While the best healthy air fryers have fast become one of the most sought-after kitchen appliances, they are still a relatively new invention. Originally pushed as a healthier alternative to a deep fat fryer, they can be used to produce crisp French fries – but with less fat and calories. But that’s not all – you can also air-dry doughnuts, roast chicken and make healthy roasted vegetables.
But with so many kitchen gadgets already filling up our countertops, you might be wondering: do I need an air fryer? If you’re undecided, read on to find out more about the different models of the best healthy air fryers available and in stock now. Our team has had hands-on experience reviewing some of the bestsellers, looking at size, price, design, usability and probably most importantly, how easy they are to clean.
So whether you want a compact space-saving option like the Magic Bullet, a quiet air fryer like the TaoTronics TT-AF001, or the BBQ-style Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill, we’re here to help you choose the best healthy air fryer for you.
Best healthy air fryers
Ninja is one of those brands that you can always count on for innovation, and this product is no different. Combining an air fryer with an indoor grill that can also be used to dehydrate, bake and roast, this is an impressive piece of equipment.
We must admit it’s bulky, and the top opening lid requires clearance at the back to be able to open fully, so if you’re short on space it’s not ideal. But if you can get over this minor issue, you’ll get a great air fryer. It’s got an intuitive control panel and automatically preheats, plus everything can go in the dishwasher when you’re done.
During testing, the air fryer produced crisp golden fries, no matter whether they were from the freezer or hand cut. The 6-quart capacity allowed enough space to fit seven chicken wings side by side and they came out moist and succulent with crisp skin. We grilled burgers in just six minutes, but it’s worth noting it takes a lengthy eight minutes to preheat.
Nevertheless the results were great, with a slightly charred taste and minimal smoke in the kitchen. The configuration means it’s not easy to shake fries mid cook, but you’ll get used to stirring them instead. The addition of the bake, roast, and dehydrate options means this will quickly become your go-to countertop cooking appliance.
TaoTronics might be best known for gadgets like audio products and fans, but it’s now making waves in the kitchen appliances market with a range of products. This family sized 6-quart capacity air fryer doesn’t come cheap (though it is often on offer), but we were impressed with the results when we put it to the test.
It’s got a whopping 11 presets to choose from, taking the guesswork out of selecting time and temperature settings for a variety of popular foods such as fries, bacon, and vegetables. This makes it a great option for those new to air frying and may feel uncertain about using one of these appliances.
During testing, we found the presets to be quite accurate and made use of the chicken preset to produce crispy, golden chicken wings. The fries preset was ideal for hand cut fries and it cooked crisp, golden fries with fluffy centers in the 25-minute preset time. You have to remember to shake the basket during cooking, though, as it doesn’t have an alert to remind you.
Frozen fries worked well too and its non-stick basket means cleaning by hand is easy, or you can pop it in the dishwasher and go put your feet up. There are no other functions to make use of—it can only air fry—but it does it well and the whisper-quiet operation means you can use it anytime without disturbing the rest of the household.
This small-to-medium size 3.7-quart capacity unit is perfect if you want a good value healthy air fryer and you don’t need a large capacity. It might be a budget-friendly choice, but the sleek black exterior and touch control panel certainly don’t feel cheap.
Helpfully, there are 11 presets, offering you the ideal time and temperature settings for a selection of common foods. We made use of the frozen fries preset, which gave us crisp and fluffy fries in 15 minutes, though we reckon they were probably done after 12 minutes. And we love that it beeps to remind you to shake the fries mid-way through cooking.
For hand cut fries we followed the recipe in the included recipe book, which suggests just 0.5fl oz of olive oil, they cooked in just 18 minutes but weren’t as crisp as we’d like, so you’ll need to experiment with the cook time. Chicken wings on the other hand came out beautifully crisped and tender, and cleaning the machine is easy with dishwasher-friendly parts.
The size is ideal for two person households and it’s not too noisy. Overall, given the price, this air fryer has a lot to offer.
The brand is best known for its blenders and smoothie makers, but Magic Bullet now makes an air fryer too. It’s a small appliance with a modest 2.5-quart capacity that makes it ideal for one or two-person households. It’s one of the most compact air fryers we’ve reviewed, so if you’re short on counter space, it’s definitely worth considering.
Not only is it small and budget-friendly, it’s also very simple to use. With one dial for time and one for temperature, there’s barely a need to glance at the instruction manual. However, we suspect the ticking timer will be annoying to some. Plus, the temperature dial doesn’t have markings at regular intervals, so it’s tricky to be precise.
When it came to cooking, we were pleasantly surprised that there’s space in the small basket for five chicken wings without piling them on top of each other, and they crisped up nicely. Frozen fries were hot and crisped in around 20 minutes. Hand-cut fries were slow to cook, though, taking 30 minutes to cook through and crisp up. And despite shaking during cooking, they were a little uneven in color.
Unlike some other models, it’s not multifunctional and we were disappointed that the basket can’t go in the dishwasher. But all told, if you want a small and easy to use air fryer it’s up to the job, and the simple settings make a great choice for air fryer newbies.
Whether you have a large family or you love to entertain, this 10-quart capacity air fryer should be spacious enough to meet your needs. And like the other Ninja in this list, it’s a multifunctional appliance with options to roast, bake, dehydrate, and reheat.
The two separate air frying baskets can be set independently, as each has its own time and temperature controls, allowing you to cook your fries in one basket while your meat cooks in the other. What’s more, the two baskets can be synced which we found particularly useful. It means you can add all the food at once, but the air fryer will delay the side with the shorter cook time so that everything is ready at the same time.
We found it easy to use and it made crisp and succulent chicken wings. And although our fries didn’t have a consistent color, they were crisp and fluffy and tasted great. On the downside, this bulky appliance demands a good chunk of counter space, and it’s expensive. But both of these are to be expected if you want a large capacity air fryer that’s packed with functions.
The Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 ClearCook has a modern set of features that really set it apart from the competition. These include a transparent viewing window that works with an interior light to illuminate your food for you to look in while it cooks. This is easily toggled using one of the touch controls on the control panel.
There is a setting for air frying, roasting, baking, reheating, dehydrating, and grilling, which all function similarly but include pre-set temperatures and timings adjusted for different types of food. You can also control the temperature and timing buttons independently, and they can be set up to one hour and 400°F / 200°c.
In our test, we really enjoyed how easily this air fryer browned our homemade chunky fries, and although there was not much shaking required to get an even finish, we appreciated that the Instant Vortex Plus gives you a reminder to turn or shake your food halfway through the cooking time to make sure your food will come out evenly cooked every time.
The capacity of this air fryer is perfect for larger families but may be overkill for one or two servings. We have used it to air fry a whole chicken and meal prep with enough roasted vegetables to last the week.
Although it's easy to wipe clean, thanks to the lack of grooves and buttons, the touch control panel easily marks with greasy fingerprints. What's more, we were disappointed that the main drawer can't go through the dishwasher due to its viewing panel.
The Philips Essential Air Fryer XL has a unique vortex structure at the drawer's base, which is meant to improve air circulation to crisp your food up from all angles. We found that this did a great job of cooking our homemade fries, but smaller foods, such as bacon, will potentially be blown around the cooking chamber if you turn the heat up high.
This air fryer has a panel of pre-set controls, with options for fish, chicken, frozen food, and even a vegetable setting. This will automatically set the temperature and time of your air fryer, but you can still adjust even when using these settings depending on what you're cooking. After all, not all types of vegetables or fish will require the same temperature or time.
Unlike a lot of air fryers where there is a removable base that sits inside the central drawer, this one has a basket that lifts out of the air fryer using a handle, leaving any fat or juices in the base of the air fryer with no risk of them spilling out onto your plate. This does take up more dishwasher space when it comes to cleaning, though.
When we tested this air fryer, it was noticeably quieter than the other models we tried, making it an excellent choice for those who live in a smaller space and who don't want to listen to a whirring noise while their lunch cooks.
