Air fryers are popular because you can make quick, easy meals using 95% less oil and fat than deep frying. They’re basically small convection ovens that use a fan to circulate heat and instant pot duo nova air so your food crisps and cooks quickly without a lot of added fat. The sleek interface is angled slightly down towards the user, which mitigates glare, making it easier to read.
We also loved that it could deliver these results speedily. While it doesn’t have preset programs for air frying, it is exceptionally easy to use as the buttons are clear and the display isn’t cluttered with icons. During cooking, no spot on the exterior of this air fryer gets hot enough to cause a burn. The highest temperature that we recorded was 126.6°F on the lower-front side of the machine. Both the handle and the controls don’t get much warmer than room temperature. We measured a noise level of 66.5dB during heating, which is the loudest of the air fryers we had on test.
As the manufacturer claims you can cook 2 pounds of French fries, we cooked a whole bag at once. Yes, the basket could hold that much and cook them quickly, but they came out uneven with some overly crisped and others still soft and pale, so we wouldn’t recommend it for this. On our tests, we found that the Instant Pot 6 Quart Vortex 4 in 1 Air Fryer Oven performed best on brussels sprouts and frozen French fries. In fact, it was the only air fryer to score full marks for frozen French fries, needing just 15 minutes to cook.
In my tests to find the best air fryer, the Instant Vortex performed similarly to the best overall winner, the Ninja Air Fryer Max XL, but it’s slightly less versatile since it has fewer functions. Like the Ninja, it produced crispy yet tender chicken and golden brown french fries. In fact, it even holds slightly more food than the Ninja. The four preset options—air fry, bake, roast, and reheat—all performed perfectly. It is wider and heavier than the Ninja, which means it takes up more space on the countertop and is slightly less portable.
Throughout the testing process, we also considered elements like the provided manual, clean-up process, and ease of use. We washed the accessories in the dishwasher—as advised—and monitored them for any deterioration or other damages along the way. For performance, the Slim delivers exactly what we’ve come to expect from Instant Pot.
Lastly, I tried a slightly rogue test of frozen cinnamon rolls. I tried the bake setting at 320ºF / 160ºC for 15 minutes, resulting in fabulously flaky pastry with a moist middle. These Lemongrass Air Fryer Drumsticks are juicy, crispy, and packed with flavor. These moosoo air fryer chicken legs are butterflied to make it easier to eat and better for the marinade to stick which means extra flavor and less marinating time. Now, that’s a perfect recipe for your weekly recipe rotation. Easy to use, easy to clean, fast, versatile and convenient.
That’s low enough to reheat your food without overcooking. But overall, this machine worked effortlessly at roasting, crisping, and heating food. On the front of the air fryer is a handle that’s used to pull out the basket, which requires minimal fuss or force. Inside is a lift-out tray whose metal handle tucks in flush to the tray, meaning you don’t lose precious space in the center of the fryer as we’ve seen with some other models. The tray and basket are both dishwasher-friendly, too, making for fuss-free meals from start to finish. Having mostly tested larger air fryers, and as a single-person household, in particular, I was delighted to have the Instant Vortex Slim at my disposal.