No one could resist eating fried foods. Unfortunately, it is common knowledge that fried foods entail the usage of oil and eating oily foods is very unhealthy due to all the fat contents it has.
It is said that to stay healthy, one should live healthy by exercising and eat healthy by reducing or even totally avoiding fatty, fried foods. A very sensible, even necessary advice and yet a very hard process to follow.
With the invention of air fryers, one would be grateful and would not have to go through the hardships of following the difficult process of do’s and don’ts of being healthy. Through the use of air fryers, you will not have to avoid oily foods since using air fryers only require about 20% oil to be able to fry any type of food.
Numerous types of air fryers have emerged in the market and choosing one could be a difficult task since air fryers are created differently in terms of designs and features.
Here are some tips in choosing the best air fryer that would suit your needs and taste.
- Functionality – There are air fryers that have pre-set functions and digital screens that would allow you to adjust the temperature and set time of your cookware.
- Ability to cook food – when choosing your air fryer, you will have to ensure that when your food is cooked, you will have the same experience as if you have cooked your food in a regular frying pan.
- Price – Just like purchasing other things, price is another factor one needs to consider. When purchasing your air fryer, one important question to ask is does your air fryer justify the price?
- Accessories – It would be a plus if your air fryer comes with tongs and grill pans that would make your cooking experience easier and enjoyable.
With all that said, here is our top list of best air fryers that you could choose from.
1. Black and Decker Air Fryer
Black and Decker is a well-known American company that creates high quality and durable tools and appliances.
One product that is popular with this brand is their Air Fryer and just like their other products, it is also durable and made of high quality materials. In fact, in case you encounter any problems, this product has a two-year warranty. Moreover, aside from it being durable, it also ensures its users a great cooking experience that one will surely enjoy.
If you are looking for that crispy finish, this air fryer is for you. The Black and Decker air fryer is highly recommended for frying hamburgers, French fries, onion rings, chicken- wings, nuggets, drumsticks and many more as it has dual convection fans that would circulate hot air and would ensure your food is cooked evenly.
This air fryer is a bit small and has a 2-pound capacity only. It could cook for two persons only but it could accommodate and cook two portions of food simultaneously. Its timer has a maximum of 60 minutes and has two indicator lights for the switch and the preheat temperature feature. As a safety feature, this air fryer has an auto shut-off that will turn off the unit once its timer expires.
Furthermore, this air fryer comes with a basket and divider that both are non-stick and are easy to clean with its machine washable feature. Also, you will not have any problem in handling the unit as it comes with cool touch handles that would never get too hot to touch.
For the price, if you have a budget of around $100, you will be ecstatic to know that this air fryer is within that range.
2. Philips XL Air fryer, HD 9240/94
Philips is another popular brand that has over five million air fryers sold. Though it is said that the number of units sold does not really correlate to how perfect a product is, Philips’ XL Air fryer will surely convince you of the opposite.
The Phillips XL Air fryer has an automatic on/off 60-minute timer and comes with a rapid air technology. The rapid air technology produces hot air that circulates around the unit and ensures that your food is cooked evenly. With that said, this fryer is best and perfect for frying, grilling and roasting foods efficiently.
It has a digital touch screen that comes with a maximum temperature of 390 degrees Fahrenheit. It also has a smart pre-set button which saves your previous cooking settings.
As for cleaning, this air fryer is safe to be washed through the use of a dish washer. Its basket and drawer could be detached which makes it easier to clean.
Though this air fryer is a bit expensive, it is very cost-effective and has a large cooking space with an option to purchase a grill pan and double layer rack.
3. T-fal ActiFry
With T-fal, you will not have to worry about taking out the basket of the unit just to flip your food because T-fal comes with a paddle that rotates to turn over your food. This ensures that your food is cooked evenly.
Its design is very simple and does not need for the temperature to be monitored. It has an on and off switch and a timer up to a maximum of 99 minutes. Moreover, it could heat up to 338 degrees Fahrenheit.
This air fryer could be washed through a dish washer and its pan, li and paddle are detachable which makes this product easy to clean. Furthermore, it could accommodate up to 2.9 liters or 2.2lbs of food.
4. Phillips Airfryer, HD9220/28
This is the most popular air fryer among the other air fryers of Philipps. It is a bit smaller than HD 9240/94 and it comes with an analog design. Its temperature dial is placed on its front which provides an easier accessibility. Since this air fryer is analog, it is more durable than other digital models. The downside however is that its settings could be less accurate than a digital one.
This model has a capacity up to 1.75 lbs and has a maximum timer of 30 minutes. Moreover, this air fryer is highly recommended by Gordon Ramsay.
5. GoWISE 4th Generation Electric Air Fryer
This brand and model is another digital user-friendly air fryer. It has pre-sets for easy cooking for dishes such as chicken, steak, shrimps, meat, fish, cake and chips. Though GoWISE is digital, this air fryer allows its users to manually adjust its temperature and time should the user choose to. It also has an indicator that will sound off whenever the unit switches to standby mode.
For cleaning purposes, this air fryer’s cooking basket and drawer are both dishwasher safe. Its timer has a maximum of 30 minutes and moreover, this model has a large capacity which allows you to cook more food compared to others.
6. Avalon Bay AirFryer
Avalon Bay Air Fryer has a design that works well for food to be cooked evenly. Moreover, it comes with mesh basket, multi-use layer rack and non-stick baking pan. These accessories included makes it easier for you to fry, bake, roast and grill food. This fryer comes with an indicator on its lid and has temperature and time setting. It also has a safety switch on its fry basket.
This brand offers both digital and analog versions for this model. Its digital has pre-programmed settings for fish, meat and chicken and its analog is cheaper than its digital counterpart but its adjustment dials are done manually.
As for its price, this air fryer is a bit more expensive but is cost-effective as it comes with numerous functions and offers more accessories.
7. Della Electric Air Fryer
Della has three air fryer products in the market and one of their best is their analog version. It is simple to use and inexpensive. If you decide to purchase this air fryer, you will be surprise that though it is cheaper than most air fryers, it still comes with several accessories such as tongs, basket divider and grill tray.
Its timer has recommended time indicator for each type of dish. It also has a warm up light which indicates when you should put in the food. This means, the unit is warm enough for the food to be warmed or cooked.
Della’s electric air fryer comes with a maximum timer of 30 minutes and a comfortable temperature of 392 degrees Fahrenheit. It maximum capacity is up to 2.8 qt which could accommodate food good for two. Its design is similar to Black and Decker’s wherein its bottom drawer and pot are detachable and dishwasher safe.
8. Big Boss Air Fryer
This fryer is huge in terms of size. It has about 15 L in capacity and allows two dishes to be cooked at the same time. Its temperature has a maximum limit of 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
This triple cooking power air fryer comes with infrared that heats any food inside- out at the same time it ensures the food’s moisture is retained. Moreover, it also ensures your food is cooked three times faster than any normal air fryers.
As for its price, Big Boss air fryer is very affordable however, you will have to expect that this fryer does not have digital display and would be a bit harder to be accurate to determine if your food is cooked evenly.
9. Air Fryer by Cozyna
Cozyna has two versions of air fryers. The first version has a 3.2 L capacity and its XL version has a 5 L capacity. The first one is for single person user and the 2nd for is perfect for couples. Both fryers are simple to use and both come with very generic designs. They both have two knobs that works as adjustment knobs for temperature and a timer.
These air fryers have a bottom drawer that works as a mesh basket. Its detachable bottom part is dishwasher friendly and easy to use. As for its maximum time, this air fryer could cook up to a maximum of thirty minutes and it temperature could go up to 392 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cozyna also offers a 2-year warranty for its air fryers.
10. Power Air Fryer XL
This air fryer is very powerful at the same time offers a huge or large capacity. As a matter of fact, this product allows you to bake, steam, sauté, grill and roast. It has a maximum capacity of 5.3 qt that is perfect for cooking for 3 to 4 people. It also has a smaller version that allows up to 3.4 qt capacity.
Power Air Fryer XL comes with 7 pre-set programs for different types of foods. Its timer and temperature could be adjusted as well and this appliance automatically turns off as soon as its timer runs off.
As for its price, this air fryer is in the range of $150. A bit expensive but it’s an air fryer that you could depend on.
Author’s Recommendation:
If you are looking for an air fryer that has the best cooking ability, we highly recommend the Black and Decker, Philips HD9240/94 and Phillips HD9220/28. The Black and Decker is cheaper than those of Phillips’ but if budget is not any issue for you, then the Phillips models are perfect choices.
If you wish for an automated turn over/flipping process, then we suggest you purchase the T-fal ActiFry. For digital model, we also recommend the HD9240/94 and GoWISE.
Buyer’s Guide
Of course we will not end this article without giving you advices on how to choose the best air fryer for you. Here is a list of things we suggest you check before purchasing an air fryer.
1. Timer– Most foods are easy to fry, no matter if the air fryer is digital or analog, most timers have a maximum cooking time of 30 minutes. However, if you are into cooking food that needs to be fried more than 30 minutes, it is highly recommended that you purchase or invest in a fryer that offers a maximum time of 60 minutes.
If you wish to purchase analog version, know that there are some drawbacks such as:
- The timer could keep on ticking even when the air fryer’s drawer is removed. Meaning, if you remove the drawer to turn over the food, the timer will keep on moving.
- The accuracy is not that accurate.
2. Temperature Setting– Since different foods require different temperatures, most fryers offer temperature range of 200 degrees Fahrenheit to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This range is perfect for a wide variety of food.
3. Size and Capacity – Air fryers come in different sizes. Mostly are measured through its capacity in quarts, pounds or liters. If you wish for a smaller unit, we suggest that you choose one that could cook for a maximum of 2 people.
Large air fryers could accommodate larger quantities of food and is capable to cook for more than two people. Though this is a good choice, you will have to keep in mind that it could also be physically huge and could take a lot of space.
4. Pre-set cooking programs– most digital air fryers have pre-set cooking programs that allows you to automatically set time and temperature.
5. Safety Features – Fortunately, most air fryers come with safety features. Most air fryers come with cool touch handle, safety button to prevent basket from falling and automatic shut off.
6. Cleaning – It is highly recommended for you to check if the air fryer is easy to clean or it is a dishwasher friendly.
7. Accessories – Mesh baskets are usually included when you purchase an air fryer. However, if you could find an air fryer that comes with grill racks, recipe books, tongs and pans, then that air fryer is your best bet.
