Need to know
- With two separate baskets, or one flexible cooking zone, a dual air fryer allows you to cook two different types of food at different temperatures at the same time
- Various brands have released twin air fryer models, including Kmart, Ninja, Tefal, Sunbeam, Philips and more
- The latest CHOICE expert review includes 41 air fryers. We assess each model based on its cooking performance, how easy it is to use and how much it costs to run, to help you find the one that suits you best
As more and more people have integrated an air fryer into their cooking routine, one clear downside of preparing a meal with an air fryer stands out above the rest.
In a standard single-drawer air fryer, you can only cook one type of food at once. This can be limiting, leaving you at a loss if you have a hankering for some perfectly crisp chips alongside your air-fried steak or salmon fillet, for example.
You'd have to cook either the chips or the salmon first, then keep them warm somehow while you cook the chips. Doesn't sound too nifty, right?
Sure, you could just turn on the oven, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having an air fryer in the first place.
Alternatively, you could invest in a twin-drawer air fryer.
What is a twin air fryer?
A twin air fryer, also known as a dual air fryer or double air fryer, has two baskets for cooking different foods at different temperatures at the same time.
Some models we've seen include 'flexi zones', which means you can use them as either one large air fryer, or you can insert zone dividers to create separate cooking areas for different foods.
"We are seeing more dual air fryers starting to pop up, and we have 10 dual air fryers in our latest air fryer review, including models from Ninja, Tefal, Kmart, Sunbeam, Philips and Kitchen Couture," says CHOICE air fryer expert Chantelle Dart.
The Ninja Dual Zone Air Fryer, with two separate baskets.
More versatile
"One of the downsides of single air fryers is that you can only cook one type of food at once in relatively small batches, so some are only really suited for cooking one type of food for two to three people," explains Chantelle.
"A dual air fryer allows you to cook different foods at the same time at different temperatures, sometimes in larger quantities, which gives the appliance a bit more versatility."
This can also be useful if you're cooking for people with different dietary requirements or preferences, as you can keep vegetables separate from the meat for vegetarians, for example.
Some have features to help with dual cooking
Many twin air fryers let you sync your cooking times, so you can start cooking different foods at different times, but program them to finish simultaneously.
Or, if you just want to cook a bigger batch of the same thing (a double portion of fries, for example), some air fryers allow you to match cooking settings across both baskets (the Ninja Foodi MaxDual Zone Air Fryer lets you do this).
A different twin-drawer format: the Ninja DoubleStack.
Consider your bench space
A downside of single air fryers is that they're quite large and take up a lot of valuable space on your benchtop.
Unfortunately, dual air fryers won't solve this problem – in fact, with their two baskets, they're wider than single basket models.
The Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Airfryer measures approximately 45cm (width) x 38cm (depth). So you'd need some clear space on your kitchen bench or to have somewhere you can store it.
For households that don't have much bench space but need a larger model, the recently-released Ninja DoubleStack XXXL turns the dual drawer format on its head: the drawers are stacked on top of each other, rather than side by side, which means it has a smaller footprint (29cm wide x 48cm deep) but a large capacity.
However, it's fairly tall at 38cm so it could be difficult to store in a cupboard. You may need to leave it out on the bench, but if you're working with a small kitchen you'll need to decide whether it really earns its keep enough to warrant a permanent spot.
Smaller basket capacity – but you get two
Whether a twin air fryer would suit you also depends on what kinds of foods you want to cook.
The capacity of each of the baskets in a twin air fryer is likely to be slightly smaller than the basket you'd get in an average-sized single air fryer. So it may not accommodate a larger piece of pork or a small whole chicken, but would be fine for foods such as a salmon fillet, fries or chicken nuggets.
For instance, the Ninja Foodi Max XXXL Dual Zone Air Fryer may have a total claimed capacity of 9.5L, but it only equates to 4.75L per basket. In comparison, the single-drawer Contempo Digital Slimline Air Fryer from Big W has a capacity of 8L.
The capacity of each basket in a twin air fryer is likely to be slightly smaller than the basket in a single air fryer
If you're looking for the best of both worlds – a twin air fryer and a large-capacity air fryer – you could opt for a model with a flexible configuration, such as one of the Ninja FlexDrawer models or the Sunbeam Multi Zone Air Fryer.
The Ninja AF500 model gives you the option to use a removable divider plate. When it's inserted, you'll have two 5.2L (claimed capacity) zones to work with, which can be set for different cooking times and temperatures and synced so they finish cooking at the same time. Or you can remove the divider and then you have a large 10.4L (claimed capacity) drawer to work with.
Similarly, the Sunbeam can operate as a twin-drawer air fryer, or with the divider removed it becomes a benchtop oven that can accommodate a whole chicken up to 1.2kg.
The single-drawer air fryers we've tested have baskets ranging in size from around 4L up to about 8L (or more for air fryer ovens).
The now-discontinued Kmart Anko 9L twin air fryer disappointed in our tests.
Should you buy a Kmart twin air fryer?
Kmart has launched several air fryers in the past few years to meet the seemingly insatiable appetite for this cooking companion.
Starting from $35 for the Kmart Anko mini air fryer (1.4L/900mL claimed capacity), the range extends up to a $139 25L air fryer and oven (which was out of stock online at the time of writing). There are also single-drawer air fryers ranging from 5 to 6.2L claimed capacity, a 9.5L twin air fryer and the 12L and 25L benchtop oven-style options.
We haven't been able to test the $119 twin air fryer yet as it was only recently released, but when we tested the previous iteration – the Kmart Anko 9L Twin Air Fryer, also priced at $119 – it didn't perform well.
It bombed out on our frozen chips test, scoring just 40%, and wasn't great at cooking crumbed chicken either. Overall, it received a CHOICE Expert Rating of just 67%.
The Kmart air fryers we've tested have been hit and miss, with some models disappointing and others doing quite well
The Kmart air fryers we've tested have been hit and miss, with some models disappointing and others doing quite well. One even scored highly enough to be recommended by our experts (but unfortunately it's since been discontinued).
So while we can't tell you exactly how well the new twin air fryer from Kmart will perform, we haven't completely red-carded all the air fryers in the Kmart range.
Other Kmart Anko air fryers we looked at performed better in our testing. Several scored well on performance, but were less impressive in terms of ease of use. (Not a member? Join CHOICE to access the full reviews and see which Kmart air fryer is best.)
Still sitting on the fence when it comes to buying any kind of air fryer? Our experts have put together a handy list of air fryer pros and cons to help you decide.
Related Kmart articles:
Should you buy an Anko vacuum cleaner?
Kmart Anko: Best buys and what to avoid
What to look for in a twin air fryer
If you're considering a twin air fryer, there's only a handful of brands currently producing this style.
Chantelle recommends looking for one that automatically syncs cooking times. This is a feature that some models have, but not all twin air fryers have this function.
"One of the advantages of a twin air fryer is obviously cooking two different foods at the same time – and ideally you'd probably like these foods to be ready to eat at the same time, even though they may have different cooking times," says Chantelle.
Chantelle recommends looking for a twin air fryer that automatically syncs cooking times
With air fryers that don't have a sync feature, you need to manually enter cooking functions for each zone, one at a time, even when using the same temperature and cooking time.
"If you wish to cook a complete meal using both baskets and have them finish cooking at the same time, you need to start cooking in the second basket and manually match up the end cooking times. Whereas the 'sync' function will do this automatically for you."
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