If youâve ever wondered âis an air fryer worth it?â and come to Serious Eats (a site known for not buying into trends or marketing fads) to find out, then the answer might surprise you. Because we genuinely like air fryers. Compared to a convection oven or toaster oven or even an air fryer toaster oven, air fryers offer quicker cooking, speedier cleanup, and little-to-no preheat time. Because of their compact cooking chambers and powerful fans, air fryers heat fast. Add in their perforated baskets and you have a recipe for nice, deep, all-over browningâno, they donât deep-fryâwith minimal effort (read: a toss or two per cooking cycle).
We recently tested 11 popular air fryers and came away with four models that performed incredibly well, were easy to use, and were fairly effortless to clean. And with Black Friday coming up, we thought itâd be helpful to roundup which of our favorite air fryers are on sale. Get one and you, too, can make crispy fries, chicken wings, salmon, and Brussels sprouts as much as your air-fryer heart desires.Â
So, without further ado, here are the three best, tested-and-recommended air fryer deals happening right now.
The Best Air Fryer for Most People: Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer
Normally $160, Now $130
Our favorite air fryer has a spacious capacity suitable for four servings (five if you really want to push it). And in the case of air fryers, we do think bigger is better. A larger air fryer can handle less food with ease, while a smaller air fryer wonât be able to thoroughly brown or crisp a bigger amount of fries or chicken wings. In our tests, the Instant out-performed all of the other air fryersâproducing the crispiest, most well-browned food in the least amount of time.Â
It was also the easiest to use, thanks to its control knob that allowed you to scale the temperature in 5-degree increments and time in 1-minute increments. And while it was moderately noisy when on (really, its biggest con), its other usability factors more than made up for this. It saves your last-used settings, its handle stays cool to the touch when on, and its perforated insert has large silicone bumpers that stay put in the basket when itâs tipped to remove food.
The Best Air Fryer If Youâre Looking for Something Smaller: Ninja Air Fryer, 4-Quart
Normally $130, Now $100
Of the smaller capacity air fryers we tested, the Ninja performed the best. And if you typically cook for one to three people and are sure you wonât want something larger, itâs well worth consideringâespecially since itâs 31% off. Unlike the Instant, which is mostly digital, the Ninja has analog controls and a smaller screen. We appreciated the clearly labeled, sparse (read: no presets) control panel, though having to press-press-press buttons wasnât as easy and just turning a knob. Still, itâs a great air fryerâand the cheapest model we recommend. And if easy cleanup is what you value, the Ninjaâs removable parts are dishwasher-safe (though the manufacturer does recommend hand-washing).
Another Great Small-Capacity Air Fryer: Philips Premium Digital Air Fryer
Normally $250, Now $200
This compact air fryer features a control knob for easy time and temperature adjustment and a smaller, square basket that dissembles for thorough cleanup (it’s dishwasher-safe). We found, as long as you didn’t overload the basket, it performed very well. And though you can only set the temperature in 25-degree increments (i.e. 350â, 375â), it still worked fine for everything we cooked in it. For those into history, Philips actually invented the air fryer.
FAQs
What’s the best air fryer?
According to our tests, the best air fryer is the Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer. You can read more about how we tested and came to recommend our favorite air fryers here.
When do air fryers go on sale?
Typical sale periods like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day are good times to look for air fryer deals.Â