It cooked those cutlets well, producing juicy interiors and golden, crisp exteriors, but the fries cooked a bit unevenly, with fries toward the outside crisping more quickly than those on the inside. Because this machine has a flip-top instant vortex design, we had to toss food using tongs, which mangled some fries in the process. As a multicooker, it was straightforward to use but delivered mushy pressure-cooked beans and slow-cooked beef stew with undercooked vegetables.
We have made many frozen foods in our Vortex® and they have all pretty much turned out perfectly. There is a Instant™ Vortex® Plus 4-quart Air Fryer which is much more comparable to the regular Ninja 4qt Air Fryer. Because it’s a “Plus” it has dehydrate and broil as standard settings. Instant™ has a number of 8-quart, 9-quart, and 10-quart Vortex® Air fryers.
I was able to find just one chicken under 5 pounds at my local grocery, and it was labeled 4.2 pounds (still technically too large for the weight limit). I removed the packaging, giblets and some extra fat, and the chicken’s final weight was 3.8 pounds. Small enough for the Vortex Plus, but not large enough to leave any leftovers for a family of four.
All air fryers contain a heating mechanism and fan that keeps the heated air circulating around the food. The VeSync app is a neat feature that lets you customize the onboard settings and run specialized cooking programs right from your phone. The problem is, the app can’t actually start the cooking process—you can use it to set all the options, but you still have to hit the physical start button on the machine. Overall, that’s a minor annoyance, and the app has an always-growing library of recipes for inspiration even without its smart features. The perforated basket liner and outer basket have a nonstick coating that makes cleanup easy (and they’re dishwasher-safe).
Our favourite feature of the Instant Vortex Plus is how smoothly the touch screen controls work. While its drawer has this satisfying depth, we didn’t find the overall design too bulky, unlike some we’ve tested. As there was no smart app or added extras to contend with, it was a simple matter of plugging it in and we were good to get cooking. Our experts choose, test and review the products you care about completely independently from any brand involvement. If you buy something through a link on our site, we may earn a commission.
Gadgets like this demand some countertop space, some investment in the initial outlay of cost and in learning its nuances of use, but this model repays in the quality of components and cooking results. It would be good if the brand acted on its own advice and kept sustainability more in mind when it comes to packaging, though. The chicken legs were moist on the inside and the skin was instant vortex crisp, but not overdone. We air fried chips in one basket at the same time as roasting chicken legs in the other, and didn’t feel like the scent permeated across the baskets. Two manuals came with the air fryer, one about safety and warranty and the other about getting started. At roughly 40cm across, it’s not the largest air fryer we’ve tested and also wasn’t particularly tall.
In terms of air fryer accessories made by Instant, there aren’t too many. From chicken nuggets in our school lunches to funnel cakes at the county fair, digging into a fried meal is a tasty endeavor. However, it’s no secret that fried foods aren’t doing any favors for your health.
The roast setting worked beautifully, turning out a whole roast chicken with a well-browned skin and juicy meat in just 50 minutes. As in other air fryers, the instant vortex bottom wasn’t crisped, but this is to be expected unless the chicken is rotated. Unfortunately, we didn’t notice much of a difference with this air fryer.
The third performance test I put all air fryers through is cooking a one-pound batch of fresh broccoli. Our engineers first judge an air fryer based on how easy it is to use the buttons or dials on the machine and the size and clarity of the lettering on the unit. Instant Pot is known for making some of the best air fryers, and the slim version of its Vortex product line completes the range. It offers a more compact option to the flagship Instant Vortex air fryer or the more enhanced Instant Vortex Plus air fryer by trimming back 20% of the bulk.