Do I need an air fryer?

[Toddlerteaplease]

I've held off until now, because my kitchen is tiny and I don't want to clutter up limited surface space. But I think one would fit in with my lifestyle and there are some really compact ones. Are they worth the hype?

My kitchen is tiny too. I’ve had the Aldi one for nearly a year now & wouldn’t be without it. It’s plenty big enough for the two of us but takes up very little space. I use it almost every day now, its surprising what you can do once you get used to it, & so much quicker than using the oven.
When I was in Aldi this week I saw that they had them in stock again, mine has been so reliable. I’d have been tempted to buy a second one for the campervan if I hadn’t already bought one from Asda, £29! last autumn after realising how much I loved the Aldi one. There really isn’t any need to spend a lot if you’re not cooking for a big family.

I love it. Air fried instead of boiling an egg earlier and it turned out perfectly. Amazing for meat, veg, party food, heating up leftovers, baking. I've done a few whole chickens in 1 draw of my ninja dual and it was juicy and cooked quickly. It took a week or so for get used to, and my husband was not keen on the idea at first but even he admits it's awesome now!

Quicker, cheaper, no pre heating, easier to check on food and to clean.

I have the two drawer ninja today did chunky oven chips in one drawer on air fry smoked haddock fish cakes in the other on bake 20 minutes and they were fab cooked perfectly i cant compare savings though as i have a gas cooker so for me its the convenience of putting food on a timer

How does it cook things?

It's not a microwave, it's not an oven, what is it?

It is basically a tiny fan oven

You can set many of them to bake or roast (like an oven) or air fry which is like frying but without the need for much oil. I'm not sure what the difference is to be honest apart from the lowest and highest temperatures on each setting but most stuff I have done has turned out well! Chips come out particularly crispy!

So why don't they melt? Most of them are made of plastic but if they heat up to 200*C and are used a lot how do they stay safe?

No oven is ever made of plastic.

God I feel so old!

I have a tiny kitchen too and was sceptical but my ancient cooker finally died a few weeks ago so I took the plunge. It's very easy to use and because I'm not having to take half an hour heating a big space up, I'm using it a lot more than I did my oven. I now bake my own bread rolls every day, I've roasted a whole chicken which came out perfectly. I've baked biscuits, oven chips (no burned edges like my oven!), roasted vegetables are quick and easy too. I have a dual drawer which means I can cook things separately which is useful sometimes, but mostly I just use 1 drawer. The rectangular Pyrex dishes with the clips lids that ikea sell, fit perfectly in the drawers for oven baked dishes, and you can buy a special lifting handle thingy to help get them in and out. The drawers are large enough for most things, but do restrict the pans you can use - eg I couldn't bake a circular sponge cake in it.
Cleaning it though, is an absolute breeze. A quick wipe out with kitchen roll and swish in hot soapy water is all it takes. For me it has lived up to promise far more than the microwave or slow cooker ever has. I really love it and wouldn't be without one again.

I love mine, I bought the big double drawer Ninja on Black Friday. Family of four, and the size is good for us. We used it at least four nights a week.

I have no idea how they heat up and stay safe as asked by a pp, but mine goes up to 240 degrees so it's super versatile.

No preheating, cooks quicker than an oven, cheaper to run, no or very tiny amount of oil needed to air fry. I'm a convert.

Don't have one but they were raving about them on radio 5 yesterday.

I wouldn't get one because its another gadget and although we have a large kitchen we don't have the storage space to put it away.

I've just ordered one! My friend also messaged to say that she's ordered one today too!

We wouldn’t be without one now. We bought the ninja dual. I really like the look of the new ninja where you can remove a divider and just have one big drawer.

Omg!! I'm a convert. Started off with oven chips and then chucked in a couple of sausages at the end. They came out perfectly!

Mine are never put away, I use one or other every day, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day :)

I have two, I got a trolly from Ikea to store them on and wheel them out the way

The dual drawer Ninja AF400 - which is the largest of the two drawers, and the Ninja 15 in 1 , which is the largest of the instant pots . That weighs a tonne - hence the trolly

What makes them so good? The speed in which they cook, and how they cook

I have never in my life ( and Im a good cook ) had a fishfinger thats crunched on the outside whilst moist and succulent on the outside, grilled or oven cooked they would explode and stay really kind of soft, or completely dry out.

Having a roast chicken dinner on the table within an hour - less in the 15 in 1

For those that are asking how do they cook, there is an element at the top with a fast fan behind it forcing the hot air downwards into the small cooking area ( small as in tiny compared to an oven. Because the food is placed on a drip tray, the heat comes back up again cooking the food all over very evenly .

The dual drawer allows you to bake, roast, dehydrate, air fry, max crisp and reheat food. Whatever you cook under a grill or in a fryer or oven you can cook in the air fryer with either no oil or the tiniest amount . The only thing you cant cook is wet batter - that still needs deep oil.

The 15 in 1 does all that and more, Its also a slow cooker, a steam oven, a bread prover, yoghurt maker and Pressure cooker , it really is an amazing piece of kit for what really is a reasonable price

I make yoghurt weekly, often make bread and cakes, use the Pressure cooker a couple of times a week and love love love the steam roast option for the Sunday roast

I have never in my life ( and I'm a good cook ) had a fishfinger that's crunchy on the outside whilst moist and succulent on the inside

This has sold it to me!

I have a ninja. Felt the same as you OP
I use it most days and oven almost redundant

Yes they are amazing, especially if you live on your own! I have a Tefal one from John Lewis but like PPs I wish I bought one with two drawers now.

I've got a Ninja 9in1 so air fryer, pressure cooker, slow cooker etc.plenty big enough for 2 of us. Sausage and chips are a whole new experience,a small gammon joint in the pressure cooker, roast pork to die for, stews and casseroles. Its taken me a few weeks but now I don't know how I managed without it

I like mine, don't use it probably to its full extent but everything I do use it for turns out well
I did bagels today with egg in the middle, pesto and Parmesan for a quick lunch
Bored of lunch on Instagram has some good ideas