Slow Cooker or Air Fryer - if you had to buy only one, which would you buy?

[PineConeOrDogPoo]

Just that - if you had space for only one, which would it be and why?

I have a Ninja Foodi multi cooker which air fries AND slow cooks.*

*I'm swear I don't work for the Ninja kitchen appliances company.

Airfryer!

much more versatile and use it all year round (i tend to slow cook more in winter, but airfryer is all year)

I have an Instant Pot, which does it all. I love it. But as an Air Fryer it’s on the small side.

Agreed, although we possibly have a 13 in one? Either way, I've never used the yoghurt function! It's fab, you can sauté the casserole/slow cooker ingredients and then just change the function. A bit annoying that the lid lifts upwards, not a drawer like other air fryers, but that's the only fault for me

Slow cooker for me (casserole queen and batch cook).

Slow cooker because it tenderises meat so beautifully

What type of foods do most people cook in an air fryer?

We don't tend to eat a lor of oven foods other than The Roasting Tin recipes which require the food to be spread out in a single layer in a large roasting tin.

I tend to cook on the hob most of the time.

Wow, great feedback! Thanks everyone !

We were given an air fryer and returned it, we just don't eat the kind of foods you would cook in them,and yes I could roast a chicken in one, but I'll have the oven on anyway for potatoes, veg and probably a bread at the same time. We have the ninja slow cooker that sears, simmers, steams, proves, bakes and slow cooks, it gets used a lot and has been invaluable while our kitchen is being renovated.

We have just bought a stoves range that claims to have an inbuilt air fryer, but I've not used it yet, and that wasn't why we chose that model

Air fryer. My first blew up and it was like a death in the family

To quote my family when the slow cooker comes out "what type of brown is it"

My multi cooker is used almost daily.

I make the usual soups and stews but will cook whole leg of lamb or whole chicken in it. I do make yoghurt occasionally in it. Plus I use the rice cook function heaps.

I can also make stuff and leave it to keep warm so it's ready after kids sport.

I use my air fryer for anything I’d make in the oven (and some things I’d make on the hob) but I still use my instant pot more than anything else so I’d definitely go for a multi cooker over an air fryer

I don't cook many things in the oven.
On the rare occasion I do a roast I would use the oven for other elements of the meal, or I do traybake style meals which need to be cooked in a large roasting tin.

I can't see that I would have much use for an air fryer, which is just as well as I have nowhere to store one.

I do have a slow cooker that was given to me and that gets used rarely as well.

Air fryer

Bit actually I wouldn't choose a slow cooker, I'd choose the pressure cooker and have both.

Slow cookers are good if they have timers, and you are the sort of person that puts a stew on before work, but are you?

I prep slow cooker food the night before, put it in the fridge overnight, then put it on timer (just a regular domestic timer plug) before I head out in the morning

Ah, but pressure cooker, you don't have to do that. Also cooks the food better.
Plus it has a slow cook function anyway,so if you prefer it. (But once you pressure cook casserole/pulled pork/whatever - you'll never go back!)

I just revamped my kitchen and didn’t bother installing an oven. I just bought a ninja 12 in 1 (not very expensive) and that is also an air fryer and slow cooker.

it’s bloody amazing and very easy to clean.

Air fryer. Our slow cooker is great but not as versatile as the air cooker.

Does anyone have a link to how to use an air fryer properly ….. I burnt two lots of chips and never tried again!

I'm a slow cooker fan but if I had to choose it would be the air fryer. It's much more versatile.

It's not complicated really. Just keep checking and stop it when it's cooked. Surely you would do that with an oven?

Neither.

My ovens have an air function and also a timer to be able to set the oven away and stop any slow cooking.

I hate clutter!

I wouldn't be without an oven.
What sort of things do you cook in your air fryer?

It depends what you need it for most and what you like to eat. I have both but I would pick the slow cooker over the air fryer. I always use the slow cooker on the days both me and DH are at work and DS at nursery, so we come home to a delicious meal all ready to go. I also love doing a slow cooker meal when we have friends come over so that, again, it’s ready to go and I can chat to them rather than being busy food prepping. I also love it for the fact I can make big batches of meals to freeze.

Air fryer also good for lovely crispy foods cooked a bit quicker. I think for someone living alone/cooking small amounts it’s a brilliant buy for not needing to heat the whole oven, but with three of us we don’t use ours all that much.

We use ours all the time with 3 :)

Just this week it's been used for fish pie, macaroni cheese, roast chicken, roast potatoes, sausages and flapjacks!