Welcome to an in-depth, honest review of the Cosori Air Fryer, focusing specifically on the Max XL 5.8-quart, 1700-watt electric model. This comprehensive article delves into everything you need to know, from an exciting unboxing experience to practical tips on usage, cleaning, and delicious recipes. Air fryers have revolutionized home cooking, offering a healthier, quicker alternative to traditional frying. With numerous models flooding the market, discerning which one stands out can be a challenge. We put the Cosori to the test, exploring its features, performance, and durability to help you make an informed decision. Get ready to discover why the Cosori 5.8-quart air fryer might just become your new favorite kitchen appliance, capable of transforming everything from crispy frozen french fries to perfectly cooked chicken wings.
I received this air fryer from Cosori for free. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own, reflecting genuine experience and unbiased assessment.
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure here for more information.
Is the Cosori air fryer truly worth the hype? Many home cooks are eager to discover if this popular appliance lives up to its reputation. I can confidently say, after extensive use, that it certainly does! For those wondering, yes, you can effortlessly make perfectly crispy frozen french fries in the Cosori, among a myriad of other delectable dishes. Earlier this year, if you had asked me if I would ever consider replacing my beloved Power Air Fryer XL, a device I had cherished for its consistent performance over a significant period, my answer would have been an unequivocal “never.” Yet, here we are.
With a collection of five air fryers in my kitchen, the Power Air Fryer XL previously held the top spot as my preferred model. However, after using the Cosori consistently for four months, it has undeniably earned its place as my new favorite. This extensive trial period has provided ample opportunity to conduct a thorough and honest review, evaluating its capabilities, ease of use, and overall value. The Cosori has proven itself to be a formidable contender, offering superior performance and convenience that has genuinely surprised and delighted me.
Table of Contents
Cosori Specifications: Power, Capacity, and Smart Features
My kitchen currently houses two Cosori air fryers, both boasting a generous 5.8-quart capacity. One is the standard Cosori Standard 5.8-quart Air Fryer, while the other is the more technologically advanced Wifi Enabled Cosori Air Fryer. Aesthetically and functionally, their physical dimensions and shape are identical, providing consistent performance across both models. The primary distinction lies in the smart capabilities of the Wifi-enabled version.
The Wifi-enabled Cosori offers unparalleled convenience through its dedicated smartphone app. From the app, you can remotely set precise cooking times, schedule delayed cooking for ultimate meal prep flexibility, and even access a vast library of recipes and review your cooking history. This smart model also seamlessly integrates with Amazon Alexa, allowing for voice-activated commands. While I’ve had the Wifi version for about a month, I’m still exploring innovative ways to fully leverage its smart features. The option to delay cooking, for instance, presents exciting possibilities for busy schedules, though I haven’t yet found a consistent need for it in my daily routine. However, the potential for integration into a smart home ecosystem is a significant advantage for tech-savvy users.
Both models operate with a robust 1700-watt heating element. This high wattage is a crucial factor, as it directly impacts cooking efficiency and consistency. When adapting recipes or comparing cooking times with other air fryers, it’s vital to consider the wattage, as it can significantly influence required temperatures and durations. The 1700-watt power ensures rapid preheating and even cooking, delivering perfectly crispy results every time.
The Cosori air fryer simplifies meal preparation with its 11 intuitive digital functions: Steak, Poultry, Seafood, Shrimp, Bacon, Frozen Foods, French Fries, Vegetables, Root Vegetables, Bread, Desserts, and a dedicated Preheat function. These presets are expertly calibrated to achieve optimal results for each food category, taking the guesswork out of air frying. Whether you’re craving a juicy steak or perfectly golden desserts, the Cosori has a setting designed to deliver excellence.
Beyond the presets, the Cosori includes highly practical “Shake” and “Keep Warm” functions. The “Shake” reminder is incredibly useful, prompting you at just the right moment to open the basket and toss or shake your food, ensuring uniform cooking and crispiness. This prevents one side from browning too much while the other remains undercooked. The “Keep Warm” function is a lifesaver for busy households, maintaining your food at an ideal serving temperature while you finalize other meal components or attend to other tasks, ensuring your family always enjoys a warm, delicious meal without losing its texture.
What’s Included in the Box: More Than Just an Air Fryer
Upon unboxing, the Cosori air fryer reveals its thoughtful design and commitment to user convenience. The package includes everything you need to start your air frying journey immediately:
- **The 5.8-quart Basket:** This generously sized basket is a standout feature, capable of accommodating up to 5-6 pounds of a whole chicken. This capacity is particularly impressive for a basket-style air fryer, as many round basket models struggle to fit larger items like a whole chicken, limiting their utility for family meals or entertaining. The ample space allows for cooking larger batches, making meal prep more efficient and catering to bigger households.
- **Recipe Book with 100 Different Recipes:** Cosori understands that embarking on a new cooking adventure requires inspiration. Included with the air fryer is a beautifully curated recipe book featuring 100 diverse and delicious recipes. This book is an invaluable resource, guiding users through everything from appetizers and main courses to sides and desserts, specifically tailored for air frying. It’s perfect for beginners looking to master the basics and seasoned cooks seeking new culinary ideas, ensuring you never run out of exciting dishes to prepare.
- **User Manual:** A comprehensive user manual is also included, providing clear instructions on setup, operation, and maintenance, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable user experience from the very first use.
Revolutionary Air Fryer Basket Shape: Square for Superior Capacity
One of the most impressive and truly user-centric features of the Cosori air fryer is its innovative square-shaped basket. This design choice is a game-changer and something I absolutely adore about this model. My previous air fryers, without exception, featured round baskets. While functional, round baskets often present challenges when attempting to cook certain types of food or larger quantities efficiently. They necessitate more creative arrangement and often mean cooking in smaller batches, which can be time-consuming.
The square basket, by contrast, maximizes the available cooking surface. This thoughtful design allows for significantly more efficient use of space, meaning you can fit a greater amount of food in a single batch. For instance, longer items like steaks, fish fillets, or even multiple skewers, which were awkward to arrange in a round basket, now fit seamlessly. This translates to fewer cooking cycles and faster meal preparation for families. It also ensures better air circulation around the food, contributing to more even cooking and superior crispiness. Whether you’re preparing a whole chicken, a generous batch of french fries, or a medley of vegetables, the square basket provides the practical advantage of fitting everything with ease, making the Cosori a versatile and indispensable tool in any kitchen.
Cosori Air Fryer Power and Cook Times: Efficiency Redefined
The Cosori air fryer truly excels in its cooking speed and ability to achieve perfectly browned and crispy results. It consistently cooks food remarkably quickly, delivering that desirable golden-brown finish and irresistible crispiness that air fryer enthusiasts crave. To truly assess its performance, I conducted a direct side-by-side comparison, cooking chicken wings in both the Cosori Air Fryer and my previous favorite, a Power XL air fryer. The results were undeniably in Cosori’s favor.
The Cosori not only cooked the chicken wings faster but also produced a significantly better texture and crispiness in the breading. This superior performance can be attributed to its powerful 1700-watt heating element and efficient convection system, which circulates hot air more effectively around the food. The enhanced airflow ensures rapid heat transfer, leading to quicker cooking times and more uniform browning. This means less waiting for your meals and more consistent, delicious outcomes. For busy weeknights or when entertaining guests, the Cosori’s speed and efficiency are invaluable assets, ensuring your food is ready promptly and cooked to perfection, surpassing the capabilities of many other models on the market.
How to Clean Your Cosori Air Fryer: Easy Maintenance for Lasting Performance
Maintaining the Cosori air fryer is remarkably simple, contributing significantly to its overall appeal. Both the inner basket and the outer drawer are designed to be completely dishwasher safe, making cleanup a breeze. While they are dishwasher safe, I often give them a quick, light scrub prior to placing them in the dishwasher. This extra step ensures any stubborn food residues are easily removed, preserving the non-stick coating and maintaining optimal hygiene.
One of the most frustrating issues I’ve encountered with other air fryers, particularly my Power Air Fryer XL, was the premature peeling of the non-stick coating on the baskets. This not only affects the aesthetic appeal but also compromises the cooking performance and makes cleanup more difficult over time. With the Cosori, I am thrilled to report that after several months of consistent and rigorous use, I have experienced absolutely no peeling on the baskets. This exceptional durability speaks volumes about the quality of the materials and coating used by Cosori. The fact that the baskets retain their pristine condition, even with identical handling and cleaning routines as my previous air fryers, is a testament to Cosori’s superior manufacturing standards. This long-lasting, non-peeling coating ensures that your air fryer will continue to perform at its best for years to come, making it a truly worthwhile investment.
Cosori Air Fryer Cons: Addressing the Minor Drawbacks
While the Cosori air fryer boasts a plethora of impressive features and delivers outstanding performance, it’s important to provide a balanced review by acknowledging its minor drawbacks. One point of consideration is its operating noise level. Compared to my Power Air Fryer XL, which was remarkably quiet during operation, the Cosori is noticeably louder. This initial observation was immediate upon first use. Achieving an extremely quiet operation can be a significant engineering challenge for high-powered kitchen appliances, especially those with strong fans required for rapid air circulation.
However, it’s worth noting that the noise level is comparable to other kitchen appliances like a range hood fan or a dishwasher. It’s not disruptive to the point of being unbearable or interfering with conversations, but it is certainly present. Over the several months of using the Cosori, I have gradually grown accustomed to the sound, and it no longer feels like a significant issue. The superior cooking results, faster cook times, and durable design easily outweigh this minor inconvenience. Ultimately, the slight increase in noise is a small trade-off for the exceptional performance and delicious meals the Cosori consistently delivers.
Where to Buy Cosori Air Fryer: Finding the Best Deals
Acquiring your own Cosori air fryer is incredibly convenient, with a variety of retailers offering this popular appliance. For a straightforward and often competitive purchasing experience, you can easily buy the Cosori air fryer directly on Amazon. Amazon provides fast shipping options, customer reviews, and often features deals and discounts, making it an excellent starting point for your purchase. Additionally, major electronics and home goods stores, both online and brick-and-mortar, frequently stock Cosori models, allowing you to compare prices and choose the option that best suits your needs and budget. Keep an eye out for seasonal sales and promotions to get the best value on this highly-rated kitchen gadget.
Are Air Fryers Healthy? Understanding the Nutritional Benefits
A common question among those considering an air fryer is regarding its health benefits. The answer is a resounding yes! Air frying represents a significantly healthier cooking method compared to traditional deep frying, primarily due to its dramatic reduction in fat and oil usage. Deep frying involves submerging food in large quantities of hot oil, which the food then absorbs, leading to high-calorie and high-fat meals. In contrast, air frying utilizes a powerful convection mechanism, circulating superheated air around the food to create a crispy, golden exterior without the need for excessive oil.
With an air fryer, you typically only need a minimal spritz or a tablespoon of oil to achieve that desired crispiness, a stark contrast to the cups of oil required for deep frying. This reduction in oil intake translates to meals with significantly fewer calories and less unhealthy saturated and trans fats. By choosing air frying over deep frying, you can enjoy your favorite “fried” foods like french fries, chicken wings, and crispy vegetables with a clear conscience, knowing you’re making a healthier choice for yourself and your family. It’s a fantastic way to enjoy delicious, crispy textures without compromising on nutritional value, effectively cutting down on fat intake tremendously and contributing to a more balanced diet.
Essential Cosori Air Fryer Accessories for Enhanced Cooking
To truly maximize the versatility and potential of your Cosori air fryer, investing in a few key accessories can significantly enhance your cooking experience. These tools are designed to expand the types of dishes you can prepare, make cleanup even easier, and improve overall convenience:
- Accessories Bundle: A comprehensive accessory bundle often includes items like baking pans, pizza pans, multi-purpose racks, and silicone mats. These expand your air fryer’s capabilities beyond just “frying,” allowing you to bake, roast, and grill a wider variety of foods with ease.
- Air Fryer Parchment Paper: Pre-cut parchment paper liners are incredibly convenient. They prevent food from sticking to the basket, reduce cleanup time, and can help keep smaller, delicate items from falling through the grates. Make sure to get ones specifically designed for air fryers with holes for proper air circulation.
- Oil Spray Bottle: An oil spray bottle is an essential tool for healthy air frying. It allows you to apply a fine, even mist of oil to your food, ensuring crispiness without over-saturating. This precise application helps control calorie intake and prevents the use of harmful aerosol propellants found in many cooking sprays.
- Tongs: High-quality, heat-resistant silicone-tipped tongs are indispensable for safely turning and removing hot food from the air fryer basket without scratching the non-stick coating. They provide a firm grip and protect your hands from the heat.
Final Thoughts and Recommendation: Why the Cosori Stands Out
After several months of rigorous testing and daily use, my final thoughts on the Cosori air fryer are overwhelmingly positive. I enthusiastically recommend this appliance to anyone in the market for a new air fryer, whether you’re a first-time buyer or looking to upgrade. While I’ve had experience with various other brands and can attest that many air fryers effectively get the job done, the Cosori consistently delivers a superior experience. Its performance stands out in several key areas that truly enhance the cooking process and overall user satisfaction.
The Cosori consistently cooks food faster and more efficiently, thanks to its powerful 1700-watt heating and advanced air circulation technology. This means less waiting and more time enjoying perfectly crispy, delicious meals. Crucially, the durability of its non-stick basket sets it apart from competitors. Unlike other models where the coating began to peel within weeks, the Cosori’s basket has maintained its pristine condition, showcasing exceptional build quality and longevity. This durability, combined with its innovative square basket design that maximizes cooking capacity, user-friendly digital functions, and the added convenience of a Wifi-enabled option, makes the Cosori a truly outstanding kitchen appliance. It’s an investment that promises consistent, high-quality results and a significantly improved air frying experience.
Popular Air Fryer Recipes: Culinary Inspiration for Your Cosori
The versatility of the Cosori air fryer opens up a world of culinary possibilities, allowing you to recreate your favorite dishes and discover new ones with less oil and more flavor. Here are some incredibly popular and mouth-watering air fryer recipes that you can easily prepare with your Cosori:
- Air Fryer Fried Chicken Wings: Achieve perfectly crispy, juicy chicken wings without the deep-fried guilt. A staple for game nights or a quick snack.
- Air Fryer Cheeseburgers: Enjoy deliciously cooked cheeseburgers with minimal fuss. The air fryer cooks them evenly, locking in flavor and creating a slight crust.
- Air Fryer Pork Chops: Tender on the inside, crispy on the outside. Air-fried pork chops are a quick and healthy dinner option that doesn’t compromise on taste.
- **Crispy French Fries**: Whether from frozen or homemade, the Cosori excels at turning potatoes into golden, crispy fries that rival fast-food versions.
- **Roasted Vegetables**: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and bell peppers transform into deliciously tender-crisp delights in the air fryer, often becoming a family favorite.
Embrace the convenience and health benefits of air frying by experimenting with these and countless other recipes. The Cosori air fryer is designed to make healthy eating both easy and incredibly tasty!
Irresistible Air Fryer Appetizer Recipes
Air fryers are not just for main courses; they are also perfect for whipping up quick, delicious, and healthier appetizers for parties, snacks, or light meals. The speed and crisping ability of the Cosori make it ideal for preparing bite-sized delights. Imagine perfectly golden mozzarella sticks, crispy spring rolls, or even homemade potato skins, all with significantly less oil than traditional methods. The “Shake” function ensures even cooking for small items, making sure every piece is uniformly crispy. Explore recipes for air-fried shrimp, onion rings, jalapeño poppers, or mini chicken quesadillas to impress your guests or simply treat yourself. The Cosori air fryer transforms everyday ingredients into irresistible appetizers that are both easy to make and a joy to eat, proving its worth far beyond just dinner preparation. Get creative and explore the endless possibilities for delicious, healthier snacks and starters right from your kitchen!