Best Air Fryer deals for October 2022

• Bella Pro Series 8-qt. — $70, was $130
• Bella Pro Series 12.6-qt. — $80, was $170
• Ninja Air Fryer — $90, was $120
• Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 8-qt. — $160, was $200
• Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 — $180, was $240

Bella Pro Series 8-quart Digital Air Fryer — $60, was $130

Why buy

• Easy to use
• Great pricing
• Simple cleaning
• Multifunction for different types of cooking

If you’re in a single-person household and don’t need a large, expensive air fryer, this 8-quart Bella model is a great option, especially since it’s budget-friendly. In fact, for such a cheap product, it’s surprisingly advanced, with a digital touch screen and nine different presets to pick from, making it pretty easy to use if you’re in a hurry or don’t have much cooking experience. It even has an auto-shutoff, which is a nice addition that really should be on all air fryers.

On the other hand, if you like cooking the Bella Pro Series air fryer heats from 180 degrees to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. With that temperature range, you can fry or cook pretty much anything you want, from potatoes to chicken. With its 1700 watt cooker, the Bella Pro preheats faster than many other fryers.  Fast preheating translated to less waiting time. The heat circulation system design delivers even airflow around all your food, so you’re less likely to have unevenly cooked meals.

When you’re done cooking, clean up is also pretty straightforward. The non-stick basket and crisping tray are both dishwasher safe, so you only need to give them a quick scrub before popping them in. The air fryer’s stainless steel exterior looks nice and is also relatively easy to clean — usually needing little more than a wipe down with a damp cloth. The Bella Pro Series 8-quart air fryer is a terrific choice for single users or a couple, since it’s easy to cook with and clean up. Most users won’t need anything more.

Bella Pro Series 12.6-quart — $80, was $170

Why buy

• Large capacity
• Easy to clean
• Multifunction
• Window allows you to monitor food as it’s cooking

The bigger cousin of the 8-quart version, the Bella Pro Series 12.6-quart air fryer is and excellent choice if you like to cook large portions or regularly feed more than two or three people. This Bella model is large enough to cook a 4-pound chicken and comes with a rotisserie holder, making the work easier for you. The Bella 12.6-quart Pro Series model can cook 2.2 pounds of fries or a 10-inch pizza, so it’s a versatile device regardless of what you want to cook.

With a wider temperature range than its 8-quart model, the Bella Pro Series 12.6-quart air fryer can cook with temperatures from 90 degrees Fahrenheit all the way up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This model shares the 8-quart version’s high-performance circular heat technology, although the heater is slightly weaker at 1,500W, so it’s not going to preheat as quickly. Slower preheating isn’t a dealbreaker if you’re going to cook recipes can take longer to cook. Other helpful features include 24-hour auto-shutoff — a great safety feature, 10 automatic cooking presets for you favorite meals, and rotisserie cooking.

Cleaning the Bella Pro Series 12.6-quart air fryer is simple. The included removable trays, baskets, and food holders are dishwasher safe, so you can pop them in. The Bella’s exterior is made of stainless steel, so it’s an easy wipe down. Sadly, the interior isn’t non-stick, so it might be a bit more difficult to clean, but assuming you don’t let the grease or oil rest for too long, it shouldn’t be too much extra work. Therefore, this slightly bigger version could take a bit more time to preheat and for cleanup, but its larger size and advanced features make it well worth the trade-offs.

Ninja Air Fryer — $120

Why buy

• Compact size
• Even cooking
• Simple set up and operation
• Easy to clean

The Ninja Air Fryer is considered an entry-level model, but it has sturdy construction and an aesthetically pleasing look. It’s also a great option for small households and should be enough to handle cooking for two, so it’s a great option for couples.

This model has only four cooking presets, but they are highly useful. You can set the cooking temperature range from 105 degrees to-400 degrees Fahrenheit, which helps do an excellent job crisping fries and chicken wings. The Ninja Air Fryer uses 75% less fat and oil than other fryers, according to the manufacturer. You’ll need just 1 tablespoon of oil for up to 1.1 pounds of chicken or 3 pounds of fries. The Ninja expels hot cooking air upward, rather than backward, which is more common, so you don’t need as much countertop space, making it a good choice for smaller kitchens. The Ninja Air Fryer also has a dehydrating option, a desirable food prep mode not found on all air fryers. You can also roast and reheat food.

Cleaning the Ninja Air Fryer is simple with its dishwasher-safe basket and crisper plate. The air fryer’s plastic outside is similarly easy to clean. There’s an automatic shut-off function, an important safety feature. The Ninja Air Fryer is great for a two-person household and anyone wanting something slightly fancier but still compact.

Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 8-quart 2-Basket Air Fryer — $200

Why buy

• Great for large households
• Excellent value for money
• Easy to use
• Can cook two foods at the same time

If you’ve looked at the air fryers above but you’re not sure they’ll meet your needs because they cook one dish at at time, the Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 8-quart 2-Basket Air Fryer will make you smile. This fryer from Ninja is not only larger than usual, , it has two separate 4-quart baskets that can cook independently. You can cook two different dishes or meals simultaneously, a convenient option when you’re cooking for a family. The included recipe book includes the approximate cooking times to finish two different dishes simultaneously, so you aren’t waiting around for one basket to finish cooking while the other one is cooling down.

This model has six different cooking modes: Air Fry, Air Broil, Roast, Bake, Reheat, and Dehydrate. The dehydrator feature is a favorite creating healthy snacks. It’s easy to pause each cooking basket independently without disturbing the other basket, a big significant factor when you’re cooking things that need constant heat.

As with most air fryers, this Ninja Foodi model is easy to clean with dishwasher-safe removable parts. The plastic exterior is also relatively easy to clean. The 8-quart Ninja Foodi 2-basket 6-in-1 air fryer is a excellent choice for a big family or people who enjoy cooking complex recipes that require different ingredients to cook at the same time.

Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 Digital Air Fry Oven — $180, was $240

Why buy

• Wide range of cooking options
• Large capacity
• Can be stored easily when not in use
• Has an internal light and window to monitor food

If you have a smaller apartment that doesn’t have an oven, this Ninja model come in handy, as it is an oven replacement as well as an air fryer. Even better, you can flip up the Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 Air Fry Oven to save counter space when you’re not using it. This Ninja’s internal capacity is huge and can fit a 12-inch pizza or six large chicken breasts. With this Ninja model you gain significant cooking and oven space for very little kitchen space — an excellent combination.

One positive  features of being able to flip up the oven is that it makes it easier to access the bottom panel to remove it and to clean the inside — much easier with this design than cleaning a traditional air fryer. The Ninja Foodi Air Fry Oven is a versatile multifunction cooker. You can use it for frying, toasting, or dehydrating as well as excellent cooking device, whether you are frying, toasting, or dehydrating foods. The 1,800 watts if power allows it to heat up in 60 seconds and cook foods faster than most other air fryers. Because you can use this Foodi model for toasting, it can save additional counter space because you won’t need a toaster.

With the rising popularity of air fryers, the variety of models on the market has grown to the point that choosing the best model for your needs can be confusing. The primary considerations in shopping for an air fryer are capacity, controls, added air frying features, and additional cooking functions.

In general, you’ll find air fryer baskets that range from about 3 quarts to 6 quarts. Smaller models are fine for a single person or a couple, or if you want to heat some wings and fries. If you’re going to be preparing dishes and full meals for a family with an air fryer, however, even if only once in a while, buy a larger model.

Air fryers with manual controls usually have two settings: Cooking temperature and cooking time. As long as you know the desired settings, turn the dials to the proper temperature and time and let it cook. Digital air fryers are usually easy to use, but they are more complicated than manual models. If the fryer you’re looking at also roasts, bakes, broils, dehydrates, and more, chances are it will have a digital control panel, often with several presets for various cooking modes or types of food. Taking a little time to read the manual can open up a wide range of cooking possibilities.

Single-purpose air fryers do one type of cooking: air frying. A multifunction air fryer is redundant if you already have a countertop full of other appliances, including a toaster, convection oven, and perhaps an indoor grill. If counter space is at a premium in your kitchen, a multifunction model is a smart buy because one appliance can serve several purposes. One common and desirable feature of air fryers is the ability to crisp the outside of food. Typically crisping is the last step in the air frying process and may require a separate add-on component. Because traditional deep-fried foods usually have crispy exteriors, an air fryer with a crisping function isn’t considered a multifunctional cooker. It’s just a complete air fryer.

As mentioned above, you can spend from $50 to $200 or more on air fryers. Larger models with digital controls and multiple cooking functions cost more than smaller air fryers with manual controls solely for air frying time and temperature.

Air fryers have become so popular in the past few years you wouldn’t be alone in thinking it’s a new cooking technology. The core technology for air frying has been used in cooking for more than 70 years. It was and still is called convection cooking. Air fryers and convection ovens cook food by using fans to circulate hot air.

While the underlying technology is identical, the implementation differs. For example, a simple air fryer usually resembles a squat cylinder. Convection ovens generally have a rectangular shape with a door that opens in the front to reveal one or more removable trays. Food cooked in a conventional air fryer sits on a rack on the bottom of a removable basket. You put food on trays or shelves to cook in convection ovens.

Convection ovens generally have a larger capacity than air fryers, so the ovens can hold more food to cook simultaneously. Because air fryers don’t have to fill as much space with hot moving air, air fryers usually cook food faster than convection ovens. Often, air fryers are louder than convection ovens because they use fans to circulate hot air around the cooking area.

You can find multifunction cookers that claim to be both air fryers and convection ovens. Based on the size and shape, you can tell which of the two variations on the same device more closely resembles. Both forms often have settings for baking, roasting, broiling, and dehydrating food, but at heart, they’re either an air fryer or a convection oven.

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