Best air fryers for a family of 4 to make dinner time healthier for everyone – put to the test

When it comes to the best air fryers for a family of 4, the leading brand has to be Ninja, and the Flex drawer is their largest model. With a whopping 10.4L capacity, it can be made into a divided drawer with two compartments or one large one. It also has seven cooking functions depending on how you want to cook your food, and you can make dinner knowing you’re using 45 per cent less energy than an oven.

Our tester, who enjoys cooking but often finds it too time-consuming, found using this Ninja air fryer was effortless and intuitive. The first test was homemade chips, which turned out crispy in just 10 minutes—much faster than the usual 25-30 minutes in a fan oven. Impressed, she went on to cook a variety of dishes, from crispy fish to roasted vegetables and chicken. However, adjusting to the quicker cooking times took some practice, as she occasionally misjudged the timings. Commenting on whether the Flexispace was a good feature, our tester said: "While I’m a huge fan of this air fryer unless you’re keen on regularly cooking large joints of meat or whole chicken, I find the separate drawers a little easier to cook with as you can simply empty the contents onto a plate."

Read our full review of the Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer AF500UK.

The Salter French-Door Style XL Air Fryer Oven is a versatile countertop appliance with French-style doors for easy access and monitoring cooking. Its divider converts the cooking space into two compartments, allowing for energy-efficient single-portion meals or simultaneous cooking of different foods. It has the capacity to feed a family and accommodate various dietary needs by keeping certain foods separate.

The appliance includes dishwasher-safe accessories like racks, baskets and even a rotisserie set. Its touchscreen control panel offers six pre-sets, manual settings and Sync/Match functions. Despite a slightly lower max temperature of 210°C compared to Ninja, it does what any dual air fryer does, plus more, and at around £100, it's a reasonable price.

Our tester found the Salter appliance to be a significant upgrade from other air fryers she had tested. It delivers crispier, evenly cooked food. In particular, the French doors make it easier to open and close, load and unload food than the usual air fryer drawers. Plus, spacious triple shelving makes it ideal for cooking lots of different types of food at once – great for a party. The only thing to watch out for is that food needs to rotate during cooking, as anything on the top shelf will brown much faster. Our tester highly recommends it as a convenient, feature-packed alternative to a traditional oven.

Read our full review of the Salter French-Door Style XL Air Fryer Oven.

Perfect for large households, the Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer is a versatile option, offering six cooking functions for effortless meal creation. From roasts to air-fried chips, allow Ninja to take care of your mealtimes with ease. With two independent cooking zones, this handy gadget allows you to cook different foods at different temperatures simultaneously. Cool, right? Whether it’s a whole chicken or a fillet of salmon with veggies, this kit has got you covered. Not only is clean-up a breeze, but the MATCH function will help if you’re in a rush to feed the kids. What did our tester think?

Our tester has owned her Ninja Max Dual Zone for around six months and uses it weekly – from snacks to lunch to evening meals. She even reheats food in her Ninja gadget, saying she bought an air fryer to cut down on the cooking time, and the results have been amazing (and so crispy). Even when reheating leftover KFC, this air fryer works its crispy magic. Not only does she love how easy it is to use, but clean-up is minimal. It’s her preferred appliance.

"Cooking in the oven can make the room uncomfortably warm,'" our tester says – and an air fryer is a great solution for summer meals as it “emits very little heat”. If your kitchen is part of your living space, an air fryer will certainly cut down oven heat spreading to your dinner party. However, she does have a suggestion to invest in some air fryer racks, which will “allow you to fit more items inside and ensure even cooking.” Making the most out of your air fryer space will elevate your meals. Plus, our tester suggests lining the bottom of your air fryer with foil for easy cleaning. Something bulky may not fit in the drawer, and without a rack, prepping meals for families may require cooking in batches.

Our tester loves to make cheese on toast, and it takes just five minutes in her air fryer: “You get crunchy, crispy toast with perfectly golden melted cheese on top.” Our tester admits that she bought this air fryer during a sale period, and though she was happy with her choice, she probably wouldn’t have made the purchase at full price. Having said that, she loves the design of her kitchen gadget – it's straightforward, simplifies cleaning, and the drawers are robust. Not only does it save time, but it can support healthier eating. “It lives up to its promises,” she says, as it reduces time, minimises oil and simplifies clean-up. She's even bought one for her parents, who are in their eighties...

The Cosori Dual Air Fryer is a game-changer for family meals. It has a generous 8.5L capacity and a sync function that allows different foods to finish cooking simultaneously. As our tester put it, "I often make kebabs, and now I can cook my daughter’s veggie ones in a separate drawer… the sync function means our meat ones can still be ready at the same time as hers." The pre-heat function enhances food quality rather than being inconvenient, providing a crisp finish. Our tester said, "I was surprised that it makes a difference… it does then give a nice crisp finish to things like crispy chilli beef, which my boys love." Though its large size may be a downside, this energy-efficient air fryer is easy to use and can help cut energy costs by up to 75% compared to a traditional oven—a big plus for budget-conscious families.

The drawers can operate independently, allowing for different temperatures and cooking times, but they can also be synced so that everything finishes cooking at the same time, which is particularly useful for family meals. The pre-heat function ensures that food gets a crispier finish, which is especially noticeable with dishes like crispy chilli beef. A built-in light inside the fryer allows you to check on your food without opening the drawer, helping to maintain even cooking. The fryer also features an optional shake/turn reminder, which is handy for ensuring that food is evenly cooked without the need for constant monitoring.

However, there are a few downsides. The fryer is very large, taking up a lot of counter space and making it difficult to store, especially for those with smaller kitchens. The power cord is quite short, limiting where you can place the air fryer unless you have a socket nearby. While the overall capacity is large, the baskets themselves are fairly narrow, which may make it tricky to cook bigger items or larger portions of certain foods.

Overall, the Cosori Dual Air Fryer is a versatile, efficient and user-friendly appliance that makes meal preparation easier for families. Its sync function, pre-heat feature and dual-drawer design make it stand out, despite its size and storage limitations. If you’re looking for a way to cook multiple dishes at once while saving energy, this air fryer is well worth considering.

Read our full review of the Cosori Dual Air Fryer.

The Ninja Double Stack XL is a streamlined air fryer with a 9.5L capacity, able to cook up to 1.5kg of roast chicken in each of its dual, independent drawers. It is energy-efficient, uses 55% less energy than an oven, and requires minimal oil for healthier cooking. The appliance features stacked meal racks, allowing you to cook multiple foods at once on separate levels without needing to shake or turn them. The sync function ensures two different foods finish cooking at the same time, while the match function standardises settings across both drawers. It's Ninja's newest air fryer and connects to The Ninja Pro Connect app, which gives live cooking updates and finish times on your phone.

Our tester appreciated the versatility of the Ninja Double Stack XL, especially the ability to divide the drawers into upper and lower areas with racks for cooking multiple foods simultaneously. She successfully prepared a complex meal and found the Sync function helpful for ensuring roast potatoes, and chicken was cooked at the same time. The Max Crisp function impressed with its high temperature (240°C), giving extra crispy results. Overall, she felt the design was a significant improvement, with a slimmer footprint and larger capacity, ideal for small kitchens or compact spaces. However, she noted uneven browning, especially at the back of the drawer, due to the position of the heating element.

Read our full review of the Ninja Double Stack XL air fryer.

We love how sleek and modern this Instant Vortex Plus Dual Drawer 8-in-1 Air Fryer looks, and our tester was highly impressed by its performance too. The intuitive touch-screen buttons make navigating its six settings easy, while SyncCook and SyncFinish allow both baskets to complete cooking at the same time. Though it’s a larger appliance, that’s expected for a dual air fryer. Also, like most air fryers, the control panel will show finger marks and stains – nothing a bit of white vinegar can't shift!

One standout feature is the progress bar display, which shows the cooking status from preheat to finish, alongside a message bar that provides helpful prompts like ‘add food’ and ‘turn food’ to ensure perfect results.

When cooking chicken in the appliance, our tester commented that the air fryer preheated quickly. Alerts were given to indicate when the chicken should be placed in the drawer and again at the halfway point as a reminder to turn it over. After just 15 minutes, perfectly crispy chicken was achieved on the outside while remaining tender and juicy inside.

As our tester shared: "In the time that I've had the air fryer, I've not turned on my actual oven once. I'm completely converted and I can't see myself going back."

Read our full review of the Vortex Plus Dual Drawer 8-in-1 Air Fryer.

Looking for a budget family-size air fryer? This Salter Dual Cook Pro Air Fryer features dual drawers, which allow you to batch-cook large quantities of ingredients or sync the drawers to finish cooking at the same time. For smaller portions, you can use just one drawer, making it easier to clean. Our tester said, "The Salter Dual Air Fryer is honestly so useful that I could potentially see myself not switching on an oven again."

She appreciated the Salter air fryer’s dual drawers, which allow for batch cooking or syncing so that food finishes at the same time. They found that using one drawer for small portions meant less cleaning. While experimenting with simple potato recipes, our tester discovered the cooking times in the recipe book weren’t always accurate, requiring some adjustments. She liked the air fryer’s auto-cooking functions for items like chicken, steak, fish, and more, but the manual settings gave more control. The deep drawers surprised them with their spaciousness. At around £100, the Salter Dual Air Fryer offers good value, though its size takes up value countertop space. Despite its bulk, the tester felt it was a worthwhile addition, helping to cook food quickly with less effort.

Read our full review of the Salter Dual Cook Pro Air Fryer.

If you're limited on space but still need the best air fryers for a family of 4, then this compact option is perfect for smaller worktops. This smaller air fryer is dishwasher safe, making it super easy to clean, and features an impressive nine cooking functions with a cooking book included to help inspire your dinner recipe ideas. What did our tester think of the COSORI?

Our tester was so impressed with the COSORI – she has used the air fryer almost daily since purchase. Though compact on the kitchen side, it has a decent internal capacity. Our tester says she uses her new kitchen gadget more (!) than her oven, which seems to be a theme with our testers…

Not only is it small, fitting under the counter, but it’s easy to use, too. We love COSORI’s digital display, which has easy-to-read programmes, temperature settings and more. Though our tester has lots of good to say, she does mention that it may not be the best option for larger families.

We think the COSORI could be a great choice to cut down on bills, come lunchtime or dinner. Just don’t expect to be able to air fry a whole roast dinner inside, like other models.

Our tester found it a good value model for those wanting to step into the world of air fryers. She found it compact but easy to use and clean. A fantastic introduction to air fryers.

For year-round cooking, this Ninja Woodfire Electric Outdoor Oven has been built to withstand the joys of UK weather. For effortless, flavourless meals, you can entertain your friends and family with this piece of kit. With eight cooking functions - from roasting to baking to smoking and pizza making - you can achieve the perfect char, smoky flavour and crispy textures that you can only dream of. We were lucky enough to test Ninja's answer to outdoor pizza and family-style cookouts:

Our tester has had the Woodfire for a little while now – and uses it regularly, from breakfasts to home-made pizzas and roast dinners al fresco. She comments: “You name it, it can do it.” A strong statement, indeed. Our tester says this Woodfire Oven from Ninja helps create fantastically fun evenings with loved ones. Everyone can get involved in making pizzas, which cook so quickly.

Though her initial purchase developed a problem, it was no problem for Ninja. She was able to return it and a replacement was sent out with no hassle. Our tester adds that if you’re on the fence about this outdoor air fryer, she highly recommends you just go for it. Not only will it be a great addition to your outdoor kitchen, but it can help create special memories when everyone gets involved.

She thinks it’s great value for money – coming complete with handy accessories. A self-professed “Ninjaholic”, she has been spreading the good word about this air fryer to her family and friends. It’s safe to say that she’s influenced more than a few people to take the plunge…