Ninja recently unveiled a new style of air fryer: Double Stack models are two-deck air fryers with twice the food capacity – but thanks to their height, they’ll take up half the counter space of their rivals.
Double Stack models aren’t available yet, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of types of air fryers to choose from right now. Air fryers are not one-size-fits-all. Below we look at the most common types.
Single Drawer Air Fryer
Single drawer air fryers are the original and most popular type. The advantage of their design is that they will be quick, inexpensive to run and simple to use.
Alex Greenwood / Foundry
Get one if: you have a small household and are looking for the most efficient way to cook for one to two people, or if you tend to only use an air fryer for single-sided cooking. If your air fryer is mainly used for making fries, you can opt for the simplest model.
The best we tested: We loved the Instant Vortex Plus.
Double Drawer Air Fryer
The problem with a single drawer air fryer is that you can only cook one dish at a time for any given meal. This isn’t necessarily a problem – but if you want to cook fish And chips for a family meal, you will need to use the oven. This is where dual drawer air fryers come in.
Each drawer will have about the same capacity as a smaller basket/drawer in a regular air fryer, about 5 QT/5 liters each. The big advantage is that you can set the time and temperature separately for each drawer, or just cook in one.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Look for features that will simplify and streamline your cooking process. Many air fryers will have a “match” function, allowing you to repeat cooking instructions in both drawers. The other key feature is a ‘sync’ button, which will ensure that, even with two different cooking times, both dishes will be ready at the same time, so you can simply walk in when the alarm goes off and immediately prepare the flat.
Get one if: you want to air fry more than one dish at a time. If you regularly cook a dish in the air fryer and use another cooking method to prepare a side dish, using a double drawer air fryer will save you time and money.
The best we tested: Ninja’s Foodi MAX Dual Zone is one of the best air fryers we’ve ever reviewed, but the Chefree Dual-Drawer Air Fryer is a great, more budget-friendly alternative.
Steam fryer
Adding steam to the air frying process can help crisp foods, meaning you need even less oil while cooking. Steam and air fryers typically contain a water reservoir that you fill and insert into the appliance before cooking.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Get one if: you are trying to reduce oil consumption in your cooking, especially for roasts.
The best we tested: The Ninja Speedi does not have a water tank. But you can steam and air cook two different meal components at the same time, in the same space. One option with a water tank – which we haven’t had a chance to test yet – is the Breville Halo Steam Air Fryer, available from Currys for £129 at the time of writing.
Air Fryer Oven
Air fryers are just mini convection ovens, but the emphasis is usually on “mini.” But what if you need more cooking capacity? That’s where air fryer ovens come in. They have a much larger cooking space than your average air fryer and the same construction design as a conventional oven, with a drop-down door featuring a viewing window and space for multiple cooking racks.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
They often also have a roasting pan.
The downside is that they take up a huge amount of counter space and won’t be as economical as a compact air fryer for cooking small volumes of food.
Get one if: you’ve ever thought a second oven would be handy.
The best we tested: The Tefal Easy Fry Air Fryer Oven is a great option, but the largest capacity air fryer oven we tested is the HySapientia 26QT/24 Quart Stainless Steel Air Fryer Oven.
Combination Air Fryer
You can use most air fryers for frying, baking, roasting, dehydrating, and generally grilling, but since they’re large appliances that will take up a lot of counter space, you may want to get more out of them.
How about a device that you can also use for pressure cooking, slow cooking, steaming, sautéing, reheating, grilling, dehydrating, yogurt making, sous vide and the rising of bread?
Jim Martin / Foundry
The downside to multifunctional air fryers is that they may be more complicated to use or have parts that you need to replace to change functionality.
Get one if: you want to clear your counter of single-function appliances and use one appliance for everything.
The best we tested: We review the Instant Pot Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid – it’s easy to use and you won’t have to change the lid to use different cooking methods.
To see all the air fryers we recommend, take a look at our roundup of the best air fryers we’ve tested.
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