While at one time the microwave was the kitchen hero we’d turn to at every given opportunity, it’s fair to say over the last few years, as their popularity’s continued to soar, it’s been all about the air fryer.

Owing to the hype around these coveted kitchen gadgets, you may already be fairly familiar with what makes them so appealing when it comes to home cooking. If not, here’s an abridged rundown...

By circulating blisteringly hot air around the food inside the basket, air fryers can rustle up crispy results with little to no oil, making them a healthier choice than deep or pan-frying and sometimes with speedier cooking times. They’re also typically more energy efficient and cost-effective than cooking in the oven.

With heftier and more swanky looking models being launched near enough every week and with no signs of air fryer interest fizzling out, super slick gadgets from the major kitchen appliance players like Ninja, Tower and Salter are now boasting wildly long lists of cooking functions and presets. But these bells and whistles don’t come cheap.

So, when we saw that George at Asda was selling an air fryer for £28 – and given many entry-level models will cost at least twice this much – naturally, we were curious as to whether it could be any good. Would we be better off paying a little more for something with more to offer? Keep reading to find out.

How we tested

Armed with frozen chips, vegan sausages, tofu and other foods we would usually fry or bung in the oven, we’ve been using Asda’s compact air fryer in our kitchen for over two months. We made sure to pay attention to how easy it was to use, how quickly and effectively it could cook a variety of foods, and importantly, how easy it was to clean.

Asda George black compact air fryer

Best: Value for money

Capacity : 1.5l

Dimensions : 31.5cm x 27cm x 27cm

Dishwasher safe?: Yes, basket and drip tray

Power : 900W

Design

Asda’s compact air fryer looks surprisingly sleek when out of the box, considering its price. Modest in size – perhaps no bigger than a small microwave in length – its footprint is no bigger than a side plate so should be easy to find space for on the countertop. The cord is fairly long (around 84cm) too, so you have some leeway there.

Ease of use

As far as air fryers go, Asda’s is somewhat foolproof. With no complicated settings to get to grips with, there are only two dials – one for setting the temperature and the other for the cooking time. There aren’t any cooking presets for specific foods though, a feature which you can expect as standard with pricier models. This wasn’t really an issue as there are times and temperatures for a few foods illustrated on the appliance itself, or you can just turn to Google.

After a five-minute heat up time, the process of opening, filling with food and then closing the basket is a fairly intuitive one. Push the button on top of the handle and the basket will lift away from the basket cage with ease. One qualm we did have here was that slotting the basket back into the cage could be quite fiddly. Sometimes it took us a few goes. There are no buttons to be pressed either, this really is extremely straightforward – just set the timer and you’re all set.

If you like precision in your kitchen then you may take issue with the dials you’ll need to use to set the temperature and cooking time. You have to eyeball it when it comes to lining up the arrow on the fryer with the correct increment on the dial. That being said, this never really seemed to be a problem when it came to cooking performance. In fact, it’s a minor issue that we think is probably worth overlooking.

Performance

While testing, we rustled up vegan chicken nuggets with crispy, golden brown results. Tenderstem broccoli, kale crisps, cubed tofu, falafel and more were all cooked through and with a crispy, fried-finish. Nothing we cooked stuck to the basket, so its non-stick abilities seemed to play their part well. Shaking the basket as often as possible (within reason, so perhaps every five minutes) went a long way when it comes to ensuring larger portions – thin chips, especially, were evenly cooked sans any singed edges.

In terms of energy efficiency, we’ll take the example of chunky chips, which we cooked from frozen at 200C for 20 minutes as per the manual’s suggestions. This is actually how long it would have taken in the oven, but given Asda’s air fryer power is 900W, comparatively low when it comes to what you’d use with most ovens, we’d say Asda’s air fryer is an energy efficient option.

With a 1.5l capacity which is roughly enough for two portions, you won’t be cooking for larger households with this air fryer. But if it’s just you, or you plus one, then you’re golden. A note on the size and shape of the basket – we did find it difficult to cook different foods next to each other. A small portion of chips and two sausages was a real squeeze.

We also ran into difficulty when trying to cook a few rashes of vegan bacon, before having to cut them up into short sections in order for them to fit, which made our bacon sandwich slightly less appealing. Happily though, we were able to fit three cupcakes into the basket comfortably, which came out perfectly cooked and golden brown.

Cleaning

Air fryer baskets and drawers are typically slightly inconvenient to clean, so we were pleased to find these can both go in the dishwasher. Asda does warn that this will affect the appearance of the basket over time, but you may not be too fussed about that. If you are, though, they’re easy enough to wipe round and clean with soap and water. When it comes to keeping the outside of the air fryer looking its best, we found that wiping it with a damp kitchen towel easily removed any greasy smudges.

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The verdict: Asda George black compact air fryer

For solo cooks who aren’t fussed about premium design, cooking presets or extra functions and are always strapped for space, Asda’s compact air fryer is an entry level model worth considering for your kitchen. Competitively priced, we found that it could easily replace our oven and frying pan when it came to simple, everyday cooking.

The five-minute heat-up time and intuitive (though very basic) controls make it a convenient choice, though the design could probably do with some finetuning. All things considered, Asda’s air fryer is brilliant value for money.

Looking for more convenient kitchen heroes? Read our roundup of the best slow cookers for energy efficient cooking