Yahoo Finance This Air Fryer Has A See-Through Window So You'll Never Burn Your Food Again
- 1/11
This Air Fryer Has A See-Through Window So You'll Never Burn Your Food Again
You may not be able to afford a personal chef, but you won’t have to with an air fryer. Whether you’re reheating last night’s fries or throwing some wings together for the big game, these compact ovens pack a powerful punch with their “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Deep-Fried” capabilities. But which is the best air fryer to buy? From potential health benefits to the best air fryers on the market, we’re here to answer all your questions so you can celebrate every day like it’s Fry-day.
Start collecting your favorite air fryer recipes—we've got air fryer doughnuts, air fryer toasted ravioli, and so much more. We know this is going to be the start of a long, beautiful friendship.
Our top picks
- Best Air Fryer: Ninja Air Fryer Max XL
- Best Budget Air Fryer: Chefman TurboFry
- Best Splurge Air Fryer: Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven Air Fryer
- Best Air Fryer Oven with Rotisserie: PowerXL Air Fryer Pro Oven
- Best Air Fryer for a Family of Four: Instant Vortex Plus
- Best Small Air Fryer: Philips Compact Air Fryer
- Best Large-Capacity Air Fryer: GoWise 7-Quart Electric Air Fryer
- Best Digital Air Fryer Oven: Cosori Air Fryer Oven
- Easiest to Use Air Fryer: Black + Decker Purifry
- Best Air Fryer for One Person: Dash Compact Air Fryer
How we picked these products
Evaluating everything from ease of use and assembly, to food’s crispiness, juiciness and evenness, our friends at the Good Housekeeping Institute tested a variety of models to find the best air fryers. Their team of on-staff experts—which includes all types: engineers! data analysts! registered dietitians!—rigorously put everyday products to the test (and then more and more tests) in their New York City-based labs to determine which ones you can trust. They tested each machine for user-friendliness, efficiency, cleanability, noise level during operation, and temperature range.
Sarah Ciceneros - 2/11
Ninja Air Fryer Max XL
Ninja
amazon.com
$149.69
Plenty of air fryer brands boast a variety of features, but for the most part, they’re just full of hot air—literally. That isn’t the case with the traditional, basket-style Ninja Max XL, though: It comes fully-loaded with an intuitive interface, user-friendly controls, and even accessories like a broiling rack.
Furthermore, the Good Housekeeping Institute's testing panel noted "the drawer slid in and out easily, which made handling a breeze" during their tests. The surface area is a little small compared to other 5.5-quart air fryers, but we like the non-stick basket’s ceramic coating and removable tray, which fits securely at the bottom of the basket so you don’t have to worry about it falling out when you’re unloading food onto your plate.
This air fryer also offers a variety of cooking settings that are pre-programmed with minimum and maximum cooking temperatures. (For example: The max crisp and air broil functions can reach up to 450°F, while the dehydrate function can hit a low of 105°F.) It also includes an innovative timer feature that counts down to the second, though it doesn’t remember your previous time like some advanced models and defaults at 20 minutes. Best of all, the Max XL accessories are all dishwasher-safe, but they’re a breeze to hand wash as well if that’s your preference.
Amazon - 3/11
TurboFry
Chefman
wayfair.com
$56.85
You don’t have to drop serious cash to hop on the air frying bandwagon—just ask the Chefman TurboFry. According to the Good Housekeeping Institute, this budget-friendly model produced "crispy and even results" for everything from cauliflower tater tots to chicken tenders, but it’s worth noting that you'll need to empty the 3.6-quart vented basket between uses to avoid a pool of grease and other drippings.
That being said, there are some caveats that come with the TurboFry's affordability, like the eventual chipping of the basket’s enamel and the need for a cleaning brush when scrubbing down the tray.
Chefman - 4/11
Convection Toaster Oven Airfryer
Cuisinart
amazon.com
$299.95
As the priciest option on our list, the Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven Air Fryer comes with all the features you need, plus plenty of other bells and whistles. This double whammy of a small appliance excels at baking, convection baking (there’s a difference: convection baking uses the air fryer’s fan to circulate heat), toasting, and air frying.
This intuitive air fryer cooks food evenly and in record time, but the Good Housekeeping Institute recommends "using a lower temp and keeping a close eye on food to help prevent burning," because this speed demon can shave several minutes off a frozen package’s suggested cooking time. Once you’ve polished off your coconut shrimp or jalapeño poppers, just wipe down the handy crumb tray and you're ready for the next batch.
Cuisinart - 5/11
Air Fryer Pro Oven
PowerXL
amazon.com
$99.99
Once you pick up the PowerXL Air Fryer Pro Oven, you won’t be able to help walking around your home singing “I got the power!” In addition to its 6-quart rotating basket, this model has a grand total of five racks, two of which are rimmed to keep food from sliding off, and all of which can all be used at the same time—you don’t even have to rotate them while you’re cooking!
Other dishwasher-safe accessories include skewers for kebabs, a removal tool, and a rotisserie spit, though the Good Housekeeping Institute's testers found "fell off during cooking without us noticing, but still managed to rotate."
The intuitive touch panel also offers presets with recommended cooking temperatures and times for different foods, all of which can be adjusted. Unlike its fellow traditional basket air fryers, this model even comes with a light to keep an eye on your nuggets and tots.
amazon.com - 6/11
Vortex Plus
Instant
amazon.com
$139.99
Given how convenient the Instant Pot is, it should come as no surprise that Instant’s Vortex Plus is the best air fryer for cooking for the whole family on our list. This sleek, intuitive appliance proves that variety truly is the spice of life, with six cooking settings—air fry, bake, broil, dehydrate, reheat, and roast—and a wide range of programmable temperature and time settings.
Featuring a square 6-quart basket, the Vortex Plus also boasts more cooking space than its round competitors and has a thin-hinged handle on the removable tray, so it stays flat while you’re cooking, but is easy to pull out to check on your food. It's good to note, though, that "the buttons on the control panel require a little bit of force to push," according to the Good Housekeeping Institute.
Instant - 7/11
Compact Air Fryer
Philips
amazon.com
$149.95
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and that certainly rings true for the Philips Compact Air Fryer, which packs a powerful punch despite its smaller 2.5-quart size. Boasting the capability to evenly cook everything from fries to sausages, this air fryer comes fully equipped with four preset settings, an intuitive control panel, and a splatter lid (which all of our other recommendations lack).
During the Good Housekeeping Institute's tests, the lid's unique design resulted in "crisp frozen fries that were moist on the inside and evenly golden."
Though it’s a bit pricey, the Philips can prepare up to two portions of food at one time, making it a great option for single home chefs or smaller households. The dishwasher-safe basket also features a removable handle to make cleanup a breeze.
amazon.com - 8/11
7-Quart Digital Touchscreen Air Fryer
GoWISE USA
amazon.com
$85.60
Cooking for a crowd? Boasting the largest capacity of all our recommendations, the GoWISE USA 7-Quart Digital Touchscreen Air Fryer is here to save any cocktail party or game day celebration. Sure, the GoWISE sacrifices some performance for its massive size, but this gadget can dehydrate up to four layers at a time using its four stackable racks.
Though the Good Housekeeping Institute found its design to be "a little dated," they were impressed by the unique oblong shape of this model's fryer basket, which "increases the cooking area in comparison to traditionally round baskets" and therefore eliminates the need for cooking your food in batches…unless you’re holding the pigs in a blanket equivalent of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
GoWISE USA - 9/11
Air Fryer Oven
Cosori
amazon.com
$99.99
Unlike its competitors, the Cosori Air Fryer Oven boasts a lightweight, 3.7-quart basket and a preheat function among its plethora of programmed presets and temperature options. Steam escaping from the basket can cause some condensation to form on the drawer, but this air fryer can still easily crisp up wings and fries. (Though, like the Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven Air Fryer, you’ll have to keep an eye on your snacks to prevent overcooking.)
Overall, the Good Housekeeping Institute said "In our tests, the Cosori scored high for ease of use." But if you don’t believe us, just ask the 6,300+ Amazon reviewers who wholeheartedly agree!
Cosori - 10/11
Purifry
Black + Decker
walmart.com
$78.11
Who says fried foods have to be greasy? Though it’s not the best at frying up certain foods, like homemade French fries (which the Good Housekeeping Institute testers found came out "greasy, unevenly crisp outside, and raw inside"), the Black + Decker Purifry boasts two convection fans and has temperature recommendations for common foods to ensure consistency. It also includes intuitive controls and two indicator lights to show when the device is on and when it's preheated.
With the capacity to hold up to 8 cups of food, the fryer basket is easy to insert, remove, and clean—like the rest of this model’s removable accessories, the basket is dishwasher-safe. Simply adjust the knobs to set your desired cooking time up to 60 minutes and temperature up to 400°F, throw in your wings or mozzarella sticks, and then wait for that melodious ding to know your food is ready.
Black + Decker - 11/11
Compact Air Fryer
Dash
amazon.com
$49.99
If you like the look of Smeg refrigerators, you’ll love the retro-chic design of the Dash Compact Air Fryer, which comes in a wide range of fun colors. An ideal option for those cooking for one, this model features a smaller, 1.7-liter capacity and a modest size that’s perfect for easy cleaning and storage or for kitchens with limited counter space.
Though the Good Housekeeping Institute's kitchen tech experts said the mechanical timer "makes it a little tricky to program to the exact minute" and it doesn't have a lot of temperature options, the maximum setting of 400°F should cook most foods evenly.
Dash
