The latest gadget to capture our Test Kitchen’s attention (and the attention of home cooks everywhere) is the air fryer. A small appliance that can give snacks like french fries and egg rolls that crisp texture without the fat and mess of frying? Sign us up! But like all new gear, it’s hard to know if you’re getting the best option out there. Unlike basics like pots and pans, there are a lot of unknowns with new tools.
That’s precisely why our Test Kitchen decided to test the most popular air fryers on the market. We had to know which brand gave our favorite foods that crunchy fried texture—and was easy to use.
How Our Test Kitchen Found the Best Air Fryers
To find our Test Kitchen-Preferred air fryer, our team tested the most popular air fryers on the market, whipping up all sorts of recipes and judging them according to these standards:
- Texture: How well do our favorite air fryer recipes turn out? Is the finished product crisp? Tender?
- Cooking quality: Does the air fryer cook food thoroughly? Our Test Kitchen cooked all kinds of dishes, including meatballs, crab cakes, chicken wings and even cinnamon rolls.
- Price: Is the product affordable? Was the performance reflected in the price?
Our Test Kitchen-Preferred Air Fryers
Air fryers are not one-size-fits-all. After testing all the major models, four stood apart from the pack. We’ve got the best options for families, budget shoppers and dedicated air frying fans.
Super Star Air Fryer: Cosori Air Fryer Max XL
There’s a reason you see the Cosori Air Fryer Max XL in so many of our videos (like this one for air-fryer chicken tenders): This machine is a star!
The Cosori air fryer consistently delivers good-looking and delicious results. Our Test Kitchen staff loves how batch after batch of Nashville hot chicken came out of the basket brown, crisp and too tempting not to sample before going to the photo studio. In fact, every ingredient our team tossed into the generously sized basket—this included ears of corn, mini quiches, frozen apps and much more—all came out gorgeously golden.
But it’s not all about the looks when we talk about Cosori’s performance. Each recipe we tested with this small appliance turned out exactly as our team envisioned. Breaded recipes—like these air-fried pickles and popcorn shrimp tacos—had a crunchy coating and tender interior. Proteins, including pork tenderloin, fish and beef cooked to the proper temperature all while staying juicy. Simply put: Cosori delivered consistent and tasty results
- Capacity: 5.8 quarts
- Special features: 11 preset options, keep-warm setting, dishwasher-safe nonstick parts
- Price: $120
Best for Families: Chefman TurboFry Air Fryer XL
If you’re cooking for a crew, a smaller five-quart air fryer just won’t cut it. You need an oversized air fryer that can accommodate a whole package of tater tots at a time. The best large-scale air fryer is the Chefman TurboFry Air Fryer XL. While this air fryer is large—it holds a whopping eight quarts!—it doesn’t take up much more space than its conventionally sized counterparts. That’s a bonus for those with large families and limited counter space.
But besides being able to fit more food in less space, this Chefman air fryer is also incredibly easy to use; our Test Kitchen had this model up and running without ever glancing at the manual (though our team did read it after sampling a few air-fryer potato chips). When it came to testing some of our favorite air fryer recipes, our team noticed that this appliance did especially well with baking and prepping frozen foods—two musts for any growing family.
Another bonus for this Chefman model: It was very quiet. The alerts were loud enough to hear across the kitchen or from the dining room, but the machine itself worked in near silence. And as for those alerts, our Test Kitchen liked how this air fryer beeped halfway through cooking to remind you to toss or turn the food.
- Capacity: 8 quarts
- Special features: Four presets, touchscreen display, dishwasher-safe nonstick basket, automatic indicator to remind you to flip, shake or turn foods inside
- Price: $120
Pretty and Powerful: Beautiful Kitchenware XL Air Fryer by Drew Barrymore
These days, you’ll often find that most appliances come in two colors: black or stainless steel. Now, these colors are fine but it’s a breath of fresh air to see small appliances in a new hue, like the Beautiful Kitchenware XL air fryer. It comes in a gorgeous sage green, oyster grey, icing white or matte black—all with brushed brass-tone accents. But this air fryer, designed by Drew Barrymore and exclusive to Walmart, is so much more than looks!
This easy-to-use air fryer was up, running and reheating yesterday’s pizza in no time. In fact, in just a few minutes, that pizza was as good as day one with gooey, stretchy cheese and a crisp crust. But this Beautiful Kitchenware air fryer wowed us even more when it came to from-scratch recipes. Eggplant fries were crisp on the outside and tender in the middle with no mush; Southern-style chicken air fried to a perfect golden brown and these breakfast bundles held perfectly fluffy eggs with a flaky crust. This is the air fryer to buy if you value style just as much as performance.
- Capacity: 6 quarts
- Special features: Illuminated touchscreen display, nonstick, dishwasher-safe parts
- Price: $89
Best for Reheating: NuWave Brio Air Fryer
Yep, we know that the first thing everyone wants to try with their new air fryer is a package of their favorite frozen fries or chicken tenders. But air fryers are also pretty great when it comes to reheating your leftovers—especially if the air fryer you’re using is the NuWave Brio.
This six-quart air fryer has a generously sized basket—large enough to fit a whole chicken inside! And the NuWave Brio performed great when it came to cooking up that chicken, crisping up frozen foods and making some tasty air fryer veggie recipes. All of these foods came out crisp and golden.
But what really made this air fryer stand out to our testers was how well it did reheating leftovers. Yesterday’s chicken breast and baked potato came out hot and toasty, of course, but the chicken was still juicy and the potato still fluffy. That’s a real feat!
- Capacity: 6 quarts
- Special features: Digital display, six preset options, dishwasher-safe parts
- Price: $110
Best for Small Households: Magic Bullet Air Fryer
If you have a small household with just two or three people—or a small home with limited counterspace—there’s no need to have a jumbo-sized appliance taking up room. You can get great performance in a compact package with the Magic Bullet Air Fryer.
This air fryer is smaller than its competitors but still delivers when it comes to performance. It’s just the right size for making easy veggie sides, reheating yesterday’s pizza and tackling small prep tasks like toasting nuts. Plus, the compact size (equivalent of a coffee maker) means you can keep this gadget on the counter full time.
Read what our Executive Culinary Director Sarah Farmer thought about the Magic Bullet Air Fryer.
- Capacity: 2.5 quarts
- Special features: Six convenient presets
- Price: $70
What to Make With an Air Fryer
For folks new to air fryers, the simplest foods to make are no-prep. Start with basics like frozen french fries, frozen mozzarella sticks or similar snacks. To make sure they come out looking perfectly golden, use this trick (all you need is a bit of cooking spray).
Once you’ve got a handle on the basics of the air fryer, you can make so many tasty recipes from scratch—and not just typical fried foods either. The air fryer can be used to get your favorite veggies nice and crisp, like these Garlic-Rosemary Brussels Sprouts (such a great Thanksgiving side). You can even bake in an air fryer—believe it! These shortbread cookies are almost too good to be true.
When all the air frying is done, be sure to care and clean for your appliance the right way. This will ensure you can air fry for years to come.
The post We Found the Best Air Fryer (So Now You Can Buy One with Confidence) appeared first on Taste of Home.
Lisa Kaminski