What Makes A Good Air Fryer
This list should help you find the best air fryer for you and in no time, you’ll be chowing on the crispiest — and healthiest — chicken wings of your life. We’ve built upon our initial round of testing by retesting some of the air fryers we loved and weaving in some new models to see if any recently released air fryers or ones we missed last time are worthy of consideration.
Our original test cohort.
Unlike previous air fryers we liked from Krups, T-Fal and Black & Decker, today’s modern air fryers are more powerful, meaning quicker access to crispy fries, onion rings, chicken nuggets or any other frozen food that you might typically make in a deep fryer or a rotisserie. They also have more capacity for air frying so you can cook more food, and are lighter, quieter and easier to clean.
No matter how simple or complex, though, what truly counts is how well they deliver goodies straight from the fry basket. When it comes to air fryers, that can vary a lot, whether you’re frying up a frozen bag of tater tots or cooking from a recipe book. Here’s what we learned after putting several top-rated models through their paces to find the best air fryer in 2021.
Power Xl Air Fryer Pro
Easily fitting a 4-pound chicken is no joke, and the Power XL Pro is certainly not joking around. With 8 preset one-touch buttons and a 7-in-1 multi-cooker, get ready to be wowed by the culinary versatility of this fryer.
The digital timer automatically shuts off, but the interface also gives you a chance to set the timer yourself, should you want to. The 6L size ensures that cooking with this fryer is very effortless.
This air fryer is a 1700W appliance that makes use of Rapid Air Technology to allow you to cook your foot to a healthy crisp, eliminating over 70% of the fat.
Pros
- Rapid Air Technology ensures that food is cooked with 360 heat.
- Some customers lauded the easy cleanup of the fryer.
- The fryer also acts as a multicooker.
Cons
Ninja Af101 Air Fryer
- The Ninja AF101 Air Fryer is here to turn fried food into a guilt-free snack. No more getting grease on your hands and clothes, or that awful smell in your home. The hand-cut french fries were perfectly crisp because of the powerful convection heat. With this 4 qt fryer, you can cook just about anything: from pizza dough for individual pizzas to chicken tenders, shrimp kabobs, falafel patties, seafood made easy with grilled scallop kebabs! Its so simple a silicone-coated nonstick basket and the crisper plate will fit two pounds of french fries .
- Air fryers are the newest kitchen tool you need in your life. Its a cleaner, easier to use, and cost-effective way to make healthy baked goods that will satisfy all of your cravings, like crispy fries, chicken fingers, or bacon. The Ninja Air Fryer is designed for space efficiency so it delivers tons of fast, fat-free cooking with its extra-large 4Qt size. This professional-grade air fryer reaches a heat-up speed 3x faster than the traditional oven before baking cookies at 300F as opposed to 375F with no oil needed! And dont worry about cleaning with dishwasher safe parts just pop them into the dishwasher for easy cleanup later on!
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Breville Bov900bss Smart Oven Air Convection And Air Fry Countertop Oven
The smart oven air convection and air fry countertop oven from Breville can roast crispy French fries and many other recipes for large size families. It uses super convention technology with a convection fan that produces even hot air to control the cooking process. The Breville countertop oven reduces cooking time up to 30% and makes the cooking process much faster than other traditional air fryers.
It comes with 9 different preset functions that enable the machine to do multiple tasks such as preheat, bake, air fryer, dehydrate, warm, bagel, slow cook, and broil. However, this best air fryer for large family also allows you to set its temperature according to your recipe. The smart stainless-steel oven has a modern, sleek design with an LCD display feature to enhance your cooking experience, while its automatic turn-on light makes it more attractive, and with just one-click, you can on and off the oven light.
Buying Guide For Large Capcity Air Fryers
Capability
Smaller units usually vary from 1 to 2 liters, while medium units range from 1.8 to 2.5 liters. Larger tanks can carry up to 5 liters or more. Choose these bigger ones if you want to barbecue or roast a whole chicken. A fryer with a capacity of 2 liters could suffice for a small family of 4-5 individuals. If you have a huge family of 7-8 individuals or more, look for a fryer with a size of 3-6 liters.
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The sum of electricity
You must ensure that your kitchen outlet can accommodate the wattage usage of your air fryer. It is important that your kitchen outlets will accommodate the 800 watts to 1500 watts that a traditional air fryer uses. The more watts an air fryer gets, the higher the temperatures it can hit and how easily it can re-heat the oil if you have added frozen food to the fat, such as frozen peas or beef.
Safety
To start, look for a well-insulated air fryer with cool-touch hand grips to avoid getting burned when pulling out the basket. Second, the machines foundation should have non-slip feet to prevent the machine from slipping down, a locking lid, and external basket control. Make sure the air fryer has an automated shut-off feature to protect food from overcooking.
Weigh the food you like to prepare.
If you like to make large batches of fries or chicken wings, look for an air fryer with a large cooking capacity
Consider getting a multi-functional kitchen appliance.
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What Air Fryer Size Is Best For Small Kitchens
Living in a dorm room, a small apartment or a recreation vehicle often means theres little space to spare for clumsy appliances, and in that case, a large air fryer might not be the most appropriate pick.
In small living spaces, you may benefit from having an air fryer thats portable, well, all air fryers are portable, but all air fryers are not lightweight.
Smaller air fryers can easily fit in a kitchen drawer or storage box, making it easy to store them between each session. They are also the perfect pick for camping trips and vacations.
A suitable air fryer for smaller kitchens or living spaces, in general, would be an air fryer sized at 3 quart maximum.
Just make sure that the air fryer, no matter how big or small, is large enough to cook for the number of people you plan on serving. The convenience of having a small air fryer is lost if the appliance cant cook your meals in one session.
Remember, air fryers are supposed to be comfortable, time-saving kitchen helpers.
Nuwave Brio Large Capacity Air Fryer Oven
This massive fryer has everything you can think of. It doesnt take up a whole lot of space but it is the heaviest one on the list, weighing 31 pounds and being able to hold 14 quarts of food. You can do nearly anything with the food you put in this machine, as it has 100 pre-programmed presets installed. Some other very handy things it comes with are mesh racks, a nonstick grill plate, a drip tray, an integrated temperature probe, rotisserie kit, a 70-recipe book, a popcorn maker, cupcake liners, a baking pan, and even a 1-year limited warranty. Whew!
If youre like me, you read that list and thought What on earth is an integrated temperature probe? This probe turns off the Brio automatically when the internal temperature you set is reached, a feature no other fryer on the market has! What else can this fryer do? Well, it can bake, roast, rotisserie, grill, and dehydrate on top of air frying. The Brio, like the CalmDo, has a detachable door that may come off easily, but its definitely worth the quirk!
Key traits:
- Offers many different cooking functions
Cons:
- Is heavy weighs 31 pounds
- Door may come off easily
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Rotisserie Air Fryer 169 Qt
It has enough space to cook whole chickens and turkeys for the entire family. A pull-down door with a large window provides ease of mind by letting you watch cooking without compromising oven temperatures. If youre brand new and just want the most versatile option, youd be wise to go with one of the medium to large size air fryers, as suited for the air fryer sizes for a large family.
The large LCD touchscreen makes it easy to browse and select from the range of cooking options, including meat dishes, baked goods, and more. There is a wire rack for larger items, as well as skewer racks with rotating baskets.
ETL-listed for safety, this dehydrator has FDA-grade material to avoid unpleasant aftertastes it also features a timer that can be set for up to 24 hours and temperature control of 90-400 degrees F. It comes with an auto-shutoff feature as well, which prevents overcook.
The baking tray can also serve as a drip tray to catch any excess oil, while an 1800 watt motor helps help cook food in the healthiest way possible by cutting over 85 percent of fat.
Dimensions are 14.5L x 13W x 15.25H. Large Capacity of 16L.
How Do Air Fryers Work
Air fryers work like a convection oven to circulate air around your food and cook it evenly from every angle. That means any fat you add to the air fryer will circulate around your fries, chicken or fish as it cooks, making it crisp and crunchy.
Air fryers typically come with an in-built basket that has space for air to get underneath your food, as well as cooking it from above and the side. In the Ninja Dual Zone for example, you can remove this and use the tray like a regular oven tray to add a crisp cheesy top to a pasta bake or roast vegetables and potatoes for convenient mealtimes. Check out the best microwaves for more easy meal prep appliances.
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The Benefits Of Large Air Fryers
One of the advantages of having a large air fryer is, of course, the extra capacity. But the spacious interior isnt the only benefit of a large air fryer.
Versatility
With an air fryer large enough to cook for a family of 5, you will also be able to bake cakes, make lasagnas, large batches of cookies, pizzas and more.
More components
Large air fryers are capable of hosting more accessories, such as grill racks, cake pans, pyrex pans, silicone cups, and many other accessories. In small air fryers, it may be hard to use other accessories than the ones made specifically for the air fryer, but in larger air fryers one can use anything thats suitable to put in an air fryer.
So instead of buying a ton of accessories, you may use what you have at home. Economically, a large air fryer may be more strategic than purchasing a small one plus the accessories.
Layering
Large air fryers are often equipped with layering possibilities, which translates into more food. You can cook french fries on one layer and chicken on the other. This is very convenient because chicken and french fries may not have the same cooking time.
So instead of removing everything from the air fryer and gather the fries before placing the chicken back in the air fryer, you may just remove the tray filled with french fries and continue cooking the chicken.
Why Trust Verywell Fit
Lainey Younkin is a registered dietitian with a virtual private practice. Her mission is to provide evidence-based nutrition recommendations to help people ditch diets, change their habits, and create a healthy lifestyle that lasts. She enjoys writing about a variety of nutrition topics, including weight loss, gut health, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and various diets.
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Dash Dfaf455gbaq01 Deluxe 6 Qt Electric Air Fryer
It is the best pick for the stylish air fryer.
Power: 1700W
With up to 80% less fat, upgrade your healthy lifestyle by incorporating minimum oil consumption because your body does not need that bad fat.
Its 6-Quart air fryer basket is also the modern cooker and handy oven, which is presented to you as a valuable replacement for each.
The nonstick fry basket itself engages restricted oil on the surface, making cleaning an easy-going process.
For your negligence, the machine has a smart solution to come up with, an automatic shut off system is enabled when the food is overheating and somehow predicting the burn.
The air fryer has small bumps below it, which helps it stand stable, unlike the other fryers who slip on the smooth countertops.
Its easy to understand structure involves a dial, which lets you set the time and temperature as you move it around to the specific measurement.
You probably also like the air fryer brands who do not forget to put in a recipe book in the package because it gives closure to your eating decisions when you dont know what to make.
This fryers available colors are aqua, white, red, and black, where aqua stuns most of all.
This respects your health consciousness and fondness for the fried tastes. This is the tool to cook you whatever you ask for without charging pools of oil.
The warranty givers are honest manufacturers because they keep confidence in the productivity of your product. For us consumers, its a ticket for a risk-free purchase.
Best Design: Ninja Foodi 6
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Can cook two different foods at once
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Wide temperature range of 105-450 degrees Fahrenheit
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Easy to clean
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Takes up a lot of space to store
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No rotisserie function
No other air fryers on the market have the design of the Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 two Basket Air Fryer. Not only does it air fry, broil, roast, bake, reheat, and dehydrate, but it also has two separate four quart cooking baskets so you can prepare two foods at the same time using a different setting for each. Along with the two air fryer baskets, the Ninja includes two nonstick crisper plates, and all accessories are dishwasher-safe.
The Ninjas smart finish button makes sure both baskets finish at the same time, even if they contain different foods cooked differently from one another, while the match cook button copies settings across both baskets for cooking the same recipe in each.
The Ninja includes 15 recipe ideas, and there is also a 10-quart model for larger families. If youre looking for a device that air fries your chicken while roasting your sweet potatoes and dont mind it taking up your counter space, this is the pick for you.
Dimensions: 18 x 16.2 x 14.5 inches | Weight: 21.8 pounds | Capacity: Two 4-quart baskets | Material: Stainless steel | Dishwasher safe: Yes, accessories are dishwasher safe
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Ultrean 6 Quart Best Family Sized Air Fryer For 6 Members
Our other best air fryer for a family of 6 is the Ultrean 6 Quart family-sized Air Fryer. The air fryer comes with a detachable 6 QT big-size basket. You can serve food to 5 6 members at the same time. The basket can hold a whole chicken, fries, steaks easily and provides you a hassle-free cooking experience.
The air fryer lash with 360° rapid air frying technology cooks your food in a fast manner but in less time. It can cook your food evenly from each side for a better crisp texture.
The air fryer uses 80% less oil than the deep fryer cooking method. The best thing about this air fryer, it can roast, bake, grill, roast with no oil. 7 preset functions are also preprogrammed in the air fryer for easy cooking. LCD and soft buttons allow easy navigation of the program.
The time and temperature can be set 180°F to 400°F for 30 minutes. The auto shut-off feature and overheat protection prevent your air fryer from overcooking and heating. However, all the removable parts and accessories are dishwasher safe.
The best thing about this brand air fryer. It comes with lifetime customer support and a 1-year warranty.
Digital Vs Manual Timers
All air fryers have timers that allow you to set how long you want your food to cook for, and show you how much cooking time is left. Some, such as the Philips Viva Airfryer and Russell Hobbs Purifry, have manual dials that you turn to set the time, but most other air fryers, including the Tefal Actifry, have digital timers instead. A digital timer can make it easier to see at a glance how much time is left on the clock.
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A Final Word About Air Fryers
Air fryers have definitely changed the way that people cook. Our food can be healthier and cooked more quickly than if we were to use traditional fryers. Theyve become a favorite among families, especially those who are trying to eat clean or who dont have a whole lot of free time on their hands. This list has some of the best air fryers that are available, all with unique and different characteristics. There is a fryer on this list for everyone, no matter what your family needs!
Can I Cook Two Different Recipe Simultaneously
It is not possible to make two different food simultaneously with each air fryer. But thanks to Breville BOV900BSS Smart Oven Air Convection and Air Fry Countertop Oven and Chefman Air Fryer Toaster Oven that solve your problem, now you can make two different recipes at the same time whenever you want.
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