to think an Air Fryer is more useful than a microwave?

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

We will shortly be moving to a house where there is much less worktop space than we have currently. We don't think we will be able to have a microwave and an air Fryer, but we are disagreeing about which one to lose.

Currently we have a built in microwave above an eye level oven. Our new house has a large range cooker. I use the microwave a few times a week. We used to have an air Fryer but gave it to our son when he moved out a few weeks ago and I really miss it. Especially now that energy costs are rising. I really resent heating up a big oven to cook 4 sausages, or a chicken breast.

I think we should opt for the Air Fryer but DH thinks the microwave is more useful.

AIBU for opting for an air fryer? Is there a solution I haven't thought of?

Jumping in to pick the brains of those of you with a ninja AF300 airfryer. Can you link to the baking tins that fit in the drawers for cooking macaroni, lasagna etc. The ones I find are too big to fit. TIA.

I've just ordered my first air fryer, but it will duplicate what my fan oven does, and nothing else will do the microwave job as well as it does.

I use my microwave every morning as part of my coffee-making routine, and five times a week in evenings to reheat a meal I cooked at lunch-time.

Is an air fryer basically a small oven with a really intense fan?

I have a smeg combination oven-grill-microwave - I use the microwave a lot for heating batch cooked frozen food /reheating leftovers.

I mainly cook from scratch (vegan-ish) but with a lot of frozen shortcuts (onions, garlic, ginger) so I use the microwave to quickly defrost those things and evap some of the water before adding to hot spices when cooking curries for eg.

There is one setting that is oven + microwave simultaneously that's incredible for things like frozen chips (around 15 mins) and they taste incredible. Also, baked potatoes, aubergines, butternut squash - anything that tastes good roasted but takes ages in normal oven.

I thought an air fryer was basically a combi microwave, without the microwave function?

I really resent heating up a big oven to cook 4 sausages, or a chicken breast.

Don't you have a grill? I would steam the chicken.

I don't find air fryers particularly useful for anything apart from chips, and occasionally fried chicken. I'd prefer to grill sausages, bacon, etc.

I use my airfryer most days but the microwave a few times a week too. I'd miss the microwave, but if I could only have one I'd choose the airfryer.
It's so useful for croissants, perfect in 3 minutes. Such a waste to heat up the oven to warm them.

If you don’t have wall cupboards over all your work surfaces could you use something like this?
I generally use my air fryer far more than my microwave, but am changing my way of cooking to use the microwave more than the hob, to cut down on energy bills.

I have a really good combination microwave oven and I think that's better than both.

Much larger capacity and you can cook anything in it from full sized cakes to a whole large roast chicken in half the time and no preheating. It also heats up beans ;)

I'm not sure exactly how the energy consumption works as it has low and high settings. The only thing I cook in it on the maximum which is 250 degree plus a low microwave is jacket potatoes. I can do 6-8 jackets in 30 mins, crispy skins and fluffy in the middle. It's 1000 watt so on Octobers tariff works out about 26p.

I can't help as I don't have an airfryer.. I know everyone here raves about them so I looked at some & got scared, lol.. something ELSE to learn.. ;-)
#Sticks with oven & microwave..

I don't have a airfryer. I also grew up in a house without a microwave so out of habit I tend not to use it much for stuff I can cook on the hob. Although I use it lot to heat up leftovers.

Thanks for all the responses.

In terms of using the hob or the grill for things like chicken and sausages, I tend to.bung them in the oven to cook whilst I do something else, I don't want to have to stand over them.

I use the air fryer as a superfast mini oven. I think its much more useful than a microwave, I can reheat stuff on the stove if liquid. Eg casseroles.

The most misleading name.
An air fryer does not fry.
Wouldn’t be without mine.

I love the airfryer. I have the ninja foodie. I haven't used the oven since I bought it other than for pizza, but then you can do the pizza in the airfryer if you cut it up first. I just use the bake setting. I tend to use the microwave for reheating and ready meals, and for veg, however I think i would choose the airfryer over it, and use a hob to boil or steam veg (I don't like the veg roasted in the airfryer - although it can be done) and reheat/ready meal in the airfryer. Which is possible. you just need to be creative.

I love my air fryer but I’d keep the microwave. I use it to defrost things / heat up cold mugs of tea most days - the air fryer gets used when I would previously have used the oven for small amounts, so two or three times a week.

I really think it depends on your lifestyle.

I don’t know when you are scheduled to move - maybe spend a week or two noting when you use each?

We use the air fryer most days and the microwave rarely, mostly for those steam veg packs for DD's dinner so just a time-saving thing really.

I would choose air fryer now we have one, although I suppose the argument is that you then have two appliances that fill the same role (oven and air fryer) albeit one more efficiently than the other, whereas microwave does something totally different.

Agreed! I was put off getting one for ages because I thought they were for frying. Then a friend persuaded me to try one - I was an instant convert!

@Talia99 I've given the air fryer away and now am hugely regretting it!

We might be getting a new kitchen in the next few months and I have major lust for this.

www.sageappliances.com/uk/en/products/microwaves/bmo870.html

Ooh yes! What about this?
www.highstreettv.com/power-xl-microwave-air-fryer.html

Literally all of this. Reheating leftovers and cooking small things. I'd definitely do the examples OP has given in a pan rather than heat up the big oven.

My microwave is a multi function Neff thing which lives above my normal oven. It's also a small oven so if I want to cook something properly in it, I can.

I'm a huge convert to remoskas, there's very little I ever cook which can't be made in a remoska and the oven rarely goes on any more. My electric bill has really decreased since I started using one.

I use my microwave for reheating tea, making porridge, steaming veg, defrosting meat, and mine is also a combination oven and grill for when my range conks out.

I don't have an air fryer, as having a range, I tend to cook things that take longer, and can get loads in the oven for batch cooking.

I have considered a Remoska for the summers..is it worth it?

So, is an airfryer basically a dinky oven?
If it is, I have a silvercrest oven that I use all the time. I use my microwave to heat up my coffee.
I can't get my head round the combi bit of my microwave, although I tried cooking fishfingers in it when I first got it and failed.

I think it totally depends on your circumstances. I have both an air fryer and a microwave. They are equally useful because husband and eldest child work late shifts so I make dinner for them to re-heat.

Other than that the microwave is hardly used. I do love my air fryer, so convenient and economical compared to my electric oven.