I Tested 35 Air Fryers (Making Enough Wings to Feed a Football Stadium) to Find the Best Ones (2024)

When air fryers first entered the culinary world, it was easy to dismiss them as a fad. However, as of a few years ago, a whopping 36% of Americans owned an air fryer. Last year, the air fryer market clocked in at $1.7 billion. That’s a lot of crispy, crunchy cash.

It’s clear: The people want air fryers! Even an air fryer skeptic like, say, editorial director Daniel Gritzer admits that “they do roast small amounts of food very, very well, and quickly too” and adds “if you have the space to store yet another device in your kitchen, it's arguably worth buying one.”

What glowing praise! I kid…I kid. I’ve actually been an air fryer fan for many years, using one every week to crisp up proteins without fuss, make vegetable sides whose browning rivals the best oven-roasted methods, and cook a variety of frozen foods. (Take your frozen food slander elsewhere…I’m not here for it!)

As such, I can tell you firsthand some air fryers do not cook well. Others are exceptionally frustrating to program. And even more hold far less food than you’d expect given their behemoth stature. To find the best air fryers I tested 35 of them, using each to cook frozen and homemade fries and chicken wings.

The Winners, at a Glance

Of all the air fryers I tested, this model cooked food the fastest and most evenly, yielding crispy fries and golden chicken wings. It had a large capacity and an intuitive digital control panel with a knob that made adjusting the time and temperature easy. Unlike some air fryers, the Vortex allows you to manually set the temperature in 5-degree increments, giving you more control. It also saves your last used temperature and heat settings. I first tested this air fryer in 2021, and have been using it ever since; I'm happy to report it stands the test of time.

With a sleek, all-digital control panel and a roomy basket, this air fryer produced well-browned, evenly-cooked results. It had helpful usability features, like a dishwasher-safe insert, a sliding cover over its basket release button, and an extra-long power cord for those that have minimal or far-away outlets.

This air fryer was the only smaller capacity model with a round basket (read: less cooking area) that still produced crispy, evenly cooked food. (Note: I have a top pick below for a truly tiny air fryer.) It had a clearly labeled analog control panel with a small digital screen that may be appealing to the touchscreen-averse crowd. It lacks presets, but I prefer setting the temperature and time myself anyway.

With a touchscreen display, a spacious cooking basket, and a 7-quart capacity (which is 1-quart larger than my overall top pick), the GoWISE had no issues with overcrowding. It crisped. It crunched. And, like the Instant, it allows the temperature to be set in 5-degree increments.

Similar to my overall top pick from Instant, this features touchscreen digital controls and a knob for easily (and quickly) toggling the time and temperature. The roomy basket evenly cooked fries and wings, and the price is great. It also has a see-through window so you can monitor food mid-cooking.

Cooking for one? Live in an apartment? Still want an air fryer? Well, this Cosori model will fit the bill. It has a digital screen and just four settings, but the temperature can be adjusted in 5-degree increments and the fries it made emerged crispy and evenly cooked.

If you want to save some counter space without sacrificing too much cooking area, this model from Cosori might be right for you. It crisped up food nicely, had a responsive touchscreen, and was one of the quieter models I tested. Its max temperature was 450℉, which is 50 degrees higher than most air fryers go.

After a recent air fryer toaster oven re-test, this Breville was a clear winner. While its toasting was a little wane, it crisped and browned food exceptionally well. Its large size can even accommodate a whole roast chicken and its digital screen and clearly labeled knobs were easy to use.

This more compact model is loaded with user-friendly features, including its intuitive interface, a door that gently and smoothly opens, and a large air fryer basket. It comes in some vibrant hues, too, like Damson Blue, Olive Tapenade, and Red Velvet. I’ve used a Breville toaster oven for years and have been consistently impressed by its quality and performance.

What Is an Air Fryer?

An air fryer is essentially a convection oven equipped with a very effective fan. Compared to an oven, an air fryer is small and has a compact cooking chamber. This means it heats up quickly and efficiently. Because of this, many air fryers also skip pre-heating, with their timer immediately beginning to countdown as soon you press start. Air fryers also feature cooking baskets with all-over perforations, which allow air to efficiently circulate the food for all-over browning.

Worth mentioning, too, is exactly how contained an air fryer is. Unlike the stovetop, or even an oven door that gets splattered with grease, any messes stay within the air fryer, cutting down on cleanup. (Occasionally, you should deep-clean your air fryer, which shouldn’t be surprising.)

How I Tested the Air Fryers

• The Set Up: Before cooking in them, I washed each air fryer basket and wiped down the interior and exterior. Most manufacturers tell you to perform a test cycle or two to make sure your air fryer is working properly and to burn off any residue left over from the manufacturing process. To keep this standardized, I heated all of the air fryers at 400℉ for five minutes, then let them cool.
• Frozen Fries Test: I cooked one pound of frozen French fries for 20 minutes at 400℉, shaking the basket every five minutes and noting whether the air fryer finished cooking early (when the fries were crispy and golden brown all over). For the air fryers with dual baskets, I first cooked a 1/2-pound of fries in each basket, then repeated this test with 1-pound.
• Homemade French Fries Test: I made homemade French fries with each air fryer, using one-and-a-half pounds of potatoes.
• Chicken Wings Test (Winners-Only): With my favorite air fryers, I cooked two pounds of chicken wings.
• Usability Tests: Throughout testing, I evaluated how easy it was to set the time and temperature and shake the air fryer baskets mid-way through cooking. I also noted how quiet (or loud) the air fryers were when on.
• Cleanup Tests: After each test, I washed the air fryer baskets by hand. At the end of testing, top picks that had dishwasher-safe baskets were cleaned this way, too.
  

What We Learned

Types of Air Fryers

I’ll cover the pros and cons of each style of air fryer in depth below, but here's a quick synopsis:

• Basket air fryers: If you think of an air fryer, this is likely it. This style of air fryer has one core task: air frying. It has a basket with a handle that can be easily grasped and used to shake food mid-cooking.
• Air fryer toaster ovens: Air fryer toaster ovens are, basically, toaster ovens with air fryer functions. They come with perforated inserts for better air circulation. Like a toaster oven, they can also toast, bake, broil, and roast.
• Dual basket air fryers: These models have two baskets that are smaller than a standard air fryer’s. They can be run at the same temperature and time or different ones.
  

Should You Preheat an Air Fryer?

Preheating an air fryer doesn’t necessarily determine whether it’ll crisp food better or quicker. However, some air fryers (like those from Instant) have built-in preheating cyclings that last for about three to four minutes. Only one of these models (the winner, the Instant Vortex Plus 6 Quart Air Fryer) had a pre-heat cycle that cut down on the cooking time. For example, when I made frozen fries, they were done after 10 minutes at 400℉, whereas other models took 20 minutes. Even with a built-in preheat time of four minutes, that’s six minutes faster. Other models with built-in pre-heating cycles didn’t crisp as well, but that came down to other factors—like basket shape and size—and not the pre-heat cycle itself.

So, should you preheat an air fryer? Unless your model has a built-in preheating cycle, you can skip it.

Which Air Fryers Browned and Crisped the Best?

Performance and speed varied widely across the air fryers. For best results, I recommend taking recipe times with a grain of salt and frequently check (read: toss) your food. This will help you figure out whether your air fryer’s running hot or cold, fast or slow. However, I found the cooking basket’s size and shape played an undoubtable role in performance.

The best air fryers had square baskets that were at least 10 inches wide and 4.25 inches high, lessening crowding and allowing for more air circulation. It’s worth noting that fan speed may have impacted performance too, but this was hard to measure.

As for the poor performers, for the most part, air fryers with smaller, round baskets cooked and crisped poorer than ones with larger, square baskets. The reason is simple: There was more crowding and less room for airflow. Air fryers with trays (I’m not talking about air fryer toaster ovens) did the worst of all, though. Take the Instant Vortex Plus 10 Quart Air Fryer. Because the fan was located in the ceiling, the top tray browned (and even burnt) before the bottom tray cooked.

Why Dual Basket Air Fryers Weren’t Worth It

Air fryers with dual baskets—like the Instant Vortex Plus Dual ClearCook Airfryer and Ninja Foodi 2-Basket Air Fryer—allow you to set two separate temperatures and cook times at once or sync them to run in tandem. However, their performance just didn’t match their appeal. This is because you aren't getting more cooking space, despite the machines being (quite actually) double the size of standalone models.

The Instant and Ninja’s baskets measured 6.15 and 6.65 inches wide compared to the Instant Vortex’s 10.14 inches. While these models could cook a 1/2-pound of fries in each basket fine, as soon as I bumped it up to 1-pound, the spuds emerged raw after 20 minutes. In contrast, my top pick could easily handle a pound of fries (and then some). If you want an air fryer that works well with any quantity of food, I don’t see the value in buying a dual-basket air fryer. However, if you cook for two and want to frequently, say, cook a protein and vegetable at two different temperatures at once, opt for the Instant Vortex Plus Dual ClearCook Airfryer. I can’t say I officially recommend it, but it will work.

Digital Controls Were Easiest to Use

Air fryers with digital controls, responsive touchscreens, and knobs for easily increasing the time and temperature were the easiest to use. All touchscreen control panels were fine, too, but they had to be clearly labeled, as some relied on small pictographs for their presets. And while it wasn’t entirely essential to the success of the fries or wings I made, I preferred if I could set the temperature in 5-degree increments, rather than 10-, 15-, or even 25-degree increments. This gave me more control. Plus, it will allow you to more closely follow recipes.

Air Fryer Safety

How the air fryer baskets were designed impacted their usability—and safety. The basket’s handle had to be comfortable to hold but also positioned far enough away from the basket you didn’t scrape your knuckles against the hot surface when grasping it.

The air fryer baskets either had inserts that locked into the base via their handles or perforated shelves that sat at the bottom of the baskets. If the former, the handle and basket had to feel secure (no wobbling!); if the latter, the inserts had to have larger silicone bumpers so that they didn’t slide out of the basket when tilted.

Cleaning the Air Fryers Was Easy

All of the air fryers were fine to clean. While some were dishwasher-safe (per the manufacturer’s guidelines), you should hand-wash anything nonstick, as the high temperatures of the dishwasher will break down the coating faster. Some of the models (Cosori, Dash, GoWise) had a plastic slider covering the basket release button on the handle. This cover trapped water, but it wasn’t too troublesome. For a more in-depth look at how to clean an air fryer, head here.

Air Fryer vs. Air Fryer Toaster Oven: Which Should You Buy?

The answer to this depends on four things: features, capacity, space, and price. Thanks to their compact cooking chambers, powerful fans, and perforated baskets, air fryers excel at cooking food in a short amount of time with little to no preheating. However, they're also only suitable for four-ish servings, or else you run into crowding issues (and subpar results). Even my top air fryer from Instant (which says it serves four to six) would have a tough time fitting six, 6-ounce portions of salmon or enough pounds of fries to feed a hungry crowd. Space-wise, they are, of course, another electric appliance to store. However, air fryers are relatively inexpensive (several of my favorites are less than $130).

Air fryer toaster ovens on the other hand are basically toaster ovens with included perforated baskets that span the length of the ovens. In the case of the air fryer toaster oven version of our favorite toaster oven from Breville, the company says it has "super convection" which bumps its convection fan up a faster speed to "ensure fast and even heat distribution." When we tested air fryer toaster ovens, we found while they all air-fried well, they were tougher to use and much messier than standalone air fryers. However, air fryer toaster ovens can hold more food (you could fit six portions of protein easily) and, depending on what model you buy, can also be great toaster ovens. So, they’re more versatile. Of course, air fryer toaster ovens are costlier than air fryers.

In summary: if you're cooking for four people or less, have the storage space, and don't want to spend a ton, stick with a standard air fryer. If you frequently cook for a crowd, have the countertop space, and are looking for a do-it-all appliance, go with an air fryer toaster oven.

The Criteria: What to Look for in an Air Fryer

The best air fryers are equipped with large baskets, make well-browned, crispy food, have handles that stay cool to the touch, and have intuitive controls. Other qualities that were helpful, but not 100% necessary: a knob that allowed you to easily adjust the time and temperature and the ability to change the temperature in 5-degree increments.

Our Favorite Air Fryers

What we liked: With intuitive, clearly labeled touchscreen controls that featured a knob for easy temperature and time toggling, this air fryer was a standout. It had a wide, square basket, a comfortable handle, and a perforated insert that stayed put when tilting and removing food. It consistently produced the most well-browned food in the least amount of time. It also allows you to set the temperature in 5-degree increments and it saves the last temp and time setting used.

What we didn’t like: It had a built-in preheat function that averaged four minutes, and while this wasn’t a huge deal (I just added food straight away, let the machine preheat, and waited the 30 seconds it took in between the “add food” notification and when the machine automatically began the cycle) if you want to add a couple of extra minutes after the machine’s completed cooking, it will have to preheat again. In this case, the preheat time is noticeably shorter, but it’s still there. This model’s moderately noisy, too.

Key Specs

• Stated capacity: 6 quarts
• Dimensions: 12.4 x 14.9 x 12.8 inches
• Temperature range: 95℉ to 400℉
• Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
• Presets: Air fry, roast, broil, bake, reheat, dehydrate
• Type: Basket-style

What we liked: This model had a responsive touch screen and produced beautifully browned, crispy food. While it had a pre-heat button (you have to select it separately from and before the cook function), it worked fine without using this. I liked its extra-long power cord, roomy basket, and the cover on its basket release button that prevented accidental fallouts.

What we didn’t like: I didn’t find tapping on the screen to adjust the time or temperature to be as easy as using the Instant Vortex’s knob. Its control panel is a bit cluttered with pictograph presets, it's moderately loud, and you can only set the temperature in 10-degree increments.

Key Specs

• Stated capacity: 5.8 quarts
• Dimensions: 11.78 x 13.87 x 12 inches
• Temperature range: 170℉ to 400℉
• Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
• Presets: Air fry, steak, chicken, seafood, shrimp, bacon, frozen foods, french fries, vegetables, toast, bake, preheat, keep warm
• Type: Basket-style

What we liked: This is one of the only smaller air fryers that could keep up with its larger counterparts, in part due to its more spacious basket. It consistently produced well-cooked food. While I didn’t find the all-analog controls to be as easy to use as digital controls (lots of button pressing), for those who are averse to touchscreens, I can see why this would be appealing. I also appreciated how non-cluttered its interface was, that it was fairly silent, and that its timer counts down at the 1-minute mark.

What we didn’t like: If you’re feeding a family, the 4-quart basket may be too small (I’d suggest the Instant or Cosori instead). It vents a lot of hot air out the back and, again, its button controls are tedious.

Key Specs

• Stated capacity: 4 quarts
• Dimensions: 8.5 x 12.1 x 11 inches
• Temperature range: 105℉ to 400℉
• Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
• Presets: Airfry, roast, reheat, dehydrate
• Type: Basket-style

What we liked: With a touchscreen display that featured both pictographs and text, this was one of the largest air fryers of the bunch. And its spacious cooking basket delivered: yielding some of the best fries and wings with the capacity to handle even more than I put in it. It also allows you to set the temperature in 5-degree increments and comes with wire, stackable dehydrator racks (though I didn’t try this function).

What we didn’t like: The touchscreen illuminates blue, which could be tough to see for those with visual impairments.

Key Specs

• Stated capacity: 7 quarts
• Dimensions: 11.75 x 11.75 x 14 inches
• Temperature range: 90℉ to 400℉
• Time range: 1 to 60 minutes (up to 24 hours, though, for the dehydrate function)
• Presets: Air fry, roast, broil, dehydrate, grill, bake, reheat, keep warm
• Type: Basket-style

What we liked: Like my overall top pick from Instant, this model has touchscreen digital controls and a knob for easily (and quickly) toggling the time and temp and the latter can be adjusted in 5-degree increments. The roomy basket cooked fries and wings exceptionally well and its see-through front allows you to check food mid-cooking without opening the air fryer. Its price is excellent, too.

What we didn’t like: The handle was set at an angle, which felt more awkward to hold.

Key Specs

• Stated capacity: 6 quarts
• Dimensions: 14.9h x 11.8 x 13 inches
• Temperature range: 95℉ to 400℉
• Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
• Presets: Air fry, roast, broil, bake, reheat, dehydrate
• Type: Basket-style
  

What we liked: If you’re cooking for one or just want a small air fryer for your kiddo’s chicken nuggets, this Cosori will work. It has a digital screen, four straightforward settings, and the ability to set the temperature in 5-degree increments. It’s not the most versatile air fryer, but it’s small, easy to store, and under $50.

What we didn’t like: Again, its size is limiting.

Key Specs

• Stated capacity: 2.1 quarts
• Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.3 x 10.5 inches
• Temperature range: 170℉ to 400℉
• Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
• Presets: Air fry, bake, roast, preheat
• Type: Basket-style

What we liked: This slightly smaller Cosori crisped food nicely, had a quiet fan, and had a responsive touchscreen located on the top—rather than the front—of the air fryer. Going up to 450℉, this model has the highest upper-temperature limit I’ve seen (most air fryers max out at 400℉). I appreciated this model’s shake food reminder, which emitted a nice, audible noise. At $100, it’s fairly inexpensive, too.

What we didn’t like: The touchscreen-only control panel took more tap-tap-tapping to adjust the time and temperature. While I didn’t hate the fact that the touchscreen is located at the top of the air fryer, some users may find this less of an intuitive placement.

Key Specs

• Stated capacity: 5 quarts
• Dimensions: 10.8 x 12 x 14.4 inches
• Temperature range: 170℉ to 450℉
• Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
• Presets: Air fryer, keep warm, preheat, chicken, fries, frozen, steak, seafood, veggies, bacon
• Type: Basket-style

What we didn’t like: Sleek, intuitive, and incredibly great at air frying: This is the best air fryer toaster oven money can buy. Fries and wings emerged golden brown and the perforated insert easily slid into the brackets on the toaster oven’s walls. The bright digital control panel and knobs made toggling between settings, temp, and time intuitive.

What we didn’t like: This air fryer toaster oven doesn’t toast as well as a standalone toaster. While this isn’t surprising (it was true for many of the models we tested), it’s worth noting.

Key Specs

• Stated capacity: N/A
• Dimensions: 21.5 x 17.5 x 12.7 inches
• Temperature range: 80°F to 480°F
• Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
• Presets: Toast, bagel, broil, bake, roast, warm, pizza, proof, air fry, reheat, cookies, slow cook, and dehydrate
• Type: Air fryer toaster oven

What we liked: This more compact air fryer toaster oven is available in a range of colors (red! blue! white!) and worked as well as it looked. It had a large air fryer basket and cooked and crisped food evenly and thoroughly. Its digital screen and control knobs makes it easy to tweak the time and temperature and its door opens gently and smoothly. This might seem like a little detail, but it's quite annoying to have a toaster oven's door fly downwards every time you open it.

What we didn't like: Of course, this model is pricey. Condensation can sometimes collect on the door.

Key Specs

• Stated capacity: 23.2 quarts
• Dimensions: 15 x 20 x 11 inches
• Temperature range: 120℉ to 450℉
• Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
• Presets: Toast, bagel, bake, roast, broil, pizza, cookies, reheat, warm, air fry, slow cook
• Type: Air fryer toaster oven

The Competition: Other Air Fryers I Tested

• Ultrean Air Fryer: With a small, round basket that yielded underwhelming results, this model also had usability errors. It beeped so loud it caused dogs to bark and its perforated insert fell out of the basket when tilted.
• Dash Deluxe Air Fryer: While this model produced fine results, it had sparsely labeled dial controls like that of an analog kitchen timer. And when it was on, it constantly ticked. Its temperature dial was at the top of the machine—not an intuitive placement.
• GoWise Electric Air Fryer: With a smaller, round basket, this model produced less crispy results.
• Instant Vortex Plus 10 Quart Air Fryer: This model had two shelves rather than a basket, and it produced extremely unevenly cooked food.
• Instant 8 Quart Vortex Plus Dual ClearCook Airfryer: Its small baskets couldn’t hold that much food—a pound of fries in each basket was too much for it. I did like that the machine’s beeps sounded like a video game and found its “sync” cook (which duplicated the temperature/time of the first basket) helpful.
• Elite Gourmet Electric Digital Hot Air Fryer: This flip-top air fryer felt dangerous to use, with its heating element fully exposed when the lid was up. Its small, round basket produced the least browned results of all the models tested.
• Ninja Foodi 2-Basket Air Fryer: This dual-basket air fryer just didn’t cook food effectively. Its basket easily slid out of the machine with the slightest tilt (like if you were putting it on the countertop). This caused the basket to fall onto my toes…ouch.
• TaoTronics Air Fryer: Though it performed admirably in cooking tests, I found its touchscreen interface to be too cluttered.
• Ninja Max XL Air Fryer (AF161): This 5.5-quart model performed fine in tests but was outdone by my top picks that were the same size or larger and were also cheaper.
• Cosori VeSync Pro II Air Fryer: In multiple tests, this air fryer didn’t crisp thoroughly enough.
• Cosori Dual Blaze 6.8 Quart Smart Air Fryer (CAF-P583S-KUS): This model was too expensive for its so-so performance.
• Chefman 3.7-Quart TurboFry Air Fryer: Inconsistent cooking left some food undercooked while other parts were almost burnt.
• Chefman ExacTemp 12-Quart 5-in-1 Air Fryer: The trays and fan placement of this air fryer led to uneven cooking.
• Cuisinart Air Fryer: This air performed well, but was far pricier than other similar recommendations.
• DASH Tasti-Crisp Digital Air Fryer, 2.6 Quart: If the 2.1-quart Cosori isn’t available, this is a good option. It’s small and cooked fries somewhat unevenly but mostly worked fine.
• Fritaire Self-Cleaning Transparent Air Fryer, 5 Qt: This air fryer works like a rotisserie oven, but has trouble reaching its set temperature.
• Instant Pot Vortex 4-in-1, 2-quart Mini Air Fryer Oven Combo: This was another small model that performed fine, but had some temperature fluctuations that kept it from being a top pick. That said it comes in some fun colors and is still a good option for those looking for something truly tiny.
• Ninja Foodi FlexBasket Air Fryer with 7qt MegaZone: An interesting alternative to dual basket air fryers, this Ninja model has a removable divider that allows it to perform as a dual air fryer or as one large, 7-quart model. However, it’s expensive and for the price I’d rather buy an air fryer toaster oven.
• Philips Essential Airfryer XL 2.65 lb/6.2 L Capacity Digital Airfryer: The overall size of this air fryer doesn’t seem to equate with its large-ish capacity.
• Beautiful 6 Quart Touchscreen Air Fryer by Drew Barrymore: Simply put, this air fryer performed sub-par.
• Typhur Dome: Not only is this app-compatible air fryer massive, but it’s $400. I’ll let that sink in. It was whisper-quiet and performed well, though.
• Gourmia 7-QT. Fry ‘N Fold Digital Air Fryer: The cooking cycle doesn’t pause when you pull out the basket, which is annoying. It also did not crisp food.
• Gourmia 8-Quart Digital Window Air Fryer: This model was very tall and would be harder to store. However, it did perform decently.
• COSORI TurboBlaze 6.0-Quart Air Fryer: This air fryer was totally fine, but our overall top pick from Instant was cheaper and out-crisped it.
• Philips Premium Digital Air Fryer: This was a winner, but it appears to be discontinued.

FAQs

Are air fryers healthy?

In the culinary sense, you're using far less oil (a few tablespoons or less, perhaps) air frying than you would use deep-frying. However, we reached out to Victoria Seaver, registered dietician and associate editorial director for EatingWell.com, for further insights. "Using less oil means your meal will be lower in calories per serving, which is helpful if you're trying to eat fewer calories to lose weight. And, depending on the type of oil you use, using less can be helpful for people with heart disease or diabetes, who need to limit how much saturated fat they eat on a daily basis," Seaver says.

What’s an air fryer’s maximum temperature?

Most air fryers have a maximum temperature of 400℉ (only one air fryer in our lineup went up to 450℉). If you're trying to make a non-air fryer recipe in the air fryer and the recipe calls for 425℉, setting the air fryer to 400℉ will likely suffice.

Should you use an air fryer’s presets?

Many air fryers come loaded with presets for things like fries, chicken, vegetables, steak, seafood, frozen food, and more. Manually setting the time and temperature, though, is easy and allows for more control. However, if you're historically a fan of presets (like with a blender), you may like trying them on the air fryer.

What size air fryer is best?

Now, this can be a confusing question! A manufacturer will say a 3-quart air fryer will serve four, while another asserts a 5.8-quart model serves three to five. In our testing, we found that if you have the space, it’s worth investing in a larger (5.8-, 6-, or 7-quart model), which will give you more room for browning and allow you to scale things up or down.

Can you put foil in an air fryer?

Yes! Unlike with a microwave and similar to a toaster oven or standard convection oven, it’s safe to use aluminum foil in an air fryer.

Are air fryers worth it?

If you have the space for another appliance and value speed and ease in one contained, cleanable package, then you’ll like an air fryer. In our testing, we found they browned and crisped food easily, thoroughly, and quickly.

Do air fryers emit a plastic smell?

Most air fryer manufacturers tell you to run a test cooking cycle or two before cooking in your air fryer to ensure the air fryer's functioning properly and burn off anything leftover from the manufacturing process (likely the cause of any unpleasant plastic smells). A couple of the air fryers I tested continued to emit a slight burning, plastic smell when cooking, but this did not include any of my favorite models.

Are reusable air fryer liners worth it?

While I didn't test them, a reusable silicone air fryer liner (like this one) would probably cut down on cleanup. However, I question if it would inhibit browning since the air fryer basket's perforations aid in air circulation. While it's not reusable, you could also just use foil to line an air fryer's basket when cooking something particularly sticky/messy.

Why We're the Experts

• For this review, we tested 35 popular air fryers. Separately, we also reviewed air fryer toaster ovens.
• Recently, we tested more popular air fryer models (including those from Instant and Cosori). We also tested smaller, 2-quart air fryers, to find a good option for those cooking for one.
• Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm is the senior commerce editor at Serious Eats. She's reviewed kitchen equipment professionally for nearly six years and previously worked at America's Test Kitchen and Food52.
• She’s authored many equipment reviews and how-tos for the site, including dinnerware sets and how air fryers work.