Mini Oven or Air Fryer - what do you think?

I had the Lidl one and found it brilliant , but then moved house , no idea where it went ,
I have a double oven in the new house , I used the tiny oven occasionally , but living alone there were very few occasions to use the large oven
Then the Airfryer came on the scene , Daughter lent me hers , liked it got a basic large one drawer Airfryer and get on with it very well , it’s good for one person , I have made scones in it , did bacon and of course chicken and fish in breadcrumbs, it’s quick easy to clean and I cook a hot meal oftener
I think if I still had the Lidl one I wouldn’t have bothered
Daughter now has the larger Airfryer that is about the same size and layout as the Lidl one , but it was expensive , suits her better as there are two in her house
Hope that helps

Sage Smart Oven - efficient, economical, versatile

I bought the basic one drawer Lakeland air fryer, have just used it for the first time.

Chips (not frozen packet ones) came out really well, no smell in kitchen.

Tomorrow I will try sausage rolls for the GC 🤞

Think first about how many people you are likely to cook for. Then think about what kind of meals you like to cook. Do you have other cookers like a slow cooker?

If you're cooking for one or two and do mainly warm up meals one of the simpler air fryers might be enough. If you want to be able to slow cook/pressure cook as well maybe a more expensive slow cooker like a Ninja. Do you want to be able to cook whole chickens/hams? Maybe a larger oven with rotisserie? Do you ever cook a traditional Sunday lunch? You would need something a bit bigger than the average air fryer, maybe one of the small ovens.

Thank you for all the replies.

I think it depends on type of things you cook . I have an air fryer and even though I find it great , i find the basket on mine is a bit too small to cook much at a time , like you can in an oven . I use mine a lot for fish & chips , it’s such easy meal to make , hassle free . Apart from that I tend to use the hobs on my cooker , as cook lot of stir fry’s and rice ect .

I bought a set of trivets from Amazon to go with my small Air Fryer, also purchased from Amazon. This enables me to cook steak, or chops on top of the trivet with roasted vegetables below. Any green vegetables are then cooked on the hob. So I can make a roast dinner in about 20 minutes cooking time.
So much quicker and cheaper than the traditional way with an oven.
As Cheeseplantmad wrote, a lot of my meals are either salads or stir fries, I haven't used my oven since Easter 2022. I paid £60 recently to have it professionally cleaned and don't intend to use it again.

GrannyGravy13. I’ve got the Lidl one drawer air fryer and use it most days. A real bargain and super efficient, in my opinion. 😊

I have the Ninja A400. It can do everything an oven can do with twin drawers. So you can set two different items for different timings and temperatures and then synchronise them so both finish together. The only thing that can be restrictive is what you can fit into the drawers so best to go for the largest. In that I can bake 1 litre size tins for baking, and scones in both drawers, fish in one drawer and sweet potato chunks in another and so on. It cooks sausages better than any other method I have tried.

Ps to above. You usually need to set the options according to usual instructions but reduce the time and the temperature.

I have a Panasonic combination oven comprising oven, grill, and microwave and I wouldn't change it for an air fryer as I think they are just gimmicky.

Susie42 I disagree, my air fryer is not gimmicky. I do stir fries on the hob like others but I live on my own and mine has paid for itself twice over because I have not used my oven for 3 years. The time it took to heat up never mind cook anything. I can have a very good nutritious meal ready in under 30 minutes.

I do not want a Ninja because I have a slow cooker and a microwave and manage perfectly well.

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In Lidl today I saw this for £99.99 and decided to give it a go.
Wish me luck!

(I'm on holiday just now so won't be trying it till next week.)

Get a Remoska. It is so cheap to run and I do all my cooking in it.

NittWitt, you'll find that it quickly pays for itself. When I do, occasionally, use the main oven (due to many visitors at once) it just guzzles electricity. I'm really aware of my import (and export) figures since getting solar panels.