Basket-style air fryers have one or two drawers where you place your food for cooking. Those with two drawers are particularly handy if you want to cook different foods at the same time, but they can take up a lot more room in the kitchen than their more compact counterparts. 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. Not only can the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Air Fryer, which is known in the UK as the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Drawer Air Fryer, have two baskets so you can cook two foods at the same time, but it also comes with a plastic window on the front of each basket. The windows, along with a light in the cooking chamber, mean you can easily watch your food as it browns. A particular feature we loved is that there's a little beep half way through select cooking modes to remind you to shake the foods. You won't be able to cook two food types at the same time, though, and the controls are on the top so placing it on a high counter may not be the best position for it.

During our review, we found that the Smart Cook System achieves perfect doneness levels for different types of meats. This can be done by selecting one of four different protein settings and using the Foodi Smart Thermometer, which sits on the side of the appliance when not in use. The Smart Cook System will then monitor the internal temperature of the meat via the thermometer, and detect when the meat is finished cooking per your settings. While you can’t cook different foods at different temperatures at the same time, this grill creates great char and crispier air-fried foods, and can even cook meat and fish from frozen. The other functions that the Ninja DG551 can do is grill, roast, bake, dehydrate, and broil food - all which we found did better than the Ninja Foodie 6-in-1 10-qt. XL 2-Basket Air Fryer with DualZone Technology, its predecessor. Want to keep an eye on your food while it's cooking, but without opening the basket and letting out all the hot air? This Instant's latest air fryer is worth considering. There are a few designs of air fryer to consider. The size, functions and over all user experience will play in to the design you end up with. Oven-style air fryers. These are much larger than basket air fryers, but are much smaller than convectional ovens owing to their counter-top design; they're about the same size as a microwave. They have a door rather than a drawer, and use shelves rather than baskets. The air frying function is able to circulate air around the food more efficiently to achieve a more even crisp. Some may also include a rotisserie, and other accessories.The Instant Vortex Slim 6-quart Air Fryer, also known as the Instant Vortex Slim 5.7L Air Fryer in the UK, is designed to solve a problem for people with limited kitchen space: how do you fit a full sized air fryer when you don't have room for a full sized air fryer? The answer is to redesign it with 20% less bulk. At just 12.7 x 12.1 x 15.3 inches / 30.1 x 25.9 x 45.2cm (h x w x d), the air fryer is refreshingly petite and weighs just 6.8kg. Basket air fryers. This is the most popular type of air fryer. They have a slide-out basket or tray which slots in to the main unit, and tend to be available as a single or dual-drawer. When cooking food types such as fries, an uneven bake can sometimes be achieved if the food isn't rearranged or tossed around. Some on our list, such as the Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer, are actually multi-cookers, giving you multiple appliances in one, including a slow cooker or dehydrator as well as an air fryer. We’ve also included one machine that doubles as a health grill. It has a larger overall capacity than other Instant air fryers. However, it's worth remembering this is split across two frying baskets, so each basket holds a slightly smaller amount of food - meaning it won't be suitable for larger homes. If you're yet to ever own an air fryer, a little nervous to try out a new appliances and / or are conscious about spending money, the Ultenic K10 is a good one to consider.

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?'.

Some of the best air fryers are also multi-cookers, meaning that the air circulated doesn't just air fry. A single countertop device can make tasty fries but also work as a toaster oven, a dehydrator, a slow cooker and a pizza oven, as well as heat up last night's takeout leftovers and bake brilliant bagels too. On test our reviewer found that it was really easy to use. It also successfully created tasty, smoky flavors without a flame and with minimal mess. The bake and air fry functions worked as expected, and we (really) enjoyed baking a brownie in the garden. Of course, despite all of these pros to getting an air fryer, sometimes they're not the right fit for every kitchen. If you're short on space, for example, you could consider an Instant Pot or alternative multi-cookers, which includes some models that mimic the effect of a standalone air fryer. 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. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{

However, if you need to use an air fryer multiple times to make enough food to feed your household, you’re probably better off cooking everything in one go in the oven. Not to mention, most air fryers are an expensive initial investment, meaning it will take a while for savings on your energy bill to cancel out their cost. How to choose the best air fryer

Are air fryers worth it?

Just be aware that the small size also means losing two headline features of the bigger Vortex models, OdorErase and ClearCook. If you don't need the smaller dimensions, you might want to consider one of its bigger siblings. Finally, while the air frying function doesn’t make full use of its generous capacity, its spacious interior does grant more real estate to spread out your food while cooking.Plus, as it's several cooking appliances in one, you're also saving counter space. While there are plenty of foods that can be cooked in an air fryer, there are some things you should avoid putting in this cooking appliance. For example, we found 5 foods to avoid putting in an air fryer. These include foods dipped in batter, as the liquid will simply slide off the item and leave a mess in the frying basket. We're almost done with our testing and review of the Dreo Chefmaker, and we can already attest to its cooking prowess and its ability to deliver moist-on-the-inside and crispy-on-the-outside results. That’s due to the fact that this air fryer is able to cook more precisely than many others. 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.