Don’t forget to consider the fryer’s overall size, too—more capacity might mean that it needs more storage space when it’s not in use. Fans of multifunctional kitchen appliances will want to check out this air fryer option from Instant Pot. It comes with two lids—one for air frying and one for pressure cooking—that enable the pot to function as both an air fryer and the classic pressure cooker the brand is known for. Instant Pot has so many different models that it’s hard to remember the differences, but this one stands out from the crowd thanks to its sleek black exterior, and its handy vent/pressure toggle.
This Ninja model performed beautifully in a range of cooking tests and really impressed us with its ease of use and cleaning. It had no trouble making deliciously crispy french fries, wings, and shrimp, moosoo air fryer with a basket and crisper plate that go right in the dishwasher after cooking. Its wings were probably the best in all of our testing, with crisp, golden-brown skin and a juicy, evenly cooked interior.
We love the extra grill feature that adds another dimension to the cooking performance. Compact and stylish with a useful viewing window, but you need to take care when handling the drawer. While there could be improvements in the drawer design, we think it works as an excellent add-on or replacement to your standard oven.
We have made many frozen foods in our Vortex® and they have all pretty much turned out perfectly. There is a Instant™ Vortex® Plus 4-quart Air Fryer which is much more comparable to instant vortex the regular Ninja 4qt Air Fryer. Because it’s a “Plus” it has dehydrate and broil as standard settings. Instant™ has a number of 8-quart, 9-quart, and 10-quart Vortex® Air fryers.
The air fry preset mode suggests 190°C for 20 minutes, but we took this down to 10 minutes in line with the recipe suggestion and pressed start. Inside the box you’ll find a cooking tray that sits neatly inside the non-stick cooking drawer. This ensures your food is slightly raised from the base so any grease can drain. While there isn’t the biggest gap between the tray and base of the drawer, it did create some space for the excess oil to pool while cooking. At 5.15kg (11lb 6oz), we found the Instant Vortex Plus easy to lift out of the box and place on the worktop.
Cooking foods like bacon and fried chicken imparted a significantly strong smell in the kitchen (and surrounding rooms). When we were using the machine, passersby by would immediately ask, “what’s that smell?” We took that as a bad sign. There moosoo air fryer aren’t presets built into the machine either, like a shortcut button for standard recipes like French fries. We had to do some digging in the Instant app in order to cook certain foods with appropriate time and temperature settings.
The Vortex Plus is currently retailing for $20 more than the Vortex. Our air fryer uses the basket method to cook while the 10-quart one uses racks or a rotating barrel or a rotisserie attachment for a whole chicken. It’s much more of a “mini convection oven” than just an air fryer. The Instant™ Vortex® Mini is fast, versatile, compact, and convenient, so you can make all your favorite fried sides and snacks with less of the oil and none of the mess. This small air fryer is available in 4 colors and features EvenCrisp™ technology for crispy, tender results every time.
The light goes out within seconds when the air fryer starts up, but it can be easily turned on via the control panel so you can check how your food is doing. This limits how often you need to open the basket to turn your food, letting heat escape. It also limits that annoying puff of cooking smoke that can hit you in the face when you open an air fryer drawer mid cycle. This air fryer can be simple, but offers the extra sophistication of cooking two different dishes at the same time, if that’s what you require.