The idea of healthy fried food may seem a little bit too good to be true, but since the air fryer has entered the game, preparing healthy fried foods can now be achieved with the click of a button. Where deep fat fryers require a lot of oil and take up plenty of kitchen space, and frying food in a pan leads to a lot of mess (and even the occasional burn), the best air fryers can cook delicious, crispy food using little or no oil–making them significantly better for your fat intake and heart.
What is an air fryer?
While a relatively new invention, air fryers are smaller kitchen gadgets that cook either without oil, or using very little, and instead use hot air, making the food they cook not only healthier but they're quicker at getting the job done, too. They've taken the UK by storm thanks to their compact size and energy efficiency credentials, as they’re so much smaller, they take far less time to heat up, and are cheaper to run than traditional ovens.
Air fryers are versatile little things and can also reheat, bake, roast, dehydrate and grill – making them a true kitchen whizz. Plus, online retailers like Amazon, John Lewis, Curry’s and Argos have a wide variety of air fryers to choose form to suit your kitchen size, budget and lifestyle.
The best air fryers at a glance
- Best overall air fryer: Ninja Foodi Multi-Cooker Air Fryer
- Best cheap air fryer: Tower T17025 Vortxxc.compact Air Fryer
- Best small air fryer: The Magic Bullet 2.5-litre Air Fryer
- Best large air fryer: Instant Vortex Plus Dual Basket with ClearCook
- Best dual drawer air fryer: Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF3OOUK Air Fryer
- Best compact air fryer: Cosori Lite Air Fryer 3.8L
- Best oven air fryer: The Smart Oven Air Fryer
- Best stirring paddle air fryer: Tefal ActiFry Genius XL 2in1 YV970840
- Most stylish air fryer: Cosori Air Fryer XXL
What type of air fryers are there?
While there are plenty of air fryers to choose from, these handy kitchen appliances mostly fall under four distinct categories: basket-style air fryers, rotisserie style air fryers, mini convection oven air fryers and ones with an interior stirring paddle, which we’ll explain in more depth below.
Basket-style air fryers are the most common and are either egg-shaped with a centralised unit, or vertically inclined which means they take up less counter space. The egg-shaped style means they have a slightly smaller kitchen countertop footprint, and basket styles tend not to have windows for food viewing.
There's also 'double', or 'dual basket air fryers', which have two separate cooking compartments, and can cook different foods simultaneously while ensuring they’re ready at the same time. They're extremely useful, but are bigger and more expensive.
Rotisserie-style air fryers are the best for roasting juicy, evenly cooked chickens and other meats. As the name suggests, these machines have a rotisserie function and can roast much quicker than an oven. They are also great for making perfect chips.
A mini oven style air fryer, which is also known as a toaster oven style air fryer, is normally about the size and shape of a microwave and are often the most expensive style due to their larger size. This group features a drawer or tray that can be pulled out, and they are available in varying capacities. As they sound, they look like a small oven that sits on the worktop. Depending on your needs, some could even replace a traditional oven, while they're also nifty and can help if you're cooking a feast and hosting Christmas and need extra cooking space.
Interior paddle air fryers are models that have a constant stirring motion. This means that your food is constantly moving while being cooked, and ensures an even finish. Another benefit is that you won’t have to shake the basket half way through cooking, as you do with other types. With these models, the oil remains in the pan, which opens up the opportunity to use a variety of sauces and enables air fryer-users to cook stews.
Our top picks for the best air fryers to buy
Size: 14.2D x 16.9W x 12.6H cm
Capacity: 6 litres
Cooking functions: Pressure cook, air fry, slow cook, steam, bake/roast, sear/sauté, grill, yoghurt, dehydrate
Type: Basket
Recipe booklet: Yes
Why we love it: This is an all-time favourite and beloved by both air fryer connoisseurs and newbies. While bulkier and not exactly the most stylish air fryer on our list (that award goes to the Cosori Air Fryer), this gadget won us over with its versatility.
The Ninja Foodi is a certified kitchen jack-of-all-trades and can function as a pressure cooker, air fryer, slow cooker, crisper and steamer. You can also use it to convection bake, roast, sauté, grill, dehydrate and even make yoghurt! Essentially it is doing for air fryers what the Always Pan has done for, well, pans. There is a 15-in-1 option out there but for most people this 9-in-1 will do perfectly well. This air fryer comes with a generous six litre capacity and can pressure cook up to 70% faster than traditional cooking methods. It also comes with a recipe booklet so you can maximise all its functions without casting around fruitlessly on Google for good things to make. You’ll certainly be spoilt for choice with this handy kitchen gadget.
Pros: Large capacity makes it great for families, and its wide versatility means it can replace lots of other kitchen gadgets
Cons: It takes up a lot of room on the worktop, it is fairly expensive and can be complicated to use
Size: 29D x 29W x 32H cm
Capacity: 2.5 litres
Cooking functions: Vegetables, fried, chicken wings, fish, poultry and frozen foods
Type: Basket
Recipe booklet: Yes
Why we love it: Short on worktop space? This machine is nice and compact, doesn't take up too much room and is perfect if you're cooking for one or two people. For air frying novices, this is also a good choice as there's just two dials to control it, so even the most basic of home cooks among us really can't go wrong. But don't let its small size and price tag let you think it's not up to par, as it most certainly is. It works well when it comes to crisping, but just expect it to take a little longer than some of its more powerful and bigger counterparts in this list.
Pros: Compact, very easy to use and affordable price
Cons: Cooking times can be a little off, small basket size, it's not super fast
Size: 13.8D x 14.8W x 12.4H cm
Capacity: 7.6 litres
Cooking functions: Air fry, max crisp, roast, bake, reheat and dehydrate
Type: Basket
Recipe booklet: Yes
Why we love it: Mastering cooking is often about mastering timing and preparing different foods to be ready at the same time. Enter the dual basket airfryer, which has two separate cooking zones, so you can cook totally different foods in there, such as veg in one and meat in the other, and have them ready at the same time, thanks to its sync function. It takes out all the faff of getting timings wrong, and food going cold while waiting for something else.
It has five other functions, including crisp, roast, bake, reheat and hydrate, and food doesn't stick to the bottom of the baskets either. While other plus points include the time on the front of the machine, and its pretty streamlined design means it's worthy of a place on your worktop.
Pros: Two different baskets that cook independently, dishwasher safe parts
Cons: Quite heavy
Size: 38.4D x 31.7W x 40.3H cm
Capacity: 7.6 litres
Cooking functions: Air fry, roast, bake, reheat, grill, dehydrate
Type: Basket
Recipe booklet: No
Why we love it: We especially like this air fryer as it combines the benefit of a clear window (usually only seen in oven style air fryers) with the double convenience of having two separate baskets. With this air fryer you can do roasties and Brussel sprouts at the same time and even coordinate cooking times between the two baskets. With six different functions including air fry, roast, grill, bake, reheat and dehydrate (and with separate touch controls for each basket) this air fryer does the job of a second (and third) pair of hands in the kitchen.
Pros: Dual basket air fryer, has windows to see the food while cooking, variety of functions, easy to use
Cons: Very large, 7.6 litre capacity is split between two baskets, can be loud at times, no recipe booklet
Size: 30D x 32.3W x 30H cm
Capacity: 5.5 litres
Cooking functions: Steak, chicken, chips, vegetables, frozen foods, shrimp, seafood, bacon, root vegetables, bread, desserts, pre-heat and keep warm
Type: Basket
Recipe booklet: Yes
Why we love it: There’s a reason why this stylish air fryer has received thousands of positive reviews on Amazon and it’s because it’s easy to use and offers plenty of functionality with a reasonable price tag.
With a 5.5 litre capacity, this air fryer is ideal for large families and the perfect multi-tasker for making French fries, fried chicken wings, and veggies. It even has a specially designed square basket that can fit a whole chicken. It uses 85% less oil than a deep fryer and has 13 different cooking modes which can be accessed via an intuitive touchscreen control panel. Its detachable, dishwasher safe fryer basket also easily separates food from oil. Plus, a 100-recipe booklet is included, so you’ll never run out of air fryer meal ideas.
Pros: Stylish and sleek design, dishwasher-safe basket, lightweight, can fit a whole chicken
Cons: It can be quite noisy, and it does get very hot
Size: 39D x 38.5W x 33H cm
Capacity: 8.2 litres
Cooking functions: 12 preset programs
Type: Basket
Recipe booklet: Yes
Why we love it: Another dual basket air fryer, but this one is slightly more affordable than others on our list, making it a great entry double basket fryer.
Its large screen is easy to use, as each pre-set has its own dedicated button with a little symbol on it, making it very simple to find what you’re after. Each basket is 4.1 litres, and can actually fit a small chicken in. And while that’s still roomy, it can at times feel a little small if you're cooking for a large family. But the beauty of this style of machine is its ability to synchronise each basket's cooking time to ensure identical cooking times and temperatures. The drawers are non-stick, so food crisps up nicely – including bacon – and they don't need much elbow grease when it comes to cleaning.
Pros: Can cook different foods at the same time, doesn’t overheat, more affordable for a dual style
Cons: Doesn’t have the highest temperature, large capacity is split between two baskets
Size: 37.6D x 27.5W x 32.5H cm
Capacity: 3.8 litres
Cooking functions: Chicken, fries, bacon, steak and vegetables
Type: Basket
Recipe booklet: Online recipe library
Why we love it: This sleek, compact air fryer has a larger than expected 3.8 litre capacity and doesn’t take up too much of your precious countertop space. It features upgraded ThermoIQ technology which automatically detects temperatures throughout cooking and improves air circulation to cook food faster and more evenly. With one touch presets, an easy-to-use digital display and a max temperature of 230℃, this lightweight air fryer offers all the same air fryer benefits as the bigger models on our list but does so while taking up much less space.
Pros: Dishwasher safe, compact and sleek design, WiFi connectivity
Cons: Not the most accurate with times and temperatures
Size: 39.5D x 39.5W x 39.8H cm
Capacity: 7.3 litres
Cooking functions: Air fry, gril, roast, bake, keep warm
Type: Basket
Recipe booklet: Yes
Why we love it: We think the Phillips Airfryer XXL is the best pick for large households, as it can accommodate a decent sized whole chicken, up to six portions of well cooked food and hold a huge 1.4kg of chips. Alongside this, the basket is fully removable and can be popped in the dishwasher for quick cleaning. It promises great tasting food with the least amount of fat and with five one-touch presets and TurboStar technology that melts fats using a ‘tornado’ of hot air – we’re inclined to agree.
Pros: Fits an entire chicken in it, easy to clean, dishwasher safe parts
Cons: Large and quite expensive
Size: 36.2D x 37.5W x 39H cm
Capacity: 7.6 litres
Cooking functions: Pressure cook, air fry, slow cook, steamer, saute, warm, sous vide, roast, bake, grill, dehydrate
Type: Basket
Recipe booklet: No
Why we love it: This is at the top end of Instant Pot's range, and is actually a multi-cooker with an air fryer function, as well as an impressive 10 other functions, including pressure cooking, steaming, roasting and baking. It's incredibly versatile, but that also comes with a much higher price tag, which is worth it if you'll use all of the cooking functions, and it will save you buying or storing other kitchen gadgets. If you love roasting a chicken, this machine can pressure cook it, and then use the air fryer to crisp up the skin, while keeping the meat juicy. Its large LED screen also makes it easy to use.
Pros: Extremely versatile machine that can take the place of numerous other kitchen gadgets
Cons: Quite large, expensive, no recipe book included
Size: 15.4D x 16.1W x 10.6H cm
Capacity: 3.8 litres
Cooking functions: Air fry, bake, roast, reheat, dehydrate and grill
Type: Mini oven
Recipe booklet: Yes
Why we love it: This air fryer has a couple of really great tricks up its sleeve. First of all, it doesn't need any oil to perform the task at hand. Secondly, it has a built-in digital cooking probe which makes cooking joints of meat a total breeze. It's easy to get them perfectly juicy and cooked all the way through, and eliminates the need for extra temperature tools.
Like all Ninja gadgets, it's high performing and speedy, too. It does get hot though, so it needs a heatproof surface underneath it when in use.
Pros: No oil required, built-in digital cooking probe, auto turn off when it's finished, dishwasher safe parts
Cons: Can get quite hot
Size: 40D x 32W x 40H cm
Capacity: 6.2 litres
Cooking functions: Air fry, grill, steam, fries, nuggets, chicken, fish, roasted meat, vegetables, dessert
Type: Basket
Recipe booklets: QR code for online recipes
Why we love it: This large machine lets you air fry, roast and steam with ease. We particularly like the die-cast non-stick aluminium sizzling grill plate, which makes it easy to achieve the perfect grill, minus all the hassle of whipping out the barbecue. Believe us, cooking chips has never been this easy. It's also rather quiet, which is an unusual feature with these gadgets, as most are fairly loud not only when in use, but when they beep too, but not this one!
Pros: No need to preheat, sleek design and touchscreen, is quiet
Cons: Takes up a lot of space, not a great instruction manual
Size: 38.4D x 27.4W x 30.7H cm
Capacity: 4.7 litres
Cooking functions: Chicken, fries, frozen foods, steak, seafood and vegetables
Type: Basket
Recipe booklet: Yes
Why we love it: The Cosori range of air fryers have such a great design, but it's not all about aesthetics as it's a good piece of kit when it comes to cooking, too. With its decent 4.7 litre capacity, it can cope with a good amount of chips, but can't quite fit a full sized chicken. The pre-heat function is helpful, as is the beep to remind you to shake things around, such as chips, for a more even cook.
Pros: Can pre-heat, compact size, good touchscreen, comes with recipe book, quiet when cooking, dishwasher safe parts
Cons: Can't fit a whole full-size chicken, does get very hot