We’ve tested 66 models and these are the best dual air fryers for family dinners
Air fryers have taken the world by storm, altering the way we cook and the quality of each meal. The very best air fryers can help you make all your favourite meals in less time and with less oil, making them healthier and just as delicious – like culinary sorcery. Just check out our cookery team's favourite air fryer recipes to see how versatile they are.
The best dual air fryers typically offer more cooking capacity and versatility. Whether you’re buying your very first air fryer to cope with busy family mealtimes, or you want to upgrade your current one to something with more space, you’re in the right place. Our Good Housekeeping Institute experts have analysed all our lab results to bring you the best dual air fryers for easy family dinners.
What is the best dual air fryer?
Check out our picks below and keep reading to find out why a dual air fryer could be the best choice for your kitchen.
What makes a dual basket air fryer so good?
Dual – or dual basket – air fryers offer more versatility than those with one drawer or single basket as you can cook different foods at the same time.
Some models will allow you to sync or match the drawers, so everything conveniently finishes cooking at the same time, no matter what temperature or duration the drawer is set to. This is something our testers take note of when trialling each model as it could mean the difference between serving up beautifully crunchy chips or floppy, lukewarm ones alongside your chicken.
Dual drawer air fryers that can be adjusted are typically highly rated by our team and could bring more flexibility to your kitchen. Those like our runner-up, Instant’s VersaZone Dual Air Fryer, can be switched from a dual to a single air fryer by simply removing the divider between the baskets.
In the case of the Instant model, this means you go from two independent 4.25-litre baskets to one extra-large 8.5-litre basket that can even cook a large roast chicken.
On the downside, dual air fryers are normally bulkier and wider, taking up more space on your countertop. Obviously, this may not be an issue for everyone – particularly if you’re planning on using your air fryer every day; however, it’s something to consider before buying.
In this list, you’ll also find two double-stacked air fryers. These are a relatively new design in the air fryer world and feature two drawers stacked on top of each other rather than side-by-side. This unique design offers the large capacity and versatility of regular dual air fryers but frees up more counter space (something that always feels like gold dust, after all).
How we test dual air fryers
Judging the best air fryers at the Good Housekeeping Institute is no small feat. In fact, our team of experts cook up a small feast to find the best ones.
Depending on the capacity of the fryer, they either roast a whole chicken or cook chicken Kyivs, monitoring how long it takes for the chicken to reach 75C. They then check (read: drool over and try) the results, looking for crispy, golden exteriors and juicy meat.
Chips are up next – these should be quick to cook and come out evenly-browned, crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. For dessert, they whip up some cupcakes, looking at whether the cakes come up well-risen and fluffy – the better baked and fluffier the cakes, the more efficient the air flow through the appliance.
Finally, our experts score each model on its performance, ease of use, design and instructions, considering things like whether the air fryer has safety features, dishwasher-safe accessories for easy cleaning, and detailed guidance to get you started. Everything is then compiled into one final score.
If you’re unsure whether a dual air fryer is right for you, we’ve got plenty more guides to check out. If you know you want a Ninja, head to our roundup of the best Ninja air fryers. And if you’re looking for value, you need our guide to the best cheap air fryers.
However, if you’re cooking for a family and know you need a dual-drawer, scroll on to find out which dual air fryer outperformed the rest in our lab.
Foodi AF400UK 9.5L Dual-Zone Air Fryer
Score: 95/100
The best dual basket model and our joint best air fryer overall, it’s hard to fault this impressive appliance. It aced nearly all our food tests, quickly delivering crispy chicken Kyivs and fluffy chips. The drawers can be synced too so everything finishes at the same time – a handy feature when you’re cooking a main and sides.
While its size offers versatility in what you can cook, it does mean it’s bulky and difficult to store away. If you’re planning on cooking with it regularly though, its modern, stylish design won’t look out of place on your kitchen counter. A worthy winner.
VersaZone Dual Air Fryer
Score: 94/100
While dual basket models are great for cooking multiple dishes at once, the capacity of the separate drawers can restrict what you can cook. That’s a problem this Instant model solves with its adjustable design, which can be switched to one large 8.5-litre cooking compartment when you need more space.
In our tests, we were able to comfortably fit a whole 1.3-kilogram chicken inside and the results were impressive – we’re talking crisp, browned skin and juicy meat in just 40 minutes. Bakers will be pleased to know it produced well-risen, textured cakes too. Just note, some were misshapen due to wells in the bottom plate creating an uneven cooking surface.
Across the board though, we found this a breeze to use and the handy reminder to flip the chips ensured they were crispy all over.
EK5728 Fuzion Dual Air Fryer
Score: 94/100
Like the model above, this Salter dual basket air fryer offers ultimate versatility thanks to its adjustable design. Simply remove the divider and you can transform your air fryer into an extra-large eight-litre model for cooking large dishes.
Speaking of which, our medium-sized rotisserie chicken roasted beautifully, scoring perfect marks in test. However, the air fryer only runs for a maximum of an hour, so you’ll need to reset if the cooking time is longer.
There’s no built-in pre-heat setting either, but that doesn’t bother us overly. The clear viewing window, intuitive controls and thorough instructions make this model smooth to operate from start to finish – even if you’re a beginner.
Vortex Plus Dual Air Fryer
Score: 94/100
Producing a juicy, well-browned roast chicken, this predecessor to the VersaZone above is still a reliable buy. The two drawers can be synced to finish at the same time (while cooking at different temperatures for different durations), making it super easy to prepare multiple dishes at once. Plus, testers found all the controls simple and intuitive to use.
A lack of cooking charts meant some guesswork was needed to nail the timings, but you can check in on your food through the viewing window to make sure it’s cooked to perfection.
Dual Zone Air Fryer
Score: 92/100
Handling all our food tests with ease, Cosori’s dual drawer air fryer would make an excellent addition to your kitchen. It’s one for the health-conscious too, as its baking plate drains fat and oil away from your food keeping everything nicely crispy.
Among the eight presets, there’s a grill setting, which added a real crunch to macaroni cheese in just five minutes, as well as a bake function that delivered perfect, well-risen cupcakes.
The drawers are too small to fit a whole chicken, and the controls sometimes need a firmer press to be responsive but otherwise, it’s a well-designed, versatile air fryer.
Dual Basket Air Fryer
Score: 91/100
Sleek and stylish, this air fryer features one six-litre and one three-litre drawer, making it ideal for whipping up a main and side in one go. Testers were thoroughly impressed by its ability to air fry a small chicken in less than hour, which, when cut, was juicy, moist and well-cooked all the way through.
Chips were slightly less impressive, with uneven browning across the batch, but they still came out fluffy with a crisp exterior. Getting food out was tricky as there’s no removable basket but the exterior remained cool to the touch throughout, while dishwasher-safe accessories made clean-up trouble-free.
Double Stack XL
Score: 90/100
This stacked dual basket air fryer is a bit of a game-changer for anyone short on kitchen counter space. It boasts a 9.4-litre capacity with ‘Match’ and ‘Sync’ functions to link the two drawers. Both were easy to programme and the indicator lights showing which preset has been selected proved helpful in testing.
You can split the two drawers further to create four cooking sections, but our experts found this wasn’t as effective as the normal set-up – our fish fingers and chips had an uneven finish on the first attempt. Just using the two drawers though, the air fryer delivered super juicy chicken and crispy chips from frozen.
Actuate Range Split Draw Air Fryer
Score: 89/100
This is another vertically stacked dual air fryer like the Ninja model above, but it offers an even larger capacity at 11 litres. Our chicken cooked nicely, coming out evenly browned and flavoursome, as did our cupcakes, which rose well and were light, fluffy and moist on the inside.
We even managed to fit two small pizzas in the bottom drawer, which came out beautifully crisp after 20 minutes on the bake setting. Just note, we had to increase the duration on some programmes when both drawers were in use, to ensure the food was fully cooked.
Halo Flexi Air Fryer
Score: 88/100
Scoring near perfect marks for both chicken and chips, this is a reliable family air fryer that’s sure to upgrade mealtimes. It features a handy removable divider that transforms the two x 5.5-litre drawers into one large 11-litre compartment, offering more flexibility. Even so, it was tight to fit a 1.3-kilogram chicken in.
We liked the viewing window for checking on our food, as well as the helpful ‘beep’ reminder that tells you to flip your food halfway through the cooking time. The included trays scratched easily in testing, so you’ll need to be careful when handwashing, but we liked the storage space underneath to keep all the accessories neat and tidy.
EK4750BLK Dual Air Fryer
Score: 87/100
With a 7.4-litre capacity, this Salter air fryer is nicely compact and would suit smaller families looking for the ease of a dual basket model. It comes with a food chart that shows weights, times and preparation tips for different foods – handy if you’re new to air frying – plus you can fall back on the six pre-set functions if you get stuck.
Keen bakers, listen up: our cupcakes came out light and fluffy with a perfect texture. Performance dipped when it came to our chips, with some coming our greasy and soft, while others were well-browned and crispy. We appreciated that it was quiet in use, though.
9L Vortx Vizion Dual Basket Air Fryer T17100
Score: 83/100
This model has clear windows so you can keep an eye on your dish while it cooks – and you’ll want to use it for roasts, as our chicken was near-perfect on test, coming out golden-brown, juicy and flavoursome.
Our chips were mixed, however, with some emerging greasy and underdone. We found this was because one drawer performed better than the other, which is something to keep in mind when cooking. Its drawer syncing feature worked well though, and its controls are intuitive. It’s a reliable pick for cooking a whole meal in one go.
Dual Zone Air fryer ExpertFry
Score: 82/100
This model’s nine automatic cooking functions are quick and easy to set thanks to the clear symbols on the interface. Everything from chips to vegetables is included and our testers found it easy to adjust and amend the cooking times after selecting.
Our chips came out beautifully cooked, albeit five minutes quicker than the guidelines, and cupcakes were well-risen yet overdone in places. A viewing window is a missed add-on here that would’ve been helpful for checking our food’s progress.
That aside, the ability to sync the drawers is a real bonus and the ‘keep warm’ function will ensure dinner isn’t ruined if you’re not quite ready to serve.
Dual Air Fryer Oven
Score: 78/100
A simple interface makes this air fryer a breeze to use and quick to get to grips with. There’s a decent selection of 10 pre-set programmes and we liked having the two viewing windows so we could check in on our food without opening the door.
Despite the 11-litre total capacity, the dual drawers limit what you can fit inside. On test, we struggled to get a medium sized chicken into the basket, and it left some parts more cooked than others. For air frying portions of chips though, it’s a reliable buy, scoring almost full marks for crispy, yet fluffy results.
The verdict on the best dual air fryer
It was difficult to fault the Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone Air Fryer in testing and it’s a best-seller with Good Housekeeping readers for a reason. If you’re looking for a reliable family air fryer, look no further.
If you want something with more flexibility though, opt for either Instant’s VersaZone model or Salter’s Fuzion dual air fryer. Both feature removable dividers and come in at an affordable price tag for the capacity they offer.
For those tight on space, Ninja’s Double Stack air fryer will be a welcome addition to your kitchen. It ticks all the boxes for a dual drawer model but takes up less space with its stacked design.
Why you should trust the Good Housekeeping Institute
Having reviewed nearly 70 air fryers, there’s very little our testing team doesn’t know about what makes them tick, and what ‘best’ looks like. Our homes writer, Megan Geall, spends a lot of time researching the latest releases, attending product launches and catching up with market-leading brands to ensure our buying guides are always up to date with the best products.
The Good Housekeeping Institute has been testing household products for over 100 years and leans on all this expertise when analysing the latest innovations at our testing facility. Our experts follow rigorous protocols to hold each air fryer to the same high standards, so you can shop with confidence.
You Might Also Like
