Anonymous wrote:An air fryer cooks things in half (or more) of the time in the oven. Anything panko breaded comes out crispier. Same for potatoes (French fries and small potatoes). You really will notice a difference. I got one for Christmas, and didn't think I would use it all that much. Thought it would sit in the basement on a shelf. But then I tried it. Now it sits on the kitchen counter, and I use it probably 5-6 times a week on average. It is wonderful for weeknights. I have a Ninja Foodi which does more than just air fry, tho. I can pressure cook an entire rotisserie chicken in 20 minutes. But they are $5 at the bulk store, so I don't do that but I could.

+1 for faster than the oven and doesn't heat up the kitchen in summer. We have the instant pot, and we use the pressure cooker part several times a week and the air fryer several times a week, so it lives on our island.

I have a first generation one, the kind that looks like a big egg and basically just has a pair of dials, one for temp and one for time. A few months ago we got the kind that looks more like a toaster and after a couple of weeks we gave it to our daughter in college because it didn't work for us as well as the old one.

For me its strength are things that you toss in the oven between 350-450 and cook until crisp. It's fast, it's easy to clean, the food comes out nice and crispy, and it gives me space in my oven for other things (for example, I did sweet potato fries last night in the air fryer while the main course was in the oven at a different temperature.) It also is compact so I don't lose much of my counter.

I've not figured out how to use it for things I would otherwise deep fry. For example, in another thread someone talked about doing empanadas in an air fryer. I've tried and mine come out too tough. So for me, it doesn't meet that need but we rarely fry that way so it's not a big loss.

An air fryer cooks things in half (or more) of the time in the oven. Anything panko breaded comes out crispier. Same for potatoes (French fries and small potatoes). You really will notice a difference. I got one for Christmas, and didn't think I would use it all that much. Thought it would sit in the basement on a shelf. But then I tried it. Now it sits on the kitchen counter, and I use it probably 5-6 times a week on average. It is wonderful for weeknights. I have a Ninja Foodi which does more than just air fry, tho. I can pressure cook an entire rotisserie chicken in 20 minutes. But they are $5 at the bulk store, so I don't do that but I could.

Anonymous wrote:I bake bread in mine, with homemade dough. It takes about 15 minutes. And I use the same dough to make quick pizzas.

Also use it to reheat my homemade breakfast burritos. And for cooking samosas and onion bhajis.

It's great for finishing baked potatoes, and for making fries and potato wedges.

I also cook a whole chicken in the air-fryer. And mine (Cosori) has a fish setting that is great for cooking salmon.

Please share recipe for the different bread you’ve made!

I didn’t see the point either, but I ended up getting one last week. Was originally thinking for DH to do fries and chicken strips and the like for his lunch, but realized I could roast some veggies for my lunch, and salmon or other fish which DH doesn’t care for. Got a dual fryer and have ended up cooking supper in it 3-4 times. Meat and veggie or starch in fryer, and round it out with another item on the stove. I’m loving it.

Its a convection oven but you don't pre-heat. So oh crap I forgot to cook the brussels! And in they go for 10 min and done!

For premade stuff it’s great for crab cakes and chicken fingers and French fries.

One of our favorite recipes in it is chicken Parmesan. I like the NYT recipe that includes Parmesan cheese which really helps it crisp up.

I bake bread in mine, with homemade dough. It takes about 15 minutes. And I use the same dough to make quick pizzas.

Also use it to reheat my homemade breakfast burritos. And for cooking samosas and onion bhajis.

It's great for finishing baked potatoes, and for making fries and potato wedges.

I also cook a whole chicken in the air-fryer. And mine (Cosori) has a fish setting that is great for cooking salmon.

I'm with you OP. I got one as a gift and it takes up a lot of counter space. It's not big enough to cook a meal for a family of 4 in one go -- you end up cooking and serving in batches which is annoying. The only thing I like it for is one guilty pleasure: Those frozen rectangular hash browns that never come out right in the toaster or the oven are PERFECT in the air fryer. Yum.

It’s a convection oven.

I have a real convection oven and a 5 in one that serves as a microwave/air fryer/oven/etc. I use it for everything you’d put in a regular oven, and just adjust the time and power.

We love ours, but it just got recalled and we’re waiting on a replacement. Sad times without it. Here’s what we use it for:

Frozen food you want to be super crispy (fries, chicken nuggets, toaster strudel, waffles, etc.)

Food you want to cook quickly and/or have an easier clean-up (breakfast sausage, bacon, egg bites, etc.)

Leftovers to reheat without being gross/soggy from the microwave (pizza, chicken, fish)

Chicken thighs with super crispy skin

Roasted veggies when you need them done quickly (Brussels sprouts especially are better in the air fryer)

You're right, it's just a compact convection cooker. But people love it because it is small and a lot easier to clean. You can throw in frozen stuff you forgot to thaw and still get a reasonable product. It's for when you just don't feel like making a big production during the weekday after work and you have a small amount of time to cook, yet don't want to spend on takeout.

I think there is a big difference between the ones shaped like toaster ovens and the basket ones like the Cosori or new one from Instant Pot. The latter seem to work much better at getting things crisp.

I use mine all the time for roast salmon, vegetables and chicken wings, and also for reheating fried takeout foods. My absolute favorite thing is spring rolls. This is a good jumping off point for whatever filling you might like: https://ethnicspoon.com/cha-gio-vietnamese-spring-rolls/

I never wanted one. I don't really get into gadgets much. But I got one as a present. I cook almost everything in mine now. And I like that I can't mess things up. If I am making multiple dishes simultaneously, I throw the highest maintenance thing into the air fryer, because I don't have to babysit it and it almost never gets messed up.

Hamburgers
crabcakes
grilled chicken
panko breaded chicken
sweet potato fries
salmon
roasted baby potatoes
spicy crispy green beans
falafel
brussels sprouts
I even made veggie tempura in it before.

Bought a fancy one from Williams Sonoma and it’s sitting on the counter hardly being used. Seems just like a small oven to me. I made a few things-just like an oven. What is the big deal? I don’t get it.