Gifts for Moms, Dads, and Grads

The best air fryers for making crispy food faster than the oven

Your broiler could never.
By Leah Stodart and Jae Thomas  on 
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Overview

Best For Rotisserie

Instant Vortex Plus

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Best For Two People

Ninja Air Fryer

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Best for teaching you to cook

Breville Joule Oven Pro

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Best Air Fryer/pressure Cooker Combo

Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL

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Best Kitchen Upgrade

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer

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Best Budget Fryer With A Touchscreen

GoWise USA XL Digital Air Fryer

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Best Mid-Tier Air Fryer Oven

Cuisinart Air Fryer Convection Oven

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See 3 More

All the best air fryer deals for Black Friday are right here.


Kids complain about dinner taking an hour, but can we blame them?

The agony of waiting for the oven to preheat on a nightly basis is reason enough to consider an air fryer. An air fryer's compact size and unique heat bouncing method speed up the cooking process by up to 30 percent compared to a conventional oven.

What is an air fryer and how does it work?

Air frying is essentially glorified convection baking — but faster. Air fryers are outfitted with internal heating elements and high-powered convection fans that work to surround your food in hot air and achieve a crispy, golden result that's similar to actual frying — without the oil. While your typical deep fryer needs enough oil to completely douse the food, an air fryer barely uses any (like, a tablespoon at most).

Most air fryers elevate food off the bottom of the device using a perforated tray, which allows for maximum hot air circulation. The overhead air bounces off of the bottom and back up across the underside of the food, quickly evaporating moisture and achieving a balanced, golden-browning in just minutes. The circulating heat in itself sets air fryers apart from a regular oven.

You might wonder how air fryers function any differently than convection toaster ovens, and the fact is that they're pretty much the same. Some air fryers do offer higher temperatures and faster convection speeds to get food crispier faster.

One difference that does affect overall performance though, is size. Basket-style air fryers are smaller and rounder than your typical toaster oven shape, making them able to concentrate a high amount of bouncing heat onto a smaller area, meaning that your food will get crisp faster. Air fryers come in toaster-oven shapes too, which can still achieve max-crunch levels, but might take longer to preheat and cook than a basket-style fryer.

Whether you even consider air frying to be "frying" with the absence of hot fat or oil is up to you, but it does technically jumpstart the Maillard reaction — the phenomenon that gives browned or blackened foods that signature taste and texture. And many air fryer users don't even use it for frying. They're perfect for roasting summer veggies without heating up your kitchen, for example.

Is air-fried food actually healthy?

Taking the guilt out of guilty pleasure snacks is probably a main reason you're looking to buy an air fryer. But let's all take a moment to accept that an air fryer isn't a magic wand that automatically turns french fries into carrot fries.

We will say that air frying is health-ier than deep frying. Manufacturers claim that air frying can reduce calorie intake by up to 80 percent — so yes, air frying is a better preparation alternative than drowning battered snacks in fat or oil. But let's be real: The "fried food without the guilt" comparison only makes sense when compared to a legitimate deep fryer. If you're using an air fryer as an oven replacement, remember that the amount of oil used won't change much.

Oddly enough, though, air fryers could be the ticket to getting those greens in. Put a crispy twist on your Brussels sprouts or cauliflower wings by chucking them into the air fryer with some seasonings and a drizzle of olive oil. It's an easy way to spice up a straightforward side dish, and could teach picky eaters that they don't always have to run for cover when the veggies come out.

Which air fryers are best?

The pull-out basket is the shape often associated with the air fryer's rise to fame. Oven-shaped air fryers typically afford more features outside of air frying (like broiling, baking, and dehydrating) due to the large, flat cooking space. Because they're larger, cook times may be longer than the drawer design — but both will still kick your conventional oven's ass.

The amount of food on the menu is a quick way to narrow your air fryer contenders. Couples or folks cooking for one could get away with a capacity as small as 4 quarts, especially if countertop space is a deciding factor. Families of four or a group of roommates should probably expand to at least 5.8 quarts, while hitting 10 quarts (or more, if you have the room) provides ample space for full households or entertaining enthusiasts who like to offer a variety of appetizers.

So, here's what you need to know about the best air fryers of 2023 — we'll keep it simple so your brain doesn't get too fried.

Not everyone wants an air fryer to replace their entire kitchen. For folks who would rather pass on gimmicky extra features, the Magic Bullet air fryer is about as straightforward as it gets — and it's budget-friendly. 

This air fryer is a compact choice. At 2.5 quarts, it's best for feeding one to two people at a time. For larger groups, you'll have to work in batches (which is also fine, since it cooks insanely fast). It heats food evenly with minimal hotspots, and is ideal for cooking frozen foods or reheating day-old leftovers to give them a second life. 

The only real downside of this air fryer is the dial control, which is difficult to turn counter-clockwise, and isn't the most accurate when it comes to timing.

Want to read more about the Magic Bullet Air Fryer? Check out our full review.

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Instant Pot's first deviation from the soup and pulled pork realm was the Instant Vortex Plus: An air fryer and toaster oven hybrid that's just as versatile as its pressure cooking siblings. Its large 10-quart capacity is square-shaped and saves seven inches of space width-wise compared to Ninja's similar model.

Functions like broiling, roasting, and dehydrating aren't novel in air frying ovens that ditch the pull-out basket, but the Vortex Plus stands out with the space for a rotisserie basket that spins itself. Swap the trays out for a rotating cage to roast a whole chicken, toss wings, or make golden-brown fries without pausing to flip.

While this air fryer retails for $149.99, we see it discounted on Amazon pretty regularly to sub-$100.

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Ninja's air fryer emerged as one of the best when air fryers first became a thing, and it's still a solid choice today. The interface is modern without being overly spaceship dashboard-y, while the 4-quart capacity saves space without limiting each batch to a single baked potato.

Ninja's classic fryer tackles far more menu items than its simplicity gives away. The press of a labeled button switches the method from air fry to roast, reheat, or dehydrate, and you'll be able to set the temperature and time using the on-screen buttons. This model retails for $129.99, but we see it discounted to under $100 pretty frequently.

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Silver toaster oven air fryer on a colorful background

Breville Joule Oven Pro

Best for teaching you to cook

Whether you need help churning out fast weeknight meals or you just need to brush up on your cooking skills, the Breville Joule Oven is the kitchen gadget for you. It features a compatible smartphone app loaded with recipes and videos from top creators and food publications, plus smart functionality that can adjust your oven settings based on the recipe you pick. Just a heads up — you'll need a good WiFi connection to use the smart settings.

Aside from the genius recipe formatting and instructional videos in the app, the Breville Joule Oven also features 13 different cooking settings, even heating, and a whole host of accessories. The only downside is that the accessories shouldn't go in the dishwasher, and the oven itself is difficult to clean.

Read our full review of the Breville Joule Oven for more info.

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Hefty Ninja Multicooker on a colorful background

Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL

Best Air Fryer/pressure Cooker Combo

The Instant Pot took the foodie world by storm with its ability to perform numerous appliance duties in a single machine — the only thing it couldn't do was air fry. Ninja saw that as an obvious way in. Instant Pot has gotten its foot in the air fryer game now, but the Foodi is hard to catch.

The pressure cooking and the air frying are done in two different compartments for max precision. The top crisping lid is where Ninja's TenderCrisp technology works its magic, with options to air fry, bake, broil, and roast. Underneath, the Foodi's pot does the tenderizing, sautéing, and pressure cooking for juicier parts of the meal like soups, dips, and more. They can't be used at the same time, but it's still nicer than having to buy two separate appliances.

While this model is pricey at $249.99, we see it on sale at Amazon between $160 and $180 pretty regularly, so wait for a price drop before you buy.

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Our deepest apologies to your conventional oven and every other small appliance in your home, because the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer will basically render them useless. This large capacity air fryer is perfect for families, and the most versatile on this list with 11 different functions.

The Smart Oven Air Fryer gives superior temperature control, thanks to smart Element IQ heating, and comes decked out with five different quartz heating elements, a high-tech LCD screen, and a super convection function for speedy air frying. It's basically the Ferrari of air fryers and convection ovens.

The only things that are not-so-great about this air fryer are the steep-ish learning curve and the fact that none of the accessories are dishwasher safe.

Need more info on the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer? Check out our full review.

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Basket style air fryer full of french fries

GoWise USA XL Digital Air Fryer

Best Budget Fryer With A Touchscreen

Touchscreens on appliances can make even the most '80s kitchens look modern, and you don't have to pay premium prices for an air fryer with one. The GoWise XL 5.8-quart air fryer features an LCD touchscreen and is probably the most customizable fryer you can get for under $100. While the retail price is technically set at $119.99, this air fryer usually sits between to the $60 to $80 mark.

Frying, baking, grilling, and roasting are all possible here, with eight built-in presets for fries, pork, chicken, steak, shrimp, cake, fish, and pizza. When your ingredients need to be stirred or shaken, the device will warn you in increments of five, 10, or 15 minutes. If you need to change temperature or time (or do a taste test), just use the stop/start button to make changes mid-cook.

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Limited counter space and a limited budget don't seem like as much of an issue when Cuisinart's toaster oven nails both. The massive capacity takes care of a full house with 3 pounds of wings, while allowing you to ditch your toaster and massive Thanksgiving roaster.

Its stainless steel exterior blends seamlessly with a modern kitchen, with a minimalistic knob interface keeping cooking simple. Four dials across the top control the timer, temperature, and cooking functions like broiling or roasting.

While the retail price on this model is $229.95, we regularly see it discounted at Amazon for anywhere between $160 and $190.

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Leah Stodart
Leah Stodart
Senior Shopping Reporter

Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.

Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with dual degrees in Sociology and Media Studies. When she's not writing about shopping (or shopping online for herself), she's almost definitely watching a horror movie, "RuPaul's Drag Race," or "The Office." You can follow her on X at @notleah or email her at [email protected].

Mashable Image
Jae Thomas
Deputy Shopping Editor

Jae Thomas is a Colorado-based Deputy Shopping Editor for Mashable. They specialize in pet tech, smart fitness gear, finding the perfect gift, and sourcing the top deals on shopping holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Jae has worked at Mashable since 2020, where they've written countless deals roundups and product reviews. Before Jae came to Mashable, they received a B.A. in Journalism and English Literature from New York University and wrote food and lifestyle content for publications like Bon Appétit, Epicurious, The Daily Beast, Apartment Therapy, and Marie Claire.

When they're not testing products or writing about online shopping, you'll find Jae whipping up an elaborate meal, hiking, camping, or training their dogs, Miso and Dashi. Reach out to them on X at @jaetaurina or by email at [email protected].


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