Do I need an air fryer?

[Triceratopsrock]

We don’t do too baldly on electricity use. So far about £150 PCM for a 5 bed detached family home. Oil for heating at about £70 PCM.
electic price rises are going to cripple us on top of childcare.
looking at my smart meter over the past month of so, most of what turns it red is the oven. Children are fussy twats and we eat way too many nuggets etc cooked in the oven.
will the outlay of an air fryer save me money? Assuming I need a big one as er are a family of 5.
also fuck of grammar police, it’s Friday and I’m deep into my Lidl rosé!

I am a convert. I bought a big one with shelves and it is bloody amazing. I don't often use the oven now, and mg electricity consumption has gone down.

The ninja dual I've had my eye on is also out of stock everywhere and no doubt the price will rise to due to demand so I think I'm out ! Like the idea though

My cheap one is way more economical than my oven, it's a tiny space it needs to heat up rather than the whole oven, it doesn't need pre heating and it cooks the food much quicker so every time i need to cook something it's on for a fraction of the time that the oven would be. I think the only difference between that and expensive ones is the size and functions available. But I've already got a slow cooker and a microwave so i didn't need loads of functions, personally.

Stupid question, but can you fit a standard pizza in an air fryer? The ones I’ve seen look too small.

I definitely can't fit a pizza in my Ninja but they do come in lots of different sizes so there might be bigger models that would work for pizza.

My only air fryer regret is not getting a bigger one.

I love mine, got it on offer in B&M.

@WhereAreWeNow Thanks for the feedback

@Itwasntright That sounds great, what one do you have?

I like mine as it reduces fat and also doesn't spray far around my kitchen when shallow frying

Stupid question probably but do you have to use oil etc for roast veggies/ stop salmon sticking? Is it healthier to cook with than an oven? We cook bacon / sausages on a rack so fat drops into a tray - can you do that in an air fryer?

MissJean - I don't think any of them are big enough to fit a standard size pizza in, but I cut mine into slices before cooking. Cooks really quick.

My partner bought the instant pot air fryer. It looks decent and works well. Never even thought to put bacon or jacket potatoes in it! In fact, as he bought it, I’ve left him to it 🤣

I bought racks for mine from Amazon. Plus it has a "crisper plate" that has holes in so fat would drip through.

I wouldn't say it's necessarily healthier than an oven as that would depend on how you cook really. I don't use more oil than I would normally.

The salmon doesn't stick as the non stick coating on mine is really good at the moment.

Thanks soupdragon that's really helpful- I'll look on Amazon

I told myself that as well for many years (until last Black Friday when a ninja offer made me think “screw it, let’s see what all the evangelising is about”), cracked and bought one, and have been kicking myself ever since for not getting one sooner. Cooks all sorts, quicker and lower temp than oven. Grills, air fry’s, roasts. Things always taste great, and meat definitely stays more moist. My friend bought one after she’d seen mine and asked me about it, and she is now the same, can’t believe she didn’t try it sooner.

Could you cook things like pies in it? We often have the ready made chicken pies that need heating in the oven for 40 minutes. Also, what about those delicious croissants which are raw dough but you cook from frozen? Just wondering if that kind of thing can be done?

We bought one a few years ago, a big Corsori 5.5l one from. Amazon, was about £80. Absolutely love it. Barely use the oven now. Teens use the air fryer a lot for things like frozen sausages, mini pizzas, even toasties. We also have an instant Pot pressure cooker, slow cooker and a deep fryer. I have a small kitchen, but I love my gadgets and they all get used weekly.

@sluj if you can cook it in an oven, you can cook it in an air fryer. I’ve done pies, pastries etc. I make cakes, bread, flapjacks in it all the time too!

I made onion bhajjis in mine last week - total game changer. Would normally only make them for special occasion/when guests are over because of the mess and the faff and the waste of oil etc

Air fryer - 7 minutes, barely any clean up = onion bhajjis all round!

You have to have a pretty big one though to make bread/flapjacks though. A standard air friar won’t fit a baking tray, maybe one of the ones with drawers would but they’re incredibly expensive so you might want to calculate whether the electricity saving is worth the £££ you’ll be paying for the friar.

I reckon I could make a loaf in mine equivalent to the size made by my bread maker. Just using the drawer and no tin.

I think flapjacks would also fit just in the drawers too actually 🤔

It's bad enough that I can heat pastries up in 2 minutes, I don't need to add baking into the temptation too 😂

An air fryer is perfect for this. For example, I’ve always fried sausages, but now I cook them in my air fryer - takes 6 minutes on crisp fry and they’re absolutely delicious.
last night, we had a chippy supper but the chips were a bit soggy. Threw them in the AF for 5 mins and voila! Delicious crispy chippy chips!
Reheated Mac n cheese in a tin dish - no problem. 8 minutes and bubbling with a crispy topping. Things like fish fingers, nuggets, meatballs, garlic bread would work really well.

Do you mean making from scratch or reheating ready made ones?