The 6 Best Large Capacity Air Fryers of 2023

Prepare family-size dinners and crowd-pleasing appetizers on your countertop.

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Food & Wine / Kristin Kempa

Air fryers have changed the game for people who love their crisp, crunchy food but want a healthier option than deep-frying in pools of oil. But with cooking functions beyond just air frying, like baking, roasting, and reheating, they can also stand in for other appliances, streamlining your meal prep process and keeping cleanup to a minimum. If you’re cooking for one or two people, a small or standard air fryer suffices, but if you’re preparing food for a family, a large-capacity air fryer saves you from having to cook one batch after another for a single meal.

Assessing size, design, performance, and more, we tested and researched the best large air fryers on the market, including dual-basket and combo options. Keep reading to learn which models earned a spot on our list.

Amazon

It's a cinch to use and clean, it performs well, and it's quiet.

Having a tray versus a basket isn't ideal.

Coming out as our overall winner, this air fryer by Instant Pot pairs "good performance with a decent price." It scored high in the ease of use category, with our testers noting that "a beginner would have no problem using this machine with what is provided" and highlighting the straightforward, easily operated display. While the food is cooking, you won't be disturbed by any loud whirrings since "the air fryer does not give off much in terms of sound from the air fryer fan." Featuring seven functions, there's a whole lot you can cook with this one appliance, including a rotisserie chicken (the appliance comes with a rotisserie spit, forks, fetch tool, and basket).

Since this air fryer uses a cooking tray rather than a basket, it can be trickier to hold and handle. "It's a little more difficult to shift things around because you don't want them to fall off the tray," our tester said. Instead, use your hands or tongs to flip your food and a towel or potholder when accessing the tray. But in the grand scheme of things, it's a low-hassle air fryer, especially considering that everything has a nonstick coating for easy cleanup and most parts are dishwasher-safe.

Price at time of publish: $150

Walmart

Offering high-level performance at a low price, the air fryer has a roomy cooking basket, and it's almost silent while in use.

The many buttons on the display panel might be overwhelming at first.

This air fryer may have the lowest price tag on our list, but it still earned high marks for its performance. "This air fryer is a steal," our tester said. "It's pretty remarkable that it has as many presets and features as it does, performs consistently well, and clocks in at under 50% of the average price."

Speaking of all the features: Our testers noted that the display panel with its 20-some touchscreen buttons seems like a lot at first glance, but with the help of the instructions manual, you’ll get the hang of things over time. It also may be a plus for people who prefer cooking with presets, enabling you to hit a button and let the appliance do the work. Another one of its best features? A tester noted that "the air fryer is almost silent while operating — you can barely hear the fan whirring." This air fryer has the smallest capacity of our picks, but at 6 quarts with a 4.5-inch deep basket, you can rest assured that it can still handle a whole chicken.

Price at time of publish: $100

Amazon

It has a thoughtful, user-friendly design and fat-removal technology.

Cleaning isn't as convenient as other options.

This air fryer received a perfect score from our testers when it came to its design, emphasizing the spacious basket able to fit big batches of food. "The basket's handle was comfortable to use while holding and shaking. It felt easy to keep your hands away from the hot inner basket, as there is enough space between it and the handle," one tester said. We also like that the digital controls on this air fryer are clear to read and understand.

One of the benefits of all air fryers is that you can use less oil while cooking, but this model takes it a step further with its "fat removal technology" designed to extract and capture excess fat from food. Unfortunately, there are no real special features besides that, and there are only five functions, which, yes, is still a lot for one device but less than others on our list. Another drawback to keep in mind is that the air fryer isn't the easiest to clean since the crisper plate isn't nonstick or dishwasher-safe. To end on a high note, there is a free accompanying app you can use to find hundreds of recipes.

Price at time of publish: $350

With this dual-basket air fryer, you can make two different dishes at once and get nice cooking results, regardless of what kind of food is in there.

Having two smaller baskets makes it harder to adjust the food inside.

With a dual-basket air fryer, you can cook two different foods simultaneously, making it easier to prepare a complete meal in one go instead of back-to-back batch cooking. For example, you can air fry chicken wings on one side while roasting vegetables on the other. This dual-basket air fryer adds to that convenience with its "Smart Finish" feature that syncs the cooking time of both baskets even with different temperatures and methods. Of course, you can still cook the same thing on both sides using the "Match Cook" button that copies settings across both baskets to make full use of this air fryer's large capacity. In all of our cooking tests, this air fryer produced food that was well-cooked with the right amount of crispiness. "There's really nothing you couldn't use this for," our tester said. "It is very versatile overall."

The trade-off with the dual basket capability is that each basket is 4 quarts, so you need to give it a little shake to shift around the food inside. "The handles are great with this particular model," one tester said. "Far enough from the surface to keep cool to the touch and very easy to shake with a solid construction."

Price at time of publish: $200

Amazon

It has 1800 watts of power, 10 cooking functions, and can fit many foods other models can't.

Because of its strong heat, you need to keep an eye on your food to prevent overcooking it.

With a 19-quart capacity, this is one massive air fryer toaster oven. You can fit a 12-inch pizza, an entire chicken, or six slices of bread inside, making it particularly suitable for large families. On top of that, this appliance can handle 10 different cooking functions, so even if it takes up more space on your countertop, it can replace multiple kitchen appliances.

Since the display is not backlit, one tester noted that "any user with vision issues might have greater difficulty reading." But this is offset by the fact that the display has a large font. Another caveat with this air fryer toaster oven is its almost too-powerful cooking performance. "It is very strong, so food would need to be checked frequently and begin with less cooking time than you might think you need," our tester said. Once you get the hang of this learning curve, you’ll appreciate the fast cooking times.

Price at time of publish: $250

Amazon

The versatile appliance offers basically every cooking function you could need.

The air frying function leaves something to be desired.

Looking at our top-ranking appliances, this air fryer pressure cooker combo wins on two fronts: It has the largest temperature range and contains the highest number of functions — 11 in total! In addition to its pressure cooking capability, this gadget offers other unique settings, like steam and sous vide, that you won't find in other air fryers. However, you may find that some cooking functions work better than others; unfortunately, the air frying method could be improved in terms of capacity, crisp level, and ease of use.

Adding to its versatility, this product is built with a removable inner pot that can actually be used on the stovetop. Moving it over there is a breeze thanks to the stay-cool silicone handles. If you’re looking for culinary inspiration, check out the manufacturer's free app featuring recipes and step-by-step instructions.

Price at time of publish: $270

Our top pick is the Instant Vortex Plus 10-Quart Air Fryer Oven because it offers great design, usability, and outstanding performance during our tests. For a value pick, we love the TaoTronics Air Fryer because of its balance of affordability, consistent results, and quiet operation.

To see how well the air fryers handled a variety of foods, we tested them by cooking frozen fries, fresh fries, Brussels sprouts, and chicken wings. During these tests, we noted the texture and doneness of the cooked food. We also assessed how easy it was to clean the appliance between tests. We then rated each air fryer based on ease of use, performance, design, ease of cleaning, and value. Our testers gave a score from 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest) in each of these categories.

Some air fryers have a single basket or tray while others have dual baskets. The former is useful if you like cooking larger portions of one thing or don't mind batch-cooking separate items. The latter are great if you prefer to cook multiple types of food at once and are okay with sacrificing a little bit of cooking capacity to do so. There are also air fryer combos that double as another appliance like an air fryer toaster oven or an air fryer pressure cooker. These have even more cooking functions than your standard air fryer.

Since the average air fryer falls between 3 and 6 quarts, we consider models with a capacity of 6 quarts and above as large-capacity air fryers. When deciding what size of air fryer you want, you should keep in mind how many people you’re feeding regularly or will be serving if you tend to host often. A family of four could make do with a 6-quart capacity, but with more people than that, you may want to look for something larger. It also helps to factor in the dimensions of the air fryer so you can see if you have enough space on your countertop to accommodate the appliance.

A good air fryer will have a wide temperature range, allowing for a greater variety of cooking methods, from dehydrating to broiling. The high end for most air fryers is around 400 or 450 degrees Fahrenheit, while the low end can differ quite a bit. For example, of the appliances on this list, the lowest temperature ranges from 70 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re not sure what temperatures you might need in the future, you can always just look at what cooking functions the appliance has to get an idea of how much you can or can't do.

Standard air fryers will have customizable settings for temperature and cooking time. Past that, you get into preset cooking programs for specific dishes (French fries, chicken, and fish are common ones). When these settings are available, you can just touch a button and let the appliance adjust to the right temperature and cook time for that food. Some dual-basket air fryers also have settings that synchronize the temperature and time between both sides so that two different programs finish at once.

Many large air fryers are in the 7- to 8-quart range, but you can find some that go up to 10, 12, or even over 20 quarts! Many of these extra-large air fryers double as toaster ovens or ovens, which is why there can be such a big difference in their size. Remember, that while a larger cooking capacity is great, you also have to be realistic about how much counter or cabinet space you have to store the appliance.

If you’re cooking for a family of six, a 7- or 8-quart air fryer should work just fine. Whether or not you need to cook food in batches will depend on what you’re cooking and the size of your portions. The capacity of an air fryer is what really matters when thinking of what size you need rather than its dimensions since that gives you a better idea of cooking space.

Air fryers with a capacity of 6 quarts or more should be able to cook a whole chicken as long as the cooking basket or the position of the cooking tray offers enough depth to fit the bird inside.

Cindy Brzostowski is a freelance writer and avid home cook who has previous experience in cookbook publishing. Her writing has been featured in Allrecipes, Blue Apron, The Kitchn, and EatingWell among other publications. For this article, she analyzed our testing insights and conducted market research to determine which large-capacity air fryers are worth the money.