I'm 100% an air fryer skeptic. After a bad run-in with a model that gave all my food a weird chemical aftertaste, I nearly swore off the appliances for good. But I still appreciated the idea behind them: Who doesn't want a kitchen gadget that cooks fast, crisps food, doesn't heat up your house like an oven, and is easy to clean?
Air fryers must have had the same marketing team as curtain bangs this year since everyone seems to have both now. I'll admit, air fryer fans are intense and make the gadgets sound almost too good to be true — and I thought they were, before I tried the new Magic Bullet air fryer.
I've used a Magic Bullet blender for over five years — it's the only blender I've ever had — so it's safe to say that I trust the brand with my life (a.k.a all my salsas and morning smoothies). To my relief, the Magic Bullet air fryer is just as reliable as the brand's namesake blenders. Launched in July 2021, the brand known for its compact, powerful blenders brought the same concept to air fryers. With a footprint of only 9-inches-by-8.5-inches, this air fryer is about the size of a standard toaster (but taller) so it doesn't completely overtake your countertop. It also weighs less than nine pounds, so lifting it in and out of your kitchen cabinets isn't too much of a hassle.
How does the Magic Bullet air fryer work?
Similar to other air fryers, the Magic Bullet air fryer isn't really a fryer at all, but a convection oven in disguise. It's powered by a 1300-watt motor and a convection fan that circulates hot air throughout the fry pot, leaving food crisp and golden with little-to-no oil. This air fryer also comes with a non-stick crisping tray that sits neatly inside the fry pot. The tray has small holes in it and elevates the food off the bottom of the pot, to achieve maximum hot air circulation — and max crispiness.
The Magic Bullet air fryer also claims to have hot air circulating 360 degrees inside the fry pot while in use, and we found that the testing results reflect that claim pretty accurately. During tests, all food in the fry pot was crisped evenly, suggesting that there really is hot air circulating in all four corners of the pot. Unlike a conventional toaster or toaster oven, you'll have significantly fewer hot spots.
The air fryer is controlled by two separate dials, one for temperature and one for time. The temperature dial ranges from 180 degrees to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, while the time dial starts at zero and goes up to 60 minutes. The main downside of the dial controls is the timing accuracy. Since there are only numbers on the dial in increments of 10 and lines on the dial for even numbers between those increments, it can be difficult to set the dial to exact times. For example, before cooking, the directions advise that you preheat the fryer for three minutes, but because of the dial, you might end up preheating for three and a half or four minutes. This isn't actually an issue for preheating, but for cooking, it's probably best to set a timer on your phone so you don't accidentally under or overcook your food.
Another small issue with the time dial is turning it counterclockwise. Whenever you're preheating or cooking something for less than 10 minutes, the dial needs to be turned clockwise past the 10-minute mark, then counterclockwise to your desired time. The dial moves smoothly clockwise but is somewhat difficult to grasp and turn counterclockwise. It almost feels like you're not supposed to be turning the dial in that direction, and you won't be able to move it backward at all if your hands are even a little bit oily or wet.
What can you make in the Magic Bullet air fryer?
Fries! Chicken wings! Toast! Mini pies! Veggies! The options are pretty much endless when you have a fast-cooking air fryer at your disposal. This air fryer is truly the best appliance for general re-heating and cooking frozen food. Day-old samosas from your favorite Indian restaurant? Give them a second life in the air fryer. Don't want to wait an hour for oven-roasted vegetables? Make some in just a few minutes in the Magic Bullet.
Unlike with a microwave, you'll never be met with soggy chicken nuggets or cardboard-y french fries here. During our testing, we cooked frozen popcorn chicken, pizza rolls, french fries, chicken thighs, and even raw pie dough in the Magic Bullet air fryer — and they all came out deliciously crispy, evenly cooked, and made in a fraction of the time that a conventional oven would take. If you need extra air fryer inspiration, the Magic Bullet air fryer also comes with a recipe booklet full of tasty ideas for your new kitchen gadget, with everything from chicken parmesan to mini churros.
What to avoid while using the Magic Bullet air fryer
When using the air fryer for the first time, the instructions advise you to run it empty at the highest heat setting for a few minutes to get rid of any chemical odors. Definitely don't skip this step, because the fryer does emit some new-gadget smells when it's straight out of the box.
During testing, the fryer let out these smells for the first handful of uses too, but the intensity of the smells does reduce a bit with each use. The good news is that it doesn't make your food taste any different (it just might make your room smell a little off while it's running). You also absolutely need to clean the fryer basket and crisping tray between each use, since any burnt pieces will enhance the smells you get during cooking.
When cooking, it's also best to avoid stacking food too high and to make sure you flip food at regular intervals to ensure even cooking. Multiple layers of food won't get as crispy as a single layer of food, so this means you're pretty much limited to cooking for one to two people at a time (or working in batches).
Is the Magic Bullet air fryer worth it?
Aside from a few quirks, the Magic Bullet air fryer does what it's supposed to — make crispy, evenly cooked food, fast. It's ideal for cooking for 1-2 people, due to the compact size, but that also means it can be easily stored in a kitchen cabinet — and it's well worth the space it takes up. It won't make your food taste like an air fryer, and even though the parts aren't dishwasher safe, they're nonstick and really easy to clean by hand.
If you're someone who eats a lot of frozen food or who just wants to speed up a weeknight cooking routine for one to two people, the Magic Bullet air fryer is an awesome, budget-friendly air fryer to add to your kitchen arsenal.
