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, Greenpan, Kogan and Philips
- The latest CHOICE expert review includes 37 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. As you'd have to cook either the chips or the salmon first, then keep them warm somehow while you cook the chips.
In a standard single drawer air fryer, you can only cook one type of food at once.
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 – and are they any good?
Also known as a dual air fryer or double air fryer, we're talking about air fryers that have two baskets that you can cook different foods in at different temperatures at the same time. Some models we have seen include 'flexi zones' which means you can use them as either one large air fryer or 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 six dual air fryers in our latest review, including models from Ninja, Tefal and Kmart," says CHOICE air fryer expert Chantelle Dart.
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The Ninja Dual Zone Air Fryer, with two separate baskets.
"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 2-3 people," Chantelle explains.
"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.
Dual cooking features such as matching and syncing
Many twin air fryers allow you to sync up 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 we tested in our latest review allows you to do this).
Even wider than single air fryers
Another downside of single air fryers is that they're quite large and take up a lot of valuable space on your benchtop. Well, dual air fryers won't solve this problem – in fact, with their two baskets, they're wider than single basket models.
As a comparison, the Kmart Anko 3.75L air fryer measures 19cm (width) x 19cm (depth), whereas the new Kmart Anko 9L twin air fryer measures 36cm (width) x 33cm (depth).
We recently tested the Ninja XXXL FlexDrawer Air Fryer, which says it is designed for larger families and entertaining, and it measures approximately 37cm (width) x 21cm (depth). So you'd need some clear space on your kitchen bench or have somewhere you can store it.
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. Keep in mind that 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).
Each of the baskets in the Kmart 9L twin air fryer has a 4.5L capacity (the capacity of each of the baskets in the Ninja Dual Air Fryer is 3.8L). Single air fryers can have baskets ranging in size from 2.5L up to about 7L (or more for air fryer ovens).
What do CHOICE experts say about the 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 $69 for the Kmart Anko 3.75L air fryer (there's also 5.3L and 5.75L drawer air fryers, and 12L and 25L benchtop oven-style airfryer options), its range comes in at the budget end of the scale and features some of the cheapest air fryers you can buy.
They also sell one twin air fryer - the Kmart Anko 9L twin air fryer for $119.
Unfortunately, in our expert review of 37 air fryers, the Kmart twin air fryer is one of the bottom performers with a score of 67%. CHOICE experts say that while there are good aspects to the air fryer – such as how easy it is to use and clean – it falls down on how well it actually cooks things, in particular frozen chips and frozen chicken nuggets.
Chantelle recently put the Kmart air fryer through a series of tests in the CHOICE kitchen labs, comparing it with other brands such as Philips, Sunbeam, Kogan and Tefal.
"Overall this Kmart air fryer received the lowest score of all the air fryers we tested," she says.
"When we give each air fryer a score, we look at a range of things such as how easy they are to assemble, store, operate and clean, and how helpful the instructions are. But the most important thing, which makes up most of the score, is how well they cook and this is really where the Kmart air fryer lets you down. I cooked a batch of frozen chips and frozen nuggets in the Kmart air fryer and, after 25 minutes, they were hardly browned and not at all crisp. When you consider that you could cook your chips in a standard oven for that time and likely get better results, it's disappointing."
Air fryers give crisp, golden results.
Twin-basket function and how easy it is to use
The Kmart twin air fryer allows you to use both baskets at the same time while using different functions and temperature settings, and our experts say that this aspect operates well. "It is easy to clean because the black exterior is easy to wipe over, and the cooking drawers fit easily into a domestic sink for washing," says Chantelle.
"However, it can be difficult to clean around exposed elements inside the unit and the digital display panel shows fingerprint marks, which may require extra attention."
It scored 'good' on how easy it is to use, however it scored a little less on this aspect compared to the other dual air fryer we tested, the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer (find out more on how they compare below).
Kmart Anko twin air fryer vs Ninja Foodi Dual Zone air fryer
If you're considering a twin air fryer, there are only a handful of brands currently available. Chantelle recommends looking at one that automatically syncs cooking times. This is a feature the Ninja model has which the Kmart does not. You can also find this feature in the Tefal Dual Easy Fry & Grill Air Fryer which we've also tested.
"One of the advantages of a twin air fryer is obviously cooking two different foods at the same time – and ideally you would probably like these foods to be ready to eat at the same time, even though they may have different cooking times," she says.
"With the Kmart model, 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. The Ninja model has a 'sync' function that will do this automatically, which is handy."
The Ninja Dual Zone Air Fryer also performed better in our cooking performance tests. CHOICE members can read the full review for the Ninja Dual Zone Air Frye and the full Kmart twin air fryer review.
What features does the Kmart twin air fryer have?
- Cost: $129
- 2 x 4.5L baskets (total of 9L capacity)
- Independently adjustable temperature in each drawer up to 200C
- Manual LED controls with 11 pre-set functions
- 12-month warranty
What features does the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone air fryer have?
- Cost: $450
- 2 x 3.8L baskets (total of 7.6L capacity)
- Independently adjustable temperature in each drawer up to 240C
- 6 customisable programs: Max Crisp, Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Reheat, and Dehydrate.
- Sync function that automatically syncs cooking times between drawers
- 12-month warranty
If you're after an even larger capacity in a twin air fryer, you might want to look at the Ninja Foodi MAX XXXL Dual Zone Air Fryer (AF400). It's larger drawer capacity of 9.5L (4.75 litres per drawer) lets you to cook up to 25% more.
Should you buy a Kmart air fryer?
Although we recommend you steer clear of the Kmart twin model, we haven't completely red-carded all the air fryers in the Kmart range. In fact, other Kmart Anko air fryers we looked at did perform better in our testing.
Several Kmart models scored well on performance, but were less impressive in terms of ease of use. (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 pros and cons to help you decide.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
