In this post, I will list some really good air fryers with a stainless steel basket, which is helpful considering that you do not have to worry about the Teflon coating anymore.
I own a Philips air fryer, which does not have a stainless steel basket, but I have not had the Teflon coating come off because of a lot of care and cleaning the air fryer the right way.
I have owned my air fryer for two years and have cooked extensively. After days of research online, I bought my air fryer and hit the bull’s eye with the Philips air fryer as it has lasted me so long and cooks as good as new.
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It has a Teflon coating but with silicone liners, parchment papers, and other options, you can increase the longevity of the Teflon coating.
However, some people do not like Teflon coating or are scared that it might be toxic to cook in it, and if that is the case, then you can go with these stainless steel air fryer options.
Why get an air fryer with a stainless steel basket?
I feel there are pros and cons to stainless steel air fryer baskets. If you are planning on getting an air fryer with a stainless steel basket, then make sure you know these pros and cons.
Pros
- No teflon coating
- More durable since the coating will never come off
Cons
- It gets very hard to clean the air fryer basket
Yes, if you are using a stainless steel air fryer basket, then cleaning will not be as easy as it would be with a coated air fryer basket.
The food is cooked when extremely hot inside the air fryer, so there are higher chances of oil and food getting stuck to the stainless steel surface and staining it. Cleaning it can also be a task.
Go with the stainless steel basket only if you think you will NEVER want an air fryer basket with a Teflon coating.
If you have changed your mind, do look at normal air fryers with Teflon-coated baskets that work well with a small or large family.
Best Stainless Steel Air fryers
Most stainless steel air fryers out there have an exterior that is stainless steel, while the interior still has that Teflon coating.
So, in this post, I would only recommend air fryers with a stainless steel basket. I have to be honest, there are not many air fryers out there yet that has a stainless steel basket.
I could find a few, and some come with the air fryer and dehydrator or toaster oven combo, which may not exactly be the stainless steel basket-style air fryer you are looking for.
However, do not leave the post disappointed.
I have a few alternatives that you can use to easily convert your normal air fryer into an air fryer with a stainless steel basket.
If you want that alternative, go to the end of the air fryer list, and you will find the info there.
1. Maxi-Matic EAF-05SS Electric Digital Hot Air Fryer
Pros
- Easy to use
- It is a powerful air fryer at 1400 W with a 3.2 qt capacity.
- You can precisely set the temperature and time using the digital display.
Cons
- Many users have issues with the air fryer within a few months.
- The air fryer seems poorly made and stops working out of the blue.
This is an elite gourmet air fryer with a 3.2-quart capacity, making it an air fryer for a small family.
If you want a larger size, you do not get the stainless steel basket, as this capacity model is the only one with stainless steel basket.
It has an excellent digital display to accurately set the timer and temperature. Apart from that, the air fryer has a wattage of 1400 Watts, making it extremely powerful and means faster cooking times.
The air fryer is great if you are looking for a small air fryer, and it cooks food pretty quickly. Even though the air fryer has massive cons, it is the ONLY decent air fryer with a stainless steel basket.
2. COSORI Air Fryer Toaster Oven
Pros
- Since it is a 25 qt. air fryer, you can cook a lot of food with it.
- The air fryer is pretty powerful, with a wattage of 1800W.
- The air fryer can reach temperatures like 450°F, which is unusual for small or medium-sized air fryers.
- You get so many attachments that you can cook anything inside something as large as this air fryer.
- It works with Alexa and can be voice controlled
Cons
- It is quite large, so if you looking for something small, this might not be ideal.
Out of ideas for an air fryer with a stainless steel basket, I had to include this large air fryer that also works well as a toaster oven.
This one has stainless steel grates on which you will cook your recipes, and they are not coated with Teflon so you can be assured that you won’t have to worry about Teflon-coated anything anymore.
The air fryer cooks quickly and comes with all the necessary accessories to cook anything.
3. Cuisinart Air fryer
Pros
- Pretty powerful and has a 1800W, which means you can cook anything inside this air fryer
- It is all stainless steel, and no Teflon coating on the racks or the air fryer basket.
- The max temperature on this air fryer is 450°F
- You can cook 2.5 lbs of food, making this air fryer a perfect fit for someone with a large family.
Cons
- There is no timer. Keep track with a stopwatch or a stopwatch app on your phone. Even in a normal air fryer, I usually use a stopwatch app on my phone, so this isn’t a deal breaker.
This air fryer from Cuisinart is popular, and it works very well. I think it is a consumer’s favorite for a reason.
This toaster/air fryer combo can do it all. It has a great temperature range; the only downside to using it is the no-timer point.
You might have to time your food using your phone or stopwatch(if you have one). It is not a deal breaker for me since the quality of the air fryer is pretty good; it is worth the money.
4. CHEFMAN Multifunctional Digital Air Fryer
Pros
- The air fryer is pretty powerful at 1700W and 10 qt. Capacity.
- It is a large air fryer that is still compact and can easily sit on the counter.
- Stainless Steel racks and multiple racks so you can cook more than one recipe at a time.
- The max temperature is 450°F, which is rare as most air fryers do not exceed 400.
Cons
- People have issues with its durability, and I understand this can be an issue with such brands that are not well known.
This air fryer from Chefman is pretty popular and had to be on the list, but there are some good and bad to the air fryer.
The air fryer is powerful and can cook anything you want. The air fryer’s size and wattage are impressive, and with good care, this thing should be a beast.
I like that it has several racks to cook more than one thing. Very few people had issues with the durability and if that is something that bothers you, then go with other models in the list.
5. Ninja SP101 Digital Air Fry
Pros
- This is another air fryer that has some pretty powerful wattage at 1750W.
- It is all stainless steel, so you do not have to worry about Teflon coating anywhere.
- It can easily fit 13-inch pizzas and cook a lot of food at once, making it perfect for large families.
- Digital controls so you can precisely set the temperature and time, which is a tad bit difficult when dealing with analog controls.
Cons
- It is huge and does take up considerable kitchen counter space.
The Ninja Air fry is good and cooks anything exceptionally quickly. The air fryer has high power and can cook anything perfectly inside this air fryer/oven combo.
It can be a task to clean, so you need to have a good cleaning regime; otherwise, if you let the dirt and grime sit for a long, then it will be a huge undertaking to clean it all at once.
Otherwise, the air fryer can cook anything inside it, and you can give it a go.
How to convert a normal air fryer into an air fryer with stainless steel basket?
I recently came across this stainless steel air fryer basket that you can place inside your air fryer basket and cook food in it. This way your food will not touch the Teflon-coated surface of the air fryer.
==> Check out this stainless steel basket
Also, if you use this basket, you can avoid the food from sticking to the Teflon surface, which causes wear and tear when cleaning the basket resulting in scraping off the surface.
This air fryer basket is suitable for air fryers with 4qt. Capacity, however, you might have to look around a bit to find a stainless steel air frying basket that fits your air fryer.
How to choose an air fryer?
The capacity of the air fryer- If you are looking for an air fryer that feeds a family of one to three then sticking to a 4 qt. air fryer is perfect.
If you have a family of 4-6 then go with 4-6 qt air fryers, as that is more suitable for a family that size. However, if you have a family of more than 6 members, go with air fryers with a capacity of more than 6qt.
Most air fryers mentioned above are air fryers/oven combos suitable for families above five members. You can still get them if you have a small family and love hosting dinner parties.
Wattage- Wattage determines the power of the air fryer. Watt is a unit of power, and if your air fryer has a higher wattage, it means it is more powerful and will cook food quicker.
But, one has to consider the fact that higher wattage also means that you are going to get a larger electricity bill.
So keep in mind these aspects while choosing an air fryer. I have a 1400W air fryer at home, and I’m pretty much happy with its performance.
Temperature Range- Another aspect is the temperature range at which the air fryer cooks. Most air fryers go from 250-400 degrees Fahrenheit.
This is a typical range; if you want a higher temperature range, you get that with larger capacity air fryers like the 10qt. Ones.
There are a few air fryers that I have mentioned above where the max temperature is around 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and this is the max that they go.
So an air fryer with 400 or 450 degrees Fahrenheit as the max temperature is a perfect choice, but you can select if you want the 450 one over the 400 degrees Fahrenheit one.
Analog or Digital Dial- There are two kinds of dials on an air fryer analog and digital. The analog ones are just two knobs that let you set a time and temperature.
Whereas on a digital dial, you can see the time and temperature, which makes cooking easier as you can see the exact time, which can be a little tedious to understand with an analog dial.
I have analog dials on my air fryer, and I think I should have gone with the digital one. Next time, maybe.
Durability- Checking the durability of an air fryer is completely dependent on brand quality and customer service.
Buying from reputable brands that have products that last long really helps.
I bought my first air fryer from Philips, which has lasted for two years now. So make sure you do brand research on the air fryer that piques your interest.
Make sure you look at a company’s customer service so that you know they would be responsive in case things go south.
Build Material of the air fryer basket- Checking out the build material of the air fryer helps in understanding how to clean the air fryer and how to maintain it, so it lasts for a very long time.
Having stainless steel basket also helps in having a long-lasting air fryer basket. The Teflon coating can come off in some air fryers, so make sure to check some reviews before getting an air fryer.
Benefits of using an Air Fryer
Healthy cooking- Air fryer has reduced the oil consumption in my house. I barely use any oil and if you do not want to spend more money buying cooking oil, then getting an air fryer is the best investment.
Cooks very quickly- If you choose an air fryer with wattage above 1300W, then you can be sure that it cooks super quickly. I own a 4 qt. Philips air fryer with 1400W, which cooks everything super fast.
Works as an oven/toaster/dehydrator- Air fryer works as an oven, toaster, and dehydrator all at the same time. I love to toast bread in it, and you will also like it.
Cooking in an air fryer is so easy that you do not have to put in much effort when cooking anything inside an air fryer.
Compact- An air fryer is small, and it doesn’t take up too much space. This does cooking and cleaning so much easier. I do not have to preheat a large oven to cook a pizza.
Cooking anything in the air fryer is fun, and we have so many recipes on our blog that prove the same.
Easy to use- Yes, air fryers are super easy to use. I have been using it daily; it is so easy to reheat meals and cook dinners or appetizers.
If you love fried foods, you should invest in an air fryer as they give that nice crispy texture to the food, and at the same time, you are barely using any oil(I never use oil while frying food using the air fryer).
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