Nicole Papantoniou is the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab. She has worked at kitchen appliance companies, where she helped develop some popular air fryers as well as many recipes for them. Since joining Good Housekeeping, she has had her hands on all of the new air fryers that come through the Lab (whether testing herself or overseeing testing) and has tasted food that was made in almost all of them. She's an avid air fryer user at home, too, where she has about six to choose from. Lastly, it’s worth thinking about clean-up – most of the fryers on our list have dishwasher-proof baskets and accessories, while the two oven air fryers we’ve featured have removable doors to help you keep your machine as clean as possible. How we test air fryers Air frying uses significantly less oil than deep frying and pan frying, so it can provide a lower-calorie and lower-fat alternative that still delivers a crisp texture," says Stefani Sassos, M.S., R.D.N., C.D.N."But air fryers are only as healthy as the foods you chose to cook in them. They won’t magically remove saturated and trans fats from your meals.” 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. As air fryers are designed with additional functions, such as baking and roasting, cookbooks are written to include recipes using those functions. If your air fryer only air fries, make sure to choose a book with recipes that focus on that.

P rice: Digital air fryers tend to cost more than mechanical air fryers, as do stainless steel options versus plastic. And models that provide more functions, like steam cooking or slow cooking, will also cost more than those that are focused on air frying. Basket-style air fryers have a pull-out basket and are good for small quantities and foods that are easy to shake, like fries and veggies. Use a damp cloth or paper towel to wipe down the fixed parts of the interior as well as the outside of the machine. Dry well before plugging in and using again. Air fryer toaster ovens can perform multiple cooking functions — like toasting, baking, roasting, broiling and sometimes even rotisserie — in addition to air frying. Pressure cookers with air frying capability can also provide a slew of cooking functions beyond air frying and pressure cooking, including rice, slow cook, sauté and even yogurt or dehydrate.Style: There are several styles of air fryer now on the market, including microwave air fryer combos and electric ranges that have air fry capabilities, but we've focused on countertop models here. Gord and I received an air fryer as a Christmas gift in December. We liked it so much that we bought a second one. Since then, I've been looking for fun things to cook in it. 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.

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.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. 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. The air fryer cooking guide was handy. I liked that cooking times and nutrition (calories. amount of fat, protein, carbs, etc.) were provided. 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? So when it came to rounding up our favorite air-fryer cookbooks, we took the task very seriously. Since air-fryer models are constantly being refined and updated, the recipes and cookbooks you use should reflect that. Each of the following cookbooks contain recipes that are not only rigorously tested, but also include plenty of tips on how you can get restaurant-quality results at home. Because we definitely believe you shouldn't have to leave your house to get a hot, fresh donut.