Best Air Fryers For Beginners

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Wondering what the best air fryers for beginners are? If you are new to air fryers and air frying, you are definitely not alone. And if you feel like the learning curve is huge, take a deep breath and know that it’s not as big as it feels. Honest.

Best air Fryers For Beginners Infographic

What Are The Best Air Fryers For Beginners?

To be frank, the best air fryers for a beginner are going to be air fryers that are easy to use, easy to clean and are large enough to make the amount of food you like to eat in one meal, in one batch.

  • Size – Air frying can often require cooking a few batches for the same meal. So if you get the biggest air fryer you have room for, you will never regret it, because it will mean being able to cook a meal with fewer batches. Possibly, depending on the size, your entire meal in one batch.
  • Cleaning – Easy to clean air fryers are usually going to be the air fryers that have the dishwasher safe, non-stick, removable parts. This means that the pieces you can pull out like, shelves, baskets or bowls should be easy to clean by hand, and also have the option to go in the dishwasher.

    Also, check the parts you will need to wipe down with a damp clothe and make sure you can actually access them. Every air fryer is different. Some are easier to clean than others.
  • Programs – And the easiest air fryers to use will usually be those with pre-programmed buttons. That being said, even the pre-programmed buttons can be a little off, based on what you are cooking. So you’ll also want buttons for adjusting time and temperature.

    Technically speaking, an analogue air fryer with a turn knob will have the most basic of functions, making them very easy to use. However, having pre-programmed buttons on your air fryer makes setting up time and temperature completely fail proof.

Philips TurboStar Technology Airfryer, Analog Interface

What this air fryer lacks in pre-programmed buttons, it more than makes up for in easy functions, easy cleaning, and thorough cooking. This air fryer gets called out for being one of the best, again and again. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons.


Pros

This air fryer get high accolades for cooking to a nice, crispy finish. Also mentioned are an exterior that does not get overly hot and overall ease of use. While this doesn’t have any pre-programmed buttons, the controls are easy to use and pretty much self explanatory.

This particular air fryer is sized well for 1 to 2 people. If you are cooking for more than that, you may want to consider a larger size. Philips does make larger versions of the TurboStar.

Cons

The biggest complaint about this air fryer seems to come from people who need a larger cooking capacity. The limit on this one really does seem to be 2 people. So consider moving up if you can both, fit it in your kitchen, and afford it. Also, be sure to double check that your kitchen can handle the wattage. Either on this one or on a larger sized air fryer.

Instant Vortex Pro Toaster Oven Air Fryer

We talk a lot about this air fryer because we have it, we use it daily and we love it. But if you need a larger cooking capacity, this can really be the way to go, depending on what you’re cooking. This might be one of most the perfect, multi-fuctional, best air fryers for beginners. The pros and cons are below.


Pros

We admit, we are biased. We love the Instant Pot company and any appliance they make seems to be all around great. (Just an aside: if you have an Instant Pot pressure cooker with multiple functions, and an Instant Vortex Pro, pretty much the only other appliance you might need is a blender, because short of cooking a whole Thanksgiving turkey, you’re set!)

The Instant Vortext Pro is no exception. It’s a great appliance that is durable, cleaning is moderately easy and everything cooks to perfection. It has wonderful additional functions like baking and roasting and comes with a rotisserie stick as well as a roasting basket. And boy, do we love that roasting basket! It might be the Instant company’s greatest invention yet!

Cons

One of the big drawbacks of a toaster oven air fryer is not being able to toss your food. You have to use tongs to flip anything you cook. Including smaller things like fries. In a basket style air fryer, these smaller things can easily be tossed or shook up in the basket. But on a toaster oven air fryer, you have trays that don’t allow you to do that.

The only other downside to this one is what we mentioned above. Cleaning gets a “moderate” rating simply because the door hinges get gunk in them that is hard to remove. These would be far easier to keep clean if the door opened to the side. But this is a relatively small issue. You can still keep it pretty clean, it just takes a little detail work.

However, the pros outweigh the cons with this one. It’s great at literally everything else!

GoWISE USA GWAC22003 5.8-Quart Air Fryer with Accessories

If cost is an issue, this one is one of the air fryers that will give you more bang for your hard-earned buck. It’s still easy to use, has pre-programmed buttons and is easy to clean. It’s not huge, but it’ll get the job done for up to 2-4 people, depending on what you are cooking. And if you wait for an amazon sale, you’ll definitely get a great deal on this one. These tend to go on and off sale, as all air fryers do on Amazon. So a little patience can literally pay off when you buy through Amazon. Plus, their return policy is stellar on most items.


Pros

This is a middle-of-the-road air fryer. It has its pros and cons. It seems to do a good job cooking and crisping, and has a good size basket.

Cons

The main complaint with this air fryer is that the accessories it comes with are much smaller than the air fryer in order for them to fit. They are round, when the basket is not. So they are much smaller to accommodate for this. Other air fryers make their accessories to actually fit their specific basket. But if that’s the worst complaint, it’s not too bad. They are still worthwhile.

Air Fryer Warranties

We can’t stress enough that you should read and understand your air fryer warranty. And if one is available, you should always upgrade to an extended warranty. You will never regret a warranty with an air fryer. While they are great at cooking crispy food, air fryers are still new to the market and are not yet built for the long haul. So a warranty can really save you.

Conclusion On The Best Air Fryers For Beginners

Regardless of what air fryer you choose as a beginner, as long as you stick with the three main criteria, you’ll do just fine. One way or the other, as with any new appliance, there will be a small learning curve. But air fryers are not complicated. They just take a little patience and a willingness to learn. Every air fryer will be just slightly different. So keeping a note or two on cooking times and temps are a great way to shorten your learning curve. Because truly, air frying just comes down to balancing those two thing. Time and temperature.

So the best air fryers for beginners will still need a little patience as you get used to this new way of cooking. But we promise, once you get the hang of it, you’ll see just how easy it really is!

If you need a printable cooking chart that gives you room to make your own notes, check out our free Cooking Times Chart download here.

Recommended Reading

If you feel like you need help with air fryer recipes, check out our free recipe section at the link at the top of our site. We have lots of free recipes with many more to come!

But if you are like us, you also might like to hold an actual cookbook in your hands. We love the smell and feel of a beloved cookbook. Here are a few of our favorites that are great for beginner and experienced air fry masters alike.

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