If you frequently experiment, you might be more comfortable with a model that features one. There’s no reinvention of the wheel here and, personally, I don’t adore the shape and angle of the handle. In addition, this model suffers from a similar flaw to other models, in that the touchscreen can quickly become grubby. As stylish as the display here feels, greasy, food-stained fingers on reflective surfaces are the downside. The chicken wings I made in the Instant Vortex Plus were so much crisper than the ones I made in the oven, and they were juicy too.
This feature is lacking on some popular air fryers we’ve tried. We found that the reminder worked particularly well when our batch of chips needed a shake. With its easy-to-read controls and the handy viewing window, we were keen to see how well the Instant Vortex Plus could cook our frozen chips, chicken tenders and vegetables. A must-try for anyone new to the world of air frying, it seemed an obvious choice to use the Instant Vortex Plus to cook a batch of frozen chips. However, the make reheat and roast settings are welcome additions that can serve as handy features, especially on busy occasions when your regular oven may be in use.
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.
After you set your desired cooking temperature and time, it automatically goes into a preheat mode. This actually comes in use, because if your food isn’t ready once time is up and you want to air fry it for a few more minutes, it will automatically revert to preheating again. Set instant vortex the mode and temperature, and the display reads ON while preheating the oven. I would much prefer to see PRE or a real-time count up to the requested temperature. This isn’t a dealbreaker, I just found the display a bit uninformative for a product that heats up to 400 degrees.
It comes with a viewing window and enticing rotisserie function and also has double the capacity at 11 litres. The larger capacity however, does add inches to the width of this air fryer so may not be for you if you’re looking for something more compact. This air fryer is one of the quieter models we’ve tried – it reached just 55 decibels while we instant vortex were cooking chicken tenders on the air fry setting. We tested some air fryer pork ribs with bbq sauce and it was a winner! We just needed to rotate the racks to get all the ribs cooked evenly. It’s SyncCook capabilities give it practicality beyond single-drawer air fryers, particularly for anyone wanting to quickly cook multiple ingredients.
It’s one of around eight air fryers in the Instant Brands range and is mid-value in price. You can expect to pay around £60 for a basic model such as the Instant Vortex, to around £219.99 for the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Drawer 8-in-1. Please visit /support/register to register your new Instant Brands™ appliance. Failure to register your product will not diminish your warranty rights.
We were struck by the sleek controls on the Instant Vortex Plus, which only illuminate when the air fryer is plugged in. You can control the timings and temperature using a dial on the front of the air fryer, and pressing down on this dial will confirm your choices. Another thing which pleasantly surprised us was the noise level, which was very low for an air fryer. We recorded 64dB, which is quite low for ambient noise, and far lower than the other air fryers we were testing. Even odor-heavy foods such as bacon were not detectible in the air around the air fryer. We got very close when sniff-testing, and everyone agreed that the scents were not detectible.
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.