Air fryers have greatly impacted the kitchen appliance industry since they are the new fad and preferred cooking mode over traditional convection ovens. Most people enjoy fried foods, but since the extra oil can be dangerous to your health, an air fryer will allow you to cook healthier foods by removing at least 80% of cooking fat from your food.
What is an Air Fryer?
An air fryer is a compact unit that helps you prepare crispy fried food with little or no oil, and it doesn't fry food but operates as a convection oven by moving hot air around your food through a fan. Thanks to the air hitting your food from all sides, the food will give you a crispy texture that you like in fried delicacies. In addition, since it works like a convection oven, you can use your air fryer to grill, bake, and roast foods.
Notably, only the best air fryer will be able to give you the best results, and since there are too many kitchen technologies in the current market, it can be a great investment to research well before making your purchase. Below, we will help you understand more about fryers, and we have listed the ideal air fryers under $100 with their pro and cons and have also listed a buying guide to help you navigate the buying process.
1. Instant Vortex Plus 7-in-1 Air Fryer Oven
- Air fryers give you all the flavor of deep-fried cooking, without...
- Air fryer with 7 built-in smart programs, including: bake, roast,...
- 1-step EvenCrisp TechnologyTM allows you to achieve a crispy...
- Get a deep-fried flavor with little to no oil for healthy and...
- The Instant Vortex Plus air fryer oven circulates super-hot air...
Instant Vortex air fryer ovens are among the best hot air fryers oven oilless cookers that will give you all the flavor of frying without the oil and the mess. It is built with seven built-in smart programs, including dehydrate, broil, bake, roast, reheat, and air dispenser. In addition, it uses a one-step EvenCrisp Technology that allows you to get a tender inside and a crispy outside with a guaranteed deliciousness.
Instant Vortex air fryer oven is the best air fryer with a 10-quart capacity and needs no preheating time, and it allows you to grill and roast dinner within half the time a conventional oven would do. These electric hot air fryers can fit both the cooking trays simultaneously to make multiple meals simultaneously and feature an LED touch screen with adjustable temperature control. The basket of the oven oilless cooker is dishwasher friendly, meaning it's easy to clean, and the drip pan, forks, rotisserie spit, and cooking trays.
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2. GoWISE USA 1700-Watt 5.8-QT 8-in-1 Digital Air Fryer
- Enjoy your favorite food without the extra calories. This air...
- Sleek and modern look with advanced touch screen menu. Take the...
- Featuring a new start/stop button to change time and temperature...
- Includes recipe book: This recipe book is filled with 50 recipes...
- Customer obsessed and committed to 100% satisfaction, all GoWISE...
GoWISE USA 1700-Watt, 5.8-quart fryer is a convenient and compact option for people looking for a space-efficient unit and is available in four colors to suit your taste. The fryer allows you to cook food in the temperature range of 180 to 400 °F giving total control over the food being cooked with a power rating of 1350-watts and weighing just 11.6 pounds. In addition, it includes a non-stick FDA certified and PFOA-free pan and a cool-touch handle making it easy to use and convenient.
GoWISE USA 5.8 quart air fryer has a digital display on the front of your unit. It ensures power and safety efficiency thanks to the auto-shutoff feature that shuts the unit off when you remove the basket from your air fryer or when the timer goes off. The digital screen of the fryer comes with eight presets, including french fries, chicken, pork, fish, warm shrimp, steak, and cake that come in handy when you want these common delicacies. The instruction guide also gives you a recipe book for meat, poultry, muffins, and meat.
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3. Ninja Air Fryer with 4-Quart Capacity
- Now enjoy guilt free food; Air fry with up to 75 percent less fat...
- Wide temperature range: 105 degree Fahrenheit to 400 degrees...
- 4 quart ceramic coated nonstick basket and crisper plate fit 2...
- The unit will need time to preheat before coming up to...
- Dehydrate: Create flat, chip like dehydrated foods for fun,...
Ninja air-fryer is an all-around air fryer under $100 that operates easily and gives you a wide range of temperatures. It can fry with temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit, reducing frying fat by 75%. The air fry unit has a four quarts capacity adequate for frying foods for a small number of people, making it a suitable fryer for a small family, for example, two pounds of french fries. It comes with a 2.6 feet long cord length that is enough for most uses, and you can also use it to reheat food if you don't have a microwave.
Ninja AF101 air fryer comes with a multi-layer rack, a ceramic-coated crisper plate, a small recipe book including about 20 recipes, and the basket that you put the food has a ceramic coat. This basket allows you to cook with better heating, and the food will absorb heat readily. In addition, the 4-quart capacity air fryer has dishwasher safe parts, and therefore you can just put them into the dishwasher, saving you time, but you may have to remove some pieces and bits stuck to the plate or rack.
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4. COSORI Air Fryer
- CUT DOWN 85% OIL :With 360° rapid heat circulation technology,...
- ENJOY MEALS IN MINUTES: This air fryer cooks with...
- 9 EASY FUNCTIONS: 9 one-touch cooking functions on a tempered...
- COMPACT BUT SUITABLE CAPACITY : It can hold 5-quarts of cooking...
- DISHWASHER SAFE: With a nonstick basket, made without BPA and...
COSORI Air Fryer is a 3.7-quart electric air fryer that includes a keep warm feature that maintains the meal fresh for consumption and an automatic shut-off feature that prevents overheating your food. It has a digital screen with a preset option on the control panel with temperature control that makes preheating quick, and it's an excellent choice for a small family of about three people.
COSORI 3.7-quart Air Fryer includes a recipe book with 100 recipes inside, and with quick-cooking, the unit will air-fry faster than the traditional convection ovens and is 85% less fat, making it an ideal gift for health-conscious health friends. Additionally, the rapid air technology to bake, steam, and air fry include an easy-to-clean nonstick basket that is PFOA-free, BPA-free, and dishwasher safe.
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5. Black Decker Purify 2-Liter Air Fryer,
- 2L Capacity - The 2-liter (about 8-cup) air-frying basket fits...
- Qucik and easy cleanup - The nonstick cooking surfaces release...
- Variable Temperature Control and Indicator Lights - The...
- Guilt-Free Results - Circulating hot air adds a crispy touch to...
- Included Components: (1) Deep Fryer, (1) Dishwasher-Safe Basket
Black Decker fryer has a compact and stylish design with a reasonable price, and the brand name is familiar to anyone who likes smart kitchen items. The digital air fryer has special convection fans and a heating coil that can create 175F to 400°F super-hot temperatures, circulating the basket and your food, giving an oilless fry. It also has two indicator lights, with one light showing when powered on and another working when it reaches the pre-heat level.
Black Decker's black and stainless steel fryer has a two-liter frying dishwasher-safe basket that is enough for either one or two person's meals, and it can easily be cleaned after every use. Additionally, the basket separator is dishwasher friendly, and the air fryer's handle is heat resistant and will keep you from danger when cooking.
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What are the Health Benefits of an Air Fryer?
Scientifically, it has been proven that air frying is healthier than deep-frying, and it can potentially cut the fat content by about 70%-90%. In addition, the cooking method can also help in removing other harmful effects of oil such as burnt fat or grease, and they have some health benefits too, including:
a). Promote Weight Loss
A high obesity rate has been directly linked to greasy foods because of the high calorie and high-fat content after they absorb oil. Switching to air-fried food could positively change your eating habits, and since they still simulate the taste of deep-frying food, you can enjoy it without increasing the carbs.
b). Reduces Disease Risk
Some severe health conditions such as physical tiredness or heart diseases have been caused by consuming greasy deep-fried food. However, you use an air fryer to start a healthier diet and reduce the risk of such health problems by a big margin.
c). Safer Than Deep Fryers
Deep frying your foods will mean submerging them in a tub of boiling oil, and it can pose a safety hazard to the cook. On the other hand, air fryers will cook internally. Therefore, there will be no risk of accidental touches or popping oil, but to be on the safe side, always read the instruction manual carefully to avoid any unwanted outcomes.
Factors to Consider Before Purchasing Air Fryer Under $100
1. Cooking Capacity
The capacity may be a non-issue for some people but may not be an issue, but it may be relevant. The greater the cooking capability you want, the bigger your appliance should be since the capacity is the amount of food an air fryer can cook at a go.
2. Cooking Speed
The cooking speed of your air fryer will depend on the power of the heating core, and therefore opting for an air fryer with a high wattage heating core will result in a faster cooking speed.
3. Control System
There are two systems in the market, one digital and another with manual features. The one with digital features allows you to set your cooking temperature and cooking time with an LED digital touchscreen. However, the manual fryers only have knobs to control. On the other hand, digital air fryers are quite expensive but may save you a lot of time and effort and pack multiple features to fry your favorite food with different programs.
4. Watts
Air fryers are available with different power watts, and they range between 800W and 1800W; the more wattage means, the higher the temperature can go, and the air fryer can reach a high heat level quickly. However, for high-level watts, you will pay lots of money.
5. Temperature Range
Whether the air fryer is for home or commercial use, it's important to consider the wide temperature range it can produce to fry your food quickly. Temperature ranges can be between 180°F and 400°F, but the costly units can create higher temperatures.
6. Cleaning Ease
The air fryer cooking basket and other cooking racks are not difficult to clean as you have to detach the basket from the handle and clean them using hot water and soap. Notably, some fryers feature a non-stick basket that is dishwasher safe, but handwash yields better results for cleaning a basket.
7. Safety feature
A safety feature like an auto shut-off feature in your air fryer is an important consideration that will help prevent your food from burning or overcooking while you are busy elsewhere. Also, some units feature a cool-touch handle that will ensure you don't get burned if not using gloves, and they are easily detachable from the basket when cleaning.
8. Free accessories
Some of these appliances come with free accessories while others don't, and this is not a major thing as you can purchase separately. Some of these accessories include a basket separator, pizza pan, frying basket, or baking cups, among many more.
Frequently Asked Questions on the Best Air Fryers under $100
1. What Can You Cook In the Best Air Fryer?
An air fryer will cook all foods as long as they are written in the instruction manuals with just a few drops of oil. One of the most efficient ways to use an air fryer under $100 is by cooking frozen food as you don't need to add any oil, and it will give you a delicious and crunchy outcome. Some fryers can also grill, bake, roast, and fry with the limitless potential of making savory dishes to yummy desserts similar to professional kitchen ovens.
2. Are Air Fryers Healthier Than Fryers?
Generally, fryers are healthier options for deep frying as air frying minimizes the amount of oil in your food and reduces grease burns. However, keep in mind that foods cooked in an air fryer are still fried foods, and therefore as much as they can help promote weight loss, they can still add weight and contribute to chronic diseases such as cancer, heart failure, or severe diabetes.
3. Can Aluminum Foil Be Used In An Air Fryer?
Yes, you can use some foil in the frying basket, and it's recommended to lay out the foil before you start cooking to avoid food bits sticking between the air holes. However, use only a small amount of foil on the basket's bottom as too much of the foil will obstruct airflow, and your food may come out still raw.
