If you’re considering buying an air fryer, the Instant Vortex Plus has several features to recommend it. Its ClearCook window is the obvious selling point but the OdourErase technology means that your house never need smell of fried food again. Plus, its EvenCrisp system gives you brilliantly crispy results.
Things that heat relatively well in the microwave do really well at the suggested 280º setting. Items like leftover pizza or french fries reheat really well at 375º. Accompanied with my oven safe, glass storage containers I see myself using this reheat function often.
Our tester did warn that it does take a little practice playing around with settings to get the perfect amount of doneness. We cooked French fries, chicken wings, and more, and tested out each appliance’s special features and additional functions beyond air frying. Each air fryer was rated on its ease of use, performance, versatility, ease of cleaning, and overall value. For the record, I previously couldn’t commit to a basket style air fryer because it’s a single use kitchen appliances. I feared that it would take up space, not get used nearly often enough, and might not live up to its hype.
Once the app was downloaded, we then found it fairly tricky to filter through the recipes, because it’s setup to provide ideas for all the different machines Instant makes. Fries recipe located and we were ready to get started. Setting up the is super low maintenance, with it pretty much being an unpack, plug-in and go sort of scenario. It’ll come packaged with things like the plug wrapped and the air fryer basket taped closed, but once you’ve removed that there’s little else to do. There are cheaper options than this Instant Vortex if you’re simply wanting a basic model without extra capacity or presets.
You can even slide the door off of the appliance to wipe it down. This has a 10-quart capacity, so you’ll have plenty of room when cooking for the whole family, although you’ll be somewhat limited in terms of the size of your rotisserie chicken. Our tester noted the inner pot has some upgraded features compared to other Instant Pot models, including side handles and a flat bottom for even cooking. It comes with a number of accessories, including a multi-use cooking rack, nonstick air fryer basket, dehydrate/broil tray, a protective pad for the lids, and a storage cover. The accessories fit inside the cooker for compact storage.
To be honest, this function was one of the bigger draws for me. I’ve been wanting a dehydrator for a while, but don’t have the storage space for a large machine and don’t want to dedicate that much counter space to it. Also, I’m not sure I’ll actually use it instant vortex enough to purchase one as a single use appliance. The one place the roast function does have the advantage is that it works with the rotisserie spit. You can air fry a whole chicken or a leg of lamb, or even try your hand at spit roasted chicken shawarma.
Then, in this review, we are talking about the 10-quart instant vortex Plus Oven Air Fryer with 7-in-1 cooking modes. Lining the bottom of an air fryer basket with foil may make cleanup easier and help you remove food from the basket when it’s done cooking. You’ll want to make sure the foil doesn’t block air circulation, though. If you want to try air frying, but don’t think you’ll do it often enough to justify investing in a more pricey model, the Chefman 3.7-Quart TurboFry Air Fryer is our budget pick. Its dome shape is compact to save counter space, but the basket easily fits enough food for several people. The black finish is sleek, and the matte model resists fingerprints so it’s easy to keep looking new.