Air fryers are a great option if you often find yourself impatiently waiting for your oven to preheat or wishing your meals, sides, and snacks were crispier. Using about as much counter space as a microwave, these compact appliances quickly cook and crisp your food with little to no oil. Instead, they use hot air, with the best models producing evenly cooked, crispy, and golden-brown food.
Many air fryers also offer surprising versatility. Models with a wide range of temperature settings and fan speeds can roast, bake, dehydrate, and more, which is ideal if you want to multitask or avoid heating your full-sized oven on a hot day. Dual-basket models even let you cook different foods on each side of the air fryer, so you can prepare your main dish and a side simultaneously. While the capacity of the air fryers we've tested ranges from 2 to 10 quarts, larger models tend to perform better. Unlike in a deep fryer, you won't get the best results by filling the basket with ingredients. Instead, you'll want to arrange your food in a single layer as much as possible. With that in mind, you may want a bigger air fryer (or one with a wider basket) even if you only cook for one or two people.
We've tested more than 40 air fryers, and you'll find our recommendations for the best ones below. For more options, you can also check out the best small air fryers, the best large-capacity air fryers, or the best air fryers for French fries. The products here are all basket-style air fryers, but you can also see our recommendations for the best toaster oven-style air fryers. Once you've found the right model for your crispy foods, you might also want the best microwave for your popcorn or reheating needs.
