The Chefman Crispinator 8 Qt. is a compact model with enough capacity to serve five to six people. It has a square design that maximizes surface area in the cooking chamber, and Chefman advertises that it uses a DC motor, which it says helps the air fryer cook faster. There's a window in the basket and a light inside, so you can monitor your recipe as it cooks, and a mute button on the control panel to silence beeps. Along with the cook time and temperature, it also displays the current fan speed.
Our Verdict
The Chefman Crispinator is a very good air fryer. It's remarkably versatile, with a wide range of temperature and fan speed settings, making it well-suited to various cooking methods, like dehydrating, baking, and broiling. It produces decent-quality air-fried food as well, though it leaves a portion of each batch over- and undercooked. You don't have to wait long for results, since it preheats and cooks quickly.
Preheats and cooks quickly.
Produces decent-quality fried food.
Exceptionally versatile, making it a good choice for various cooking methods.
Leaves some of your food undercooked and burnt.
The Chefman Crispinator is a great choice for large-batch cooking, particularly if you're short on space. It offers 8.3 quarts of capacity, enough to cook for five to six people, in a very compact design, so you can meal prep or make appetizers for a crowd, even when space is limited. It delivers results quickly, which is useful if you're making multiple batches, and it offers a range of settings that make it a good choice for various cooking methods, like dehydrating or broiling. While it makes decent-quality fried food, it also leaves some of each batch mushy and overcooked.
Enough capacity to serve five to six people.
Large surface area, so it's easy to spread food out.
Preheats and cooks quickly.
Produces decent-quality fried food.
Exceptionally versatile, making it a good choice for various cooking methods.
Leaves some of your food undercooked and burnt.
The Chefman Crispinator provides good frying performance. It has plenty of surface area in its 8.3-quart basket, so it's easy to spread food out in a single layer for better airflow and crispier results. The maximum fan speed is very high, which helps the air fryer cook quickly. However, it also negatively affects temperature stability. The fan moves air past the heating element too quickly to transfer heat effectively, leading to temperature fluctuations and less even cooking. This results in decent-quality fried food. Most of each batch ends up crispy and golden brown, but significant portions also come out mushy and overcooked.
Large surface area, so it's easy to spread food out.
Preheats and cooks quickly.
Produces decent-quality fried food.
Temperature stability is just satisfactory.
Leaves some of your food undercooked and burnt.
The Chefman Crispinator preheats quickly and includes a preheat reminder, so you know when to add food. It cooks quickly, too, so you don't have to wait long for your meals and snacks to finish cooking.
Preheats and cooks quickly.
The Chefman Crispinator has an impressive 8.3-quart cooking capacity, enough to serve five to six people. There's plenty of surface area in its basket, so it's easy to arrange food in a single layer for crispier results.
Enough capacity to serve five to six people.
Large surface area, so it's easy to spread food out.
The Chefman Crispinator is very compact, especially considering its large capacity. It takes up less counter space than most 8-quart models, and it's small enough to fit in the average cupboard.
Compact design.
Performance Usages
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Chefman Crispinator Air Fryer comes in 'Concrete' and 'Midnight.' There's also a variant with an additional preset cooking mode for frozen items, which Chefman lists simply as the Crispinator 8 Qt. Air Fryer w/ 7 Functions. We tested the Concrete variant with six functions, and you can see the label for our unit.
If you discover another variant, tell us about it in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Air Fryer Comparisons
The Chefman Crispinator Air Fryer is an 8.3-quart single-basket model with a very compact design for its capacity. It offers better overall performance than other air fryers we've tested from the brand, largely thanks to its versatility. While it has a wider temperature range than either the Chefman TurboFry RJ38-5-T or the Chefman Multifunctional Air Fryer+, its wide range of fan speeds makes a bigger difference. Unlike the brand's other offerings, the Crispinator can reach fan speeds low enough to effectively dehydrate or bake without drying out your cookies and cupcakes, and high enough speeds to reheat crispy leftovers or quickly broil the top of a mini mac and cheese.
However, like the COSORI TurboBlaze, it has a DC motor and offers faster fan speeds than most other air fryers, and, as we discovered while researching our Air Fryer Buying Guide, that top speed may actually be a little too fast for optimal performance. At 3600 RPM, the COSORI's fan moves air over the heating element for effective heat transfer, and at 3470 RPM, the Crispinator's top fan speed likely introduces the same problem, leading to increased temperature fluctuations and less even cooking. That said, it still delivers decent-quality fried food, and with its outstanding versatility, fast cooking speeds, and user-friendly design, it has a lot to offer.
If you're wondering what we recommend, see our picks for the best air fryers, the best 8-quart air fryers, and the best large-capacity air fryers.
The COSORI TurboBlaze is a better air fryer than the Chefman Crispinator 8 Qt. for most users, though it’s a close call. The COSORI cooks more quickly and evenly, so more of your food comes out crispy and golden brown, with less mushy or burnt pieces. It's also slightly more versatile, since it has a couple of extra preset cooking modes. That said, the Chefman maintains a more stable temperature throughout cooking, making it easier to follow a recipe and it comes with a window in the cooking chamber, so you can keep an eye on your food as it cooks. Overall, these air fryers are very similar, and the Chefman performs nearly as well as the COSORI in most areas, so you’ll most likely be happy with either unit, despite the COSORI’s slight advantages.
The Chefman Crispinator 8 Qt. is a better air fryer than the Chefman Multifunctional Air Fryer+. The Crispinator cooks faster and a little more evenly, leaving more of each batch crispy and well-cooked. It's more versatile as well, with a wider range of temperature settings and a much wider range of fan speeds. This makes it a better choice for alternate cooking methods, like baking and dehydrating, since the lower fan speed helps prevent your baked goods from drying out and lighter items from flying around the cooking chamber as they dehydrate. That said, the Multifunctional Air Fryer+ has a larger capacity, and it comes with a rotisserie attachment, which some users may appreciate.
The Ninja AF141 is a better air fryer than the Chefman Crispinator 8 Qt. for most people. The Ninja cooks faster and more evenly, leaving more of your food crispy and golden brown than the Chefman. It also maintains a more stable temperature throughout cooking, which can make it easier to follow recipes and help prevent your recipes from drying out or burning. While the Ninja is impressively versatile, the Chefman is even more so. It offers a wider range of temperature and fan speed settings, along with a couple more preset cooking modes, making it a better choice for baking, broiling, and dehydrating.
The Chefman Crispinator 8 Qt. is a better air fryer than the Ninja Crispi FN101GY, though some users may prefer the Ninja's unique design. Both models offer a way to keep an eye on your food while it cooks, but while the Chefman uses a more standard window and light in the cooking chamber, the Ninja uses glass cooking chambers that are swappable and double as storage. When it comes to performance, however, the Chefman has the edge in most areas. In particular, it cooks much more evenly, leaving more of each batch crispy, and it offers much greater versatility. While the Ninja offers just four preset cooking modes, with no way to adjust the temperature outside those options, the Chefman includes six presets and lets you adjust the temperature within each mode's set range. It also has a wider range of fan speeds, making it a good choice for alternate cooking methods like dehydrating and baking.
Test Results
This 8.3-quart air fryer has enough capacity to serve five to six people. It has a roomy basket, with lots of surface area, so it's easy to arrange food in a single layer for better results. The crisper plate is ceramic-coated, and while it's a bit harder to clean than traditional non-stick materials, you may prefer it if you try to avoid PTFE coatings.
This air fryer is exceptionally versatile. It offers a wide range of temperature and fan speed settings, making it useful for a variety of cooking methods, including dehydrating, baking, and broiling. Unlike most air fryers, the fan speed is displayed on the control panel, making it easy to find the best setting for your recipes.
There are six preset cooking modes:
- Air Fry: 300 °F - 450 °F, Fan speed: 5/5
- Broil: 425 °F - 450 °F, Fan Speed 3/5
- Bake: 250 °F - 450 °F, Fan speed: 2/5
- Reheat: 300 °F 435 °F, Fan speed: 4/5
- Keep Warm: 170 °F - 200 °F, Fan speed: 3/5
- Dehydrate: 90 °F - 200 °F, Fan speed: 1/5
The control panel includes LED 'Flip' and 'Shake' notifications, as well as a button that silences the air fryer's beeps and another that turns on the interior light.
It delivers decent-quality air-fried food, cooking most of each batch to a crispy golden brown, but also leaving significant portions under- and overcooked.
This model underperforms air fryers with a similar maximum power draw and capacity, such as the Typhur Sync Air Fryer. As with the COSORI TurboBlaze, which also has a DC motor, this likely comes down to the Crispinator's maximum fan speed (3470 RPM), which the 'Air Fry' preset employs and which is much faster than most other air fryers use. This affects temperature stability, as air passes over the heating element too quickly to heat up fully, causing food to cook less evenly. With that said, the corresponding fan speed for each preset cooking mode is listed on the control panel, making it fairly easy to find the ideal settings for each recipe.
It preheats and cooks quickly thanks to its roomy basket and high maximum power draw and fan speed. You don't have to wait long for your meals, snacks, and sides to finish cooking.
It offers decent temperature stability. After you open the drawer to add food, it takes a little extra time to heat back up, but once it does, it doesn't fluctuate much from the set temperature.