Whether you’re looking for a perfect gift or a way to make healthier meals for your family, air fryers are a popular appliance in the kitchen.  I have put some to the test to see how they perform so you don’t have to.

Firstly air frying is a method of cooking that cooks with hot air, no oil needed. It is basically the same as a convection oven. So, if you have a convection setting in your oven, you don’ need to invest in an air fryer.  Convection or air frying both cook by blowing the hot air around the oven speeding up cook time and making things much crispier.

Method:

To test these air fryers I cooked frozen french fries and fresh chicken wings. All cooking temp were the defaults or recommended in the instruction booklets as per the manufacturer instructions.

1. Breville Smart Oven™ Air Fryer Pro

Price: $629

What it does: 13 functions – Toast, Bagel, Broil, Bake, Roast, Warm, Pizza, Proof, Airfry, Reheat, Cookies, Slow Cook, Dehydrate

Cook time: Used the default cook time of 25 min @ 400 degrees

Results: The fries were done in 7 mins – crispy and golden. Wings were done about 8 mins crispy and cooked. I checked them at 8 min and they were overdone. Maybe down at 7 mins. Fall off the bone delish.

Pros:

• Air fry frozen setting for cooking frozen foods – it adjusts the cooking time for you.
• LOTS of settings and LOTS of options, frozen settings, can cook more than one thing on separate trays.
• Very quick cooking.
• Can cook 2 things at once on different trays.

Cons:

• You have to preheat the oven before adding the food.
• Wings stuck to the pan badly but oiling the pan would add oil clean up was not easy (*use the roasting pan for wings because of the drip. The basket for fries.)

2. Cosori VeSync Pro Smart 5.8-Quart Air Fryer

Price: $129

What it does: Wifi enabled

Cook time: Fries at 380 for the recommended 25 mins but I checked it at 7 mins they were crisp and golden. Wings at preset 380 for 25 mins – but I checked at 7 mins and they were done.

Pros:

• the smallest and lightest for storing away between uses.
• Preset buttons – fries, chicken steak, etc.
• Super easy cleanup – dishwasher safe.

Cons:

• The screen is a bit dark. I kept looking for a packing film to remove to make it clearer.
• One food item at a time.

3. Ninja Foodi™ Smart XL 6-in-1 Indoor Grill

Price: $399

What it does: Six functions, this product is not only an air fryer but a grill as well.

Cook time: Fries at 350 for 18-22 mins checked at 7 mins but added 2 more = 9 mins. Wings at 390 for 22 mins checked at 8 mins and they were overdone. I’m guessing 6-7 mins would have done it. VERY crispy.

Pros:

• clear buttons, easy to use, smaller size – easy to tuck away.
• Very easy to clean – dishwasher safe.
• It also comes with the Foodi Smart Thermometer which takes the guesswork out of grilling and cooks your dish to your ideal internal temperature.

Cons:

• All of the pieces don’t nest together for storage

4. Cuisinart Digital AirFryer Toaster Oven

Price: $449.99

What it does: Bake, Broil, Pizza, Roast, Toast, Bagel, Reheat, Warm, Dual Cook & Frozen Button

Cook time: Fries at 400 for 10 mins. Wings at 400 for 10 mins.

Pros:

• The quick reference guide for common items, frozen settings, can cook more than one thing on separate trays.
• No, preheat but longer cook time by 3 mins.
• Very quiet.
• Low smoke/steam.

Cons:

• Size, clean-up for wings was tough.

5. Ninja Foodi™ 6-in-1 8-qt. 2-Basket Air Fryer with DualZone™ Technology

Price: $199

What it does: DualZone Technology allows the two dishes to cook at two different temperatures and times with a “smart finish” feature.

Cook time: Fries at 390 for 18 min. Wings at 390 for 20 min.

Pros:

• Cooking at 2 different times and temperatures.
• Smart cooking (it adjusts the time so they are done at the same time).
• No preheat.
• Super crispy evenly cooked.
• Easy cleanup – dishwasher.

Cons:

• Smaller individual cook capacity in each basket vs a single basket cooker (but total cook capacity is large).

Overall Results:

They all work. You are really looking for the machine that suits your needs, fits your home at the budget that you are comfortable with.

The crispiest were definitely from the Ninja.