An air fryer can bring efficiency and simplicity to your nightly meal routine. It’s easy to make a quick and delicious meal with the best air fryers in your kitchen. They are not only healthier but also use less energy than an oven. Check out the complete guide to air fryers to learn more about these great kitchen appliances.
Pod-shaped air fryers vs. air-frying toasters
Air frying toaster ovens have advantages but they typically take longer to cook and the inner cavity can be tricky to clean if food splatters.Â
While the idea of a toaster oven that doubles as an air fryer is a good one, and the air frying function on many of the hybrid machines is proficient, certain foods we love cooking in an air fryer are too messy to cook in a toaster.
All pod air fryers have removable cooking baskets and most of them are nonstick. When you’re cooking chicken thighs with a sauce or even veggies drizzled with oil — a few favorites — there is going to be some inevitable splatter. Air frying mode is intense, with high convection heat circulated at a fast pace. Do this in a toaster oven, which is markedly more difficult to clean, and you’ll be dealing with some serious caked-on gunk after the first few dozen uses.Â
You won’t need more than 15 minutes to make this magic happen in an air fryer.
Pod air fryers, on the other hand, take very little effort to get clean. Most air fryer baskets are now thicker and also nonstick. Beware of thin wire baskets, which can be tougher to clean. Both types can be removed to soak in the sink and some can be run through the dishwasher. The same can’t be said for the inside walls of a countertop oven.
If you’re buying a toaster oven, there’s no reason not to get one with an air fryer function. It can still be used for less splatter-prone foods such as potatoes, frozen empanadas and filets of salmon with too much risk of making a mess.
For more, read CNET’s complete guide to air fryers.
Air fryer size
Here’s the tiny 2-quart Gourmia air fryer next to the more standard 4.25-quart Phillips model.
While there are several features to consider, the size of your air fryer is likely the most important decision you’ll make. If you’re typically cooking for one or two people, a 2- or 3-quart air fryer should be large enough. Consider adding another quart of capacity to your air fryer for every person that you’re regularly cooking for.
A family of four or five, for instance, should be fine with a 5-quart model. If you plan on regularly cooking full meals for a family, including meat and veggies or sides, you might consider a larger, dual-basket air fryer like the Ninja DualZone.
All that said, the smaller the air fryer you can get away with the better. I’ve found that smaller air fryers such as the Magic Bullet 2- to 5-quart model and Instant Pot’s Duo Crisp net better results since food will get blasted faster and more often than inside a larger model. Smaller air fryers mean less overall capacity, so you may have to cook in batches.
Power
We made sure every air fryer on our list has the power to blast cauliflower, chicken wings and potatoes to a crispy finish.
Most air fryers are somewhere between 1,200 and 1,800 watts. Larger air fryers typically have more wattage and smaller models have less. Your midrange 4-quart air fryer should have about 1,500 watts. The small Magic Bullet and Gourmia air fryers have 1,300, but that’s plenty of power to cook food in the petite basket. Larger air fryers should have about 100 more watts per quart to make sure they hit those hot temps of 400 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Air fryer accessories
Some fancy models may come with extra accessories, but all you need is an air fryer basket with wire or nonstick grates. They come standard with most air fryer models and help the super-convection to hit all sides of your food evenly. I prefer the nonstick variety as wire baskets can be particularly tricky to clean.Â
All the air fryers we tested came with a grated fryer basket or tray. The Philips Essential Digital model has it attached to the handle making it easier to remove for cleaning.Â
Should you just get a normal air fryer or a multifunction model?
The Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid turned out equally browned sweet potato fries as a single-function solo air fryer in the same amount of time.
That depends on the type of cooking you’ll do and what other appliances you already have. I like having a solo air fryer, but I’m also a fan of the Instant Pot Duo Crisp which functions as both an air fryer and a multicooker (also a pressure cooker and slow cooker).
Consider how the air fryer looks, too
Fritaire’s glass bowl air fryer certainly is an eye catcher.
Air fryers don’t have to be kept on the counter but anything larger than 3 quarts might be tricky to store when not in use. Considering that, you should get an air fryer that compliments your kitchen. Both the Ninja and Cosori models are available in a range of colors (Cosori has more). There are also glass bowl air fryers and more modern-looking machines.
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Roasting Brussels sprouts well is tricky for an air fryer.