Fried food can be pretty irresistible, but you might feel as if you have to avoid it if you’re looking to eat more healthily by consuming less oil. Air frying, which requires just a small amount of oil, or even none, and uses a fan to blow hot air and oil around the food, offers the same texture and similar taste without the need to dip the food right into bubbling oil. We’ve rounded up the best air fryers around.
Philips Air Fryer HD9220/20
Compact design
If you love the idea of adding an air fryer to your kitchen kit but you’re short on space, check out this neatly sized model. It offers pre-set cooking times of up to 30 minutes, as well as temperature control up to 200 degrees Celsius to get the optimum results with different foods. The drawer and food basket are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.
Tower Air Fryer
Cake maker
You can cook yourself a sweet treat as well as fry up dishes like chicken and chips with this low-cost air fryer, which has a 3.2-litre capacity basket. It has a 60-minute timer with automatic switch-off after the cycle’s complete. The drawer and basket are easy to take out for cleaning, but they have to be hand-washed.
Tefal ActiFry Genius XL
Automatic stirring
Feed a crowd with this eight portion fryer. It offers nine automatic cooking programmes, which adjust time and temperature to the recipe, as well as the stirring motion. It has an automatic paddle for this, saving you the job. It comes with an app with recipes and instructions.
Pro Breeze Air Fryer
Digital display
You can pick between seven pre-set modes, or use the temperature control and timer to prepare the way you prefer with this air fryer. The display is simple and intuitive, and the appliance is a good looker, too. For safety, there’s built-in heat protection, plus an auto-off sensor.
Ninja Air Fryer
Family sized
The Ninja’s 3.8 litre non-stick basket provides room for 900 grams of chips, so you can serve up to six people. As well as air frying for healthier takes on your favourites, it can roast, or use it to reheat, which will crisp up pizza slices, for instance. There’s also a dehydrate function that dries fruit, and makes vegetable crisps, and beef jerky.
Philips Avance Collection Air Fryer
Integrated air filter
The Philips Avance (HD9240/90) is the most expensive model in our selection, but it offers plenty of features for your spend. Once you’ve perfected a dish, it allows you to save the settings for consistent results at the touch of a button, and time and temperature control are digital and simple to select. It also features an air filter to avoid odours lingering. A cooking capacity of 1.2kg that feeds up to five people and the NutriU app provides hundreds of recipes are big bonuses as well.
Bottom line
Along with helping you make your diet healthier, air fryers offer a convenient way to prepare whole meals, plus snacks, and treats. The Philips Air Fryer HD9220/20 offers time and temperature control for tasty results whatever you’re cooking, and no-fuss clean-up with dishwashable parts. It won’t hog the worktop either as it’s compact in its proportions.
If you like the idea of reheating and dehydrating food along with roasting and frying, check out the Ninja Air Fryer. The basket can fit up to six servings, so it’s an ideal choice for a family home.
