What did people talk about before air fryers?
The humble kitchen appliance has emerged as the poster product du jour for energy efficiency, second only to the microwave in the amount of energy it requires to rustle up dinner.
As a nation, we’ve fallen in love with these countertop devices. According to data by Leatherhead Food Research, nearly a third of UK homes have an air fryer - which means two thirds are currently living without its crispy, low-oil charms. And we can’t have that.
How do air fryers work?
The gadgets use convection heat which, along with a super fast fan, pushes extremely hot air around the inside. This heat vortex ‘fries’ the food from all angles, resulting in high crunch yet super tender food - think fries, chicken wings and sausages, and that’s just for starters - all with little to no oil or added fats. In short, it legitimises all those foods you used to think of as ‘guilty pleasures’.
Because they’re smaller than an oven, they take less time to cook the food and practically zero pre-heating time, which means less time using electricity and more money left in your pocket.
Who makes the best air fryer in the UK?
There are plenty of big name electronics brands with their hand in the air fryer game, from Instant Pot and Philips to Tower and Tefal. One name that you’ll constantly see making Top Ten lists is Ninja Kitchen.
The brand specialises in high-tech kitchen appliances, and as well as straight up air fryers, they make multi cookers too. These machines take home cooking to the next level with extra functions like Pressure Cook, Air Fry, Grill, Bake, Dehydrate, Prove, Sear/Sauté, Steam, Slow Cook, Yoghurt, Steam Meals, Steam Air Fry, Steam Bake, Steam Bread and Steam Roast. They come with pre-sets to make them simple to use straight out of the box, so easy that even novice cooks can use them with ease.
They’re bulky machines and not particularly pretty to look at (although a few enterprising souls have created custom wrap decals to give them a bit of oomph), but for the time they’ll save you in the kitchen and the sheer variety of cooking techniques on offer, you’ll come to love them as dearly as though they were your firstborn.
How many air fryers does Ninja make?
As well as the single-use ones and the multicookers, Ninja offers air fry functions in its health grills, plus the Ninja Speedi Rapid Cooker and the Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker. That’s a lot of air fryer technology but each in specialised machines to suit various homes so there’s one out there with your name on it.
Because there’s a whole extended family of air frying machines, we’ve done a run-down of them all, starting with the latest launches.
Best Ninja Kitchen air fryers at a glance
See the best air fryers from Ninja and what they do below
Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker
Best for: BBQ Kings and Queens
Ninja's Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker combines the high-crunch, low-fat charms of air frying with another cooking method favourite - barbecuing.
Using real wood pellets, the machine can flavour all sorts of meats and veggies in the smoker, alongside six other cooking functions - including air fry. It’s made to be used outdoors but the 1.6m power cord will mean you need to stick pretty close to mains power, unless you’ve got a generator for camping trips.
Still, for big entertainers and throwers of garden parties it’s a gizmo that can do all your cooking for you. No more to-ing and fro-ing to the kitchen and hauling trays out of the oven: the Woodfire can sizzle sausages, crisp chicken wings and make pork ribs extra tender, all in one machine. Once it’s done with that, it can make sides like potato wedges and charred corn too.
Most persuasive review?: “This grill is SO much less faff than a bbq, its so much easier and quicker to clean which is a big deal to me as I hate the clean up after a bbq. It’s quicker to heat, safer to use, has more control (no more food charred on the outside and raw on the inside) and more cooking options than any other outdoor cooking option I know of.”
Buy now £349.00, Ninja
Ninja Speedi Rapid Cooker
Best for: busy and hungry workers
You may as well uninstall your oven and microwave with this bad boy sitting on your kitchen counter. Ninja’s Speedi is the fastest machine the brand offers, whipping up meal in just 15 minutes.
What really sets it apart from its competitors is that you can stack raw ingredients - protein, grain, veg - on top of each other and using steam and convection heat wizardry, it’ll cook the entire meal in one pot. One pot to serve, one pot to wash. It practically sells itself.
You can steam, steam air fry, steam bake, grill, air fry, bake, dehydrate, sear or sauté, and slow cook with the Speedi and it comes with a host of accessories to make cooking even easier and faster - as much as 20 per cent - which means less time switched on, less energy used, more money still in your bank account.
Buy now £229.99, Ninja
Ninja Air Fryer MAX AF160UK
Best for: families with small kids
To revel in total air frying glory, Ninja’s family-sized machine is the one to get on your countertop. The relatively small machine still offers plenty of bang for your buck, with six functions: Air Fry, Max Crisp, Bake, Roast, Dehydrate, and Reheat all with clearly marked buttons so you know exactly what you’re pressing.
Max Crisp is a great feature to use when you’re cooking straight from frozen, and there’s no need to pre-heat like you would with an oven either. In fact, it’s up to 50 per cent quicker than an oven and uses up to 75 per cent less fat than traditional deep frying methods.
The 5.2L pot can be removed for washing or stuck in the dishwasher for the ultimate in convenience. Less time slaving over a hot stove means more time doing other, more fun stuff - and that can only be a good thing.
Buy now £129.00, Amazon
Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK
Best for: single person households
A smaller version of the above, this 3.8L air frying machine is better suited to smaller households with one or two people. It offers slightly fewer functions, four instead of six, missing out baking and Max Crisp, so something to bear in mind if you’re keen on those. Most homes will be able to get just fine on the four: Air fry, Roast, Reheat, Dehydrate.
Buy now £100.00, Currys
Ninja Foodi MAX Pro Health Grill, Flat Plate & Air Fryer AG651UK
Best for: everyday meals for up to six people
Whether you’ve got a big family to feed or love hosting get-togethers, Ninja will change the way you cook forever with its mighty Health Grill. Its USP is that it has two interchangeable grill plates: a Powered one for making BBQ favourites indoors - think steak, halloumi skewers, burgers and chicken. The smooth Flat Plate, meanwhile, is ideal for more delicate ingredients, such as seafood, fish fillets, and sliced veg.
You can cook with it open or closed, although closed is best for better crisping: Cyclonic Air Technology pushes 260°C heat around every surface of your food, giving that fried effect without any of the oil - or guilt. There’s also a Digital Cooking Probe included so you can always monitor your ingredients without feeling chained to the machine.
As well as starters, mains and sides, the Health Grill can also do desserts like brownies, cookies and pancakes. It’s a fine example of Ninja’s ingenuinety - you’ll honestly wonder how you got by without one.
Buy now £238.99, John Lewis
Ninja Foodi MAX Health Grill & Air Fryer AG551UK
Best for: nuclear families and flatshares
Slightly lighter and smaller than its big sister, the AG651UK, this model is the middle child in Ninja’s Health Grill line-up. It has one less feature than the larger model (no flat plate here), but with so many other functions, you’ll barely miss it.
For those for love a good grilling and want sides lighter in oil to go with them, this machine delivers big. With air fry technology integrated, there’s no need to lift the lid and flip your food either, although there is a digital cooking probe to ensure everything is cooked to perfection.
Monitor and change the cooking mode via the LED screen on the front. This, along with pre-sets, means the MAX grill really couldn’t be easier to use.
From healthier Sunday roasts to making nuturious fruit snacks by way of the dehydrating function, the AG551UK is worth its weight in gold.
Buy now £226.62, Amazon
Ninja Foodi Health Grill & Air Fryer AG301UK
Best for: health-conscious city slickers
This downsized health grill is ideal for people living on their own or couples, combining air frying technology with the health grill to whip up lip-smacking dinners with practically no effort on your part.
Air frying means, when the lid is closed, your meat and veggies will get 360 degrees of searing, eliminating the need to flip midway.
This means you can simply add your ingredients, add the timer and function and let the Foodi Health Grill get on with its thing, coming back to a perfectly made dinner, like magic. The grill function is perfect if you don’t have outdoor space for a BBQ, giving that delicious flame-grilled taste straight from frozen.
You can even make desserts in this thing, much to the delight of anyone with a sweet tooth. From apple tarts to tasty bakes, it’s yours for the taking.
Buy now £199.99, Currys
Ninja Foodi MAX 15-in-1 SmartLid Multi-Cooker with Smart Cook System 7.5L OL750UK
Best for: never using any of your other kitchen appliances again
Welcome to the Starship Enterprise. Well, not quite, but in kitchen gadget terms - almost. This beast of a machine will leave your other kitchen appliances weeping in the dust because it does everything. From a range of steam cooking methods (including steam roast!) to specialist baking settings and even making yoghurt, the Foodi MAX makes master chefs out of the most rudimentary home cooks.
The 7.5L pot, coated with nano-ceramic for easier cleaning, is big enough to hold a 3kg chicken, which means you can keep your oven free for the trimmings. Activate steam roast, and the bird will be ready in around half an hour. Compare that to standard cooking times, and you’ll soon see how investing in this multicooker can save you a wedge of cash in the long run.
It can grill burgers and whip up the bread buns to encase them in too. Fancy coming home to a ready-cooked dinner? Turn on the slow cook mode before you leave the house or get hearty meals on the table quicker by getting familiar with the pressure cooking feature.
Granted, this machine looks a little daunting on your countertops, but once you learn how to use it, you’ll never want to be without it. Just make sure you’ve plenty of space for it and its accessories before purchasing.
Buy now £320.00, Argos
Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 SmartLid Multi-Cooker 6L OL550UK
Best for: small kitchen wizardry and big appetites
Just like its bigger sister, this Multi-Cooker offers an array of modes to help you get dinner on the table in double time. In fact, use the pressure cooking feature and it’ll cut the time by up to 70 per cent.
This is a good option for smaller households and can serve up to four portions, with a Combi-Steam mode that uses steam with convection cooking to make food deliciously crispy on the outside and succulent and juicy inside.
The dimensions are ever so slightly smaller here as is the weight, something to consider if space is tight and every centimetre counts.
Buy now £261.35, Amazon
Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 Multifunction Oven DT200UK
Best for: serving up big portions quickly
One of the main draws of an air fryer is that they don’t take up too much room, but if you’ve space in your kitchen for this unit - you’ll be handsomely rewarded. This oven offers ten cooking functions with options like pizza, bagel and whole roast setting it apart from the rest of Ninja’s air-frying line-up.
There are two shelves to use; the wire rack can accommodate a 12-inch pizza while the roast rack has space for a 5.5kg turkey.
Unlike an oven it won’t require installation, and is about the same size as a microwave so it will take up crucial countertop real estate. But if you’re entertaining or cooking often, the oven will allow you to spend more time with friends and family and less time slaving away in the kitchen.
There’s also the Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 Flip Mini Oven SP101UK for £199.99 which is slightly smaller with two less functions but better for cosy kitchens.
Was: £269.99
Buy now £249.00, Amazon
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer- AF300UK
Best for: picky eaters in the same household
There’s no second place here; Ninja’s double compartment air fryer allows you to cook your dishes in two ways but finish at the same time. Or you can make double the food at once and feed your friends and family all in one go, particularly helpful for parties and big events like Christmas dinner or summer BBQs.
Buy now £149.00, Ninja
NINJA Double Stack XL SL400UKWH Air Fryer - White
Best for: double dinner magic
We love our air fryers, but often it's a case of the beauty lying within. Typically offered in black or grey, air fryers aren't usually going to win any beauty contests.
It seems like one of the UK's biggest brands has been paying attention to this, because Ninja Kitchen has released an all-white collection that will fit in more seamlessly with kitchen palettes. What’s more, it’s been given the Marco Pierre White seal of approval, and if it’s good enough for the celebrated chef, who are we to argue?
This double-stack Ninja air fryer comes with two cooking baskets with a combined capacity of 9.5L. There are six preset functions and you can set both zones to finish cooking at the same time, even if they're at different modes or temperatures. It means dinner will be ready at the same time - no letting the chips go cold while waiting for the nuggets to cook.
Sold with a two-year guarantee.
Buy now £269.99, Currys
