Within our guide to the best air fryers of 2023, you'll find a list carefully curated with the top air fryers that'll help you do one thing: obtain that golden, deep-fried flavor and crunch without having to deal with vats of hot oil or the extra grease. A countertop air fryer might just be able to get you there. These compact appliances use hot convection air and just a few drops of oil to crisp up everything from battered chicken wings to muffins.
While there’s certainly a time and place for the extra decadence of a deep fryer, air fryers are a healthier and easier way to achieve similar crispy results. Plus, due to their small size, air fryers reach high temperatures much faster than wall ovens and are more straightforward to use.
Families, new or nervous cooks, and anyone who wants to make their favorite foods a little healthier will love the convenience and versatility of an air fryer. I’ve tested the best air fryers on the market in 2023 to help you find the perfect appliance for your kitchen.
The best air fryers to buy, in order
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Instant's 2023 crop of air fryers now comes with ClearCook, a glass window in the frying basket that allows you to watch your food cook. This addition to the Instant Vortex Plus takes this popular air fryer up another level and makes it the best option on the market for most users.
The 6-quart capacity makes it large enough to cook a full meal for up to six people while remaining small enough not to completely take over your kitchen. There's not an exhaustive list of functions here but each of the six presets it does have are customizable, allowing you to quickly access your regular choices.
The one downside of the ClearCook glass windows is that the basket is no longer recommended for dishwasher use. However, it's a small price to pay for being able to check the state of your dish without losing a load of heat.
This air fryer from Cosori is the best for the home cook who likes things as straightforward as possible. The machine has two main cooking functions: air frying and keeping food warm. But it also comes with 11 built-in presets for things like vegetables, chicken wings, fish, and toast.
Users can customize each preset with their preferred time and temperature, or trust Cosori to do its thing. That means all you have to do is place your food inside, hit one button, and walk away. That is until you need to shake the basket or flip your food. The 5.8-quart size is also spacious enough to feed up to five people and can fit a whole five-pound chicken.
This super-sized air fryer is perfect for large families. Two separate air frying baskets allow you to prepare a complete meal without firing up the oven or stove. While the ample size may present a storage problem for smaller kitchens, busy households will love the convenience of two cooking zones.
In addition to air frying, the Ninja Foodie XL can easily become your go-to for reheating leftovers, baking sweet treats, and even making melty grilled cheese sandwiches. This is truly a do-it-all machine that’s surprisingly easy to use once you get a hang of the Smart Finish technology, which ensures that both baskets finish cooking at the same time.
This miniature model from Instant Brands also has the power and crisping ability of its larger siblings without the footprint. The 2-quart Instant Vortex Mini is a good option for small households that care about quality.
You can fit up to five chicken wings in the basket, which makes this a good size for one- to two-person households. The interface is simple and minimalist, so there’s no major learning curve to get this air fryer up and running. It’s also small and light enough to travel with, which makes it a good option for RV trips or travel.
This earlier rendition of the Vortex air fryer from Instant Brands is a slightly more pared-down option. It has a larger cooking capacity, which is a benefit to bigger households, but only four cooking functions.
That being said, the Instant Vortex 6-quart has the same reliably great performance as the newer Vortex Plus. Food comes out hot, crispy, and delicious every time. The clear digital touchscreen also lets you know exactly how much time is left on your recipe, when the machine is preheating, and when it’s time to flip or shake things up. This is a great air fryer for large households that don’t need all the bells and whistles of more expensive appliances.
Philips Airfryer XXL packs a lot into an admittedly sizable package in order to accommodate anyone who needs to cook on a big scale thanks to a wide basket that can handle, for example, a whole chicken. There are a handful of preset modes so you can air fry, grill, roast, bake and dehydrate foodstuffs or take the manual route and choose from heat settings anywhere between 100°F and 400°F. A lack of accessories is a disappointment but the ability of the Philips Airfryer XXL to cook food quickly and efficiently cannot be faulted.
Top marks also go to the digital display too, which works exquisitely and, thanks to simple-but-effective icons such as meat and fish, means it’s pretty hard to mess things up. Aside from the main electrical unit the Philips Airfryer XXL is dishwasher-friendly too. We loved this so much, we gave it a T3 Award two years running.
As well as turning out your classic air-fried staples – ie: chips, chicken and salmon – this actually doubles as a slightly Instant Pot-like cooker for 'wet' meals such as curries, stews and casseroles. It may look a little complicated at first glance but it's actually very intuitive.
With a glass dome so you can see what's cookin' and a handy little spatula/paddle thing that turns around inside to stir food, so you don't have to, the Tefal Actifry Genius XL something of a joy to use. If your kitchen is cramped you might struggle to find storage space for this hefty beast but when something is this useful and effective, why store it away anyhow?
This is the leading air fryer model from the makers of the cult-favorite Instant Pot multicookers. And it’s no surprise that they’ve also nailed this multi-use appliance. The Instant Vortex 4-quart air fryer is a good size for most households and doesn't monopolize too much counter space or storage room. The dishwasher-safe basket can fit enough chicken, fries, or salmon to feed four to six people. And it performs the job like a champ.
The oven preheats in under five minutes and produces beautifully crispy results on all sides. While the six-in-one appliance doesn’t boast the same range of cooking features as some other air fryers, the core features it does offer are the most practical. Not to mention the stainless steel appliance actually looks good in your kitchen.
Unlike the usual basket-style air fryers, the Iris is an oven-style fryer. It’s shaped like a miniature convection oven and has the features of an advanced wall oven. Two sets of heating coils above and below the food mean that this countertop oven can grill and broil in addition to standard convection and baking.
While the Iris air fryer will certainly take up some space on the counter, it’s a great alternative to turning on your built-in oven. It preheats quickly and maintains its temperature better than most full-size ovens. Plus, a clear glass window on the front lets you keep an eye on your food as it cooks.
Dreo may not be the first brand name that comes to mind when you think of countertop appliances. But it’s doing something right with this air fryer. The appliance is smaller than most 4-quart models but can feed up to four people, which makes it an efficient option for homes with limited storage space.
The Dreo air fryer has a sleek digital touchscreen control panel that makes it easy to select your cooking function and dial in a specific time and temperature. The wide temperature range also opens up new cooking options, including making yogurt and even getting a beautiful sear on steak. The air fryer comes with a 50-recipe cookbook with beautiful pictures so you won’t run out of culinary inspiration.
So far, this is the only air fryer from personal blender pros Magic Bullet. While not the most feature-rich, this might be the best-looking air fryer on the list. It has a simple temperature dial and kitchen timer that ticks down to a classic “ding!” when your food is ready.
You won’t find nice-to-have features like preheating, a “flip food” notification or built-in cooking presets on the Magic Bullet Air Fryer. But if you’re looking for a simple appliance that air fries well, this is a great budget-friendly option.
This air fryer from Dash is a great affordable option for small households. The 2-quart basket is a good size for one to two people. It can hold 6 wings comfortably. This air fryer doesn’t have any flashy features like a digital touch screen, flip reminder, or multiple cooking functions.
And though it doesn’t have the sturdiest-feeling build, the Dash air fryer did crisp up the food in our test well, as long as the basket wasn’t over-filled. This felt like the smallest amount of cooking space we tested, so if you’re planning to entertain, you may want to opt for something a little more spacious.
How to choose the best air fryer for you
What is an air fryer? Well, it is essentially a very small fan oven. When seeking out the best air fryer for you, you’re going to be looking for the same things you look for in any kitchen appliance.
Before adding a new appliance to your cart, you’ll want to consider a few important features. First of all: size. From jumbo two-basket fryers to compact 2-quart models, air fryers vary widely in size. If you’re shopping for a small kitchen or an apartment low on storage space, you’ll probably want to look for a two to four-quart air fryer. On the other hand, if you need to feed a large household, a two-basket air fryer like the 10-quart model from Ninja Foodi, is a spacious option that lets you cook a complete meal in one appliance.
3 toppings you really need to try on your French fries
If you've ever been to a Dutch snack bar, you'll know that they know how to top off a portion of fries to turn them into little cartons of joy. Here are three Nederlandse snackbar toppings you must try on chips made in your air fryer. Eet smakelijk!
1. Patatje flip: fries with satay sauce and mayonnaise on top.
2. Patat speciaal: fries with ketchup and mayonnaise and a sprinkling of finely chopped raw onions on top.
3. Patatje oorlog: Oorlog translates as 'war' and that's basically what happens here as your fries are drenched in satay sauce, mayonnaise and topped off with chopped raw onion. Some regions add curry sauce, too. A decadent delight.
