When we’re looking for the best air fryer with dehydrator, we’re actually looking for a versatile kitchen appliance that can save us from spending money on a dehydrator machine.
While some food dehydrators can be cheap, costing less than $50, others will cost around $200. Well, the more expensive ones have a bigger capacity.
Thus, if you are into dehydrating large quantities of ingredients at the same time, you’ll benefit from spending a considerable amount of money on a spacious dehydrator machine with plenty of trays.
In that case, I would say that shopping for the best air fryer with a dehydrating function will not satisfy you completely.
Plus, if we get an air fryer that can also dehydrate food besides cooking it, we can save a lot of space in the kitchen, which is a big thing when we have smaller kitchens. Plus, air fryers are energy-efficient.
I love buying appliances that can do multiple, different things.
For example, an awesome blender can be used to make much more than smoothies and creamy soups. If we buy the right model we can grind rice, make our own flour, grind spices, make salsa, dressings, hummus, dips, puree food, grind raw meat, shred chicken, make ice cream and sorbets. And some blenders even make dough for bread, pasta, and desserts.
Thus, I’m always happy to consider buying machines that can serve multiple purposes in our kitchen.
Best Air Fryer With Dehydrator Reviews
Are there many air fryers that also dehydrate? For those who are not very well acquainted with air fryers, it might come up as a surprise how many of these machines also have a dehydrate function.
However, even the absolute best air fryer with dehydrator is going to offer a pretty limited space for our ingredients. You should think of them as countertop ovens because that’s how some of them are designed.
The original air fryers, whose design is popular even nowadays, offer even less space than those who are designed to resemble countertop ovens.
Thus, the main limitation we must take into account is the small space for preparing our ingredients.
That will pose no problem for those who are not looking to dehydrate a big quantity of veggies and fruits in a very short amount of time.
However, it will not be the best option for people who want to be done with big quantities of fresh fruits and veggies in a short time span. Those will benefit from dehydrator machines with many rows of trays.
1. Ninja AF101: One of the Best Air Fryers with Dehydrator
To put it plainly, Ninja is not a manufacturer that makes things easy if we want to buy an air fryer from them.
They have just so many models that even someone as passionate as me about all kinds of kitchen appliances can get really lost in them all.
To take things easy, I decided to start with the Ninja AF101. After that, I’ll definitely review at least one other Ninja appliance that can impress us.
The AF101 is one of the most popular air fryers at the moment. It’s also pretty affordable, with a price around $100 or slightly more.
Thus, it already has two strong selling points in its favor. I must confess that I overall love the Ninja AF101.
What’s left for us to do is to see what it offers and to see how it’s used to dehydrate foods.
Features
At first glance, the AF101 looks to be on the smaller side and it has a design that resembles the original air fryer. Overall, it has a nice design and it’s just a good size to fit even in smaller kitchens.
Plus, the basket is ceramic coated. Thus, this is an excellent ceramic air fryer.
It has a 4 quart basket, which is described as being family-sized. We can cook and crisp 2 pounds of French fries so that’s going to give you an idea of its capacity. Check out this article if you want to know more about air fryer sizes.
The basket is ceramic-coated so it should be very easy to clean.
We also get a crisper plate that promotes overall browning. This plate should be used every time we air fry.
All the accessories are dishwasher safe. But you can add parchment paper on top of the crisper plate if you want to escape any cleaning.
Cooking functions
There are 4 programmable cooking functions:
- air fry
- roast
- reheat
- dehydrate
The cook time and temperature are controlled manually for all these 4 functions.
According to these functions, Ninja AF101 can: roast, bake, air fry, reheat and dehydrate. We have a whole range of cooking options.
We get a wide temperature range: 105 to 400 degrees F.
Thus, whatever dehydrating recipe you want to make, no matter how low the temperature needs to be set, this air fryer will allow you to do so.
Small size
Is there anything else we should acknowledge about the Ninja AF101?
It’s rather small. I wouldn’t recommend it to people who have large quantities of fruits and veggies to preserve.
But it’s perfect for those who want to make a snack of beef jerky at home or a few hands of fruit/veggie chips for snacking, for breakfast or for a short camping trip.
Ninja AF101 dehydrate tips & tricks
The Quick Start Guide that comes with the AF101 also includes a small section for the dehydrate function.
However, the time and temperature for any recipe that you want to make will have to be introduced manually.
That’s how it goes for all models and that’s also the case if you buy a dehydrator machine.
The tips and tricks include:
- use a mandoline slicer to get consistent thin fruit and vegetable slices – slice them as thinly as possible
- dry the ingredients before dehydrating- you can pat fruits and veggies dry with paper towels
- lay ingredients flat and close together to optimize space but avoid overlapping
- for meats, trim the fat because fat doesn’t dry out and it could turn rancid
- before dehydrating meats & fish, use the roast function for just 1 minute to pasteurize them
How long will it take to dehydrate?
Most fruits and veggies take 6-8 hours, jerky taste 5-7 hours. It depends how crispy you want the slices to be.
How to dehydrate with Ninja AF101
In the same Quick Start Guide we also get a chart for various ingredients, how to prepare the plus the temp & dehydrate time we should select manually.
For example, apples should have their core removed, cut in ⅛-inch slices, rinsed in lemon water, patted dry.
The recommended temp is 135 degrees F and the dehydrate time should be selected for 7-8 hours.
We get instructions for: apples, asparagus, bananas, beets, eggplant, fresh herbs, ginger root, mangoes, mushrooms, pineapple, strawberries, tomatoes, beef jerky, chicken jerky, turkey jerky, and salmon jerky.
For fruits and vegetables, the recommended temperature is 135 degrees F for all and for meat, poultry, fish the temp is 150 degrees F.
However, if you follow other recipes, you should select the time & temp that they recommend.
2. Ninja AG301: Overall the Best Air Fryer with Dehydrator
You might be looking for the best air fryer with dehydrator but what would you say about an appliance that also adds a grill on top of that?
We can’t help but love this expansive world of kitchen appliances that can serve so many purposes and needs.
Thus, if you need an air fryer for cooking and crisping foods without adding much fat/oil and you want a dehydrate function on top of that but you might also benefit from the grill function that is included, then you’re going to love the Ninja AG301.
The AG301 is described as a 5-in-1 indoor grill. The indoor grill is certainly a big selling point.
And it’s also a justification for the approx. $200+ price that you’ll have to pay for one of these. It’s not a cheap appliance.
If you’re looking for more affordable appliances, Ninja AF101, Instant Vortex Plus 4-in-1, and Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 are the most suitable picks that I would recommend.
Features
I really like that the shape of this air fryer with dehydrator actually imitates a big outdoor grill. The difference is that this is a miniature one for the indoors.
The components for the Ninja AG301 are ceramic coated (no Teflon coating):
- ceramic-coated grill grate on top 10 x 10 inches
- ceramic-coated crisper basket 4 qt
- cooking pot ceramic-coated 6 qt
- cleaning brush and 15-recipe book
One left side of the control panel we have the grill function where we can introduce the temp manually. The temp also ranges from low to med to high to max.
The max temperature for the grill is 500 degrees F and it comes with cyclonic grilling technology for surround searing and delicious char-grilled marks.
On the right side, we have the other 4 functions:
- air crisp (instead of calling it air fry) – crispiness and crunch with little to no oil
- dehydrate – for fruits, vegetables, and meats
- roast – tenderize meats, roast vegetables
- bake – bake cakes, treats, desserts
Thus, with the AG301 we can grill, air fry, bake, roast, and dehydrate. That’s why it’s called a 5-in-1.
The grill feature also includes a smoke control system that I infer that it’s in the lid. That’s great but even separate indoor grills are nowadays sold as being smokeless so it’s not a feature that only the Ninja AG301 can boast of.
The size of the basket is 4 quart. It’s certainly not big but it can fit 2 pounds of French fries so that might be enough for most of you.
It can also grill up to 4 steaks, 4 burgers or roast a 3-pound roast.
The conclusion is that if you cook for more than 4 members, the size of the AG301 will force you to cook in multiple sessions.
I think it’s a perfect size for 2-3 people but maybe not more than that.
3. Ninja FD401: Air Fryer + Dehydrator + Pressure Cooker
I warned you that Ninja has a lot of air fryers. It’s really hard to choose which of them to review because they all sound pretty awesome.
However, I don’t want to review only Ninja appliances, no matter how wonderful they sound. 3 of them is already a bit too much.
I just had to talk a bit about the Ninja FD401 because it’s another versatile air fryer with dehydrator. It’s also in the same price range of the Ninja AG301. Neither are cheap so you will need a budget above $200 for either.
The difference is that the FD401 is better for bigger families, while the AG301 is more suitable for smaller families.
Features
This FD401 is actually a 12-in-1 machine.
The surprising feature is that this model also acts as a pressure cooker. While the AG301 has a grill on top, the FD401 can be used as a pressure cooker.
We get the following touch buttons:
- pressure
- steam
- slow cook yogurt
- sear/saute
- air crisp (the air fryer function)
- broil
- bake/roast
- dehydrate
The dehydrate function works just how I’ve mentioned for the Ninja AF101 so there’s really nothing new to add.
No matter which model you end up choosing, the dehydrate function is basically a method to remove moisture from slices of fruits, vegetables, meats & fish at low temperatures over a period of several long hours. That’s the basis of it.
The components for this pressure cooker + air fryer + dehydrator are:
- pressure lid
- deluxe reversible rack – thanks to 2 of these we can cook up to 8 chicken breasts or salmon filets at one
- 5 qt ceramic-coated basket that fits 4 pounds of French fries
- crisping lid
- 8 qt cooking pot that serves 8-10
As you might have noticed, the FD401 boasts of a bigger capacity than the two other Ninja I recommended above.
The TenderCrisp technology also enables us to cook 7 pounds chicken in less than an hour, which is based on cook time under pressure and crisping so we’re employing 2 functions.
4. Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1
Another very popular air fryer, which is pretty much just as popular as the above Ninja AF101, is the Instant Vortex Plus.
With a price around $150, it’s certainly not a cheap machine but it can still be considered pretty affordable.
Let’s see what we get for the money.
Features
I don’t like the design of the Instant Vortex all that much. It seems a bit too bulky.
On the other hand, the 6 quart basket is very big even if we have a slightly bigger family so we might overlook the slightly bulky design.
It will allow you to cook 4-6 servings.
The name 6-in-1 comes from the 6 functions that it has:
- airfry
- roast
- broil
- bake
- reheat
- dehydrate
It’s pretty standard. But it cooks everything very well.
The 95-400 degrees F temperature range is good enough for any meal, including dehydrating foods at very low temperatures.
Overall, I really like the Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 as one of the best air fryers with dehydrators. And I can’t say that there’s anything wrong with it.
However, it has a few negative reviews that I can’t overlook. There are serious complaints about it and I think everyone should read a few of those, too.
Taking all that into account, I should mention that the Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 is not among my favorites, like the above models from Ninja are.
Still, it’s a very popular appliance that many buyers love a lot so it deserves a mention in an article such as this one that I’m writing.
5. Instant Vortex Plus 4-in-1
If you want a slightly cheaper Vortex Plus, we can choose this 4-in-1 model, which is a bit cheaper than the 6-in-1.
The whole idea is to see if you’re better off saving a few dollars or if we just go straight for the 6-in-1 version.
Frankly, I prefer the 4-in-1 because it’s cheaper.
On the other hand, it has a 4 quart basket so it’s a more appropriate model for smaller families.
Other than the size of the basket, these two Instant Vortex Plus models are absolutely identical. They’re the same machine, with the same functions, only their sizes are slightly different.
6. Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro: Complex Best Air Fryer with Dehydrator
This Breville is so much more than an air fryer. It’s also so much more than an appliance with a dehydrate function.
I think it would be better to describe it as an expensive countertop oven with a lot of functions, including airfry and dehydrate.
It’s also pretty much the most expensive air fryer with dehydrator that we could buy. It’s going to be so interesting to see what we actually get for the money.
Frankly, the top reason for not claiming that this is the model that everyone should buy is because of its expensive price. I want absolutely everyone, no matter their budget, to find the best air fryer with dehydrator for their household.
Another important reason is that, despite its very expensive price, the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro has some failings, especially when it comes to questions of longevity.
When we pay a high price on an appliance, we expect to use it for 5 to 10 years without major problems. I’m not confident that this Breville Smart Oven can work well for such a long time.
All in all, this Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is an amazing concept but I have my doubts that will stay that way in the long run.
Components
Since this is a bit more complex than many other air fryers, let’s start with the components that make the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro:
- 13 inches nonstick pizza pan
- 2 wire racks with 8 different rack positions – we can use both of them at the same time with the dehydrate function
- 9 x 13 inches broiling rack
- 9 x 13 enamel roasting pan
- air fry basket
- crumb tray
As you can clearly see from this list, this oven is a complex appliance that comes equipped with all the basic essentials we need.
It works as an air fryer, a dehydrator, a convection oven with a 2-speed convection fan, a toaster oven, a countertop pizza oven, and a dough proof box and yogurt maker.
The temperature range is between 80 to 480 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s a wide, quite satisfactory range.
Features
As a countertop oven, it’s pretty big.
It measures 21.5 x 17.5 x 12.7 inches. The design is pretty and it’s going to look great in any kitchen.
However, it’s more suitable for bigger kitchens that aren’t already cluttered with lots of other appliances. It’s hard to choose between countertop ovens, juicers, toasters, blenders, bread machines, stand mixers, microwave ovens, coffee makers, pressure cookers, food processors, ice cream makers, pancake makers, and the list can go on.
To give you a more clear idea of how big this Breville oven is, I should mention that it can cook: a 14-pound turkey, 13-inch pizza, and it fits a 12-cup muffin tray.
It has 13 functions:
- toast
- bagel
- broil
- bake
- roast
- warm
- pizza
- proof
- airfry
- reheat
- cookies
- slow cook
- dehydrate
We also get a few buttons: oven light, convection, phase cook, and frozen foods.
Overall, I would say that the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is a great pick for those who don’t already have a very good home oven or a good countertop oven. If you already own one of those, why would you feel the need to spend a lot of money on a second oven for your house?
How to dehydrate with Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro
One of the things I love about Breville is that some of their appliances come with recipe books. And we have access to an online format whether we end up buying their appliance or not.
For example, their Breville Super Q blender has one of the most wonderful recipe books. But so does their Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, which pleases me a lot.
Most importantly, they have some amazing recipes for the dehydrate function. They all sound interesting but you might be scared to try any when you see the estimated time for each recipe.
If Ninja tells us that we can dehydrate slices of fruits, vegetables and meats in 5-8 hours, Breville estimates that we need to dehydrate the ingredients for their recipes for 6 hrs, 12-15 hrs, 14 hrs, 24 hrs, 26 hrs, etc.
However, I give them full credit for finding some really interesting recipes.
The first one is dehydrated pineapple on hummingbird cupcakes and it looks like something out of a professional bakery.
It’s followed by delicious dehydrated honey-rosemary roasted activated almonds.
We also get recipes for dehydrated bananas with coconut, which takes 26 hours for 10 halves, dehydrated vegetable chips, dehydrated crackers, and beef jerky.
The beef jerky one takes 3-4 hours and it serves 6-8.
7. KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven with Air Fry
This KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven with Air Fry is a bit similar to the above Breville. The things these two have in common is that they’re awesome countertop ovens with a bunch of functions, including air fry and dehydrate.
The major thing that sets them apart is that this KitchenAid is about 2 times cheaper than the Breville Smart Oven. Thus, a difference of about $200 sets them widely apart.
Given the huge price difference between the two, I’m inclined to declare the KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven with Air Fry is my favorite of the two.
Plus, it’s very simple to use, it’s very straightforward and simplistic.
Components
- no-flip air fry basket and 360 degrees air fry system
- 9 x 13 inches baking pan with grill rack
- metal drip and crumb tray
As you can tell, we get just one try for dehydrating ingredients. On the other hand, the Breville comes with 2 wire racks that we can use at the same time.
The KitchenAid is the simplistic version, that’s the best way to describe it. But it’s also a lot cheaper so I still think it’s worth the price.
Features
It measures 16 x 17 x 11.3 inches. It’s considerably smaller than the Breville.
It’s still capable of baking a 12 inch pizza but it takes up less space on the countertop. It will also fit a 9-inch cake pan.
We get knobs to control the cooking functions, temperature/time and smaller buttons for Start, Cancel and Convection.
It has 9 cooking functions:
- air fry
- toast
- bagel
- proof
- dehydrate
- bake
- broil
- reheat
- keep warm
How to dehydrate food with KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven with Air Fry
We don’t get any particular instruction about how to dehydrate foods with this KitchenAid.
The manufacturer includes a guide on how to use this appliance but they don’t address the dehydrate function all that much.
The principle is the same: slice ingredients thinly, pat them for excess moisture, align them in the tray in a single row, select a low temperature and a very high number of hours.
You’ll have to find the recipes you want to make and follow their instructions.
How does the dehydrate function work in an air fryer?
When we want to dehydrate food by using a heating mechanism, the whole point is to use very low temperatures.
For example, if you’re using a home oven to dehydrate ingredients, the optimal temperature to use is 140 degrees Fahrenheit or the lowest temperature the oven can go to.
Thus, dehydrating ingredients is a gentle process.
Dehydrator machines usually have a temperature range between 85-165 degrees F.
The dehydrate function in an air fryer follows the same principle. Low heat and plenty of time allocated to ingredients until their moisture is removed.
How to dehydrate in an air fryer
Frankly, that dehydrate function is basically just using a very low temperature and letting your ingredients in the basket for more than a few decent hours until the desired consistency is reached.
Step 1. Slice your fruits or vegetables thinly.
If you cut them into even slices, the slices will all be dehydrated at the same time so you can remove them all at once once they’re done.
The ingredients are cut into ⅛-¼ inches (3-6 mm) slices. Thinner slices will dry more quickly so I recommend sticking as closely as you can to the ⅛ inches size.
Step 2. Arrange the slices into a single layer, don’t overlap them.
Step 3. Press the dehydrate button, select the desired temperature and set the time.
Step 4. In general, I would recommend setting the temperature at 125-130-140 degrees Fahrenheit.
For herbs and flowers, the recommended temperatures are 100 to 110 degrees F.
If you’re in a hurry, you will set the temperature higher, like 150-160 degrees F.
The temperature for meats and fish can be set at 145 degrees F and above.
Step 5. It actually varies how long it’s going to take until your thin slices are free of moisture and good for consumption as a snack or to be stored for later use.
It can take anywhere from 4 to 12 to 15 to 18 to 26 hours.
My advice is to find some good recipes for the ingredients that you want to dehydrate and follow those. There are also helpful cookbooks on this subject. If you want to make interesting recipes, I recommend buying a good dehydrator cookbook.
Dehydrating: a food preservation method
First of all, dehydrating is a wonderful way to preserve food. Of course, we have canning and freezing as great methods to preserve many foods in many forms. However, space in a pantry or in a freezer is severely limited for most of us. We need to take full advantage of another food preservation method.
For those passionate about camping and backpacking, dehydrated foods are an awesome item to add to the list because they are so lightweight.
It’s also a very good method for those who grow their own fruits and veggies. It’s a fast method to preserve some of the harvest. Plus, unlike a freezer, storing dehydrated foods won’t cost a penny.
We can even dehydrate food using a simple home oven so , if we decide that buying the best air fryer with dehydrator is not a good idea for the moment, you can experiment with your home oven.
Or we can dehydrate ingredients outdoors in the sun for those who have access to an outdoor space. This is the method that costs the least.
Dehydrating is the simple process of removing moisture content from fruits and veggies. By simply removing that moisture, we extend their lifespan because the bacterium that causes food to decay can’t survive.
Types of food dehydrating
Besides introducing to you some of the best air fryers with dehydrating function, I also want to remind you that there are methods to achieve this food preservation method.
You might want to engage in a combination of methods, which can be a good idea if you have the resources for it. And if you have to preserve large quantities of fruits and vegetables.
Sun drying
This is us going back to the methods of our ancestors. But it totally works perfectly no matter which century we found ourselves in.
Sun dried tomatoes might be the thing that comes to most of our minds when mentioning sun drying. They are indeed delicious and a versatile ingredient to cook with.
Sun drying simply means slicing raw ingredients, placing them on racks and letting them lie in the sunshine until all the moisture is gone. The power of the sun is wonderful and free.
We can do so for fruits, vegetables, and even mushrooms. I love going for wild mushrooms and then dehydrating them in the sun.
Air drying
Instead of drying in the sun, we dry in the shade. However, this method is mostly recommended for delicate greens and herbs.
Oven drying
This is a great method to dry ingredients in the oven at very low temperatures.
The temperature range should be around 140-200 degrees Fahrenheit, it also depends on how low your oven goes. My advice is to set it up as low as it can get.
Nevertheless, oven drying is considered to be not the most efficient method among all due to the large size of home ovens.
Still, if you don’t end up buying any special appliance with a dehydrate function, an oven is a good replacement.
Remember to prop the oven door so that the moisture can escape.
Dehydrator machines
There are a lot of food dehydrators to choose from. If you have a generous budget and lots of ingredients to process, you’re going to prefer one with many trays, which can cost even $200.
The good news is that even a budget under $50 can allow you to buy a pretty nice, smaller model.
Or you can buy one of those models that I reviewed as options for the best air fryer with dehydrator and choose a truly versatile appliance.
Which foods can be dehydrated?
There’s a very long list of vegetables and fruits that can be dehydrated.
Plus, let’s not forget about the fact that mushrooms are excellent for this preservation method, too.
We can dehydrate fruits like citrus fruits, apples, pears, apricots, peaches, berries, bananas, tomatoes, etc.
You can then use the fruits as toppings for smoothie bowls, eating them as chips, adding them to cereals, in desserts, etc.
Vegetables can also be dehydrated: peas, beans, carrots, beets, greens, pumpkin, etc. We can even dehydrate ginger root.
You can eat them as veggie chips or add them to soups, stews, pasta dishes, etc.
We can also dehydrate nuts.
And, if you want something more challenging, you can dehydrate meat and fish. You can add to your backpacking supplies or cook them in soups and stews. Or you can make beef jerky, cured meats, etc.
Whatever food you want to dehydrate or whatever recipes you want to make, any of the models that I reviewed above as the best air fryer with dehydrator will be capable of helping you accomplish them.
