Cookworks 5L Air Fryer review: a good budget buy for students or couples

RRP at time of testing: £60 | Check price at Argos

My verdict

It’s been 16 years since I was a fresher, which these days feels like a lifetime ago. The basics haven’t changed much, though: limited kitchen space, several people trying to cook at once and a strong temptation to live on Super Noodles. I was rubbish at cooking (still am, to be fair), so anything that made dinner easier went straight to the top of my list.

If air fryers had been common back then, I’d have wanted one. I wouldn’t have had £200-plus for a premium model, but £60 feels far more realistic. Split between six housemates, that’s a tenner each. Bargain and arguably a great idea, until six people also have to agree whose turn it is to clean it.

Browsing air fryers and other university essentials on Argos also gave me a small flashback to collecting bits for halls from the Bold Street branch in Liverpool.

The Cookworks arrived well packed and was straightforward to unpack

As for the air fryer itself, it’s been used daily, sometimes twice daily, for a week. I cooked chicken nuggets and chips together for a fast children’s tea, then made several batches of homemade tortilla chips. Everything was evenly cooked, crisp and tasty, with no need to extend the cooking time.

The 5L basket comfortably handled two children’s portions and plenty of tortilla chips for sharing. I’d place it in the sweet spot for one person, a couple or a family of three. It’s less convincing for a large family or a student house trying to cook one communal meal, but housemates eating at different times due to their schedules should get on fine with it.

It’s also far quieter than my Ninja Dual, something my husband noticed straight away. The controls are simple and the basket restarts cooking when it’s pushed back in. My biggest gripe with this one though is the fixed handle, and the basket-release button needs treating with respect unless you fancy dropping the outer bowl on your foot.

How I’ve tested the Cookworks 5L Air Fryer

I tested the Cookworks 5L Air Fryer in my family kitchen for one week, using it every day and sometimes twice a day. I cooked chicken nuggets and chips together for two children, plus several batches of homemade tortilla chips made from wraps cut into triangles.

I assessed how evenly the food cooked, how crisp it became and whether the timings needed extending. I also checked the controls, automatic restart, noise, first-use smells, basket capacity, handle temperature, stability, washing up and the space it occupied on the worktop.

It’s been used alongside other university picks from Argos, including a steam iron, tabletop ironing board, kitchen starter set and desk lamp. I also compared the experience with air fryers I’ve tested previously, including the Ninja Dual I’ve used for two years.

What’s in the box? 

With the Cookworks 5L air fryer you get the air fryer, its removable bowl, a removable basket and a brief instruction manual. It’s fairly straightforward to setup and ready to use out of the box. 

In the box you get the air fryer, removable bowl and basket, plus a brief instruction manual

Design and first impressions of the Cookworks 5L Air Fryer

It’s a plain black air fryer with a digital display and a chunky front handle. The design isn’t fussy and its footprint is smaller than my Ninja Dual. The materials feel a little clunkier and the drawer makes more of a metallic sound, but it slid smoothly and closed firmly every time. At 32cm high, 26cm wide and 34cm deep, it still needs a clear patch of worktop and I’ve found that the 1m cable limits how far it can sit from a socket.

That might be an issue in halls and shared houses, where worktop space disappears quickly. So I’d recommend checking the kitchen measurements and accommodation rules before buying any heated appliance. 

This model has no viewing window, so you need to pull out the drawer to check the food. The handle and exterior stayed cool during my tests and the air fryer remained stable. The manual warns that the basket and drawer become hot, so they should still be handled by the handle.

The plain black design is simple, though the build feels clunkier

Controls and cooking programmes on Cookworks’ air fryer

The LED display is clear and the touch controls let you change the time and temperature manually. The temperature range runs from 50°C to 200°C. The 10 programmes available to use are preheat, fries, meat, drumsticks, steak, cake, shrimp, fish, pizza and vegetables. The preheat setting defaults to three minutes at 180°C, although both figures can be changed.

The air fryer beeped when the cycle finished and the display stayed clear throughout. The manual says it gives 10 beeps at the end, but I didn’t find them annoying. There’s no automatic halfway shake reminder, but since I’m an air fryer connoisseur these days, I remembered to do it myself. The manual suggests setting the timer for half the cooking time if you want a prompt, but you then need to set it again for the remaining time - bit of a faff IMO but it might work for some. 

During use, I could adjust the settings easily, pull out the basket to check or shake the food and slide it back in. Cooking restarted by itself without me pressing anything.

The clear touch controls were easy to use, and homemade tortilla chips came out crisp and evenly cooked

How well does the Cookworks 5L Air Fryer cook?

I’ll be honest - it’s not been used for any lavish meals so far. I tested it with frozen chicken nuggets and frozen chips for a fast children’s tea on a busy Thursday, plus several batches of my famous homemade tortilla chips. By famous, I mean wraps cut into triangles, but the children love them with hummus. The nuggets and chips took less than 20 minutes from start to finish.

Everything cooked evenly and came out crisp and tasty. I gave the basket a good shake halfway through, as I do with every air fryer, and didn’t need to add extra cooking time. The results matched what I’ve had from other air fryers.

The biggest surprise was the noise, or lack of it. It’s far quieter than my much-loved Ninja. My husband noticed before I did, which says something because he hates the sound of the Ninja and was impressed by how little noise the Cookworks made. There was a slight new-appliance smell on the first use, but this was to be expected with a new air fryer and it soon disappeared.

Slide back the cover and press the button to separate the basket from the outer bowl

Cookworks 5L Air Fryer: Basket and capacity

The 5L drawer comfortably held two children’s portions of chicken nuggets and chips together. It also made plenty of homemade tortilla chips for sharing, although several batches were needed. Based on this test and other 5L air fryers I’ve used, the capacity is well suited to one person, a couple or a family of three.

Anything larger starts to expose the limits of a single drawer air fryer. You’ll need another appliance or a second batch to cook a bigger family meal. It would suit several housemates cooking individual meals at different times, but it won’t feed a house of five or six in one go.

The mixed nuggets and chips needed a good shake halfway through to cook evenly. That’s second nature to me after two years of using my Ninja Dual, but without it I don’t think the chips would have crisped as evenly.

The basket and outer bowl washed up quickly by hand, but the fixed handle put me off using the dishwasher.

Is it easy to clean and store the Cookworks 5L Air Fryer?

A sliding cover on the handle reveals the button that separates the basket from the outer bowl. I’ll admit that it took me a moment to work that out. Don’t press it while holding the whole drawer in mid-air because the outer bowl will drop. I have the bruise on my toe to prove it. The manual gives the same warning, which I found shortly after learning the hard way.

Washing up was quick and easy in the sink. The manual describes the basket and drawer as dishwasher-proof and says the non-stick coating should be cleaned without metal utensils or abrasive products. I chose not to put the basket in my dishwasher because the handle stays attached with screws and I’d worry about them rusting. That fixed handle is my main irritation with the design.

After a week of daily use, sometimes twice a day, I haven’t noticed any marks, scratches or retained smells. It hasn’t become an annoyance on the worktop either. Its footprint is smaller than my existing air fryer, so although it isn’t tiny, it’s easy enough to live with.

Cookworks air fryer: Is it good value?

At £60, the Cookworks sits at the lower end of the digital air fryers in our current budget air fryer guide. You get a 5L drawer, 10 programmes, manual time and temperature controls and removable parts. There’s no second drawer, viewing window, shake reminder or smart cooking function. I wouldn’t choose it over my Ninja, but I wouldn’t expect a £60 single-drawer model to offer the same build or features either.

For an individual student or couples, the appeal is simple: it cooks fast meals well, doesn’t make much noise and costs far less than many premium air fryers. I’d have happily paid £60 for it at university. 

Splitting the price between housemates brings the cost down further, although this basket isn’t large enough to cook a full meal for five or six people at once. So IMO, four stars feels fair for a capable budget model with a few design compromises.

The Cookworks is narrower and cheaper than my 9.5L Ninja Dual, but it only has one drawer.

How does the Cookworks 5L Air Fryer compare?

The closest 5L air fryer I’ve personally tested is the Tower AirX AI 5L, which adds AI-assisted cooking and a TFT touchscreen. The Cookworks costs £20 less and keeps things simpler, with standard digital controls and 10 cooking programmes.

My longer-term benchmark is the Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone AF400UK, which I’ve used for two years and still haven’t found a replacement for. Its 9.5L capacity is split across two drawers, with sync and match controls that make it far easier to cook a full family meal. Its RRP was £220 when I reviewed it, compared with £60 for the Cookworks.

The Ninja remains the better fit for my family of four. The Cookworks won’t replace it, but it’s smaller, much quieter and considerably cheaper. It cooked straightforward frozen food with similarly crisp, even results, although this wasn’t a side-by-side test. 

That gap between cooking performance and flexibility is why the Cookworks gets four stars rather than five. You can see how these models compare with other low-cost options in our guide to the best budget air fryers.

Final verdict: is this the right air fryer for you? 

The Cookworks 5L Air Fryer is a good budget buy for a student, couple or family of three. During a week of daily use, it cooked plenty of beige food evenly, with crisp results and no added cooking time. The children’s meal took less than 20 minutes from start to finish. It’s much quieter than my Ninja Dual and the 5L drawer held two children’s portions comfortably.

There are compromises, though. One basket is limiting for bigger meals, there’s no shake reminder and the build feels clunkier than my Ninja. The handle can’t be removed from the inner basket either, which put me off using the dishwasher. Take care with the basket-release button too, as pressing it while the drawer is held in mid-air releases the outer bowl.

I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars. It doesn’t have the finish, flexibility or extra features of a more expensive Ninja, and I wouldn’t swap my Ninja Dual for it. That’s not really the point, though. I’d happily pay £60 for the Cookworks and would have done as a student. It cooks well, stays quiet and is easy to use, which is a fair result for a budget air fryer.

About the author

Rebecca Roberts (aka Beccy) is our resident lifestyle expert with a practical focus on sleep, wellness and everyday comfort. She’s equally at home tackling frank, NSFW‑adjacent topics as she is road‑testing kitchen appliances, mattresses and vacuums that work for real parents. As a mum of two, she writes with the time‑poor, sleep‑deprived in mind - honest product reviews, realistic routines and products that make parents’ lives easier.

When she’s not at her desk, she’s probably product‑testing with her two helpers, corralling a PTA or walking her two dogs up and down country lanes.

About Mumsnet reviews

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All prices correct at time of writing.

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