The average cook time in my best air fryer tests was 12.5 minutes, but the Instant Vortex Plus only needed 8 minutes to produce golden and crispy fries. The fries were evenly cooked and tasted great, not too dry and not too limp. One of the biggest downsides to many air fryers is the size of the basket. Most only have room for two chicken breasts or a couple of servings of fries (or the teeniest amount of zucchini chips). We were able to air fry a whole pound of chicken, as opposed to the usual half-pound other fryers can handle.
For best results, make sure to clean the basket and cooking tray with soap and water then dry thoroughly before the first use. Though the has fewer functions than some of the other products I tested, I found that the simplified functionality can actually be a positive for many novice home cooks. Many competing products boast a ton of extra features that actually perform the same task, and I like that this product keeps it simple.
I’m not a fan of wasting time or food, and I wish the directions were clearer on this front. The Instant Vortex Plus is a solid air fryer choice, as long as you’re willing to do some recipe research. There’s no reinvention of the wheel here and, personally, I don’t adore the shape and angle of the handle.
Unfortunately, the interface lighting isn’t as bright as some of the other options in our test suite, which can make it difficult to reach in certain lighting situations. The combination of the dial and digital button interface makes controlling the temperature and time of each basket straightforward. Each basket operates separately, but you can schedule both baskets to end simultaneously, which is a nice feature. The preheat, add food and shake segments offer easy-to-understand, real-time instructions. The Rotate mode turns a motor on the right side of the oven that can be used to turn the rotisserie spit or the air fry basket. However, the weight limit is just 4 pounds, and that’s smaller than most grocery store chickens.
When it came to testing the XL Dual model, we experienced similar results to the singular Vortex Plus model—with some disappointing differences. The Brussels sprouts cooked in the XL Dual had significantly inferior, undercooked results compared to the singular model. The ClearCook window allows you to monitor your food as it cooks—without letting heat escape.
Brussels sprouts came out nicely browned with crispy edges, frozen fries had a decadent crunch and melty interior, and bacon was browned and crunchy without getting burnt. The fried chicken and waffles were especially impressive; my family couldn’t believe those chicken thighs hadn’t been deep fried when I brought them to the dinner table. The Ultenic K10 is a bit more of a statement piece aesthetically and rings in a similar size and capacity to the instant pot duo nova Slim. It’s a little pricier but comes with more presets, a companion app, and other smart features. Unlike its siblings, the Instant Vortex Slim doesn’t have a ClearCook window through which you can watch your food cook.
Yeah, this sort of like that, but turned down a notch or two. The Instant Vortex has four pre-programmed settings to air fry, bake, roast and reheat similar to the Instant Pot’s seven settings. The caveat here is the Vortex only has eight buttons, four of which are those programs, plus Start, Cancel, Time and Temp. The dial in the center of the screen easily allows you to adjust the temperature in 5-degree intervals and the text is large and easy to read.
With rotisserie feature for perfect self-basting dishes, this spit will be a hit. Not like a traditional oven where the door face is cool to touch. Many people don’t like to cook with Teflon coating for various instant pot duo nova different reasons that I won’t get into here, but this is a drawback for some people. What is cool about this, is that halfway through your cook cycle, it will beep at you and tell you to flip your food.