Air fryers have come into the limelight recently for their ability to cook foods in a healthier way, with less oil and less fat. One of the things that they’re best for is cooking a batch of lovely crispy chips!
So, if you’re someone who loves your chips and are looking for a healthier and easier way to cook them – this might help. I’ve put together the best 3 air fryers on the market, what they’re best for, and all their features and benefits.
Covered in this Article:
Best Overall Air Fryer For Chips
COSORI
This smart Wi-Fi Air Fryer by COSORI is very easy to use because it has ‘presets’ – push one button to tell it what to do, and it’ll do it.
It also allows you to choose your own temperature, from 75°c to 205°c, and cook time, from 1 to 60 minutes, for your personal recipes. The foods cooked in this COSORI Air-Fryer apparently contain up to 85% less fat than when they are cooked traditionally.
One of my personal favorite things about this air-fryer is that it is Wi-Fi and app-controlled, which allows you to schedule, adjust and monitor your fryer from anywhere.
You can schedule cook times up to 4 hours in advance, so if you’re someone who feels that they don’t have the energy (or time) to come home and cook after work, you can throw what you want in the air fryer before you leave, schedule the cooking time from the app and when you come home your dinner will be ready.
It works well for cooking both fresh and frozen chips, due to the adjustable temperature and pre-heat settings. It also tells you through the app when the preheating is done and reminds you when your chips need a shake so they’re perfectly crispy every time.
If you’re looking to fry something other than chips, the app also contains over 100 pre-programmed recipes to help you get started, and new recipes are added every week, from dinners to desserts (yes, desserts…. not tried this yet, but what’s not to like?)
The removable air fryer basket is non-stick so when frying you don’t have to add a ton of oil as you would with deep frying, just add 1 tablespoon of oil for the whole recipe. It’s also dishwasher safe so not only will you save time on cooking, but the washing up as well.
Pros:
- Smart features, including Wi-Fi and app controls
- Adjustable temperature and cook time for personal recipes
- 11 presets
- Intelligent monitoring, reminders when to shake food
- Ability to set the fryer going up to 4 hours in advance
- Removable, non-stick and dishwasher safe basket
- Touch screen
- 85% less fat than traditionally cooked foods
- Only 1 tablespoon of oil needed for a whole recipe
- 5.5L capacity
Cons:
- Some reviewers have said that this has a strong ‘plasticy’ smell that takes a while to go
Best Air Fryer For Frozen Chips
Tefal Easy Fry
This easy fry air fryer by Tefal is great for cooking frozen foods such as chips, waffles, and sausages, in half the time – as little as 12-15 minutes. Tefal have pretty much cornered the market in air fryers and it’s easy to see why. This is the one I use when I occasionally give in to my three boys’ endless requests for homemade chips.
It uses 3D air pulse technology to cook fried food that is delicious and crispy, with a small amount of oil compared to traditional frying.
It has adjustable temperature controls from 80°c to 200°c and also has an automatic shut-off feature once the food is cooked, meaning there’s no risk of overcooking and making it safe for a family home with small children. It has a digital touch screen that’s easy to read and 8 cooking settings too, including chips, pizza, and roast.
It has a removable basket and grid so you’ll have no trouble removing your food from the fryer, it also means that any excess oil drains to the bottom of the bowl for healthier results. The basket is also dishwasher safe.
Many reviewers have said that when comparing their frozen chips cooked in an oven to this, this wins every time. The chips are evenly cooked, crispy, and not the slightest bit soggy.
Pros:
- Cooks frozen chips with half the oil, in half the time
- Adjustable temperature controls
- Automatic shut off feature
- 8 cooking settings
- Easy to read digital display
- Touch screen
- Removable basket and grid
- Dishwasher safe basket
- Perfect for cooking frozen food
Cons:
- Reviewers have said that it doesn’t work well for fresh chips when compared to frozen, often leaving them soggy and unevenly cooked
Best Value Air Fryer For Chips
Duronic
This air fryer by Duronic is one of the best air fryers for chips, because instead of using a lot of oil to fry your fresh chips like a deep fat fryer, it produces the same results with little or no oil and 80% less fat.
You can set the temperature to anything from 80°c up to 200°c as well as the length of time, which counts down as you cook. It also opens at the front, rather than the top, which allows for easy storage as it’s more compact.
The large 4.5l capacity allows you to cook a whole meal at once. This is especially useful for those who have young children and don’t have much time to keep an eye on separate oven timings, just throw in your nuggets, fish fingers, or whatever you prefer, in with the chips and they’ll all cook at once. Plus, there’s less washing up to do after too.
Both the air fryer tray and the basket can be removed for ease of cleaning and they can either be hand-washed or thrown in the dishwasher.
It has an automatic shut-off safety feature once it’s finished cooking, making it safe to leave unattended. I also love that this air fryer comes with a book of delicious recipes for you to try to really get acquainted with the machine.
Reviewers have said that this works perfectly for both frozen and fresh chips, too.
Pros:
- Adjustable temperature range
- 4.5l capacity
- Can cook multiple things together
- Tray and basket can be removed and are dishwasher safe
- Automatic shut off safety feature
- Many reviewers have complimented this air fryer on its ability to cook both frozen and fresh chips
Cons:
- No pre-set settings
Do Air Fryers Make Good Chips?
Pretty much everyone who owns an air fryer seems to agree that yes, air fryers do make good chips! Air fryers use hot air and a small amount of oil to cook chips, with far less oil than your traditional chip fryer. This of course makes them a lot healthier for you, as it’s said that air-fried chips made contain up to 80% less fat. They’re still starchy carbs, of course, but if you’re going to eat them – why not make them that wee bit healthier?
However, there is a way to ensure that your homemade chips are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and that means you should remember to shake them throughout the cooking process.
Most people assume that when they get an air fryer they can just throw the chips in and they’ll be done, which is the case as they will be cooked and crispy. Nothing wrong with that, but, if you want really evenly cooked chips, then shaking them halfway through the cooking time will guarantee the best results.
I also suggest taking them out when they’re golden brown, rather than just when the timer says so.
Air fryers also make really good sweet potato fries. Due to the excess starch content in sweet potatoes, making crispy fries in your conventional oven is almost impossible unless you can get it mega hot- they come out limp and soggy. An air fryer can give you those restaurant-quality results, due to lower oil content and evenly distributed heat.
Can You Put Frozen Chips In An Air Fryer?
We all know that frozen chips are much more convenient when we have busy lives, as you can just buy a packet and keep them in the freezer for when they’re needed, so you’ll be glad to know that you can put frozen chips in an air fryer.
When cooking chips that are frozen in your traditional deep fat fryer, they taste great but they’ve been cooked in such a huge amount of oil that can make them greasy, as well as adding extra fat and calories that simply isn’t needed. Most people have no idea how to deep fry properly (or can’t measure the temperature) so the chips absorb a load of oil.
When preparing frozen chips in a conventional oven, you have to preheat the oven, spread them all out evenly on a baking tray, and flip them halfway through, only for them to not be as good as they would have been had you fried them.
That’s where an air fryer such as the ones mentioned above comes in. Not only does it give you the same results as a deep fryer with only one tablespoon of oil (at most), it cooks the chips in half the time than it would take cooking them in the oven. What’s not to love?
After reading this article, I hope that you found all the information you were looking for! Air fryers are a great investment for all sorts of meals, not just chips and there are plenty of air fryer recipes online to get you going. You’ll wish you’d bought one ages ago, especially if you have kids.