Should You Buy an Air Fryer on Black Friday 2021?

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Air fryers are more popular than ever before, especially with more people doing the majority of their cooking at home. Air fryers can help you make delicious, deep-fried foods without using a huge amount of oil. The best Black Friday deals present a great time to buy an air fryer if you’re interested in picking up one for yourself or giving as a gift.

Black Friday is the best time to buy an air fryer — but shop early deals

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp with food at the side.

Black Friday is far and away the biggest shopping event of the year, but this has not been an ordinary year — nor is it an ordinary Black Friday. Many air fryer deals have already begun appearing at various retailers; for example, you can snag a Kalorik 5.3-quart air fryer for $110 off its normal price.

Electronics are one of the most popular items at this time of year, but global supply chain issues (compounded by the ongoing chip shortage) mean there may be fewer products to go around. Demand is already high, and deals will just make it even higher. If you wait until Black Friday to buy, there’s a better than average chance that all the items will be completely sold out.

Best Buy, Walmart, and several other outlets have already kicked off their official Black Friday sales, and their discounts are substantial enough that the chance of seeing even better deals is pretty low. The best time to shop is now, instead of waiting till the last minute to buy an air fryer — especially if you’re buying it as a gift. What’s a few dollars saved if the gift doesn’t arrive on time?

Why buy an air fryer

Countertop image of the Ninja Air Fryer Max XL.

Let’s face it: Fried foods are absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, they’re not healthy by any means. The oil used to fry them soaks into the food and increases the calorie count by a significant margin. If you’re trying to cut a few pounds but you aren’t willing to give up the deliciousness that is fried food, an air fryer can help. It provides the same sort of texture without the need for a stupendous amount of oil.

A lot of air fryers serve double-duty, too. Take the Ninja Foodi Air Fry Oven as an example. In addition to its air-frying ability (and the fact that it looks a lot like a toaster oven and fits in well with other appliances), it can bake, dehydrate, toast, and even make bagels. It’s an example of a single appliance serving multiple purposes, which makes it an excellent choice and reduces the need of counter space for even more appliances. Best of all, it’s on sale for just $230 right now.

If you have a small kitchen, an air fryer that serves multiple purposes is your best bet. You don’t want to surrender too much space to appliances. It also doesn’t matter if you’re a great cook or not; many air fryers use automatic sensors to cook food to near-perfection with minimal input from the user. It’s a great gift for college students or people learning to cook for themselves for the first time.

If you’ve had your eye on an air fryer for a while, now is the time to buy. If you wait, you might miss out due to shipping delays, inventory issues, or a number of other problems. Check out our list of the best Black Friday Air Fryer deals.