Halo Air Fryer | Digital Large Air Fryer Oven | 5.5 L | Fry, Bake, Roast & Grill | 1700 W | Energy Efficient | Black [VDF126]

This is a game changer in cooking. I’ve never owned an air fryer before but others who had them convinced me to try one out and I’m glad I did. This air fryer is efficient and easy to use. It takes some educated guesswork to establish how long you cook food in it for, and appropriate temperatures, as it’s unlike an oven which needs time to heat up. Instead, as a guide I halve the time indicated on packaging instructions, otherwise you’ll end up with chargrilled and overcooked food. While it comes with I instructions and a guarantee, it’s best setting it for several minutes at a time with new foods until you can gauge its strength and power. It’s easy to clean (basket and divider are dishwasher safe too, but the drawer isn’t), and simple to operate with the digital panel. I’ve not experienced any issues raised from other reviews, about the device not resuming the cooking programme if you open the drawer and close it again. That may be a software issue from a particular batch some time ago now. It’s been straightforward to use and looks good too. Leave enough space around the air fryer when in use, in order for heat to dissipate and ensure you don’t burn or melt anything in the vicinity. This is common sense really, and fortunately I’ve not had any adverse problem to prompt this in my review, however, it’s always worth mentioning as some users may be surprised this device emits heat when cooking! Overall, a great workhorse particularly if it’s your first ever air fryer. I believe you should buy what you can afford and you tend to get what you pay for. This item, while purchased on offer/sale, was still higher in cost than other brands and models (some also on sale and reduced in price). But in this instance I would advise the build quality and sturdiness sets it apart from the cheaper models on sale too. My only criticism would be the hinged cover over the button that detaches the basket from the drawer unit. It does appear to be somewhat flimsy in contrast to the overall build and size of the device, so care should be taken you don’t snap it off by accident when using it.

The first air fryer I ordered made by a different company seemed poor and flimsy but this Breville air fryer seems much sturdier and made to a higher standard, like all kitchen ‘gadgets’ it takes some getting used to and I would advise buying a recipe book designed for air fryers to get you started, the machine itself is well made and didn’t take long to work out how to use it and now I’m really pleased I bought this machine as when cooking things like chops, steaks etc the results are superb, practice makes perfect with these machines but they are easy to use and they are very quick and efficient, it’s easy to clean and a great addition to the kitchen as it is used more and more and almost making my cooker oven redundant, they are big enough to cook a smallish chicken or joint and give fantastic results especially when using small amounts of seasoning to enhance the flavour even more yet keeping the meat juicy and not dried out, I would definitely recommend this machine as good value for money and a better way of cooking without using additional oils or fats so better for my waistline as well (👍👍)

This is a brilliant air fryer which has lasted us 4 years! Only now have we decided to upgrade to an air fryer with two drawers as our family has grown. For a family of two hungry adults and a food loving toddler it’s been the perfect size. The various settings allow for multiple cooking options and can be used for simple or more adventurous meals. For the price it really is brilliant, I would’ve happily paid more given the quality.

I was recommended this air fryer by a friend - I’d never considered having one before and goodness, it’s been a game changer! I cook so much in it - from the normal chips and potatoes, nuggets etc to fish, sausages and veggies. My oven is almost entirely neglected now, only being switched on to warm the occasional pizza! Pros: - It’s large and a good price for the size (at the time of buying, Amazon offered the ‘pay in instalments’ function which certainly helped spread the cost too). To be honest, with just my daughter and in the house I probably didn’t need one so big but it will cook a whole roast chicken in an hour with no fuss at all. - It’s so quick and convenient ! I can literally cook a portion of chips and chicken nuggets in there in about 12 minutes. - It’s easy to use. Takes no time at all to work out the buttons and what they do. - Healthier. I add oil to things like roast chicken as per manufacturer instruction in the guide booklet but not to things like pre-packaged oven chips. Your food is not sitting in the oil because of the basket. - Even cooking you just can’t obtain in an oven with constantly checking and turning food. - Lovely and tasty crispy chips, potatoes, chicken, salmon etc every time! Cons: - it’s quite a lump on the kitchen side and it’s not exactly sleek looking (more resembling a bumbling droid from Star Wars). - I personally don’t find it hugely easy to clean - I can never seem to degrease it entirely. - I am on my second one of these now. My first, bought in March 2021 was fine until the end of July 2021 when it decided to die peacefully but mysteriously when not in use (it just stopped having power). Sadly, it wasn’t an easy fix of changing the plug fuse, so I notified Amazon Customer Services who promptly sorted me out with a replacement. Fingers crossed the new one at least makes it to it’s first birthday (hence the four stars).

Our first air fryer was exactly like this. Unfortunately, it stopped working after two years. Despite this, I would nit consider replacing it with anything else. I do wish it had lasted longer, but I also have an Ninja combination cooker that does air frying and while it is perfectly adequate for many foods like sausages or burgers, the chips are nowhere near as nice as as with the Breville. My family loves chips, and being able to cut the oil down and still enjoy a traditional meal with chips has really made a difference in our health and food bill. Oil has become so very expensive and begins to produce carcinogens when heated repeatedly. In addition to making the absolute best chips you can get from an air fryer, this is also great at frying fish, sausage , burgers, chicken etc... It also has the advantage of being able to lift the frying basket out by the handle, making serving the food very easy. With the ninja, each individual chip had to be fished out of a burning hot pan. You can also shake the basket to remove excess oil before serving, or to distribute salt or seasonings more easily. I understand I could wash the basket and pan part int he dish washer, but it is always washed by hand to protect the non stick coating. I considered rating down since my previous one did have a shorter lifespan than I would have liked, but to be fair we did use it quite a lot. I decided the fact that I bought the exact same model again, even though it was a bit difficult to find, and would do so again says something for it, as does the fact that the two of them cost less than my ninja, which will probably last forever because it is never used. My family says the chips from this are better than the ones from old deep fryer, and they prefer this to fast food, and I think that is the most important factor.

I ordered the Breville Halo Air Fryer, Digital Air Fryer Oven, 5.5 Litre in January and it was delivered promptly 3 days later. Inspecting the item I found that the underside bottom corner of the air basket draw wasn’t coated so I telephone Breville on the free phone number (supplied on the box), spoke to a very helpful young woman who sent a replacement after I had sent her a photo, attached to an email. I had a Tefal Actifry before this and I can tell you the Breville is far superior, in that it cooks the food so much faster and the machine is so quiet compared to the Tefal. If you want to cook two items at the same time, simply insert the basket divider, but you must ease the silicon rubber gently so the divider fits snugly in the basket without moving. Just one thing I wish it did, tell me by bussing when its half way through the time, to remind me to turn the item being cooked over. Other than that it’s a fantastic machine. I also purchased a three year cover plan.

I wish I'd have bought one of these years ago. We've had it for about a week and the oven hasn't been used since. This is so easy to use and everything just tastes so much better but as always, read the manual and chkec your food to make sure it's cooked. Chips and chicken nuggets (from frozen) about 8 minutes at 200. Chips and chicken nuggets, peas and sweetcorn (from frozen) about 10-11 minutes at 200. Chicago Town mini pizzas about 6 minutes at 200. I had to cook 6 as they came out so well and tasted amazing. Asparagus. place in a ceramic tray then add butter and black pepper and cook for about 7 minutes not forgetting to shake regularly. The Asparagus tasted fantastic. Butter a slice of bread, layer with a tomato based sauce then add cheese and whatever else you fancy. About 4 minutes to cook at 200 and the bread toasted really nicely. Steak. Cook at 200 for 15 minutes then I dropped the temp to 150 for 5 minutes. Once cooked I then let the steak sit in hoi sin sauce for 5 minutes. This came out so tasty and I will be cooking this one again. Chicken Breast from frozen should take about 20 minutes and can be a little messy so use a ceramic dish. I recommend using chicken strips as well. And cleaning is easy. Use paper towels to soak up any oils from the bottom and wash as required but as always please be careful with hot oils. Very Highly recommended

I have an old Breville halo halogen health fryer. Easy to use, clean, food cooks so quickly and comes out perfect. You can pop the lid up anytime to pause cooking and check food and just push it back down to continue cooking. Best oven I’ve ever cooked with. Used everyday and It’s coming up to 5 years old now. I’m dreading the day it packs up as it keeps making strange noises. To my horror it’s not made or sold anymore. So in preparation for that day! I purchased this new Breville. Omg it’s totally different. It’s bulky, does not look as good quality. I can’t get as much food in the basket like pizza for instance. But it’s not even a halogen bulb which I thought was the halo logo? It’s just a normal cooking ring metal element. Aside from all that. I thought ok, I’ve got to give it a go. Turned on, food in. Set all the temp and time. Opened the basket to check on the ‘Fries’ in this instance, the whole thing turned off! It’s meant to pause cooking and then resume when u push the basket tray back in. So for starters, I had to keep remembering how long I had already been cooking for. Then start again resetting the temp and timer to turn it all on again. Hence I still ended up with slightly over cooked but dry looking Fries that were mainly hard when you bit into them. I have a fussy OCD teenager who will only eat food cooked to perfection. My fries in the old Breville version come out like McDonalds not like dried oven chips. So I tried some of his fav Turkey dinasaurs twice! Even had the meat thermometer out to keep checking the least amount of time I could cook them for. Without them drying up on the edges and getting burnt, but still being cooked to the safe meat temperature. Came out better then the chips but no where near perfect. Couldn’t fit as much pizza inside but cooked a lot better. Problem was the basket is so deep, it was hard to scoop the slices up to get them out. Which I could only fit 2 slices in, in the first place. Then cleaning the thing. I’m use to wiping my old version around whilst still hot. This version you would burn your arm on. Unless your really tall to get above it. So I had to wait for it to cool down first. Taking up more room on my heat proof surface. The actual oven part took ages to cool down. Anyway I rang Amazon and got a replacement sent. Oh dear the second machine had exactly the same fault as the first one did. Will not pause cooking to check on food. Plus the divider was missing from this one. I lost all faith and have returned both faulty machines back to them for a refund. Long story short; ended up having to speak to 4 different people at Amazon for them to get the return parcels booked correctly. All very nice customer service manners and trying to be helpful. But all but the last person failed to know what they were doing. I wasted so much time on the phone trying to sort out their errors and having to explain everything again. I can only assume they are on skeleton staff with young newbies training as they go from the Covid situation. So if that is the case, then I’m just thankful I eventually got to speak to someone who knew what they were doing as I now await my refund. As both faulty machines have been collected today. But regarding the Breville machines actual review. I am deeply disappointed and flabbergasted, how they can make such a rubbish oven years after making such a brilliant one. Why discontinue something that worked so good and only offer this kind of replacement to buy in its place. I paid more for my older Breville version and would gladly pay for that kind of quality again. I would also like to add to anyone still wanting to try this product: Don’t press that handle button as a door release. It’s to release the basket from the tray, only after it’s been removed and placed on a heat resistant surface first. I nearly went to do it and just stopped myself in time. Purely from the fact I had another cooking gadget over 2o yrs ago. That muscle memory must have automatically kicked in to press that button to open the door. But luckily because it was a new gadget, I wasn’t rushing and corrected myself in time not to do it. So anyways if your like myself and have used the older Beville cooker version and loved it, you will hate this one. I’m now stuck with either preying they bring a similar one out again or bite the bullet and go back to buying a microwave convection oven. I so wanted this new Breville oven to be my next replacement and apart from the fact I was sent two faulty machines. In my experience it just cooks awful and not very quickly, if you have to start reducing temperature or add more oil to stop food drying out and burning.