Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

How to choose a good air fryer? A good air fryer is a convenient appliance that you can use to create traditionally deep fried foods without the added hassle of dealing with a deep fryer, or the added calories of all that oil. An air fryer is essentially a small countertop oven that heats up very quickly and blows hot air around the food to cook it evenly. A couple of good choices for an air fryer are the DREO and the Ninja AF101. Both of these provide a lot of value for the price, but when comparing the two, they perform quite differently. Features Difference Using these two air fryers is quite a bit different. The DREO has a beautiful top display that shows the time and temperature, while the Ninja has a small front display that switches between temp and time. The DREO also shuts off the fan when you pull out the basket to check or shake the food, while the Ninja keeps blowing. Also, the DREO is whisper quiet (about 55 decibels), whereas the Ninja is much noisier (about 70 decibels). On the counter, the Ninja is slightly larger than the DREO’s sleek, compact design. Cooking Results Comparing features and hardware user experience is fine, but the ultimate test of any cooking appliance is the food it can create. I tested several foods with these units running side-by-side, and here are the results. Steak The secret to a good steak is getting a nice sear on the outside while leaving the inside tender and juicy. My first pass with steak yielded OK results from both units, but was honestly a little lackluster. I ran both air fryers at 400° and started taking temperatures at 6 minutes. At that point, the Ninja was already to a medium-well temperature. The DREO ran for 8 minutes before reaching medium rare. The sear on both of these steaks was disappointing, but then I remembered that the DREO can go up to 450°, so I made another pass, and ended up with a much better steak. Since the Ninja has a lower temperature range, the DREO won this round easily. Brussels Sprouts I usually roast Brussels in the oven for half an hour. Both of the air fryers cooked these up in way less time. I set both air fryers to 390° for 15 minutes. At the halfway point, they were both done. In the case of the Ninja, they were over done. I think the Ninja is just more harsh on the food. The DREO had clearly better results for this side dish. Chicken and Broccoli Cooking chicken is similar to steak in that you want a good sear. The main difference is that you want to cook the chicken all the way through. I’m glad to say that both air fryers produced tasty and juicy chicken at 390° for only about 8 minutes. The broccoli default time on the DREO is 300° for 10 minutes, which produced great results for both the DREO and the Ninja. I’d say this dish was a tie between the two air fryers. Banana Chips One interesting feature for both machines is the dehydrate function. The Ninja has a bit of a leg up for this feature, because it comes with an extra rack so that you can lay out two layers of food to dehydrate, making the most of the small space in the 4 quart basket. After 10 hours at 135°, the bananas were still a bit chewy, but super sweet and tasty. I’d call it a draw between the two air fryers for this snack, also. Chicken Wings This dish was the ultimate test. The one and only reason I keep my deep fryer is to make Buffalo chicken wings. Deep frying provides a signature crispy skin with juicy, tender meat inside. For this test, I used the DREO chicken wing preset of 380° for 20 minutes. However, the Ninja can’t select 380°, because it changes in 15° increments for some reason, so I used 390° for 20 minutes. Here’s the final results without and with sauce. While the Ninja produced slightly crispier wings than the DREO, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with these results, so I did a follow up test with the DREO. I cooked this drumstick at 390° for 20 minutes, and then finished it at 450° for 3 minutes to crisp the skin. Once again, I didn’t repeat this with the Ninja, because it can not go above 400°. This was much closer to a deep fried wing, and with a little tinkering on the technique, I’m pretty sure I could put away my deep fryer for good. Conclusion With so many options on the market, it can be difficult to choose the air fryer that’s right for you. These two options are both highly rated on Amazon, but with a few days of hands-on use, it’s clear that the DREO just outstrips the Ninja AF101 at every turn. Its sleek design, quiet fan, and consistently better results make it a clear choice between these two, and it’s retail price of $89.99 compared to the Ninja’s $119.99 offers way more value.