Would you replace a microwave with an air fryer?

[Globules]

My microwave isn't going to last much longer.

I only really use it for defrosting things, cooking beans or soup, and DD cooks instant noodles in it at least once a week.

Several friends are still raving about how good their air fryers are. I only have counter space for one appliance.

The microwave is actually a combi oven, but I've never used any of those functions. I'm wondering if I buy an air fryer when the microwave breaks, if I'll actually use the air fryer aside from learning how I can defrost a shepherd's pie or a tub of soup in it.

Would you swap?

I have both and use both pretty regularly, but I’d give away the air fryer before the microwave.

I wouldn’t because I only use my mic for defrosting and heating up, neither of which I use my air fryer for. Air fryer is used for chips, nuggets, stuff like that which certainly never go in the microwave. Very different appliances!

No because I use my microwave for warming wheat packs to help with pain. I do use it occasionally for food too.

Definitely not. I have no use for an air fryer.

I'm impressed with this to such a level that it's made me feel like I should get out more 😅

No they do different things
Microwave I use to heat milk for my coffee. Beans, occasionally a ready meal curry.
Air fryer is used for chips. Bacon, sausages,chicken, meatballs.

I'm impressed with this to such a level that it's made me feel like I should get out more

Same!

We use our combi microwave and oven a lot. Certainly for speedy heating up and defrosting but I use the small oven a lot. It’s not as good as my main oven, but it’s cheaper to run! I don’t have an air fryer and don’t think I need one and it would be in addition to my built in combi.

I have both and never cook the same things in both of them! I don't think they're really interchangeable.....the microwave gets used mostly for soups, porridge, steaming green veg, reheating things that have been frozen (pasta sauce etc), pretty much anything you could make in a pan. Then the airfryer really replaces the oven......roasted veg, fish, chicken, chips, ready meals / things like shepherds pie I'd make in individual dishes and freeze.

I absolutely love my air fryer and would never give it up... but no, I wouldn't abandon the microwave either. The thing about air fryers and microwaves is they do the same things - cook/heat up foods quickly and easiy - but for different purposes. So things I'd put in the microwave would be a disaster in the air fryer and vice versa.

If you have a combi microwave though it's probably quite big. I fully intend to ditch our big combi microwave for a much smaller basic one when the one we have dies, freeing up a lot of counter space because liek you, I use it for heating up soups/noodles etc, defrosting, reheating things etc, and I really don't need it to be big for that.

My ninja has a reheat button. Works really well. And the plus side is you can put things wrapped / covered in foil which you can’t in a microwave. And I find it reheats things more evenly, not like microwave which gives you boiling and freezing spots in one pot

We have both and I find I use the microwave more (reheat food, heat up milk, steam vegetables). Everything we use the air frier for the oven can also do - if a bit slower. I will admit the air frier is good for jacket potatoes.

I’ve I had been to chose between them then. Air fryer wins hands down

I don’t use either very often but I’d lose the air fryer over the microwave.
I only use the air fryer for sausages and jacket potatoes though.

The combi oven part of the microwave is basicially the same principle as an air fryer. It's just not as quick because the space inside is bigger. So if you don't have room for both then personally I wouldn't ditch the microwave completely in favour of an air fryer.

I'd get one of hte combi appliances similar to what pp linked above but make sure you read plenty of reviews online first to check its good for the type of foods/meals you'd want ot use it for.

I haven't used my oven since i got an air fryer, other than for a pizza that doesn't fit. I have used my microwave a lot. So, no.

We've only got space for one - I had both in my previous house - and couldn't decide which to get. So we bought a multifunction microwave that also has an air frying setting. It's brilliant.

We don't really use the air fry setting for frozen food as we don't really eat any. But we use it to cook stuff like fresh fish, quiches, bacon for bacon sarnies on Sunday morning.

I have an airfryer rather than a microwave. Mines has shelves rather than drawers and I use it most days. I do heat beans and sauces in small oven dishes. I sometimes miss a microwave for scrambled eggs and porridge but use airfryer loads.

They are different.

Without getting into the technicalities, microwaves are better for soggy things like warming up soup, baked beans and curries.

Air fryers are better where you want browning and crisping as well but tend to dry food out more.

Sausages are great in air fryers, but pretty awful in microwaves. Baked beans will do great in a microwave but probably form a dry crust on top in an air fryer unless they are stirred a lot (I haven't tried).

I guess it depends what facilities you have. I have a gas hob, so can do baked beans, soup etc on that. So I prefer to have an airfryer to save money on using the oven. If I didn't have the gas hob I would probably go for the microwave over the air fryer.

We need both.

We often have the oven, air fryer and microwave all in action at the same time when cooking meals. Their just isn't space to cook for all of us at the same time in just one.

We even got a 2nd air fryer to help with cooking everything at Christmas and theres only 5 of us.

I have both and would sooner give up the air fryer. Sure an air fryer is quicker than the oven but it can’t do everything a microwave can, like defrosting, heating and reheating.

I love my airfryer, use it all the time instead of my oven because it's much quicker. But I still use my microwave too, they're different things entirely.

You can't do any of the microwave things you've listed in an airfryer. So for you I definitely wouldn't swap.

If you would do those things on the hob and then use the airfryer instead of your oven then yes, absolutely.

No. Get a combination microwave. Mine can do what an air fryer can do plus more.

No - a microwave is unique, in that it has microwaves. An airfryer does the same things as your main oven.

I have a small air fryer (£30 from Robert dad’s couple of years ago) and I mean really small as there are only 2 of us- will still do 8 sausages, 15 meatballs in a single layer , a whole pack of tempura prawns etc - I keep it on top of the hob where it lives just fine- have microwave as well for heating up soup, defrost, making chilli and bolognese etc