The Best Air Fryers for Crispy Results
An air fryer is the best way to bring leftover French fries back to life or to crisp up fried chicken. If you're in need of a compact appliance that fits between a microwave and a full oven, a pod-shaped air fryer could be the perfect solution.
It works by using convection baking, where a powerful fan circulates hot air around your food to crisp it up—similar to an oven but much faster.
After testing countless models since 2018, we recommend the Philips 3000 Series Air fryer HD9252/91. It cooks food quickly and evenly, offering the best performance at an affordable price.
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What is air frying?
Air fryers are essentially small convection ovens that use fans to circulate hot air, giving your food a crispy texture.
- Pros
Air fryers are compact, don’t require preheating, and cook food quickly.
- Cons
Due to their size, air fryers have a limited cooking capacity and may not cook food as evenly as larger appliances.
PHOTO: amazon
The Philips 3000 Series Airfryer L HD9252/91 cooks chicken nuggets, fries, and wings faster and more evenly than any other model we've tested in its price range. It’s also user-friendly and easy to clean, thanks to its nonstick-coated fryer basket and a grate design that's less frustrating than those of other machines we’ve tried.
The HD9252/91 has a slim, understated design and a small footprint for an air fryer of its size. Priced around $150, it offers similar performance to other models that cost nearly twice as much, or even as much as one of our more durable and versatile convection toaster oven picks.
However, we’re not fans of the touchscreen: it’s cluttered with unnecessary preset programs and can be tricky to operate with greasy fingers. That said, it’s still one of the better touchscreens we've used in air fryers.
PHOTO: amazon
The Instant Vortex Mini 4-in-1, with a 2-quart capacity, is the smallest air fryer we've tested, but it performs just as well as larger models. Despite its square basket being a quart smaller than the Philips Airfryer L, its wide, shallow design easily accommodates one or two servings.
It cooks as quickly and nearly as evenly as our other top picks. The Vortex Mini features a simple interface with just four preprogrammed settings—air fry, roast, bake, and reheat—all controlled by a single dial, making it easy to use right out of the box. Plus, it’s lightweight, compact, and has the lightest basket of any air fryer we've tested.
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