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Aldi's sell out air fryer is BACK and it's £110 less than a Ninja – how to get yours
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Aldi's sell out air fryer, which costs £110 less than a Ninja, will be in stores next week but you'll have to be quick. It's already sold out online and last time it went on sale, it crashed Aldi's website and caused bigger queues than Glastonbury! But don't worry if you don't manage to get one, you can try one of these fab alternatives instead.
Shoppers, get ready. Aldi's must-have product – a dupe of the Ninja Dual Air Fryer – is BACK! And it's a fraction of the price of the original,
The popular kitchen gadget became available for pre-order on the discount retailer's website on the 12 April, but won't be back in stores for another week.
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At £110 less than the popular Ninja version, Aldi's double air fryer is hugely cost-effective, can cook up two different types of food simultaneously AND will feed a large family.
How to buy it: The exact date it's in stores
Sad news if you're looking to pick up yours online – the £89.99 Ambiano Duel Basket Air Fryer sold out on the Aldi website within hours.
All is not lost, however, as the must-have double air fryer will still be available to buy from stores from next Sunday, 23 April. But if you want one, you'd better get in fast, as they're likely to sell out in stores in double-quick time too.
What's so good about Aldi's Air Fryer?
Ideal for family cooking, the Ambiano Dual Basket Air Fryer can fry, bake, grill, roast and even dehydrate! It has 2 heating elements and motors designed to cook 2 different foods simultaneously.
The double air fryer also features a digital touch screen, 7 cooking pre-sets and a 'keep warm' function.
Last November customers actually crashed the Aldi website before the fryer sold out.
Dozens were reporting that they couldn't get on the site, with others sharing that there were thousands in the virtual queue ahead of them.
Although there were several who managed to grab one, many reported being made to wait in a queue.
One shopper likened the wait to trying to purchase Glastonbury tickets:
'All you cool kids trying to get Glastonbury tickets this morning and struggling with website crashes, whilst I’ve hit peak mid-30s, online since 8 am to try and get an air fryer that went on sale today in Aldi and which sold out in minutes. This is my life now!'
And no doubt there were similar scenes over the weekend with the air fryer now listed as 'sold out online'.
But if you can't get your hands on Aldi's version don't fear, try one of these fab alternatives instead!
The best air fryers for families
It's the latest kitchen gadget that everyone LOVES. If you haven't got an air fryer yet, you're bound to have heard friends going on (and on, and on) about them.
But just why are they so great, and which air fryers is the best one to buy?
What is an air fryer?
An air fryer is similar to a small oven. It roasts, bakes and cooks your food by ‘frying’ it in a tiny amount of oil (as little as a teaspoon), oil spray or even no oil at all, using hot, circulating air to create a satisfying crunch.
The food goes into a compartment that can easily be pulled out, so it’s really easy to use (and most compartments are dishwasher safe, too).
Most air fryers have settings for different types of food including fish, vegetables, onion rings, chicken and of course chips and even cakes. They use much less energy than an oven as they're smaller, heat up fast and cook food quickly, so can help save on bills. (We've also discovered this great hack on cleaning air fryers in a snap.)
As well as family meals, they're great for heating up small portions of baby foods or meals for the kids, too.
Quiet Mark Certified Lakeland Digital Compact Air Fryer £74.99
Best for: Quiet running
A machine specifically designed to be quiet, this is a small model that’s great for smaller families and easy to store, yet large enough to cope with all kinds of food from vegetables to chips.
When you plug it in, a touchscreen lights up and gives you various options and temperatures, plus pre-set options for meat or chicken.
Using just one teaspoon of oil, it can cook up to 450g of chips and it can ‘bake’ too. With five pre-programmed functions – it also has a manual option for when you’re confident of its uses.
Read our full review of the Lakeland Digital Compact Air Fryer.
Tower Xpress Pro Vortx T17039 5-in-1 11L Digital Air Fryer Oven £98.99
Best for: Cooking a whole chicken
This, amazingly, has a rotisserie function that offers a spit and handle to cook a whole chicken in under one hour. It’s a generous fryer that’s good for larger families, so storage is a bit more of an issue unless you have counter space.
It has three shelves inside, so you can potentially cook up to three things at a time and has pre-set programmes for specific foods.
There's an easy to use digital control panel with automatic switch-off, plus it has a safety function to prevent overheating and a 60-minute manual timer. It has a detachable non-stick oil tank and the trays can be removed and are dishwasher friendly.
Breville Halo 5.5L Digital Air Fryer, £103.96
Best for: Family meals
Using 360-degree air circulation, this large machine can feed the whole family with its 5.5 litre basket. It has five pre-set functions to get you started plus you can tweak times and temperatures as you get used to how it works.
It can grill, air fry, bake, sauté and roast and the large basket comes with a divider so you can cook two things at once. It needs very little oil to make things crispy. It has an easy to use digital screen and an audible alert when your food is ready.
Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK £129
Best for: Multi-functional use
Using little to no oil, this has four functions; roast, air fry, dehydrate and reheat, so you can use it for chips and also for things like drying fruit and veg.
It has dishwasher safe parts and the 3.7 litre basket has a non-stock coating and a crisper plate for truly crunchy foods. It is noisier that some models but that’s not a problem if you don’t have an open-plan home and it is a nice size that can be easily stored or will look sleek on a countertop.
It’s very easy and intuitive to use and you can switch between modes for perfect food – for example, switch from roast to air fry for perfect roast potatoes.
Lakeland Digital Crisp EK4490P Air Fryer £59.99
Best for: Occasional use
This is a great machine for those new to air frying, or those who probably won’t use it often. It is small and easy to store in a cabinet, which is great for occasional use, though its plain look would mean it would also look fine on your work surfaces.
It’s pretty easy to use, with lights to show the power is on and with a temperature display and it has seven pre-set cooking functions. The temperature doesn’t go as high as with some models – only up to 200C, which may mean food isn’t as crispy as in other machines. It can cook up to 500g of chips in one go and is easy to clean.
Tefal ActiFry Genius+ £225
Best for: Batch cooking
This is an unusual shape that some will love, while others prefer something a little less unique! It has two cooking zones inside, which can be good if you’re using it for a couple of types of food – think of burgers and chips for example – and the lower zone is very generous, with a stirring paddle to ensure food is evenly cooked.
It holds over a kilogram of food, so it could be ideal if you like to batch cook. It has nine presets, though actually, the manufacturer claims there are up to 54 programmes when you combine length of cooking with temperature and the glass lid means you can see what’s happening inside. Tefal has a great recipe app for you to find new meals to cook in the air fryer and it promises to be 30% faster than similar models.
Dash Compact Air Fryer £145.74
Best for: Single meals
A small and compact machine that’s easy to store, this makes one portion of food and so is ideal for heating up baby food that you've frozen, or for nights in on your own when the kids are at a sleepover.
It comes with a dial timer on top that you use to determine the length of cooking time and temperature is also set with a dial – this means cooking times and options are a little limited though it does have a good maximum temperature of 200°C which will create crisp food. The style and colours will appeal to many.
Swan Retro Air Fryer £89.99
Best for: Budget buy
If your kitchen is full of 50s retro appliances, add one more with this vintage style air fryer that comes in black or blue. It’s simple to use as it only has one slider for the temperature, plus a dial for the cooking time and there’s an alert to tell you when the food is ready.
It copes with different types of food including, of course, chips and has a six litre capacity. The basket can be completely removed and although it can’t be put in the dishwasher, it's really easy to clean with no tricky corners to hide grease.
Innoteck Kitchen Pro £107.99
Best for: Large families
Easy to control thanks to pictorial guides, this has a good display that’s easy to see and you only need one button to operate it. There are eight presets for your favourite dishes. It’s a big beast and a multi-tasker, so if you want to experiment with lots of different ways of cooking healthily, this is for you! It is large though, so make sure you have a good spot for it to sit or a large cabinet to store it in.
The basket that you put your food into rotates, which makes sure everything is well cooked evenly and quickly. You can even cook things from frozen and you can fit a whole (though small) chicken inside which will soon be cooked by the rotisserie fitting – it takes around an hour. Not only does it fry, but it also roasts, dehydrates and slow cooks as well as baking and re-heating. It has a whopping 12 litre capacity and three racks inside, so you can cook several things at once.
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