Talk to me about air fryers

[Wednesdaywednesday]

DH is keen to get one. I’m not anti, but I’m not sure exactly what I’d do with one - we’ve already got two ovens, and they look small. But I’ve heard great things about them.

If you have one, what do you mainly use it for? To you really use it as much as you thought you would?

Thanks!

Love it. Use it nearly every day, as do the teens. Great for frozen stuff you'd normally have to put the oven on for, like wedges or nuggets or sausages.

I’ve heard people say they’re good for things like pizza and cake - but how would you get that in there? Does it really work for stuff like that, or is it mostly frozen stuff?

I have a ninja speedi I make , cakes of all kinds ,. Christmas cake ,. Christmas pudding , Bundt cake , cupcakes ,.scones.
I slow cook stews, can make a Sunday dinner in 17 mins , sausage rolls , cook anything frozen. Whole chickens , gammon joints , beef joints.
In fact I haven't found anything in the last 8 months that I couldn't cook in it , haven't used my big oven since the day the speedi arrived.
Hope this helps

I have a two drawer Ninja. It was a Christmas present last year and I was

I have not used my oven since Boxing Day.

My electric bill has dropped.

You make cakes, lasagna etc by just putting the mix into a bowl or direct into the drawer.

They are the easiest thing ever to wash up.

Fish and meat is tender.

My only worry is that the worlds Sweet Potato crop may dwindle as they are fucking awesome in it.

Love it and it was sitting on my workshop for a while before I jumped in. So much info on line with fab recipes, a quick wash of the drawers at the end. Much easier than cleaning a big oven

I have the Aldi one, so cheap, not huge with just one drawer but there’s only two of us now. Have hardly used the oven at all since it came. Wouldn’t be without it. So easy & quick,you can have a meal cooked in the time it used to take the oven to heat up. I cook virtually everything, not large cakes yet as, like I said, mine isn’t big.
Fish is wonderful, as are sausage, chips ( frozen or from scratch) baked potatoes, chicken joints etc. I’ve just bought a recipe book to expand what I can try in it.
I love it so much that I bought a really cheap one on offer in Asda for just £29 to use in the camper van & that has been just as good, basic but really easy to use.

Pretty positive feedback so far! Is one drawer or two drawer better? I’m more drawn to one drawer, but DH thinks two. There are four of us at home.

I use mine every day. It’s just a mini oven really, so not just for freezer food. I do everything in it. Cakes and pizza are fine, you just need cake tins that will fit, and pizza may need to be cut up before going in. Buy the biggest air fryer you can and get some oven dishes to fit and you won’t look back

I held back from buying this thinking another kitchen appliance to put in the cupboard. However used a voucher and during a sale got one . The only time I've put the oven on lately is if it's going to be filled .
My husband is a chef and he has surprised himself by how much he rates it .
Bit of trial and error as we have got used to it .Have done stews roasts cakes etc

Just to add the ninja speedi doesn't have drawers it's a square machine with a hinged lid , you can still cook on different levels within the main pot using racks

I have one drawer and it’s fine for us. I have a wire rack and so just layer things up in one drawer if I need to. Haven’t felt the need for 2 drawers but lots of people love them. If mine broke, I’d still choose just one drawer again.

We've 2 ninjas and haven't used our oven for months. We do everything from pasta, toad in the hole, pies, pizza curry etc. love them.

I didn't want to get one either, but actually it has been brilliant. It's great for cooking for 1-2 people.

i wasn't sure about it or about giving up workspace for it. They're not hugely heavy (think mines 10kg) but I knew I wouldn't be lifting it in/out of a cupboard (& we'll skip the fact I don't have a spare cupboard!). Then my neighbour got one from Costco 'sur la table' it had a smaller footprint but two good sized drawers. So I got one the same!!

I haven't had my oven on since it arrived!!

im vegetarian & live alone it has been great for vegetarian sausages (faster from from in there than defrosted in the oven!!), all kinds of vegetables, fabulous for doing just a couple of frozen yorkshires. Etc etc.

the only time I've used my oven since I got it was when some friends were here & we cooked pizza. It's plenty big enough for me for pizza. Fabulous for garlic bread etc.

Love it! I haven't used my oven really since buying it.

It is brilliant for roasts, heating up croissants and bread, frozen chips etc.

The first thing I cooked was a 1.5kg joint of pork. It was so succulent and had perfect crackling.

The only thing I don't like cooking are frozen joints, as you can't use the probe.

I wouldn't be without it. It is my favourite thing in the kitchen. I have the Ninja 2 drawer.

I got a two drawer one..... first couple of uses I was petrified 😂😂 now we use it nearly every day. Roast dinner, bacon, casseroles. Only thing I haven't done is a cake but haven't got the liners yet. Love the fact I can cook a roast dinner in it!

It is so fast!!

We were (very kindly) given one as a moving in gift and we almost never used it. I wasn't a fan of it really and felt that it left things with a bit of an odd texture and taste - a bit like that pre-packaged oven chips sort of smell, though I appreciate that may have been because it was new. It took up loads of room on the top or in the cupboard and then broke after a couple of months anyway - probably used it about 20 times, mostly for (very average) chips. I don't miss it and wouldn't buy my own. I couldn't say which exact one it was but it was a Tefal.

what do you mainly use it for?

Pretty much anything I'd cook in the oven

Steak, Chicken breast, Veg, Potatoes - roast and chips amazing, Chicken nuggets, fish fingers, burgers, Garlic bread, bacon etc

Plus heating things up

Do you really use it as much as you thought you would?

I use it more than I thought I would and nearly every day.

I wasn't prepared to pay ninja prices so got s much cheaper one from Lakeland.

Dual drawer with sync function - love it.

2 drawer is good cause you can cook things at different temps and with different timings.

It's just a fast little oven we use ours daily for everything you use an oven for.

I feel like there is a post almost weekly with people asking if they are just for frozen food. Like all the people who love them only use them for nuggets! Obviously not what you meant!

We got caught up in the hype and bought one, then quickly realised we didn't eat much freezer food snd it seemed pretty redundant.

I messed about with the instructions from the box and didn't have much success, but then started to save instagram videos and now it's used most days. Our current favourite is my knock off of the Greggs cheese and bacon turnover which can be on your plate in 7 minutes.

There's usually only DH and I and we have the single drawer Ninja which is ok for us. When DS is back from uni we have to use the oven if we're cooking more than a snack, so I reckon your husband is right and you'll need the two drawer.

I got a paddle one originally and last year I bought a cheap drawer one. We have used it loads so I have just bought a 2 drawer. Argos has a fantastic deal today £149 for the Ninja 400 plus it's 10% cashback through tcb and also 5 x nectar as well if you have that. Makes it about £132 assuming cashback pays out.

I haven't bothered with one.

I don't eat much freezer food and I can do something like roast new potatoes, chorizo, shallot, garlic and seabass in 30 mins on the convection setting on my convection microwave without putting the main oven on.

Thanks for all of the advice. It sounds like we should go for it!

They have the 9.5L ninja 2 drawer for £149 at Argos! That is so cheap I paid £220 a couple of months ago.