Trying out an air fryer: what we cooked, what we loved, and what wasn’t worth it

We’ve seen the hype. Everyone and their nan seems to have an air fryer these days – but not us. We somehow managed to hold out from getting one.

So when we were sent a Salter VertiCook View air fryer to test, we wanted to see if it actually lives up to the buzz, and more importantly, if it can help save money, time, and stress at mealtimes.

We’ve been cooking pretty much everything in our stackable air fryer, from chicken to cookies, seeing what works well and what doesn’t.

Most meals were a hit. Others, not so much.

Here’s how it went…

Meals we tested in the air fryer

1. Homemade chips

We chopped up some spuds, gave them a splash of oil and a bit of seasoning.

Verdict: Brilliant. Crispy outside, fluffy inside. Tasted better than oven chips and cost less to make.

2. Frozen fish fingers

Very simply, take them straight from the freezer, into the air fryer.

Verdict: Quicker and crispier than the oven. Perfect for busy nights with the kids, especially as we don’t need to preheat the Salter VertiCook airfryer.

3. Whole roast chicken

Yes, a whole chicken!

Verdict: Juicy and cooked faster than the oven. Cost less in energy too. We generally save a roast for weekends when we have more time to cook, but it takes just an hour!

4. Sausage and veg tray bake

We threw in chopped peppers, onions, and potatoes with a few sausages.

Verdict: Really tasty. The veg caramelised nicely. One of our favourites.

5. Cheese toasties

Butter the outside, load up the middle, and air fry.

Verdict: Crispy on the outside, gooey in the middle – much better than using the grill.

6. Leftover roast pasties

Wrapped up roast leftovers in shortcrust pastry and cooked from cold.

Verdict: An absolute win. No soggy bottoms. Proper use-up meal.

7. Chicken fajitas

Chicken, seasoning, peppers and onions in and cook!

Verdict: Full meal, cooks in 15 mins. We’ll do this again.

8. Stuffed peppers

Tried a veggie night with couscous-filled peppers.

Verdict: Tasted great but needed more time than expected.

9. Cookies

Tried a few homemade cookie dough balls.

Verdict: Slightly uneven bake, but still tasty. Worth a go if you like soft cookies.

What surprised us

• The roast chicken blew us away – juicy, crispy skin, and done in an hour.
• Snacks are next level – frozen bits like onion rings and nuggets turn out better than the oven.
• Batch cooking works well – we prepped meatballs and stored half for later. Reheated beautifully.

What didn’t work so well?

• Overfilling the basket – things need space to crisp up, or they just seem to steam. However, the Salter VertiCook View air fryer comes with stainless-steel racks, which allows us to cook over 4 levels – there is so much room!
• The cookies – lovely flavour, but you’ve got to check them constantly.
• Saucy dishes – an air fryer isn’t ideal for anything with a lot of liquid, unless you use an oven-safe dish that fits inside. This covers a lot of the meals we’d usually eat, but we’re adapting quickly and using the air fryer to cook the meat and making a sauce separately on the hob (then mixing it together at the end).

Is it worth it?

If you’ve got the space for it and plan to use it a few times a week, then yes.

Each basket in the Salter VertiCook stackable air fryer is 4.5 litres and allows up to 4 levels of cooking.

We have quite a small kitchen and didn’t want another appliance on the counter, but the vertical design means it’s space-saving!

The air fryer used about half the energy of our standard oven for similar meals. That could save you quite a bit over a year, especially on meals like roast dinners or quick lunches.

Final thoughts

We didn’t think we’d use it this much, but after a few weeks, we’re genuinely converted.

It’s easy to clean, and the trays are dishwasher safe.

The Salter VertiCook View is fast to cook with, and perfect for quick meals when time’s tight.

If you’re trying to cut energy bills, avoid wasting leftovers, or just want dinner on the table faster, then an air fryer might be worth a look.

What should we try next?

Let us know your favourite air fryer recipes or tips in the comments.

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Thanks to Salter for gifting the Skint household this air fryer – we’re literally using it every day now!