I have already written a whole other article talking about whether air fryers are allowed in dorm rooms. If you have worked out that air fryers ARE allowed in your dorm, the very next question is ‘which one should I buy then?’ This is where I come in. Let’s go over all the options together!
What Type of Air Fryer is Best for a Dorm Room?
If you don’t want to go with my air fryer picks, I am going to first arm you with the information you will need to pick your own. These are the top factors I consider when choosing an air fryer for a dorm room:
Cost
I would not want an expensive air fryer in a dorm room. Student life can be crazy and who knows what could happen to this thing! So I would rather go with something cheaper so if it does get burned out by your well meaning housemate, it isn’t a big deal! And students don’t exactly have a high budget anyways, so it fits on that count too!
Size
Most dorm rooms are small, so I would go for something compact so as to easily fit without getting in the way or causing too much stress!
Up Keep
Having an air fryer in a dorm room could mean it is not near a proper kitchen. Therefore, any appliance we buy should be easy to clean. A simple wipe with a wet cloth would be ideal!
Quality
I know this may seem to go against my first factor of ‘cost’ but hear me out! You don’t want to go with the absolute cheapest unit on the market as it will probably end up causing you more hassle than it’s worth. For example, many cheap air fryers suffer with issues such as a flaky non-stick coating that would render it useless! So you need to balance that cost to quality ration well 🙂
My Picks for a Dorm Room Air Fryer:
COSORI Air Fryer, 5 QT, 9-in-1 Airfryer Compact Oilless Small Oven.
I recently reviewed this air fryer and absolutely love it. I loved it so much it’s still in my kitchen as we speak! And this would make the perfect air fryer for a student that still wants to go for something on the larger size. At 5 quarts, it’s not massive but it is big enough to cook a whole meal for one in. And the compact nature of the design makes it seem smaller than it is!
This is also a prime example of the quality to price ratio I was talking about earlier. You are getting a quality air fryer from a well-known brand in the air fryer world. Quality won’t be an issue here, let me tell you. So, although it’s not the ‘cheapest air fryer EVER’ it’s well priced for what you are getting.
As an added bonus, you will simply love the sleek and modern design. That slightly space age vibe won’t make it look dorky to your student friends 🙂 And the high quality non-stick coating is easy to clean. For a student, this is the complete package!
Instant Vortex 2QT 4-in-1 Air Fryer Oven Combo
If you think that 5 quarts is a bit big for your dorm room, then this is a much more compact alternative. At only 2 quarts in size don’t expect to cook whole meals in it, but the upside is it will fit in even the smallest of dorm rooms. And coming from Instant (who are famous for the Instant Pot) you know you are buying from a brand you can trust. Like with the Cosori above, you are getting a lot of air fryer for your money too!
Last but not least, I like the simple design of this air fryer, making it easy to use for even the busiest and/or laziest students 🙂 Just don’t expect the good looks of the Cosori above 🙂
Dash Deluxe Electric 6 Qt Air Fryer + Oven Cooker
The thing I love about this particular Dash air fryer is the fact that it combines an awesome retro look with the simplicity of rotary dials. If design is high on your list of air fryer priorities, then this may be the air fryer for you 🙂 And those simple dials mean there is much less to go wrong, even with the rigours of student use 🙂
Just be aware that this is one of the bigger air fryers on this list (at 6 quarts) and will needs bit more space. And even though you may not have heard of this brand, they are well respected in the world of air fryers.
DASH Tasti-Crisp™ Electric Air Fryer Oven (2.6 Qt)
If you have fallen in love with the Dash air fryer above but are cursing its size, not to worry. Dash also has this very similar-looking air fryer that comes in a slightly smaller form factor. At 2.6 quarts it should provide enough space for a good amount of air frying without taking up too much space in your probably already cramped dorm room 🙂
The only downside is that the retro look is not quite so strong on this model, but if size is your priority, you can’t go far wrong with this unit. And can still rest assured you are buying from a quality brand.
