Key Takeaways
- Air fryer ovens take the greasy out of fried food, add convenience, and multiply that by extra cooking modes to keep redundancies out of the kitchen and off your countertop!
- They can be as petite as a rotisserie chicken or as big as a large turkey.
- Instant Pot Vortex Plus is our editor’s choice for best overall.
- Best on a budget (and trending!): Beautiful by Drew Barrymore Touchscreen Air Fryer | Skip to review
- Best for temperature monitoring: Ninja DT251 (Digital Thermometer) Foodi with Thermometer | Skip to review
Air fryers—these trending and crisping kitchen appliances that cook with little or no oil (so less of the extra calories and fat normally associated with fried foods)—can be gems to our home chef arsenals, albeit a bit bulky.
A specific type, called an air fryer oven, typically offers a larger capacity than traditional air fryers and can reduce or eliminate the need for other countertop cooking electronics. We’ve vetted and narrowed down the best options for each price point, need, and want.
Pricing guide
- $ = under $100
- $$ = $100–$200
- $$$ = $200-$300
- $$$$ = over $300
• bake
• broil
• convection oven
• dehydrate
• roast
• reheat
• rotisserie
• toast
• warm
• dehydrate
• reheat
• roast
• broil
• bake
• dehydrate
• roast
• toast
• warm
• bake
• broil
• roast
• reheat
• toast
• bake
• broil
• dehydrate
• pizza
• reheat
• roast
• toast
• bake
• dehydrate
• pressure cook
• rice cooker
• roast
• sauté pan
• slow cook
• steamer
• sterilizer
• yogurt maker
• warmer
• bake
• broil
• dehydrate
• ferment
• pizza
• roast
• rotisserie
• toast
• warm
• bake
• broil
• convection bake
• convection broil
• convection grill
• toast
• warming
• bake
• broil
• dehydrate
• reheat
• roast
• pizza
• proof
• slow cook
• toast
• warm
To create this list of the best air fryer ovens, here’s what we considered:
- Capacity. How much food can it cook?
- Power. How much wattage powers the appliance?
- Modes. Does it have any other functionality besides air frying?
- Accessories. What accessories are included?
- Reviews. Does it have high customer ratings?
All products on our list have been vetted to ensure that they align with Healthline’s brand integrity standards and approach to well-being. You can read more about our vetting process.
Choosing the best air fryer oven comes down to five main factors.
1. Capacity
Because it can be difficult to tell how large the cooking area is for a given air fryer oven just from looking at photos, you may want to check the website, Amazon page, or product reviews. See how many racks can be used to cook at once, how large a chicken or turkey will fit in the oven, or how many slices of bread can fit on the rack.
2. Countertop space
The multipurpose nature of air fryers can reduce the number of other kitchen appliances you have atop your counters, like toasters, toaster ovens, crockpots, or pressure cookers. Still, air fryers can be bulky, and depending on your kitchen layout, you might want to measure your available space between the countertop and cabinets to help choose an air fryer.
That’s why we provide illustrated dimensions in this article to help you readily envision the rough area of the air fryers, with food items like: large and small turkeys, whole hams, and rotisserie chickens.
3. Air fryer price
These can all help you determine if an air fryer oven would be an appropriate size for your family.
Keep in mind that most air fryer ovens on this list range in price from $70 to $400. If you’re looking to spend toward the lower end of that range, your options may be limited.
4. Additional features
You’ll also want to consider additional air fryer features. Many products are large enough to cook whole chickens rotisserie-style and come with the accessories to do so. Likewise, many have a temperature setting low enough to use them as a dehydrator.
5. Customer reviews
Finally, be sure to check the reviews. If you see patterns in the negative reviews, this is something you’ll want to take notice of — especially if they’re about safety.
Air fryer ovens work by using fans to circulate hot air (typically from a heat lamp inside of the unit) rapidly through a small area, cooking food and allowing it to get crispy.
This allows you to achieve a texture and crispiness similar to frying, without using as much oil.
Yes, air fryer ovens are sanitary and safe to use.
Some users say that oily residue can build up on the interior of their air fryer oven that can be difficult to remove, but wiping it down after each use (after the device has cooled) should help.
You can cook a wide variety of foods in an air fryer oven. Air fryers are often used to cook meats like pork chops and chicken breasts, and they can also be used to cook frozen packaged foods such as french fries and chicken wings or nuggets.
These countertop appliances often have a number of other functions in addition to air frying, making it possible to bake cake and bread, make toast, cook pizzas, roast vegetables, cook roasts and whole chickens, and dehydrate fruits, vegetables, and meats.
Many people use air fryer ovens as an alternative to a regular oven. Depending on the size and capabilities of your air fryer oven, you may be able to cook anything you would in a regular oven.
Tester Kristin Currin loves using her Ninja DZ201 (DualZone) Foodi air fryer to contain the heat that would otherwise fill the kitchen and odor from more pungent items.
“I actually air fry salmon skins for my dog in the air fryer. All that fishy smell is contained to the appliance and the high heat from the fry doesn’t turn my kitchen into a sauna like the oven would at 400 for 40 minutes. Just 20 minutes in the air fryer makes them super crispy.”
Here’s our latest article on a handful of quick and healthy air fryer recipes.
Most manuals advise to allow the device to cool. Remove the racks, pans, and drip tray you used during cooking and wash them as you would your regular dishes.
Using a damp cloth, wipe down the exterior and interior of the air fryer oven to remove crumbs and grease.
It’s a good idea to do this after each use to prevent excess grease buildup that will be more difficult to clean later.
But many users have said using a white vinegar-based solution with baking soda or a degreaser will deep clean. For daily maintenance it’s wise to get air fryer parchment or silicone liners to minimize food and oil buildup.
Air fryer ovens are a solid way to get the benefits of an air fryer, often with many extra air fryer features and a larger capacity than standard air fryers.
They come in a variety of sizes and offer numerous features, with many usable as a rotisserie, air fryer, and dehydrator all in one.
