The Best Air Fryer Oven

Buying Guide

Air fryers, also known as convection ovens, cook food by circulating air around the ingredients, creating a more even, faster cooking process. The technology also crisps up the outside more than conventional ovens, making it a better cooking style for foods like French fries.

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The popularity of air fryers in recent years has led many toaster oven manufacturers to offer all-in-one units. These devices simply use convection cooking when you choose the air fryer option, but they can also serve as a rotisserie or small oven. That means you can roast chicken, cook frozen foods and crisp up vegetables and meats, all using the same kitchen gadget.

But there is a benefit to choosing a dedicated air fryer if that’s the only thing you’ll be using it to do. An oven designed to fry, roast, bake and more will typically be larger than if you have one that simply has a basket for “frying.” These units also will sometimes come with more dedicated accessories than you’d get if you purchased an oven that offers convection capabilities, although you may be able to buy whatever you need separately.

Space is always a consideration with cooking gadgets. You likely have limited countertop room, so you may want to store your air fryer oven under the cabinet between uses. Whichever option you’ll choose, check to make sure you choose an air fryer that will squeeze into the space you’ve made for it.

But you’ll often have to weigh your need to have plenty of cooking capacity against the space your oven will consume. If you plan to cook large items like whole chickens in the oven, you’ll need an oven with a large enough interior to accommodate it. Before you invest in a larger oven for that purpose, though, make sure the one you’re choosing will provide delicious results for roasting larger items. Otherwise, you may end up with more oven than you need.

• If your oven or toaster oven has a convection setting, you won’t need an air fryer. Air fryers do the same thing convection ovens do. Through the use of a small fan, these devices cook by circulating hot air around ingredients.
• Although air fryers and convection ovens can do a decent job with French fries, it still won’t be the same as deep-frying them. You may find the texture and taste isn’t quite what you’d get if you’d deep-fried them, even if the outer skin crisps up.
• Look closely at the accessories included with your air fryer oven. Some include more than others, and you won’t want to be scrambling to purchase something at the last minute.
• Cleanup is always a consideration, especially with a kitchen gadget that will involve baked-on, hard-to-remove food particles. Note which parts of the oven can be removed for cleaning and if any are dishwasher safe. You may choose one over another simply because you can disassemble it and put most of it in the dishwasher after each use.
• Some air fryer ovens come with preset buttons. That means you simply insert the ingredients, push a button and both the cooking time and temperature are set for you.
• Check to see if your oven includes a recipe booklet or website. You can find plenty of generic air fryer recipes online, but having some that are specific to your make and model can be a big help.
• Pay attention to the temperature range of the oven you choose. Some have a wider range than others. You may find these limits get in the way as you start researching new items you can cook.
• A window that lets you monitor your food while it’s cooking usually ends up being a big bonus. Otherwise, you’ll have to open the door to check your food, and that can affect your cooking time.