Best Air Fryers With A Dehydrator Function

Not all air fryers come with a dehydrator function. Many air fryers only have an “air fry” setting, but as these appliances are becoming more and more popular, several brands are making advancements and including multiple cooking settings.

Some air fryers have baking and toasting functions, and many are now including dehydrators. 

While not all air fryers have a dedicated dehydrator setting, they can all be used to dehydrate foods. You can simply turn the heat down very low on the air fryer to remove moisture from foods.

You want to be careful to not cook the foods you are trying to dehydrate. Keep an eye on the foods while they are in the air fryer. After a while at a low temperature, the moisture will be gone and you will have dehydrated food. 

What Should I Be Looking For In An Air Fryer With A Dehydrator Function?

If you want an air fryer that has a dedicated dehydrating setting, then there are several things that you should look for. If you want to use this appliance for both air frying and dehydrating, then you will need to make sure it can do both functions properly. 

Size of the Appliance

One thing to consider when purchasing an air fryer that doubles as a dehydrator is size. In a regular air fryer, you can throw a pile of french fries or chicken nuggets in the cooking basket and they will cook well with just a few shakes to mix them up. 

When dehydrating foods, though, you need to place the food in a single layer without any overlap. This is the only way to make sure the foods are dehydrating evenly and will turn out well. 

When you are getting an air fryer and dehydrator combination appliance, make sure you get one that has a wide cooking area rather than a deep one. This will allow you to fit more food at once when dehydrating. Otherwise, you will only be able to dehydrate a few pieces at a time, and that would be a waste of space and energy. 

Heating Settings

For this type of appliance to do a good job of both air frying and dehydrating, it needs to have various heat settings. 

Dehydrating requires a relatively low temperature, while air frying requires hot temperatures. You will need an appliance that can reach both temperature extremes. 

The appliance will also need to have accurate temperatures at both ends of the spectrum. You wouldn’t want to set your food to dehydrate and then realize that the temperature is higher than it says on the machine. 

Dehydrating Settings

Using a regular air fryer for dehydrating you food might make it turn out unevenly dried or cooked, which isn’t what you want.

If you are looking to make a lot of dehydrated food, you should look for an air fryer with a dedicated dehydrating setting. Many air fryers with this setting will allow you to adjust the temperature for dehydrating. 

When you want to use the dehydrator setting, you will turn the appliance on dehydrating mode and select a temperature. For fruits and vegetables, it is recommended to use a lower temperature, around 135°F. When dehydrating meat, poultry, or seafood you will need to use a higher temperature, around 150°F.

Most air fryers will come with a manual that lists recommended temperature settings and cooking times for various foods. You will also be able to look these up online. 

Usually, when dehydrating, you will need to leave the food drying out in the appliance for an average of six hours. This will ensure that the moisture is gone and the food is properly preserved.

Other Cooking Modes

Many models on the market have additional cooking modes. If you are already getting an appliance with multiple functions, you might want to look for one that goes beyond just air frying and dehydrating. You will need to decide which you would prefer to have on your appliance. 

If you bake many small dishes, you might want an appliance with baking or toasting options. If you plan to mostly use it for air frying, dehydrating, or roasting, you can go with an option that has fewer cooking modes. 

Generally, air fryers with dehydrating functions come in two varieties: pot-shaped and oven-shaped. Each of these will have different functions. Pot-shaped air fryers will have functions for pressure cooking and slow cooking. Contrastingly, oven-shaped appliances will have more options for baking and toasting. 

There are a ton of air fryers on the market. Some have a variety of cooking modes that may or may not perform well. Some have fewer, more precise cooking modes. Your decision might come down to any of these features, but at the end of the day, you will need to choose the appliance that fits your cooking style and kitchen best. 

Limitations of Other Air Fryers

When looking for an appliance that air fries and dehydrates, it must have a dedicated dehydrating setting. 

While other air fryers can be used to dehydrate, they have their limitations. To use a regular air fryer to dehydrate, you will need to set the temperature to the lowest setting, usually below or around 130°F, and cook the food for an average of six hours. 

The first limitation of regular air fryers is that they don’t all have low temperature settings. Some may have a reheat or warm function, but the exact temperature can’t always be read when using these settings. 

Another limitation of most air fryers is that they won’t let you set a timer for six hours. Many models won’t let you set a timer past one or two hours due to fire and safety concerns. You can still make these types of air fryers work for dehydrating. You will just need to be present to start the timer every hour or so until the food is done cooking.

If you want to use a regular air fryer to dehydrate foods, you will need to find one that has low temperature settings and can run for hours at a time. 

5 Best Air Fryers With A Dehydrator Function

We have collected a list of five of the top air fryers with a dehydrator function on the market today. Each of these appliances has a dedicated dehydrator setting. Most also have many other cooking modes, making the appliance a helpful multifunctional tool. 

1. Ninja AF101

This Ninja brand air fryer is simpler than some of the others on this list.

While fewer cooking modes mean that this appliance is less versatile than others, it also means that it is less complicated to use. This appliance has four cooking modes and does each well. 

The four cooking modes on this appliance are:

• Air fry
• Air roast
• Reheat
• Dehydrate

This air fryer appears, on the outside, to have a deep cooking basket that would not be ideal for dehydrating foods. However, the appliance comes with a special rack that adds another layer of cooking space specifically for dehydrating.  

This appliance has a four quart cooking capacity and is great for simple meals. Whether you want to quickly air fry or air roast a fresh meal, reheat leftovers, or dehydrate foods that are about to go bad, this appliance is perfect for the job. 

The Ninja AF101 also comes with a manual that has 20 recipes for you to try. The manual will also have recommended temperature and time settings for the dehydrating function. This will allow you to prepare foods perfectly with your air fryer. 

2. Chefman 6.3 Quart Digital Air Fryer

This Chefman air fryer is top of the line for a reason.

This appliance has five different cooking modes so that you can make all kinds of foods with it, including:

• Dehydrate
• Air fry
• Rotisserie oven
• Bake
• Reheat

The air fryer has a digital interface that lets you choose which cooking mode to use as well as adjust the temperature and cooking times.

The air fryer also comes with a variety of accessories, including:

• Air fryer basket 
• Rotisserie spit 
• Two removable racks, perfect for maximizing space for dehydrating
• Drip tray for easy cleanup

With this appliance and its many accessories, you can make all kinds of food. There is plenty of room to make a good amount of dehydrated food, or even cook a whole rotisserie chicken. The versatility that this appliance offers makes it one of the best on the market. 

This air fryer has 6.3 quarts of cooking space, which is about midsize compared to others on this list. This means that the appliance will fit in nearly any kitchen and won’t take up too much space on the counter. 

3. Ninja OP302 Foodi 

This appliance is one of the best on the market. Blowing all of its competition away, it has nine different cooking modes that allow you to cook a wide variety of dishes.

This appliance is one of the most versatile kitchen tools.

The nine cooking modes are:

• Dehydrate
• Pressure cook
• Slow cook
• Steam
• Yogurt
• Sear/Sauté
• Bake/Roast
• Air crisp 
• Broil

The appliance comes with a lid for pressure cooking, an air frying basket, and a rack to increase cooking space in the machine. The rack will help you be able to dehydrate more food at once. The Ninja Foodi also comes with an “inspiration guide” that has 45 recipes. This manual will also give you guidance about cooking temperatures and times to use when dehydrating foods. 

This might not be the best option for you if you don’t need all nine cooking modes. If you are looking for an appliance that will air fry and dehydrate, then you might save money by finding a simpler appliance. This appliance is versatile, but it also takes up a lot of space and can be complicated to use due to all of the settings. 

If you are excited about making all kinds of different foods, though, then this is the appliance for you. You might not even need another appliance in your kitchen with this Ninja Foodi. This appliance can serve as your crockpot, instant pot, oven, stove, air fryer, and dehydrator all in one.

4. GoWISE USA GW44800-O Deluxe

This air fryer is a great option for families and people that like to cook more food at once. This air fryer is different from the rest.

It is 12.7 quarts, making it the largest on our list. This appliance has 15 different cooking modes. These are all for different types of foods. 

The presets on this appliance include air frying, rotisserie, dehydrating, and more. There are also manual temperature and time settings if you don’t want to use a preset. 

This appliance also comes with plenty of accessories so you can make all types of food.

The accessories include:

• Rotisserie tong
• Rotisserie rod
• Oven rack
• Drip pan
• Skewer rotisserie 
• Rotisserie cage
• Shallow mesh basket
• Two mesh trays

These accessories allow you to have a good amount of versatility with your cooking. The size of the appliance along with the accessories allows for a lot of dehydrating space. You will be able to dehydrate the most amount of food at once with this appliance. 

One worry that people might have about this appliance is its size. The cooking space in this air fryer is massive compared to most others. However, this appliance doesn’t take up much more room than others. It is smaller overall than the Ninja Foodi, which has half the cooking capacity. 

The versatility of this appliance lets you cook quick and easy foods or more elaborate meals. Since this appliance has a door on the front, it acts more like an oven than a pot. This appliance doesn’t have settings for pressure cooking or slow cooking like some others on the market.

5. Instant Pot Vortex Plus

The last appliance on our list is the Instant Pot Vortex Plus. This appliance is another large one, with a ten quart cooking area.

This appliance has several different cooking modes, including:

• Dehydrate
• Air fry
• Bake
• Roast
• Toast
• Broil
• Rotisserie 

The Instant Pot Vortex Plus also comes with a variety of accessories to help cook different types of foods.

These accessories include:

• Rotisserie basket
• Rotisserie lift
• Rotisserie spit
• Rotisserie forks
• Drip tray
• 2 perforated pans

The accessories that come with this appliance allow for lots of rotisserie cooking. The two pans also let you get more cooking space in the appliance, which is great for dehydrating purposes. 

The Instant Pot Vortex is perfect for anyone wanting to make a lot of food at once, and who wants to use one appliance for most of their cooking. This tool is versatile and with it, you won’t have to use your other kitchen appliances nearly as often.

Comparison

When determining which appliance to buy, you will need to decide on which features are most important to you. Do you want one with more cooking modes? Would you prefer a small appliance that easily fits on the counter or a large one that can feed the whole family?

You may also need to consider purchasing a dehydrator that is separate from your air fryer so that you can prepare more food at once. You could also consider purchasing an air fryer that doesn’t have a dedicated dehydrating setting but has low temperatures that you can use for dehydrating.

We have put together the following table to help you compare each of the air fryers that we discussed:

Product Name	Ninja AF101	Chefman Digital Air Fryer	Ninja OP302 Foodi	GoWISE USA GW44800-O Deluxe	Instant Pot Vortex Plus
Size	4 Quart	6.3 Quart	6.5 Quart	12.7 Quart	10 Quart
Number of Cooking Functions	4	5	9	15	7
Number of Shelves for Dehydrating	2	2	2	3	2
Heat Range	105° – 400°F	90° – 400°F	105° – 400°F	90° – 400°F	105° – 400°F
Price	$119.99	$129.99	$229.99	$149.99	$129

Each of these appliances has its strengths and weaknesses. If you are shopping for a new air fryer with a dehydrator function, you won’t go wrong with any of the ones that we discussed.

Wrapping Things Up

Air fryers and dehydrators are helpful appliances to have in your home. With today’s advanced technologies, there are several appliances on the market that do both air frying and dehydrating. These appliances can be useful for whipping up a quick and healthy meal or preserving foods that are about to go bad. 

We have discussed some of the top air fryer and dehydrator appliances on the market today. If you are in the market for an appliance that can do both and much more, then you will be satisfied with any of these. 

At the end of the day, you will need to decide on an air fryer and dehydrator that works for you and your cooking needs.