My younger son has one and loves it -- honestly, probably uses it more for reheating leftovers than actual cooking, but he can re-crisp things, unlike the micro, and he doesn't have to heat the large oven. An air fryer is basically a toaster oven with convection and qualities and abilities vary. We gave him the one he has for Christmas a couple of years ago. I think it is a Breville? The second choice one was from Costco, but a brand I think they no longer carry.

I don’t but MIL did. She was living alone in FL and I thoght it would be a good way to make sheet pan dinners for 1. She never ended up using it but I did one time to reheat leftover (take and bake) pizza The 2nd day leftovers were much better than 1st night conventional oven result.

The way I have seen an air fryer is that it's just a healthier way to cook fried foods. But that this method of cooking is healthier, but not all that healthy. I could be wrong on this, but absent using this to make "healthier" fried foods that I try not to eat anyway, I don't see a purpose.

sas95, doesn’t appear you have any experience., you are wrong.

An air fryer is a miniature convection oven, the table top air fryer can do everything a convection oven can do, just in smaller portions.

The first two responses are accurate.

You can do much more in an air fryer than ”fry”. You can even bake in one.

I don't want one but I have several friends who have them and their opinion seems to be 50/50 as to whether they like them or not. They did comment about the counter space it takes up and 2 of them like the one that folds up. But after reading this review I think it would be great for DS. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/ninja-crispi-review/

A Mat , that was a rather rude response.

Ive had my eye on the Ninja Crispi. Its the Wirecutter choice. I have friends that swear by air fryers. Id want a small one. I dont want to dedicate too much counter space to it.

DLM, 2000, thanks forasking, Ive been curious too.

sas95, doesn’t appear you have any experience., you are wrong.

I said I had no experience and that I could be wrong, but thanks for so graciously "correcting" me.

Anyway, we have a convection oven, so it's not worth it to me to add a smaller one, even if the smaller one would be more efficient for smaller amounts. But if it does a lot more than "fry," I can see the appeal.

Looking at the control panel, I can select : air fry, reheat, roast, and dehydrate. I can adjust temperature and timer.

Based on the postman’s suggestion, I have cooked steaks in the air fryer.

Much easier cleanup than the oven. But, there are capacity limits.

Can you not use any of your current appliances to cook in the way that feels healthy to you?

This is what I asked myself when considering one. I decided against it. But then again, I hate owning small appliances.

Might be a good thing but I long ago quit buying specialized small appliances. No instapot, no air fryer. At some point I decided I didn't want that kind of thing taking up space and was getting along fine without it so didn't really need it. I don't even have a crock pot anymore. Got a toaster oven and a fry baby as gifts when I got married - long gone. Maybe I'm missing out on a lot of cool stuff.

I have a convection oven so I dont see the point. In fact, I have experience with three different year models of the same oven, original house, new house, sister’s house. In the newer models they have added the label ”air fry mode” for convection.

I don’t need another appliance.

I bought one about a month ago and have used it several times a week. It's the Cosori 6 qt. My goal was to use less fat. I think it's most useful if you don't already have a counter oven, which we do. It does brown and crisp meats much better than my regular convection oven. I was impressed with what it did to chicken and game hen. I also use it to cook a Butterball boneless turkey breast. You do those on the roast setting.

I don't cook many frozen foods but I did buy some Groton's breaded fish fillets for the first time in twenty years and it crisped them up nicely. I've experimented with French fries using potatoes and those are incredible, but there is some prep work involved. I never make frozen French fries and will usually order them with a burger at restaurants (not fast food) but we don't go out for burgers much anymore. I didn't realize how much I'd been missing fries and now I'm a little obsessed with them. I did try frozen fries in the air fryer but they don't have the flavor of fresh potatoes. If you were going to make fries for two or a chicken, you'd probably want a 6 qt. fryer.

You can roast veggies in it but I'm not a big fan of roasted veggies. I've only done asparagus and got the same results as my Breville oven. It does a good job of browning home fries with far less oil and no sticking to the skillet, which is a problem I have when I cook them in my stainless steel skillet.

We and both DD's have a Cuisinart model. We all use them varying amts. Single DD doesn't use hers much because she doesn't cook much! Married with kids cooks french fries, chicken, etc in hers. We have used ours for pork tenderloins, rib eyes when grilling outside was not feasible due to weather, broccoli, green beans, radish slices to make chips, use it rarely as a toaster. It is great for recrisping carry out food after the ride home. Frozen pizzas cook nicely also. None of us have any other counter top appliances.

We go in spurts using ours but I would miss it if we go rid of it.

Full disclosure, the video that has me considering this purchase was showing how he makes french fries using 1 tsp of oil with a really large idaho potato. Fries are not an every day food around here but good, really crisp fries once in a while are one of life's pleasures - well, my life anyway. No, I would not buy one for indulging a few time/year and would need to find other uses.

Our regular big oven has a convection setting but it gets little use. I roasted a chicken a time or two on convection but the mess is not worth it. We also have this Oster behemoth in a quasi outdoor kitchen set-up that gets a ton of use - I don't ever use my inside big oven once the AC is on so any baking/roasting in warm months is outside to keep the heat out. But I find myself using it pretty much all year round for just the two of us. It has a convection setting but the fan is on one side so not at all evenly distributed - have not been impressed but I may try it again. We also have a small toaster oven that lives in a cabinet and is used pretty regularly but it does not have a convection setting. And then there's the old fashioned toaster which lives on the counter and is used all the time. Despite the name I never find toaster ovens to be good at making toast.

The small interior space of an air fryer is what I 'assume' makes the magic with the air flow. You've all given me great info and a lot to think about. I really don't want another appliance and before purchasing I will try his ff method in the Oster and see if I can get close to his results. Thanks all <3

I think they should remove the word "fryer" from this appliance because of course people think "an air fryer is that it's just a healthier way to cook fried foods" but most people do not seem to use them that way. Moreover, I would guess that if you did use less fat, the "fried" food will not taste the same. The whole thing makes no sense to me, plus I loathe countertop appliances being out.

Convection cooking has been mentioned several times here. My oven has a convection setting and I've never used it, not once. Maybe because I have cooked my whole life without it. What's it good for?

DLM, if you get one and decide to make fries, you'll want to boil the sliced potatoes for 3-4 minutes with a little white vinegar in the water. Also look up double-fried French fries in the air fryer. That's the method I've been using. The goal is to get the fries as crisp as deep-frying them while keeping the insides fluffy.

Cleaning up after roasting chicken is very easy. Just wipe out the grease with a paper towel and wash as usual.

We have a convection oven and it does great, but the oven cavity is so large it is overkiill. We also have a toaster oven and if it breaks we might get convection version (though the round type appliances I think may do an even better job). So we have a Ninja and it excels at a number of tasks. One weird thing is any type of now-soggy leftover takeway can be recrisped and heated quite well, even fries, fish and chicken. The roasted asparagus were quick and easy. I've yet to try chicken or other raw meats, but I may given them a try.

I really don't use it for traditional "frying" so to speak but I might try parboiling the potatoes the next time. I recently tried some frozen pastel de nata (portugese egg tarts at Costco) and they turned out superior to the oven method.... crispy crust, carmelized top, and done in less time. The instructions were on the box. That may be a hint to the real reason behind their popularity --- any frozen food that is supposed to be crisp is going to turn out better.

Regarding counter space: Put the appliance ”away” when not in use?

@A Mat - in some cases there isn't enough space in one's kitchen to put all the small appliances away.

All of my spaces to put an appliance away are taken up with other appliances that I have put away.

"Away" might be in the garage. Right now my new mandoline is stored in the so-called media cabinet under the tv.

I don't mind seeing small appliances on the counter, but I need certain areas of my counter free and clear for prep and/or staging space. Or just white space for my eye to rest.

I'm fortunate and have a good size kitchen and large pantry so storage is not an issue but I also don't have a ton of appliances - my KA mixer and toaster are the only ones allowed permanent counter space but even the toaster is tucked into an alcove and not on a working/prep area.

@Gooster & @Eileen the french fry method used that inspired all of this is to do a triple rinse on the sliced potatoes or until the water runs clear. Drain but don't bother drying, just shake off excess and put 1/2 the batch in the air fryer. 10 minutes at 385, remove to bowl, toss in 1 tsp of oil, salt or seasoning combo of choice then back in AF another 10 minutes at 385. Obviously I didn't taste them but they look fantastic - I like fries that are basically just short of burned! To me that's easier than parboiling and another thing to wash. But I'm going to give it a try doing this in the Oster next time we make burgers and see if that convection setting is up to the task.

We have a Cosori one and love it. It is great for cooking salmon. Cooks it to perfection very quickly with no added fat--just seasoning. We also use it to cook chicken breasts and it is superb for heating leftover pizza.. Also great for making homemade french fries. I often take tofu and bread it and then give it a light spray with pam and cook it in the air fryer. It is crisped to perfection with no frying. Ours even has bluetooth so we can be reminded on our phones when something is done.

We only have ours because our kids love theirs. We'll always have one now.

I have cooked: beef ribs, pork ribs, chicken parts, shrimp, ribeye steaks, vegetables.

Reheated pizza

I am not into pototae fries. But have done home cooked steak fries and sweet potato fries. YMWV.

Store purchased frozen foods: Tator tots for the grandkids, Asian foods such as dumplings, eggrolls egg rolls.Frozen pot pie.

I enjoy purchasing the counter top applicnaces. Some new foods to try, some new appliance to try, and opportunity to comment with experience.

I realize this not a cooking site, nor a cooking forum. This a forum for people to sit arounda table or in a living room. Reminds me of my Aunts.

I am CA.

DLM, I did try frying them raw the first time and they didn't get real crisp but I didn't dry them out in the fryer first. That might work.

I'm making fries and burgers tonight. I cut the fries a little thicker than 1/4". Boil 3-4 minutes with a teaspoon of white vinegar and salt. Drain and dry. I'm going to dry them in the air fryer this time--actually will let them brown a little as I'm going to count that as my first fry. Then I'll let them cool while I get the burgers ready. I'll then toss them with about two teaspoons of oil, salt, paprika, garlic and onion powder. Fry again at 385-400 until nicely browned. It may take closer to 15 minutes. I didn't get them brown enough the first two times I made them.

The other thing it does very well is chicken legs. I can't fry chicken to save my life. I tossed the legs with a little oil and seasoning but no flour. It came out so crusty and moist, you would've thought it was fried chicken.

I've had mine about 4 years. I like it! I mostly use it for reheating a burrito for instance...making it crispy. Or Kodiak French Toast sticks heat up nicely in it..or sweet potato fries. I just got a small one, 2qt. Click to see...I paid $20 on a Black Friday sale

I don't use it for as many things as I probably should because you have to adjust cooking temps and times and I know what I know adn it's habit after so many years.

This. I already have notes on the over times and temps for so many of my recipes - hard earned knowledge. I don't feel like experimenting all over again.

I know how to cook. I don't need a different way to help me make things I don't eat anyway.

It's not complicated. You use a meat thermometer or eyeball it just like you would with a regular oven.

DLM, I used 385 degrees tonight but fries really need 400 to crisp them.