Do I want an air fryer?!

[SushiSheep]

I know, I know, really late to this party but I want to hear how all your air fryers have revolutionised your lives!
There's mostly just 3 of us in the house (though right now we've doubled in numbers as have family visiting).
DC10 is pretty hands on in the kitchen so will having one be beneficial to an aspiring foodie?
And as a cherry on top - please tell me which one to get 😂

I have the ninja dual zone flex drawer. It’s great but I only use it occasionally for additions to a meal such as garlic bread as I’m a traditional cook (I’m not old btw) and like my hob and oven too much! I feel like they’re not big enough to do a full meal for a family of 4+

That's just it @Whoknowswhatanymore
I consider myself a traditional cook too (I am old though!)
and have never really gone with all the past fads (MIL on the other hand loves a new kitchen gadget!)
I keep telling myself I've got this far without one so why do I want one now? 🤷‍♀️

I was totally on the fence about getting one. My DH saw a deal in QVC for the ninja double drawer one and got it. Took me a few weeks to get used to it but now I use it all the time! Oven is only on if I'm baking or doing something for lots of people.
I cook everything in the air fryer now. Saves so much time, easy to clean, economical. I love it and couldn't live without it!

3 adults here. I’ve got 3 ninjas in my kitchen.
The two I use daily are the 11-1 where I find the pressure cooker very useful.
I also have a Speedi which has 10 functions inc steam and dehydrate which is great for long slow cooking of beef for eg
My original ninja is a 2 drawer with 6 functions inc dehydrate.
In all of them you can make for eg lasagne, cakes as well as the usual sausages/nuggets/chips
In all of them I can cook a whole chicken.
The 11-1 I love because of the easy peasy pressure cooker function- use if for making soup, chicken broth and the best mashed potatoes.
You can see I’m a fan

Oh and btw, I'm a 'traditional' cook too. Cook absolutely everything from scratch, bake, make bread etc etc. but I honestly love it, mainly for its time saving abilities.

I use mine all the time. I was a bit of a late adopter too. I think the word fryer put me off but once I got myself into the mindset of it being a small fan oven I start ed using it all the time. It is quicker not hugely for some things massively for others.
I have the Ninja with the biggest capacity and it’s just the right size for 4 people. I never believed people that said they hardly use their oven but I really hardly do.

We have a ninja foodie, it has completely replaced our oven. I have never used the air fryer function, so I guess it depends how you cook.

Christmas Day was the last time I used the oven. Same the year before.

We have the Ninja Dual Zone. I can't remember the exact model name. It's the big one.

I barely use the oven anymore. I cook pretty much everything from scratch (kids have a frozen pizza or similar once a week on the night where they all have clubs) so it isn't only useful for nuggets and chips, you can cook a proper meal in it. It significantly reduces the amount of time it takes me to get a meal on the table.

I have a ninja flexi. I use it most days alongside my hob as it's essentially an efficient oven (small heat quickly oven with fan).

My teenager uses it for nuggets, waffles, fishfinger when I'm not in and she wants something quick to eat. I ask her to eat salad or fruit alongside this (typical teenager she doesn't), but at least she's learning the basics of heating and not burning food.

Yes you do . They are fantastic and since I bought I haven't switched my over on .

It doesn't do pasta or soup though or if it does I haven't worked out how

I was the same. Assumed it would be an expensive piece of kit for people who liked oven chips and frozen food. I got a ninja with 1 drawer, the basic version because I assumed it would rarely be used. That was about 3 years ago. I haven’t used my oven at all since then, only the hob. To be honest I would struggle to remember timings and methods for oven cooking now!

I only ever use my oven for pizza these days, and that’s just because it won’t fit in the Ninja! It’s been great in the little heatwave we just had, my oven warms the kitchen up a ridiculous amount between the preheating, the time you’re cooking for and then it cooling down afterwards.

So much better as the oven doesn’t go on for a few chips now, I must be saving money.

We gave the Ninja dual and gradually increased our usage from occasionally to most days. Basically think of it as a small oven rather than a wonder device.

I wasn’t sure, we got one, now I only turn the oven on for pizza, cakes, or when I want a really big dish - big pasta bakes etc.

It is just a small, very efficient, fan oven. It’s not a different way of cooking. But it’s quick because there’s no preheating time (unless something like Yorkshire puds which need it to be really hot before going in), and it cooks a bit quicker than a normal fan oven. Also simple to use (handle = no oven gloves) and clean, and doesn’t get hot on the outside like an oven so doesn’t heat up the kitchen too much.

Dual drawer ninja works well here.

No. It’s just another gadget. Ours sits in a cupboard

I bought an instant pot as it is multifunction. We use the fryer around 4 to 5 times a week as we often need to eat at different times to each other and it saves putting the oven on for portions of wedges and frozen food. I do things like halloumi and veg in it and crisp up left over things and jacket spuds. Also use the pressure cooker a lot for stews and soups. It also has a slow cooker function and a few other things. We love it and its earned its place in the kitchen.

I am looking into it as DD will go to uni next year and I know she would cope with one better than cooking on the hob (ASD and ADHD, she manage one pot things but not 3 pots at the same time).
We joked she would choose the uni which allows it as personal electric devise.

Everyone told us to get one and raved about them nonstop. We got one and initially though: oh yes, this is great. But actually, we hardly ever used it.

I cook a lot and it’s kind of pointless for me because of that. I don’t tend to heat things up, and I’m vegetarian so it’s not like I’m roasting meat ever.

So I have given it away!

Just bear in mind there is unlikely to be the space for one in her kitchen.

There might be space for one for the whole kitchen but not 8 people all with air fryers etc. Best to wait until she's there before you buy one.

How much do you use your oven at the moment?

Ours is only on twice a week max, so all this talk of never using the oven (a) feels a bit emperor's new clothes (b) is going to take years to recoup the cost in electric and (c) why do I want a big appliance in my kitchen taking up my worktop space, while my oven sits there completely unused? How is that better?

I may be missing a trick but I am not convinced

We sold ours. Ninja two drawer, far too big & bulky. I didn’t want to give it the worktop space, and I knew we’d never get it out of a cupboard to use when we could just turn on the traditional oven. We only had it while we had the builders in and a new kitchen installed.
Everything we cooked in it smelt and tasted greasy even when no oil was used.

Our built in oven is far superior and takes hardly any time to preheat if required (which is only for Yorkshire puddings in reality).

I love my airfryer. I was sceptical at first but after a long day's at work I want to enjoy my evening. Not spend my time cooking dinner then hopping straight to bed. Now I get home, dinner on and cooked in half an hour and then I have the rest of the evening to myself.

I was sceptical so bought a cheap one, use it everyday and have just upgraded to the Tower vortex