Making frozen foods such as tater tots and chicken tenders taste and feel like they actually got deep fried, and restoring fried takeout items like mozzarella sticks and onion rings to their former glory is where the air fryer really shines. An air fryer has myriad other uses, but its capacity with fried items alone is worth the price.

If you don't have an air fryer you might think their rise in popularity recently is marketing hype and feel no need to take advantage of any air fryer Black Friday deals. But we'll let you in on a secret: Air fryers are basically miniature convection ovens,