The removable trays and rotisserie insert made it easy to use and easy to clean after every recipe we tested. Though there are no smart features, the presets and available accessories on this large air fryer make it an attractively versatile tool in the kitchen. The massive capacity is an asset, instant pot duo nova and the price for all the features included is a no-brainer as the best air fryer option for any household planning to cook for a crowd. Instant Brands has moved beyond the famous rice cooker in leaps and bounds, and its air fryers are truly formidable in the kitchen appliance game.
These are cheaper and more compact than convection toaster ovens, and some are cheaper than air fryers. They can crisp better than a microwave but not as well as an air fryer. Their capacity is limited compared with the amount of food you could put on a half-sheet instant pot duo nova tray in an oven or a quarter-sheet tray in a toaster oven. The Vortex Plus air fries fast and well when you air fry on a cooking tray and not in the rotisserie basket. However, for many items, like French fries, the manual calls for using the basket.
A lot of the air frying experience—just like cooking in general—is trial and error. When you’re trying out your own recipe or heating up something that isn’t listed in a recipe book or app, you often have to use your best judgment and cross your fingers. We tried a range of foods in these air fryers to see how they perform.
It performed nearly as well as our previous top pick (and current upgrade pick), the similarly sized Philips Premium Airfryer HD9741, and it costs about half as much. We stuck an air probe thermometer inside each oven to see how well they maintained a set temperature. We also used all of the controls to see how easy they were to navigate and how accurate the cooking guidelines were for preparing common foods such as french fries and chicken nuggets. Additionally, we compared the cooking capacity of each model, and we took note of any egregiously noisy fans or annoying beeps. After testing, we washed all of the fryer components to see how easy they were to clean. The best models cook food quickly and efficiently, and because they’re essentially countertop convection ovens, they can be used in place of a toaster oven or wall oven.
Rivaled only by Ninja for accessible, top-performing tools at an affordable price, Instant has our most current best air fryer pick in the Plus 6-Quart. It hits the sweet spot of ideal (but not oversized) capacity with the wider square-shaped basket accommodating fries and wings without overcrowding. It has just the right number of presets for a useful but manageable user experience. The air circulation and power provided the best cooking results for every food we tried, including tricky coconut shrimp and Brussels sprouts. It’s quiet enough to run in a busy kitchen, and the nonstick interior makes cleanup easy.
There’s better out there, but if you want big portions cooked quickly in a relatively small appliance, this is hard to beat. It was hardly gourmet, but as chicken nuggets go, they were faultless, with crisp breaded batter and soft, chewy chicken on the inside. Combined with the French fries, I think this air fryer is a good choice for busy parents. Sometimes all you have time to cook is frozen food – this will get a quick dinner of nuggets and fries turned out in minutes. When it came to the taste test, it made great asparagus, but it wasn’t as good as in smaller air fryers. The temperature and cook time was the same to keep the test fair, but it wasn’t as crisp and was slightly undercooked.
However, it’s not bad – these were still good, I’ve just had better. Fish sticks let us see how the air fryer can cope with fish and also with breadcrumb textures. I had a bad feeling with this one that they’d overcook – they take up such little space in the air fryer and are so delicate that I worried they’d dry out, so I reduced the time and temperature. Note that the Instant Vortex Slim doesn’t come with OdorErase, but I didn’t notice any more cooking smells than I’d experience cooking in my conventional oven. Sometimes the fastest way to a home cook’s heart is a shortcut, and the ever-present air fryer has proven that true. While the basket and crisper plate are dishwasher-safe, I preferred to wash the basket by hand.