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Weve got the answer to what they are and how they work.
Plus, check out our top picks for the best air fryer along with healthy air-fryer recipes to try.
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An air fryer is a mini convection oven, in essence.
This countertop kitchen appliance and its pledge to make crispy, close-to-fried perfection sound promising.
Some can be smalltaking up about the same amount of counter space as toaster ovens.
Some areair fryer toaster ovencombos, too.
Read on to find out if an air fryer is right for your kitchen.
How Does an Air Fryer Work?
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The food goes into an air fryer basket and then it’s placed inside the appliance.
As a bonus, cooking in an air fryer can save you time and it makes cleanup easy.
Pictured Recipe:Air-Fryer Popcorn Shrimp
Is Air-Fried Food Healthy?
There are only 40 calories per teaspoon of oil (120 calories per tablespoon).
The little bit of oil you do add helps brown and caramelize everything for extra crispy and delicious results.
What Can You Cook in an Air Fryer?
French fries, chicken wings orair-fried chicken nuggetsand tenders are a possibility, as areair-fried chickenbreasts and thighs.
Pictured Recipe:Cornflake Air-Fryer Chicken Nuggets
Makecrispy air-fryer french frieswith white potatoes orsweet potatoes.
Whip uphomemade air-fryer veggie chipsfrom beets or potatoesor go the sweet route and make apple chips.
Even vegetables, like theseair-fryer Brussels sprouts, can get the crispy, high-heat treatment with delicious results.
It can tackle dessert, too: think fried hand pies and petite doughnut holes.
What Is the Best Air Fryer to Buy?
Our Test Kitchen has tested air fryers several times.
In total, we’ve tested 23 air fryers.
We then took a smaller group of winners and tested them on baked goods, fruit and breaded protein.
Afterward, one machine came out on top as our Best Overall.
This air fryer is great for beginners and seasoned cooks alike.
We found the nonstick, dishwasher-safe fry basket and crisper tray easy to clean up.
