To put the Dash air fryer to the test, I crisped up some frozen naan. Before I started cooking, I realized that there was no way to air fry my piece of naan without breaking it in half. The bread simply didn’t fit in the very small air fryer basket. To get the most health benefits out of your air fryer, Sassos recommends using it as a vessel to add more veggies and lean proteins to your diet. One of her favorite uses is air frying frozen veggies. "I couldn't believe how easy it was the first time I tried it," she says. A compact air fryer with a capacity of 1.6–quart / 1.5L is about as small as you should go if you want to enjoy evenly cooked results without having to cook in multiple batches. The Dash Digital Air Fryer was the best of the three compact Dash air fryers I tested. It makes efficient use of its small footprint, but if you don't want to keep it on your counter, it features a handle and is lightweight enough to store easily.

Please keep in mind that these temperatures and times are merely guidelines. Actual cooking times may vary depending on the size, shape, and amount of food. When air frying a new item always make sure that your food is cooked properly before consumption. According to the USDA, the safe internal temperature for poultry is 165°F and for beef is 160°F. We started our testing with a classic air fryer dish: frozen french fries…we were slightly disappointed with the outcome, however. It takes longer than a traditional air fryer to cook food since it has a lower wattage than other popular air fryers Cooking fat-free fried food that tastes exactly like real deal sounds too good to be true but, as any air fryer convert will tell you (repeatedly), the results are mind-blowingly good. But no matter how much praise is lauded on air fryers, investing will always have a detrimental impact on the available space in your kitchen. It is an additional appliance that, most likely, your kitchen layout was never designed to accommodate, and some models are bigger than a family-size microwave. This is where the Compact Air Fryer can save the day, allowing you to enjoy healthier cooking, without overloading counter-tops or crowding cupboards.TIP: If the Crisper Drawer or Crisper Tray is dirty, fill the Crisper Drawer with hot water and dish soap, place the Crisper Tray in the Crisper Drawer and let it soak for about 10 minutes. To choose the best small air fryer for you, it is essential to be realistic when it comes to portion sizes. The basket capacity specified rarely lives up to the promise, especially when it comes to chips, which need decent air flow space around to achieve an even, crisp fry. Skinny fries can sometimes yield better results but if you overcrowd the basket, you will end up with raw clumps of potato on the inside, while the outer fries will appear to have been cooked by the sun.Small air fryers are not for family use, and some are only suited to lone households; and even then you probably won't be able to fit a full meal in at once. The appliance first gained popularity as a healthier alternative to soaking our favorite fried foods in oil, but it’s so much more than that. Air fryers are equipped to handle many different cooking styles, including air frying, roasting, warming, grilling, and convection. The result? A memorable meal that takes minimal effort — and makes for even fewer dirty dishes.

Both toaster ovens I tested cooked the slowest of all the small air fryers. However, the Ninja cooked the broccoli and wings evenly. The fries were less evenly cooked — more done on the periphery than the interior — but tasted great. Step 4: Wash the Basket - Wash the basket, tray, and any other removable parts with warm, soapy water, or in the dishwasher if they are dishwasher safe. If you’re just looking to cut some excess fat with your weekly french fry habit, a straightforward air fryer may be suitable for your cooking routine. But if you want the ability to make fruit jerky or roast an extra bird on Thanksgiving, well, that’s something to shoot for. With so many air fryer iterations on the market, it’s easy to find a device that does as much—or as little—as you need.Bear in mind, they may not perform every function especially well so you may be better off getting a good dehydrator, for example, if dehydrating is important to you. Air fryers come in a variety of capacities ranging from 2 quarts to almost 6 quarts. Capacity is, in my opinion, the most important factor you should consider when you're buying an air fryer. This Dash compact air fryerhas a 1.6 quart capacity.As well as air-frying, the appliance, which is easy to clean as both sections of the frying basket are dishwasher-safe, can also roast, bake and reheat, too. It was also one of the quietest air fryer we’ve tested to date. In addition, the exterior casing remained cool to the touch throughout cooking, making it an appealing option for small families. The low-profile design of the Ninja Digital Air Fry Countertop Oven allows it to fit in tight spaces and it can even be stored vertically to free up counter space. Yet, the interior can still accommodate pizzas up to 13 inches in diameter. The eight presets include baking without convection, toasting, and dehydration, all useful and not commonly found in pod air fryers. Size: How many people are you cooking for at one time? A compact size (around 2 quarts) is good for one to two people, while a bigger size works better for three or more. You should also consider what kinds of foods you cook. Do you need room for a dozen egg rolls, or do you just want to cook a piece of salmon for yourself?

The buttons for adjusting the temperature and time are clearly lit. The presets are only labeled with symbols, which can be confusing. For example, the dehydrate mode is represented by an orange. Still, dehydrating is a useful feature not all air fryers have. Choose the right size air fryer according to the number of people you’re feeding and the space available in your kitchen. Key considerations Size For the past couple of years, homes across the globe have been turning to the best air fryer to make healthy, delicious meals. The beauty of an air fryer is that many require minimal, if any, preheating and they can cook foods in up to half the time as you'd expect from using a conventional oven with a smaller space to heat. Since you are heating a smaller space and the heat is circulated rather than constantly generated, an air fryer can cut down on the amount of energy you're using. Less or no oil is required when cooking most food types, too, making this type of appliance a good go-to for healthy eating. Since you will ideally only place a single layer of foodin the Dash Compact Air Fryer, the round shape will limit how much food you can cook in a single cooking cycle. Step 2: Plug in and Preheat - Plug the Dash Air Fryer into a power outlet and select the desired temperature using the temperature control knob or preset buttons. Once the desired temperature is set, press the "Start" button to preheat the appliance.Fleming also suggests 4 to 6 quarts for two people. "I always advise people to buy bigger because if you are cooking for two people, you really want the option to make the whole meal in the air fryer," she said. White smoke is caused by grease heating up in the Crisper Drawer. Make sure you clean the Crisper Drawer properly after each use.

Instant shows up on our list again, because it's created an appliance that delivers on both pressure cooking and air frying. It's a space saver if you don't want to dedicate counter space to two separate units. And it also performed well in our Lab tests with its other functions, including slow cooker, steamer, sauté pan, food warmer, roaster, mini oven, broiler, dehydrator, yogurt maker, sous vide and bread proofer. You can also use the Air Fryer to reheat foods. To reheat food, set the temperature to 300℉ for up to 10 minutes. The Dreo Aircrisp Pro Air Fryer is the best compact air fryer we tested, making perfect wings and fries while using space efficiently. Air fryers from Instant, the same brand that makes Instant Pot multicookers, have been on our list of the best air fryers since we started testing them. All the Instant air fryers we've tested, including this one, are easy to program and high-performing. This model — a steal when on sale but a great value even at full price — particularly stands out for its see-through window design, which allows you to peer inside without pulling out the basket. It also has a light inside that turns on automatically right before the timer goes off — and you can turn it on manually whenever you want to see what's going on in there. Choose a small air fryer that is convenient to use, makes efficient use of space, and doesn't have a bunch of features you won't use.Step 1: Turn off and Unplug - Before cleaning your Dash Air Fryer, ensure that it is turned off and unplugged from the power outlet. Shaking smaller items halfway during the preparation time optimizes the end result and can help prevent unevenly fried foods. Air fryer ovens are a bit bigger and can air fry food on multiple shelves, but they require more monitoring and food often needs to be rotated during cooking.