What Is an Air Fryer, and Is It Actually Worth Buying?

An air fryer is a compact kitchen appliance that cooks food by circulating very hot air at high speed around food in a perforated basket, producing results similar to deep frying — crispy exterior, cooked interior — using little or no added oil. It's essentially a small, highly efficient convection oven, not a fryer in any meaningful sense. The name is marketing; the technology is hot-air convection cooking at close range.

What It Actually Does Well

Air fryers are genuinely excellent at a specific set of tasks — and only those tasks.

Chips and frozen food: The category's original killer use case. Air-fried chips cook faster than oven chips, come out crispier than oven-baked, and use dramatically less oil than deep-fried. Frozen food (chicken nuggets, fish fillets, spring rolls, onion rings) reheats faster and with a better texture than a microwave or standard oven.

Chicken: Chicken pieces (thighs, drumsticks, wings), breaded chicken, and marinated boneless cuts cook efficiently and come out with crispy skin or exterior without the mess of shallow frying.

Roasted vegetables: Faster than oven roasting for small quantities, with good caramelisation on root vegetables, broccoli, and peppers.

Reheating: The best reheating appliance available for foods that go soggy in a microwave — pizza, fried chicken, pastries, chips all reheat in an air fryer maintaining their original texture far better than any other method.

What It Doesn't Do Well

An air fryer is not a universal replacement for other cooking methods.

Large quantities: Most air fryer baskets hold enough for 2–3 portions — trying to cook a full family roast dinner in a single air fryer basket doesn't work. Dual-basket models help, but they're still not equivalent to a full oven's capacity for large quantities.

Boiling and steaming: Not possible in a standard air fryer — it's a dry-heat appliance.

Baking: Technically possible for some items (baked potatoes, small cakes), but inconsistent compared to a proper oven. The dry heat doesn't suit most baking that needs even, moderate heat without browning.

Anything with a lot of liquid: Sauces, soups, curries, stews — not suitable.

Is an Air Fryer Worth Buying?

For most UK households, yes — but with a specific use case in mind, not as a general-purpose cooking upgrade.

The honest case for an air fryer: if you regularly cook chips, chicken, frozen food, or want to reheat food better than a microwave, an air fryer genuinely improves those specific results. A £80–100 model from Ninja, Cosori, or a budget alternative from Tower does the job without requiring significant investment or kitchen reorganisation.

The case against is equally honest: if you rarely cook the things listed above, an air fryer will live in a cupboard unused within three months. It's not a "cook everything better" appliance — it's a "cook specific things faster and crispier" appliance.

Is an Air Fryer More Energy-Efficient Than an Oven?

For small quantities and short cooking times, yes meaningfully so. Air fryers typically use 1,200–1,800W and heat a small space instantly — no preheating, no maintaining temperature across a large oven cavity. A full fan oven uses 2,000–2,500W and takes 10–15 minutes to preheat before cooking even starts, then maintains that temperature across a much larger volume. For a portion of chips or a chicken breast, using an air fryer instead of a full oven represents genuine energy saving. For a full oven's worth of cooking — a roast with four sides — the comparison is less favourable.

How Hot Do Air Fryers Get?

Most consumer air fryers operate between 80°C and 200°C, with most cooking tasks using 180–200°C. Some models allow up to 230°C for extra-crispy results or specific searing tasks.

Is Air-Fried Food Healthier Than Oven-Baked?

Air frying uses less added oil than shallow frying or deep frying, which reduces the fat content of the final dish if oil was previously used. Compared to oven baking, the nutritional difference is negligible if you use similar amounts of oil in both cases — the texture difference is real, the health difference is modest. "Air fryers are healthy" is primarily a comparison to deep frying, not to other standard cooking methods.

For specific buying recommendations, see our Best Air Fryers UK 2026 guide and the Ninja vs Philips comparison.