AIBU to consider buying an air fryer?

[howdidigettobe50something]

...or will it linger in the cupboard like my once cherished bread maker? I'd love to hear your experiences of using one...tell me if I should go for it please! All thoughts will be gratefully received!

Oh. ,so am I. !

Nope it was the best purchase I made...and has been used nearly every day since. Reason being it's basically an oven but heats ups instantly so no waiting 20 mins for my ancient oven to hit the right temp.

Only thing is make sure you clean it regularly and get an appropriate size one for the people in your house.

Ooh thanks sounds interesting. Any recommendations?

Bought one a few weeks ago and have used it pretty much every day since. DS1 will ask for things to specifically be cooked in it now.

So nice to be able to cook a breakfast in the mad rush before school as well. Sausages in for 15 minutes and chuck bacon in for the last five minutes.

DH and I living on frozen spring rolls and gyoza.

I thought it would end up being abandoned on my work surface or languishing in a cupboard but it's definitely come in handy.

They are great. We do things like small batches of frozen sausage rolls, oven chips, Indian nibbles, chicken nuggets etc.
It's great for reheating leftovers- roast potatoes and parsnips, yesterday's chip shop chips etc.

It's also good for sausage, bacon, mushrooms for a cooked breakfast.

It's probably good for chicken portions, but we don't do that- there are too many of us for it to be worth doing.

I wouldn't bother if you are trying to make food healthier- it doesn't really. It's effectively a great, super fast, mini oven.

I was sceptical, but dh was obsessed with his work one and wanted one himself for Christmas last year. We’ve got the Vonhaus one, it’s been used everyday since, it’s absolutely brilliant. I was worried it would be a fad and would end up sat in a cupboard after a month or two, but it’s sat proudly on the kitchen side ready to get cooking!

Ive used mine once. But it is useful to just shove food in set the timer and come back in 20 minutes.

Oh it does good chips too nice and crisp rather than squishy in the oven.

We are onto our third (we use it every day without fail) and wouldn’t be without one. This is the current one
www.argos.co.uk/product/7238002?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=ixilqlirt&istBid=t&gclsrc=aw.ds&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157%7Cacid:598-923-9094%7Ccid:9568021390%7Cagid:98508739336%7Ctid:aud-641224040577:pla-891131370908%7Ccrid:423285393797%7Cnw:g%7Crnd:9482420905582339009%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:%7Cmt:%7Cloc:9046943&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9568021390&utm_term=7238002&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=98508739336&utm_custom2=598-923-9094&gclid=CjwKCAiArbv_BRA8EiwAYGs23KyjIwy4dazeEI9xEYq2FRPYzoT_hWIN3gTVO_R-HgI6WdWnQ73DMxoCOQsQAvD_BwE

It’s got an arm thing that flips the food but you can take it out if the food is delicate and you don’t want it flipped - I do this for salmon fillets for example. Also kids do this to heat up leftover pizza! It cooks stuff in half the time and although some tell you to add a bit of oil, you really don’t need to .

Don’t buy one with a basket - our last one had a basket and it trapped all the debris and was murder to clean.

In summary - I think they are fantastic.

That’s a very long hyperlink for some reason!!

We have a Ninja multi and we use it for literally everything! If you can stretch to one of them I really highly recommend it. It pressure cooks, slow cooks, air fries, and some other stuff (DP does all our cooking so I can’t remember!). DP has also made bread in it. It’s really very good.

I got mine from amazon it's a 5l pro breeze

I love mine, roast potatoes are amazing in it, I use it at least a couple of times a week.

I bought a 2nd hand one about 4 months ago, didn't want to spend a fortune on something I was unsure of. OMG I love it! Its so quick and easy. I agree with Shaniac the chips are crisp and not squishy.
Best thing I've bought for ages

what sort of things are we cooking in these? So far it only seems like junky things, but I like the idea and might want one, but we dont much eat that kind of stuff - or at least dont have leftovers of chip shop chips etc!!!

I love mine had it for a month now and use it just about every day. Chicken drumsticks/thighs are the best so crispy and juicy no pre heating either. We have one that looks like a small oven. You can also buy them with a basket too.

I have an air fryer and slow cooker for ages. All I ever really did in fryer was chips or kids frozen nuggets type things. But I've just upgraded to the ninja foodi and it's my favourite thing in the world. Deffo going to be worth the money even if some days I do only use the fryer bit for frozen bits. I think it will be used every day.

I got a Ninja Max for Christmas and it's just great!

Still experimenting with it but so far have made potato wedges, bacon, kale crisps and hash browns.

Very easy to clean- love it!

We don't have chip shop chips often, @tinseloatcake, but they are actually amazingly good reheated the next day! We don't over eat day 1 because we know the leftovers will be gorgeous day 2.

They are good for making home made wedges etc, but they don't taste fried despite the name.

Non junk things- crisping up a jacket potato that's been cooked/heated in the microwave.
Chicken thighs.
Erm. That's about it.

Wow it seems like most of you are impressed with yours and use it regularly. I'm also interested in the more healthy cooking options too and what other meals you use it for?

Use ours daily.

@tinseloatcake I do lots of roast vegetables, no need for oil. I like sausages in the air fryer, chicken, potatoes. Corn on the cob is good too. I very rarely cook beige freezer food and still use it loads.

I do salmon, prawns, chicken, peppers.... there’s lots you can do.
www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/healthy-air-fryer-recipes?amp=true

Forgot to add that it also has a rotisserie, it's brilliant.

Got one last week, had hoped we could replace the deep fryer... I have done chips but only once, wasn't impressed as I had to keep shaking and stirring and removing already cooked ones. Even then, I did it in two batches so less than half full, despite buying one big enough for a family of 5. They were nicer than oven chips, but no where near as good as deep fried (obviously, I suppose). Also, a PITA with the soaking/par boiling and faffing about.

Great for other things though, sausages and bacon especially and oven freezer stuff cooked much quicker (nuggets, spring rolls etc).

Bought a cheap (ish, it was £90) one to see if we get on with it, apparently the tefal actifry is the best for chips as it turns them over with the paddle thing, but the family size one is over £250.

I'll keep playing with it for a week or two, but if I can't do chips for 5 in it I don't see it staying.

@fromcitytocountry

I got mine from amazon it's a 5l pro breeze

I went with a very similar one, a 5.5l Corsori. How do you find yours for chips? I had hoped to do enough for all 5 of us in ours, but they just don't cook evenly enough even with half that amount.

So you soak or parboil them first? Or are you using frozen chips? I haven't tried those yet, only homemade.