the bucket and send it crashing onto the floor.
First Off What Is An Air Fryer
An air fryer is an appliance that cooks food quickly with little to no oil. Its heating elements are typically located on the top of the unit and paired with a large fan. It preheats quickly and starts cooking food right away. Food is placed on a perforated tray, usually inside of an an air fryer basket, which promotes more air circulation.
Read Also: Ninja Air Fryer Cooking Times
What Can You Cook In An Air Fryer
Fries, roast potatoes, chicken wings, and other deep-fried favorites are obvious dishes to cook in an air fryer, but that’s not all you can whip up in one of these handy kitchen gadgets. You can prepare anything you can cook in a traditional fan oven, space permitting, because they work in the same way.
So whether that’s frozen foods, mini pizzas, or even gnocchi and ravioli – it can all be cooked in an air fryer. You can even make fudgy brownies in an air fryer, in less time than it takes in an oven.
In fact, we’ve spent more than 12 months attempting to cook some of our favorite dishes in this kitchen gadget. We found an air fryer can rival KFC when it comes to fried chicken, and was also the answer when it came to creating crisp, crunchy crackling on pork belly.
It also proved to be the best way to cook cinnamon rolls and Krispy-Kreme-style donuts.
As well as being used in place of an oven, air fryers can be an easier way to prepare dishes usually cooked on a stove, without having to watch them like a hawk and turn them before they burn. In particular, we discovered French Toast and grilled cheese work extremely well in the kitchen gadget.
If you’re a fan of fries but unsure how to go about making them in an air fryer, then check out our advice, which even details an air fryer trick that’s a game-changer when it comes to cooking fries.
How Do You Preheat An Air Fryer
Not all air fryers need to be preheated, while others automatically preheat before starting the cooking timer.
To preheat, select the preset preheat function if your air fryer has one, or just set the cooking temperature and let the air fryer heat for 3 to 5 minutes before adding your food.
We’ve tested models that automatically preheat and ones that let you get cooking without any preheating. In our tests, we found foods cooked similarly whether we preheated or not. Some air frying guides recommend preheating for better results when air frying meat you want to get a nice sear on, like steak and chicken breasts.
Also Check: Best Air Fryer Oven With Rotisserie
Best For Instant Pots: Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid
Also available at Williams Sonoma.
Why It’s Great
- Comes with a protective pad
Grain of Salt
- Only suitable for Instant Pots
If you already own an Instant Pot or are thinking about purchasing one, there’s no need to have both an air fryer and a pressure cooker. Instant Pot offers an air fryer lid that’s compatible with any of its 6-quart pressure cookers, plus it’s cheaper than most air fryers and will save you storage space. Our favorite part about the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid is that you can pressure cook first with the regular lid and then give your food a nice crisp at the end by swapping it out for the air fryer lid.
The lid comes with a multi-level air fryer basket and a broiling tray to make sure it’s circulating hot air throughout the chamber, as well as a protective pad that doubles as a countertop tray when the lid is hot and a storage cover when it’s not in use. Beyond air frying, it can be used to broil, bake, roast, reheat, and dehydrate, making it well worth the money.
The Details: Measures 10.75 x 12.75 x 6 inches use with 6-quart Instant Pot 1500 watts
Best Large Capacity: Ninja Foodi 6
Also available at Bed Bath & Beyond and Target.
Why It’s Great
Grain of Salt
- Takes up a lot of space
Whether you like to host friends or have a big family, this is the air fryer for you. Built with two 4-quart baskets, this air fryer lets you cook your entrée and sides at the same time. It’s also perfect for appetizers and dessertsâbring on the stuffed mushrooms and air fryer donuts.
Since it has two baskets, the appliance is divided into two temperature-controlled zones, enabling each basket to cook at different degrees. You can also split cooking styles, so one side can air-fry veggies, while the other roasts meat. That convenience is only possible with this two-basket air fryer.
The best part about this dual-basket air fryer is its “smart finish” function that allows you to cook two foods at different times and temperatures and have them finish at the same time. In other words, you won’t have to worry about one dish getting cold before the other is done.
The Details: Measures 18.58 x 16.3 x 15.83 inches 8-quart capacity 1690 watts
Read Also: Nuwave Brio Air Fryer 3 Quart
Cosori Pro 47l Air Fryer
Best standard size air fryer for affordability
Pros:
Wattage: 1500W
Star rating: 5/5
This is one of the most understated modern air fryers on the market and exactly what we want on our own countertops. If you’re not cooking for a bunch of people at a time, the capacity is a practical size for two, or for side dishes for four.
The materials have a good-quality feel with a tray that locks in, requiring release before use. All seven pre-set functions are selected using the tempered glass panel and include chicken, fries, steak, seafood and veggies. Uniquely, there’s also a bacon function.
If you’re new to air frying, a recipe booklet containing 30 recipes guides you through jumping straight in. Time and temperature are both manually adaptable. We reduced traditional temperatures by 10 degrees as its 1500W power is ferociously efficient, particularly when roasting. It’s small, lightweight body makes it easy to move between countertop and cupboard for storing out of sight. Read our full Cosori Pro 4.7L Air Fryer review.
Available from:
How Our Test Kitchen Found The Best Air Fryers
TMB Studio
To find our Test Kitchen-Preferred air fryer, our team tested the most popular air fryers on the market, whipping up all sorts of recipes and judging them according to these standards:
- Texture: How well do our favorite air fryer recipes turn out? Is the finished product crisp? Tender?
- Cooking quality: Does the air fryer cook food thoroughly? Our Test Kitchen cooked all kinds of dishes, including meatballs, crab cakes, chicken wings and even cinnamon rolls.
- Price: Is the product affordable? Was the performance reflected in the price?
Read Also: What Can You Cook With An Air Fryer
How We Tested Air Fryers
What is the first thing you think of when you consider air fryers? Chips, of course, so our homemade fries test was crucial.
The key to crisp fries was to peel and soak the potatoes in cold water for half an hour to remove starch, before drying thoroughly. We used Maris Piper potatoes for all.
We looked at the manuals for each model and followed their directions for cooking temperature, time and the quantity of oil needed. If the type of oil wasn’t specified them we used vegetable.
Anything from the size of the cut to the variety of potato can make a difference here, so itâs always good to gauge things halfway through the time. But for the purpose of the test, we shook ingredients only when prompted too and scored the appliance based on its performance.
We tested the air fryers using set criteria and scored each one on the following core areas out of five. The average of all determined the overall star rating they achieved:
Quality of foodTo ensure fairness, we initially cooked chips in every fryer we tested. We looked at how evenly they âfriedâ and whether they were brown and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
Ease of useNo-one wants to resort to a YouTube video to work out how to use a new gadget. We looked for fryers with clear, simple instructions, so we could get them out of the box and cooking our dinner as quickly as possible. Fryers also scored highly if the icons or control buttons were easy to use and intuitive.
Kalorik Digital Touch Screen Air Fryer
Walmart’s Cyber Monday deals include a five-star-rated air fryer for just $49. The Kalorik air fryer features seven preset functions. According to the brand, this eight-quart kitchen gadget can fit up to two pounds of fries, four chicken breasts, 16 chicken wings, four salmon filets or an eight-inch cake.
The device includes a removable, dishwasher-safe trivet and basket.
“What I really like is the touch screen panel which is very easy to use and self-explanatory,” wrote a Walmart customer. “The display is bright and the touch screen buttons are responsive. Tested on frozen fries from Whole Foods and the fries came out crispy and evenly cooked just how I like them! The basket and trivet are super easy to clean with warm water and a sponge. Looking forward to trying lots of different healthy air fried meals. I am very happy with this purchase!”
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How To Choose The Best Air Fryer For You
Preheat times are short when air frying and they also use less electricity than a traditional oven. For more on these benefits, take a look at our dive into the question: ‘do air fryers use a lot of electricity?’.
Most modern air fryers consist of a pull-out drawer with a crisper tray inside, similar to the perforated trays found in a fryer or oven. This design allows any excess oil to be removed from the contents, decreasing the eventual fat content on the plate. The handle found on the drawer is also handy for shaking the food part-way through cooking, which encourages an even distribution of crispiness.
Some larger air fryers even have dual-zone modes that allow you to set specific settings for different foods you want to cook at the same time. For more tips and tricks on getting the most out of your appliance, take a look at our guide to how air fryers work.
There are many other benefits to enjoy when switching to one of the best air fryers, including the relative lack of clean-up when cooking traditionally oily foods like sausages. And even if you do end up making a mess, you can take a look at our article on how to clean an air fryer – which may involve just popping the relevant elements into the dishwasher when you’re done.
Other Air Fryers We Reviewed
Unlike most of these appliances, the Cuisinart Compact AirFryer isnt oddly shaped like a huge egg or space capsule. Rather its a big stainless-steel cube that looks like a truncated toaster oven. While its boxy shape helps it fit more neatly on a countertop or in a cabinet, the Cuisinart still takes up a bit of countertop real estate .
Youll find the Cuisinart is a relatively uncomplicated appliance in terms of heating elements. It doesnt have cooking preset programs for specific foods or additional cooking functions like keep warm or dehydrate, to make the cooking process easier. You simply turn dials to set the temperature and the cooking time, and theres no need to preheat. Theres also a straightforward manual that includes recipes to get you started.
Since it has a wide air frying basket, food can be spread out to get more even and crispy results with relatively quick cooking times without the food drying out. Most others force you to pile the food on top of each other, which can create uneven results. Using the Cuisinart Compact AirFryer, homemade fries looked and tasted like they had been bobbing in a deep fryer vat of oil.
Pros
Read Also: What Are The Top Rated Air Fryers
How To Use The Air Fryer Cheat Sheet
The great thing about this particular air fryer cheat sheet is that it comes with two magnets. The larger 10.5×6.5-inch sheet is perfect to display on your fridge, and a smaller sheet 5×5-inch fits the front of your air fryer.
While the highlight of these handy cheat sheets is that theyre magnetic, you can decide to stick them on non-magnetic surfaces too. The set includes strips of double-sided, heat resistance tapea great option if youd rather stick them to a nearby countertop or table.
You wont have to worry if these magnets work for your air fryer, either. Theyre specifically designed to fit the most popular air fryers, including the Ninja Air Fryer, Instant Vortex Air Fryer, Cosori Air Fryer Max and more.
The charts are also durable, waterproof and oil-proof to handle heat and any other messes.
Best Multitasking Air Fryer
The Instant Pot Duo Crisp is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, and air fryer all in one, making it one of the most useful and economical small appliances I tested.
- Size: 15″ x 15″ x 13.5″
- Capacity: 8 quarts as Instant Pot, smaller capacity as air fryer
- Dishwasher-safe parts: Yes
- With Instant Pot lid: pressure cook, saute, slow cook, steam, sous videWith air fryer lid: air fry, roast, bake, broil, dehydrate
- Power: 1500 watts
Pros: Multiple functions doesn’t dry out delicate foods can perform multiple steps in a recipe in the same appliance
Cons: Food on lower level of fryer basket cooks more slowly, many pieces to store, difficult to agitate food mid-cook, removing lid exposes heating coil
Air fryers often get a bad rap for being uni-taskers, but Instant Pot has bucked the trend by adding air fryer functionality to its already quite versatile multicookers. The Duo Crisp comes with two separate lids a traditional Instant Pot lid you’ll use for all your pressure and slow cooking and another equipped with an electric heating coil and fan that you’ll use for air frying, broiling, dehydrating, and more.
If you’ve used an Instant Pot, you’re already familiar with the Duo Crisp’s pressure cooking. We rated it the best multitasking electric pressure cooker. Plus, it did so well in our sous vide testing that we named it the best multitasking sous vide machine.
All told, this is the air fryer I reach for most. Its versatility has earned it a space in my kitchen.
Don’t Miss: Small Oven With Air Fryer
Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro
If youre looking for the biggest bang for your buck, the Cosori Air Fryer Max XL is hard to beat . This touchscreen digital air fryer is one of our favorite basket-style units and the one Rachel Gurjar used to test her air-fryer recipes . Its a spacious 5.8-quart air fryer thats both larger and more affordable than most other basket air fryers, so you can get a double portion of French fries in the frying basket at once. The removable basket is nonstick and dishwasher safe, and its easy to unplug and stash this thing under the counterideal if you have limited counter space. Unlike with the Breville Smart Oven, you can also fry foods right in the basket without worrying about dripping and smoking fat. Bonus: Its equipped with a “shake” reminder to ensure all of your chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, and brussels sprouts come out super crispy. When the alarm sounds, just pull the basket out and give it a shake to make sure the goods are all evenly exposed to the circulating air.
The downsides: The basket is enclosed, meaning youll have to keep opening it to check for doneness, which will release some heat. And as a single-purpose appliance, its just not as versatile as the multitasking Breville oven.
