Your kitchen should have the right tools. Welcome to A Guide to Gearing Up Your Kitchen, a series where I help you outfit the space with all the small appliances you need (and ditch the ones you don’t).
Not only do we live in the luminous time of the air fryer, but we’ve come to the point where there’s a dizzying variety of this countertop convection oven available. As tempting as it might be to buy the first one you see on sale, resist. There’s likely a better match for you out there. Air fryers will put in many hours of good work for you, so consider these tips when committing. You’ll be crisping up meals together for a while.
All air fryers operate the same way: A fan next to the heating element provides rapid circulation of the heated air. These whipping winds cook food faster than a conventional oven. (Read here for more details on how air fryers work.) However, this simple appliance comes in different shapes, basket orientations, and with different functions that could make you pivot from one model to the next.
Consider your cooking habits
In order to start narrowing down the field, consider what kind of food you frequently make, or maybe what you hope to cook up in the air fryer (like super crispy chickpeas). Do you want an air fryer because you heard it can produce deep-fried results with much less oil? Maybe you’re trying to explore dehydration recipes. Will you use it to bake viennoiserie or primarily for indoor grilling? Do you simply need a temporary all-purpose cooking appliance because your conventional oven can’t be replaced for a few months?
Think about size
As you peruse the selection, you’ll quickly notice not only does air fryer shape vary, but so does the size. This is important if you have limited kitchen space—no one wants to unbox their new air fryer to find that it hangs off the countertop—but also for cooking real estate. A person who mostly cooks for themself probably won’t need the 21-inch oven model air fryer that can fit a Thanksgiving turkey. Then again, maybe you’re bulking and you’ve got a freezer full of turkeys waiting. So break out the measuring tape and make sure you know your dimensions, minimums, and maximums.
Types of air fryers
Here are the three primary types of air fryers models, and what they do best. Consider the settings, specifications, and most importantly the configuration of the door and air fryer basket when making your final choice.
The basket model
This type of air fryer looks a bit like an alien space pod has dropped into your kitchen. Most of them look like round-cornered silver or black blocks with a single handle and a round knob in the center. The top portion of this model contains the controls, the heating element, and the fan. Pull on the handle and the lower section will slide out. This is the basket where food gets loaded.
The pros
Multipurpose
This deep basket makes this style of air fryer a great all-purpose cooking machine. It’ll transform nearly any type of frozen food item into crispy, golden morsels in a matter of minutes. It’s good for cooking bulky or tall items that might not sit easily on the racks of the other two models. Common settings for the average basket model are: air fry, bake, or roast. Other models might include functions like dehydrate, reheat, keep warm, or various food presets. The difference between these settings is temperature and fan speed.
Small footprint
Basket models are the best air fryers for smaller spaces. Housing the fan mechanism on top of the basket means these models are tall but they have a smaller countertop footprint. (The Dash air fryer below has a height and width barely larger than a piece of notebook paper.) I find that this type is easy enough to carry and relocate around your kitchen if you have to. Even though I use mine multiple times a week, it lives above my fridge, and I take it down when I need it. If you have a small kitchen or counter space is hard to come by, you can probably find a basket-style air fryer that works for you.
The cons
The basket shape is limiting
The basket model does have some drawbacks. In models that aren’t multi-basket, you can only make one thing at a time. Additionally, the basket shape requires that you lower items down into it. This can be tough for baking, especially when you’d like to lower in cakes, cheesecakes, or pies without burning your knuckles.
Basket air fryers to consider:
Perfect for the compact dorm life: DASH Tasti-crisp 2.6 Quart Air Fryer
For kitchens with ample counter space: Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 DualZone FlexBasket
The oven model
Although it uses the same equally effective convection fan heating system, the oven model looks like a completely different appliance—namely a toaster oven. When I first saw them years ago, I assumed they were just large toaster ovens with strange mesh racks inside.
Where the basket style air fryer is tall, the oven model is wide. It often has a hinge door that opens downward—again, like a toaster oven—but I’ve also seen models lately that have double doors, or French doors. The fan and heating element are housed on the side or along the top of the machine, usually behind the control panel.
The pros
Multitask your cooking
If you like to cook a variety of food at once, this might be the air fryer for you. It’s “oven style” for a reason. Just like your big conventional oven, this type is often designed to fit multiple racks at once. That means you can heat up a whole personal pizza with a full pan of fries sizzling above it.
Some get extra fancy with a removable wall that effectively creates two independently heated sections. The Emeril Lagasse air fryer has this capability; you slide in the metal divider and the two spaces have separate heating elements with separate controls. You can apparently bake a cake on one side and air fry chicken wings on the other (beware, the smells might be confusing). Since air fryers cook more gently or aggressively depending on the fan speed, presumably there are two fans as well. It’s hard to tell from the description and pictures, but the comments seem to reveal there are multiple fans.
Rotisserie
I haven't been mentioning specific features as pros or cons because most of the models are capable of all features, barring one. The oven model is the only one I've seen so far that includes and is fitted for an actual rotisserie bar. If you frequently find yourself crushing an entire rotisserie chicken from the grocery store (you're not alone), you might want to consider making your own.
An easier entry point
I love my basket air fryer, but whenever I look at an oven model I stare longingly at the hinge door. There’s simply no downside to this door. It’s easier to slide foods into an air fryer on a tray—from ribs to pumpkin pie— than drop them into a basket or lift them out without burning yourself.
The view
The door of an oven air fryer is almost always a window. And I’m very much like the contestants on The Great British Bake Off—always staring into the oven. Nothing beats a big, wide, unobstructed view of whatever you’re cooking, especially if it’s cake or cookies. An extra minute can make a big difference. It’s easier to walk by your food, take a quick peak and decide, “that’s almost done!” or “I need to add more time.” It’s true that some basket models have windows now, but there’s always a big handle in the way.
The cons
Large footprint
If you’ve thought, “Geez, Allie, if you like the oven model so much, why do you have the basket mode?” Space. I don’t have it. My small kitchen is already bursting at the seams, and I need a portable air fryer that I can squeeze between this without obstructing that. Oven style air fryers simply take up too wide of a footprint and they’re a little clunky to lift and store in a cabinet or over the fridge every time. If you have similar concerns, be diligent about dimensions when you’re shopping, and take into consideration that the air vents need space behind them too.
Oven style air fryers to consider:
Grill-style model
If the convection mechanism is the same amongst these different air fryers, then what is the big difference? It’s the shape. The distance between the food and the heating element can create a different effect. The indoor grill is new to the air fryer party, so there aren’t as many brands exploring it. However, there are still plenty to choose from.
This version is wider and flatter compared to the other two styles. The door is hinged, but opens on the top like a suitcase. The fan and heating element are located in the door this time with an added bonus—the grill grate under the food heats up too. This is the only type of air fryer that conducts heat directly onto the food in addition to convection heating. Some models come with multiple griddle bases or baskets to swap out.
The pros
Direct heating
Having a heated grill plate underneath the food while the close fan heats the top is a boon for even cooking and speed. Plus, you can actually achieve solid sears and grill marks with this type of air fryer.
Great for broiling
In other air fryers, the heating element and fan can be eight to 12 inches away, which means toasting bread without drying it out, or broiling certain items is hard to achieve.
Easy accessibility
You know I love a hinge door. Your hands never have to dive into the basket to retrieve anything in this model, almost everything is easily accessible right under the door.
The cons
It’s not a grill
Just to be clear, a grill-style air fryer is not a real grill. There is no charcoal and no propane; it is an electric convection oven, which makes it safe for indoor use but won’t deliver the same flavors you’d expect from an outdoor charcoal grill.
One-zone cooking
Similarly to the basket model, the grill model provides one-zone cooking with one temperature setting. You would have to finish grilling your steak and remove it before setting the air fryer up for your corn ribs. If you’re looking for a single machine that can handle multiple temperatures at once, scroll up to the dual-zone oven model.
Closer heating element
This feature is a pro and con at the same time. It’s excellent for broiling or cooking steak with close, scorching heat, but a tad risky for a frozen Hot Pocket. The high heat can easily burn items, so keep a close eye on the things you put inside.
Grill style air fryers to consider:
An air fryer will make your average meal easier and faster to prepare. What's more, depending on the model you choose, it can quite possibly expand your meal rotation to include the things you always deemed too complicated, time consuming, or impossible. Once you finally settle on the perfect air fryer for you, try one of these recipes to start.