How to Get the Most From Your Air Fryer

To learn more about cooking with one of these appliances, eight CR staffers took air fryers home. They cooked a variety of foods for themselves and their families over two weeks. And while these anecdotal findings aren’t factored into CR’s ratings, they do highlight the pros and cons of owning one of these appliances.

“Convenience foods, like par-fried/flash-frozen french fries, turn out really good,” says Paul Hope, a CR reporter and a classically trained chef who tried out one of the air fryers. “These foods have already been half fried in the conventional manner at the food plant, then frozen to be heated fully in your home.”

But convenience foods are just the beginning. Many air fryers include recipes for roasted brussels sprouts, roasted tomatoes, citrus green beans, and twice-baked potatoes.

The staffers were surprised by how well the air fryers cooked vegetables—asparagus, cauliflower, kale chips, corn on the cob.

Several staffers also liked how well the air fryers reheated foods that should be crispy outside and hot inside. (In the case of reheating a slice of pizza, the air-fried version was crispier than microwaved pizza and ready much quicker than if it was reheated in the oven.)

But not every food turned out well—disappointments included turkey burgers and chicken legs.

Another surprise? Some air fryers we tested have baskets with smaller capacities, from 2 to 4 quarts. (That’s what we measured, and it’s often smaller than the claimed capacity.) That’s not great when cooking for a crowd—so buy the biggest capacity you can if you regularly feed a gang.

After a series of trials and errors, CR’s home chefs share their results and how the meals compare with other cooking methods (like traditional deep frying or oven cooking). They also share some helpful advice if you’re looking to try it for yourself.

Verdict: “These frozen fries tasted convincingly like deep-fried—not dried out like oven-heated frozen fries can get,” says Perry Santanachote, a CR reporter. “When they were done, I seasoned them with garlic oil, like I do with deep-fried fries, and they held up beautifully.”

Verdict: Delicious but not crispy like deep-fried results. Santanachote says they were on a par with oven results. She brushed the inside of the air fryer basket with a little oil to prevent the wings from sticking and cooked them for 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through. The basket could fit only 10 wings—a pain if cooking for more than two people.

Verdict: It heated up much crispier and faster than it does in the oven, and without any oil. The bratwurst came preboiled, so Santanachote air-fried it for 12 minutes, flipping it halfway.

Verdict: “The fish was a little rubbery,” Santanachote says. She used the preset fish setting, but she learned later upon referring to the manual that the setting is meant for fish sticks—not fresh fish. Her advice? Try cooking fresh fish skin side down, using the highest temperature, for 5 to 8 minutes—just until caramelized on top without overcooking.

Verdict: Using store-bought pizza dough, staffer Mary Farrell cooked the crust on both sides before adding the toppings and cooking for an additional 8 minutes. “The toppings were cooked perfectly, but the crust was still a little underdone,” she says. “I’d try it again, and cook the crust slightly longer than I did before adding the toppings.”

Verdict: The roasted potatoes turned out crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. “And they took less time than when I cook them in the oven at the same temperature,” Farrell says. She drizzled a little olive oil and salt and pepper on small potatoes, then air-fried for 12 minutes, stopping the air fryer three times to toss the potatoes for more even browning.

Verdict: “It turned out beautifully,” Santanachote says. “The top was extra crispy, like a giant muffin.” To start, she used her own recipe, lined a 6-inch cake pan with parchment paper, and lightly coated with cooking spray. She added a foil sling, which gives you something to grab when removing the hot pan from the air fryer basket. In 30 minutes, the banana bread was done.

Overall, our home testers found air frying to be a convenient way to put together a meal. But there are a few tips to keep in mind to make your meals come out just the way you like them.

1. Pat foods dry. Before air frying, pat dry anything unbreaded that you want crispy or browned, such as meat, fish, and vegetables.

2. Avoid overfilling the basket. An air fryer relies on a fan to circulate hot air to cook food quickly. Crowd the basket and you’ll prevent the hot air from reaching all the food, which slows down cooking and could give you uneven and soggy results. Some models have maximum-fill lines, and the manual may offer guidance, too. As a rule, our experts say not to fill the basket more than 3⁄4 full if there is no max-fill line marked on the basket.

3. Check food often. Unlike cooking food in the oven, you can’t flip on the light and check a food’s progress through the window. With an air fryer, you can’t see the ingredients as they cook—they’re tucked away in a drawer-style basket—making it harder to get a sense of how it’s going. And our staffers found that cooking times can vary significantly. To avoid overcooking, check on your food every so often while it’s cooking. (On some models, this is as simple as pulling out the drawer, but on others, you might need to pause cooking before you do so; consult your manual for specifics.)

4. Flip the food as it cooks. Use tongs or shake the basket during cooking for more even results.

5. Experiment with homemade favorites. Sure, store-bought fries taste great, but an air fryer makes easy work of the real thing: For crispy homemade french fries, cut potatoes into uniform pieces, and soak in water for 30 minutes. Then drain, rinse, pat dry, and coat lightly with oil before air frying.

Even people who love to cook and do it often found that they learned along the way—including two staffers who tested recipes for food sites before joining CR. They air-fried over a dozen dishes each, and here’s what they have to say about a few standouts. Keep in mind that cooking temps and time will vary depending on the air fryer you use.

You’ll see almost 70 models in our air fryer ratings from brands like Cosori, Cuisinart, and Instant Vortex. Here’s a look at three air fryers that sell for $100 or less and earns satisfying scores for controls and cleaning.