I keep deciding to buy one and the talking myself out of it. I like the idea of not needing a half hour to preheat my oven. On the other hand, I tend to buy appliances and then never use them - my instant pot is basically just a hard boiled egg maker.
Do you have one? Do you love it? What do you make with it? Or do you have one and you never use it and it’s just gathering dust and taking up space?
cherry / 184 posts
I have one (I am on my second one). And I love it. To put it in perspective: I have an instant pot. Bought it way before the hype started. I like my instant pot but I only make stews, congee (rice porridge). I did make ribs in it a few times.
I like my air fryer more. Enough to buy a 2nd one, once I felt the coating on the nonstick basket was slightly gone...
I used to make grilled cheese, nutella sandwich, air fryer salmon (mayo and capers), huli huli chicken and more. I used it for french toast sticks (frozen kind, took forever in our toaster oven which is great: it's a Breville) but still it's so fast in the air fryer. I used for nuggets, fried. I basically think it does a great job if the food is already fried. I make panko shrimp in it (not as good as fried but very good and very fast).
So I am on the 2nd one: This second one, I don't think I like it as much as my first one which was an Insignia, The interface on the 2nd one (Gourmia) is not as intuitive and I hate I have to preheat this one. my first one, i didn't have to....
I got my first one because my parents had one.Until you see it in action... you might not think you need one. But I need one now.
pomegranate / 3809 posts
Commenting to follow! Ive been doing the exact same debate. I bought a sous vide and instant pot thinking they'd be great and Id use it all the time. Nope. I think air fryer sounds great but I'm afraid of not using that too, after all, I've lived this long without it, how would i incorporate it into my cooking..
pomelo / 5257 posts
Lol I was literally just looking at air fryers wondering if I need one! I’m thinking of getting one of the ones that double as a toaster oven. I know I’ll at least use that function, and right now we just have the traditional pop-up toaster.
pomegranate / 3973 posts
My sister and BIL keep telling me we need one... and step daughter just won one at prom this weekend so I guess I'll be testing one out. I've been anti-air fryer because 1- it's another appliance (had the instapot, only used 3x), 2- we have a convection oven so I feel like it's kinda the same thing on a larger scale?? 3- we don't buy any of the easy to heat up foods like chicken nuggets or mini tacos that my sis cooks in it.
But following to see what others make!
pomegranate / 3272 posts
I have the instant pot and love it and use that all the time for things. I also love kitchen gadgets in general. My mom got me the air fryer lid for the instant pot. It makes really great tater tots and french fries. That's basically all I use it for but it's worth it just for that. Then again, the basket of the instant pot is pretty small so that might be my limiting factor. DH will make chicken nuggets in the air fryer for himself but the kids prefer them heated in the microwave b/c kids are weird. Otherwise, we don't usually eat a lot of foods like that.
That being said, when I did my research on air fryers, I read something that said the best air fryer was actually a convection toaster oven. I bought a bigger toaster oven that fits a 9x13 pan and now I rarely use my actual oven unless I'm actually baking sourdough bread.
blogger / nectarine / 2043 posts
I resisted getting one forever (I too hate gadgets) but my husband got one for free randomly (to review for some research study) and even though it takes up an obnoxious amount of counter space, I do love it. For our family of 3, it definitely saves time on things like making french fries and meat (which I only cook for my daughter and occasionally for me - husband is a lifelong vegetarian). I can make salmon in 15 minutes rather than waiting for the oven and cooking it there, I can crisp up bacon in 10 minutes, make a couple chicken breasts or nuggets in less than 10 minutes, etc. If you have a large family, it may not be as useful because I find mine mostly useful for small batch cooking (e.g. a few strips of bacon at a time, a single serving of salmon or chicken, etc.) but I do love it for our purposes.
nectarine / 2690 posts
...Following. I was gifted one for Christmas 2019 and its in the storage shed still in the box. I don't have room for it inside, but I'd like to try it. I'm torn lol
cherry / 184 posts
I have the big Breville oven with the air fryer basket and that does not 'air fry' as well. It took as long to air fry than in a bake mode. Also the breville one is a pain to wash. It's metal but it's like a grid. I have not used it in over 1 year after I got my first air fryer. What you have think is that the air fryer about is that it cuts the time by about 40% I'd say. Also, IMO, an air fryer on its own is better than when it's combined with another device.
pomegranate / 3392 posts
I'm trying to figure this out too! We have very little counter space in our kitchen. I follow a trader Joe's fan account on Instagram and she air fries everything (frozen things, breads, baked goods) and I admit it seems tempting.
apricot / 286 posts
Check out the Ninja Foodi Grill! It’s a 5 in 1 (air crisp, roast, dehydrate, bake and grill). I use it honestly 4-5+ times a week and it’s my favourite appliance that I own. I use it so much it has earned permanent counter real estate which I don’t hand out lightly. It cooks so quickly and everything comes out tasting like perfection. The air crisp makes everything taste crispy. We do frozen stuff but also hand breaded panko chicken, cut up potatoes, etc. And the grill makes the most juicy meats and is honestly just as good as the BBQ. We do burgers, steak, chicken, pork chops...I hate using the BBQ in the winter or when DH isn’t home (turning it on scares me) so I use the grill portion a ton.
Clean up is so easy, you just throw it in the dishwasher. I’ve sold like 10 of them to family and friends, I wish I worked on commission 
.
nectarine / 2210 posts
We have the Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Oven, which can be used as an air fryer. (Here’s an article about it https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-air-fryer/) We do use it as an air fryer, but more often as a toaster oven.
pomelo / 5573 posts
I have no self-regulation anymore, so I bought a Ninja Foodi dual zone air fryer. So far I’ve successfully reheated chicken fingers and French fries, and it’s great for that - they tasted like fresh. I also ruined a bunch of broccoli by cooking it too hot or too long or something, but the few pieces that weren’t charred were good. Owning it, I can say I’m pretty sure that I didn’t need it but I’m going to make an effort to actually use it - I don’t want it to go the way of the rice cooker o bought last year.
pomelo / 5573 posts
For anybody else on the fence, I used the air fryer today to make these donuts: https://platedcravings.com/air-fryer-donuts/ and they were excellent.
pomelo / 5573 posts
For the people on the fence about this, my feeling is that I didn’t need it, but having owned it for a week and made an active effort to use it, it’s great. We reheated take out chicken strips and fries and they tasted fresh. It reheated leftover pizza amazingly fast. I made frozen fries in like 12 minutes and then when I realized they were spicy I threw some happy-face fries in and they were done in 10. This weekend alone I used it to make doughnuts, reheat pizza, make fresh fries, and roast some cauliflower and crisp up falafels. As somebody who’s always been frustrated by how long my oven takes to heat up, this is great for me.
pomegranate / 3392 posts
@erinbaderin: resistance.... fading....
I'm glad you're liking it! Do you keep it out on the countertop or store it away?
pomelo / 5573 posts
I store it away because I like my counters to be pretty clear and it’s big and kind of ugly but taking it out every day is starting to wear me down on that front. I might see if I can make space for it.
pomelo / 5621 posts
We have the ninja with two baskets. When my DH brought up wanting one I rolled my eyes since we only use our insta pot for hard boiled eggs. But we got one for Christmas.
I love it and generally use it 2-3 times a week. I do chicken in it a lot. Drumsticks, thighs, breasts, strips. Roasted veggies and potatoes are good in it too.
I don’t keep it on the counter since it is huge and we don’t have much space. I keep it on the floor of the pantry and it is easy to take out and put away.
persimmon / 1064 posts
Does anyone use an air fryer if they also have a convection oven? Like we have a microwave/convection oven...so it’s small and doesn’t take long to heat up. Wondering if it’s the same(ish) concept as an air fryer? 🤷♀️
cherry / 184 posts
I have a convection oven Breville. Their biggest size, it even has an an air fryer mode but it's take too long and is not as crispy as a standalone air fryer. I will use the standalone air fryer to reheat things that need to be crispy (like fries, anything puff pastry, chicken nuggets, bacon). I use the convection oven when it doesn't fit or when I am baking banana bread loaf. The air fryer will cut the time in half... They are really complementary....
pomelo / 5866 posts
I’m an air fryer convert. Never thought I needed one. Put my microwave out in another room and my air fryer is in its spot. I use micro once a week and air fryer almost everyday. It has a plate that goes in dishwasher everyday and I just rinse and wipe the basket if needed.
FiL gave us one. I would have never done it otherwise. I’ve made pizza, salmon patties, roasted veggies, lumpia, parmesan shrimp, kale chips, broccoli (easy to burn), curly fries etc.
I have a small convection oven and did the substitute with the elevated grid on the pan to get the same idea going. I honestly don’t know if it’s the same. The only thing it is missing is the fan that circulates the heat. My kale chips fly all over the place in the air fryer. I bet the air fryer makes the grease and oil fly off a bit better, creating dryer conditions.
pomegranate / 3809 posts
@808love: what air fryer is this that's large enough for a pizza!
pomelo / 5866 posts
It looks like an R2D2. The pizza is a personal pan. I have to roll out the crust and then put the toppings on while it is inside the basket cause it is hard to move otherwise.
pomelo / 5866 posts
Here is a fancy model. I have the budget one where there is one tray that slides out.
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/power-xl-10-qt-vortex-air-fryer-pro/5527455?skuId=69609910&enginename=google&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_kitchenelectrics_local&product_id=69609910&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&adpos=&creative=248875057638&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&utm_campaignid=71700000037211805&utm_adgroupid=58700004142068815&targetid=92700034062230274&gclid=Cj0KCQjwktKFBhCkARIsAJeDT0hgPUmcdlKk4xQ_nkNkxDM9QxdJKv2BKGKl0GrF3vCdKJhHSPDe2IoaAm8QEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Oh and I made a bunch of things when I first got my Instant Pot but now I only make rice with it.
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