This appliance nearly took the top spot in our air fryers test, but the Cosori Smart Wifi Air Fryer 5.8qt performed slightly better in terms of chicken wings and breaded chicken. The display is large and easy to read and the digital controls are intuitive to use. I’ve had good luck using air fryer recipes from some of my favorite blogs.
The best part about the rotisserie basket was that it continuously rotated the fries on its own, so we didn’t have to manually flip them halfway through the cooking process. For the record, I previously couldn’t commit to a basket style air fryer because it’s a single use kitchen appliances. I feared that it would take up space, not get used nearly often enough, and might not live up to its hype. I put all kitchen appliances through this test and most basket style air fryers don’t pass. If there had been a helpful manual included with the XL Dual, with appropriate and accurate cooking instructions, this air fryer would have been a home run.
It warmed up my macaroni and cheese lunch with ease, but there is one restriction. You won’t be able to adjust the temperature for your reheat cycle, only the time. That’s low enough to reheat your food without overcooking. It’s interesting that Instant chooses to market this as an air fryer, when it feels more like a toaster oven that can also air-fry. Bacon cooked on air fry was one of my favorite results in testing.
The little window is so convenient to easily see if your food is cooked without opening the basket. A recipe book is not included, but the Instant Pot website does have How-To Videos and as well as a good cooking time table and answers questions. There isn’t much instant vortex information on using the dehydrate feature, nor many recipes yet on the Instant Pot app or website but I expect they’re working on getting more recipes. Air fryers are popular because you can make quick, easy meals using 95% less oil and fat than deep frying.
You can easily remove the basket from the machine, and a built-in light lets you see what’s happening inside the oven without opening the drawer. I found the built-in light to be a helpful feature in the Instant Vortex, and in the Breville oven. Other fryers—like the Cosori, Dash, and Philips—lacked this handy light and were a little harder to use. The Instant Vortex is ideal for reheating leftovers like day-old french fries or mozzarella sticks. Just place the foods in the basket, select the air fry function, and fry at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on which food you choose. Based on my testing, the Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer is the best to cook food evenly and quickly.
Once the Vortex lit up with Add Food, we popped the chicken in making sure the spit was aligned properly in the cooking chamber. Once we shut the door, the preset instant pot duo nova timer then started its 40-minute countdown. To retrieve the chicken from the Vortex, we carefully used the fetch tool to grab onto each side of the spit.
If you’re already the proud owner of the Instant Pot, the two will also complement each other nicely. To be honest, this function was one of the bigger draws for instant pot duo nova me. I’ve been wanting a dehydrator for a while, but don’t have the storage space for a large machine and don’t want to dedicate that much counter space to it.
It’s good, but many food items (especially frozen foods) haven’t yet been tested in the air fryer so it doesn’t have all the answers. Yes, out of the box the Vortex® 6qt air fryer beeps when you touch any button, when preheating is done, when it’s time to turn the food, etc. Additionally, this air fryer pauses automatically when you open the basket. It will resume air frying once the basket is properly inserted again. Although it’s classified as a multi-use programmable air fryer, it doesn’t seem fair to stack the Instant Vortex Plus up against standard air fryers. However, if you’re looking for something that’s a little more straightforward—AKA minimal bells and whistles—there are some worthwhile choices.