Air Fryer to save money? Am I 'on point' or 'off the mark'?

[SoTiredNeedHoliday]

Hello,
I am considering getting an air fryer instead of using the oven. So I've got a few questions:

• will this help with energy use?
• are they any good for roast veggies etc
• I'm generally only cooking for 2 at any one time (yes I choose to cook at different times to suit everyone)
• Any recommendations of good ones?

thank in advance

note I've posted here after posting in feed the world, I didn't see this board at first. Sorry

I have a Ninja two drawer air fryer. It's sometimes cheaper to use than my gas oven - it's cheaper than an electric oven most of the time.

I do roast veg - as good as the oven.

Some things are much quicker - I can reheat some lasagne or cook frozen food in twenty minutes whereas it'll take that long for my gas oven to heat up. There are four of us, and sometimes it's just as easy to put the oven on if I'm pudding in a cake, pudding or some bread rolls. But like you, we often eat at different times (shifts, going out etc) and the air fryer is cheaper and more convenient.

Get a halogen oven instead , about £30/40 and you can do everything in it . I’ve had one for years . I was given a Ninja Foodie a couple of years ago and gave it away after a couple of uses as I found it less useful than my halogen .

Another consideration, how many times would you need to use it to offset the cost of buying it. I'm guessing you would need to use it alot to make up the cost of it in savings.

@Cynderella can you put a link to the one you have?
@Floralnomad I've never heard of a halogen oven.... I'll have a look
@BadgerLovesMash some you can get half price at the moment but I am not sure they are big enough as they look fairly compact.

I’ve got a ninja foodie which air fry’s, bake/roast, pressure cook, dehydrate, sauté, steam, and slow cooks. I only cook for 2 at a time and honestly I haven’t used my oven since I bought it.

From my perspective it cooks quicker than my oven and the pressure cooker is fab. I cook rice and pasta in it and it takes less than 10 mins and the rice is better than on the hob.

My energy used for cooking dropped by 11% last month so I think it will pay for itself quite quickly now prices have risen this month.

@SoTiredNeedHoliday

It's this one

I have a Costco own brand one. It's great for roasting veg and warming things up, but I havn't quite got the hang of baking with it. We only put the oven on for big pizzas now!

Only if you have an electric oven

Most ovens have small and large ovens. Not necessarily a money saver

@Cynderella I am thinking seriously of getting one and have been humming and haahing regarding whether I'd want a two drawer one like you have or a one drawer one.

I'm thinking two drawers would be better so meat in one potatoes/veg in the other one?

Can you fit a chicken in one of the drawers?

And would it brown/crisp the potato on top of a shepherd's pie?

Sorry for all the questions.

There is only two of us and I'm feeling that turning the oven/grill on just for say one item is getting ridiculous heating up all that internal space.

Your help is appreciated!

@MissMaple82 - yes we have an electric oven and it is not one that has a small and large oven.

I thought about it but decided it wasn’t worth it as it might end up leading to more energy use rather than less.
we have a gas oven. If I wanted some garlic bread to go with some pasta or some onion bhajis to go with a curry at one time I would have used the oven, but now we just do without those added extras.
however if I had an air fryer I would use it for that kind of thing.
so in that respect it’s not saving any energy, as the convenience of it would make me use more.

I use my ninja a lot.

I do bacon sausage hash browns etc in it for breakfasts.

I use the slow cooker function.

I do make my own yoghurt in it.

I do chips and all of the roast in it.

The only thing that pisses me off it that I have to do a roast on stages:
Pressure cooker the chicken.
Air fry it
Pressure cook the potatoes and veg.
Air fry the roast potatoes and Yorkshires and sprouts.

But it's one pan to clean. So I can live with this

I'm going to say yes to the chicken from what I've seen on Facebook Ninja pages - we don't eat meat, so I haven't tried.

I chose the drawers because you can cook two things and different temps with different timings and sync it to finish at the same time. So, one drawer could have a lasagne that takes 20 mins and the other drawer could have some garlic bread that takes 10 mins, but the bread won't turn on until halfway through iyswim.

We have a shepherdess pie most weeks. I make four at a time, base only and freeze in pyrex dishes. Take out one and defrost. Pile on mash and cook for 10-15 mins in same pyrex dish. Put grated cheese on and put back for another five mins to brown.

Some things are just faster - baked potatoes in microwave 10 mins and then air fryer 20 mins. Other things like croutons take about the same as on hob - less than ten mins, but you don't have to watch them.

For us, the main advantage is that we can eat at 6pm and then others who don't finish work until 9pm can have theirs, or they can cook some frozen chips and some veggie burgers in less time than it takes the oven to heat up.

Thank you very much for your answers @Cynderella that's just the information I wanted!

It has helped me to make the decision to get one and the two drawer one sounds the best for what we would use it for.

Thanks again.

Should say there are two sizes - maybe the larger one if you're thinking of a chicken. The FB Ninja UK pages are very useful when you start cooking in one, but you learn over the first few days - need to keep checking until you have timings sorted.

I only cook at weekends and then we reheat or do something quick cook - husband cooks for us if I am working and adult sons cook or reheat when they finish late. So for us, it's convenience over money saving - weekends, I use my oven and fill it. The air fryer is ideal for us because through the week, we used to be using the oven for an hour plus to cook small quantities. So, it's often the cheaper option, but it's more often the fastest.

Again, good useful advice, thanks.

I know I will still use the oven but when I can fill it rather than putting it on to cook one item in a meal, which is frustratingly wasteful.

I’ve got the larger two drawer Ninja (the AF409 model). Have cooked a medium chicken in mine - around 1.4kg. Cooking instructions said 1hour 45 mins in the oven. Was done in 50 mins in the AF, potatoes in the other drawer (with frozen yorkshires added to that drawer for the last 3 minutes) and veg done on the hob.

Best chicken I’ve ever cooked. Was worried it was going to be dry, but it was bloody gorgeous!

AF400 model

I've got a halogen oven but am thinking of getting the Ninja dual drawer air fryer as my halogen oven doesn't cook chips well & I can do things like a couple of steaks in one drawer & chips in the other. My big oven is knackered but I'm thinking of not replacing it & just buying the Ninja.

I've given away my halogen oven. It wasn't a patch on my Ninja air fryer. Cooking a chicken took ages and really wasn't appetising.

My air fryer does a gorgeous roast.

My airfryer is the best item I have bought this year, absolutely fab, we have the Corsori 5ltr one, so easier to use, just two dials one for the temperature and timer, cleaning is so easy, we cook whole chicken, bacon, sausages, oven chips cook great in it, soft & fluffy inside crispy outside. The airfryer cooks everything much quicker than the oven.

We have solar with battery backup the app, tells me how much electricity the house is using, what we are getting through the PV Panels etc and I know the airfryer uses less energy & cost less to run than our oven.

I wish I had bought an airfryer much earlier, ours is used 2/3 times a day.

I love ours and it does save money in comparison to my electric oven and electric Hob.

my favourite thing is that it cooks fast and I now I know the time for the most common things I cook in it, I can go off and do something else. If ds wants a bacon sandwich, I know it’s 180 for 7 mins to get bacon just how he likes it. Put it on, go brush my teeth, or back my bag for work or whatever. Come back and out the bacon in some bread and it’s done. It doesn’t take any longer than a frying pan to wash.

I am waiting for an adhd assessment. If I wondered off and left a pan of bacon on the hob I would completely forget and cause a fire. So I literally have to stand over anything I am cooking in the over or hob if dp isn’t home. But it saves time and does save money on electric.

But they aren’t cheap so it takes a bit to offset that.

How do they actually work and what can you not cook in them? I assumed they were just for frying things?

Dh desperately wants one but can’t find one anywhere.
I don’t understand the hype. Could you do spaghetti bolognaise? Stir fry? Macaroni cheese? He likes a roast etc but I’m more of a pasta lover!