This five-star Ninja air fryer is on a great Black Friday deal – but here are three alternatives you should consider first
As far as Black Friday air fryer deals go, this Ninja Foodi Dual Zone offer is one of the best – but don’t forget to shop around first
It’s that time of year again. After wondering if winter will ever come, we’ve had a precipitous drop in temperature; and after wondering if any great Black Friday deals will arrive before the day itself, several have come along at once.
Thanks to their rapid cooking speeds, energy efficiency and clever features, air fryers have quickly become a staple of both UK kitchens, and you’re certain to see a surplus of great discounts over Black Friday. I’ve tested and reviewed plenty of air fryers over the years, so I’m in a perfect position to help you find an actual bargain on a quality model suited to your needs.
One of the best Black Friday air fryers deals I’ve come across so far is on the five-star Ninja Foodi Dual Zone. This dual air fryer has a roomy 7.6l capacity spread across two drawers, a great range of cooking modes and drawer-syncing options and has fallen from an average price of £173 to just £119 – its lowest price ever. It’s a deal I’m happy to sign off on, but, before I do, I want to showcase a range of alternatives that may suit you better.
Three Foodi Dual Zone alternatives for Black Friday
If you’re in the market for an air fryer and want to save some money by purchasing it over Black Friday, here are my top three alternative deals to check out before you pull the trigger on the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone:
1. Want to save some money? Get the Instant Vortex Plus
Amongst the air fryers we’ve tested, Ninja’s models have consistently been the most impressive and well-built we’ve come across. While the Foodi Dual Zone has long been our favourite Ninja air fryer, it has always been strongly rivalled by the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Drawer.
The Instant Vortex Plus largely matches the Foodi Dual Zone in terms of cooking performance and abilities, while also offering some unique boons like clear cooking windows on its baskets and internal lights. One edge the Foodi Dual Zone does have is its Max Crisp mode, a stalwart Ninja feature which boosts cooking temperatures to 240°C to quickly get a brilliant crisp on frozen items. But, overall, the air fryers are pretty evenly matched.
Ahead of Black Friday, the Instant Vortex Plus has dropped from an average Amazon price of £127 to just £98. While this isn’t as dramatic a drop as the one seen on the Ninja model, it is cheaper overall, which will make it a straightforward win for most people.
2. Want to save some space? Get the Ninja DoubleStack XL
The Ninja Foodi Dual Zone, like nearly all dual air fryers, arranges its drawers side-by-side and is necessarily a pretty wide piece of kit. If you want to size up your countertop for your new purchase, you’ll need to block out 41.5cm of space for the air fryer. If you have a smaller kitchen or a crowded cooking space, you may want to seek a space-saving alternative.
A freshly released option that aims to address this problem, the Ninja DoubleStack XL stacks its baskets on top of each other to reduce its footprint, standing at just 28cm across. The air fryer has a larger 9.5l capacity spread across two drawers and offers the same cooking modes as the Foodi Dual Zone. In testing, our air fryer expert Danielle Amato did note that its smaller fans meant that the DoubleStack didn’t brown food quite as evenly as other air fryers she tested, but she was still largely satisfied with its cooking performance. Released at £270 earlier in the year, the DoubleStack XL has fallen to its lowest ever price, just £219, in Ninja’s Black Friday sale.
3. Want something different? Get the Our Place Wonder Oven
All the air fryers we’ve looked at so far have been basket-style dual air fryers. If you’re looking for something a little different, the Our Place Wonder Oven is a winning option. A tabletop oven-style air fryer, the Wonder Oven’s 12l interior with wire rack and tray accessories may prove more familiar and easy to use for many people.
Another positive of the Wonder Oven, and a big part of its viral TikTok success, is its aesthetic appeal. The oven comes in a range of pleasing pastel shades, has neatly rounded corners and is operated via tactile physical dials. In my opinion, it makes a far more visually pleasing addition to a kitchen than your regular air fryer.
In terms of cooking performance, our reviewer noted the Wonder Oven was a little slower than other models she tested, but still noted it worked well. She was especially happy with its steam infusion feature, which allows users to add 5ml of water through a cap at the top of the appliance to add steam to bakes etc. to produce fluffier, moister items.
Launched this year in the UK, the Our Place Wonder Oven has stuck at a price of £195 up until now. For the brand’s Black Friday sale, it has fallen to a tempting £150.
