12 best air fryers of 2022 for chips and more – tried and tested

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Best air fryer for versatility

Pros: 

• Versatile multi-dish cooking

Cons: 

• Takes a lot of space up on the countertop

Star rating: 4.5/5

The distinctive dome of the Tefal ActiFry has evolved into this multi-level cooker, which can be programmed to remind you when to add different menu components.

Other fryers have baskets that allow the fat to drain away – not this one. Any oil will collect on the doughnut-shaped tray at the bottom, with a central paddle that turns, to ensure food is slowly coated in the oil.

You can get amazingly good results with very little oil, so it’s still far healthier than deep frying or even baking on a sheet in the oven, where more fat is needed to cover the surface.

Another container for the likes of meat or fragile fish fillets can then be added over the central stalk, to double up cooking space. And you can see it all through a giant window so don’t have to lose heat by opening the lid to check on progress.

Although it took a bit of exploration with the manual, the pre-sets and settings are easy to use when you get the hang of the touch controls. Read our full Tefal Genius ActiFry 2-in-1 air fryer review.

Tower Vortex 5-in-1 11-litre air fryer

Best air fryer for roasting chicken

Pros:

• More versatile than a basket fryer
• Rotisserie function

Cons:

Star rating: 3.5/5 

An oven-style air fryer, you can stack three separate trays of food to air fry.

Chips, pizza and wedges worked out well in this model, with a good even finish and no cool spots. As with a conventional oven, the highest shelf was hottest, so we did do a bit of moving around as things cooked, but it was easy to check on their progress thanks to the large viewing window and interior light.

Our favourite function was the rotisserie, which turned a small chicken into a beautifully juicy and crisp centrepiece for a summer salad in around 50 minutes.

There may have been straws drawn to decide who would clean it afterwards, but we would definitely use it again, perhaps adding some foil to the bottom pan for easier clean-up.

Read our full Tower Vortex 2000W 11l 5-in-1 digital air fryer oven review.

Why buy an air fryer?

In a word: convenience. Like any kitchen gadget, you want something that’s going to make life simpler, and there’s no doubt that frying and baking conventionally can be messy, smelly or even dangerous.

Using an air fryer to bake, roast and fry will speed up the process, could potentially cut calories and save money as you won’t have to use a larger oven for smaller portions and side dishes.

Think of air fryers as mini ovens that can tackle almost anything you’d put in a conventional oven or deep fat fryer. They’re not just for chips – you can bake, roast, and even dehydrate ingredients, too.

Is air frying healthy?

In comparison to deep-fat frying, air frying is a healthier alternative, since using convection cooking rather than oil means less fat in the finished food, which in turn means fewer calories. However, air frying does have some negatives, so it should be considered as part of a balanced diet. Read more about the health credentials of air fryers in our guide – is air frying healthy?

How we tested air fryers

What is the first thing you think of when you consider air fryers? Chips, of course, so our homemade fries test was crucial.

The key to crisp fries was to peel and soak the potatoes in cold water for half an hour to remove starch, before drying thoroughly. We used Maris Piper potatoes for all.

We looked at the manuals for each model and followed their directions for cooking temperature, time and the quantity of oil needed. If the type of oil wasn’t specified them we used vegetable.

Anything from the size of the cut to the variety of potato can make a difference here, so it’s always good to gauge things halfway through the time. But for the purpose of the test, we shook ingredients only when prompted too and scored the appliance based on its performance.

We tested the air fryers using set criteria and scored each one on the following core areas out of five. The average of all determined the overall star rating they achieved:

Quality of food
To ensure fairness, we initially cooked chips in every fryer we tested. We looked at how evenly they ‘fried’ and whether they were brown and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Ease of use
No-one wants to resort to a YouTube video to work out how to use a new gadget. We looked for fryers with clear, simple instructions, so we could get them out of the box and cooking our dinner as quickly as possible. Fryers also scored highly if the icons or control buttons were easy to use and intuitive.

Value for money
Some of our cheaper fryers made excellent fries without a big price tag. We looked at whether the fryers were worth the price.

Ease of cleaning
Some air fryer baskets are dishwasher safe or coated with a non-stick surface.

Quality of materials
We checked that every component of the air fryer was built to last and able to withstand regular use.

What to consider when buying an air fryer

Think of your individual requirements before investing. You may want to consider the following:

Manual or digital
The simplest air fryers come with manual knobs that you twist to set the time and temperature. You may prefer a digital version, where you press buttons to set this, and can see the remaining time digitally displayed.

Choice of pre-set programmes
Do you like to choose your own temperature and how long to cook things for, or would you prefer to leave all that to the machine? Some of our fryers had up to nine pre-set programmes for popular foods like chips and, bizarrely, shrimps.

Speed
It took between 17 and 30 minutes to cook chips in our samples, so this might be a factor. Some models need preheating, but only for a few minutes (much less than an oven).

Size
Always check the size as the capacity varies enormously – important if you’re feeding the masses or just want dinner for one. But bigger isn’t always better. Some take up more space on the kitchen surface and if you’re going to keep it in a cupboard, check the dimensions, some are sizeable beasts.

Transparent lid 
Some models have a see-through lid so you can glance in and check your chips are browning well. With others, you have to open the basket to check, stopping the machine. The transparent ones tend to be a feature on more expensive machines, so you need to decide how important this is to you.

Shaking
With most air fryers, you need to shake your chips halfway through cooking (or more often if you want to see how they are getting on). Some fryers have clever devices built in to turn the food for you. Again, these tend to be the more expensive models, but this could a factor to consider if you want to go off and leave your dinner to cook itself.

Cleaning
You’ll need to wash the basket and pan after use. Some need to be hand-washed, while others are dishwasher-proof. (The main parts of the machine should just be wiped with a cloth.)

Price
Air fryers vary hugely in price – our tested models varied from £39.99 to £300.

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