As the Air Fryer Bro, I have seen a lot of trends over the years, everything from the pressure cooker/ air fryer combo to the booming popularity of the air fryer oven. And guess what? There is a new trend in town that was started by our friends over at Ninja. They had the idea of combining what we love about the air fryer with the ‘BBQ greatness’ of an indoor grill. If you have heard about this trend and are in the market for one, read on. Today I will share with you my favorite models….
What’s the main difference between an air fryer and an air fryer/ indoor grill combo?
Simply put, the air fryer/ indoor grill combo takes the hot air cooking style of an air fryer and changes the form factor into one that better suits grilling. So rather than the traditional bucket style of regular air fryers, these appliances give you a more rectangular cooking space that is better suited to grilling steaks or whatever else you like to grill.
You could achieve the same cooking style in a regular air fryer by adding a grill pan. I have a grill pan for my Philips air fryer, for example. However, the cooking space in a regular air fryer will restrict how much you can grill at one time. So if you are really into grilling, one of these combo units might be better suited.
My Top Picks for an Air Fryer + Indoor Grill Combo
To view any of the recommended air fryers below over at Amazon, simply click on the product image.
1. COSORI Indoor Grill & Smart XL Air Fryer Combo Aeroblaze
Although Ninja started this whole trend, I don’t recommend them as the top air fryer/ indoor grill to buy. This is mainly because they like to confuse us with way too many different models with small incremental differences. It is so annoying when you get your shiny new air fryer grill home only to find it doesn’t have all the features you thought!
No such trouble with Cosori. They have a much simpler and clearer range of air fryers, and this Aeroblaze indoor grill variant is an impressive machine! It has 6 quarts of cooking space, which would suit most small to medium-sized households. And the 100 square inch grill is not the biggest around, but still gives enough space for 4 decent sized steaks.
This is also a smart air fryer, meaning you can control it through an accompanying app or even via an Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
As well as having the ability to grill, this unit has 7 other cooking functions: Crisp/ Broil/ Roast/ Bake/ Dehydrate/ Preheat and Keep warm. It really is a versatile appliance.
I also like the fact that it has a built in smoke filter, which is great when you are grilling something liable to smoke. But be aware it is not a smoke free grill 🙂
The only downside for me is the fact that this unit has a rather bland and boring design language, in my opinion. It won’t exactly be a highlight in most kitchens, lets put it that way 🙂 And this is also one of the more expensive appliances, in line with the cost of similar Ninja models. I suppose this is the price of buying a well-known air fryer brand.
2. Ninja IG651 Foodi Smart XL Pro 7-in-1 Indoor Grill/Griddle Combo
I know I complained about Ninja’s confusing product lines earlier but there is one of their air fryer grills that is worth a mention, simply because it brings something new to the table. Usually most of these air fryer/ indoor grills combo units will just have a heating element at the top like a regular air fryer has. But this IG651 model actually has an independently powered lower grill, meaning you can use it like a regular hot plate/ griddle if you want.
This unit is slightly bigger than the Cosori above as well, being able to fit 6 decent sized steaks on it at any one time. It also comes with a built in meat thermometer, handy when you are cooking meat.
Ninja are also master at making simple and elegant control panels for their appliances, and this is no different. It looks great and most people should find it simple to use.
I would say that this Ninja air fryer grill is the closest you can get to an outdoor grill for inside! Again, as with the Cosori, be aware that this is not a smoke free system, but Ninja has put some features in place to help reduce the level of smoke.
I don’t know why these things can’t look nice, but like the Cosori above I am not a big fan of the design from Ninja. It just looks like another generic kitchen appliance to me!
3. Geek Chef Smart Indoor Grill & Air Fryer Combo
To be honest, before looking at these combo air fryer grill units, I had never heard of Geek Chef. Although, if this appliance is anything to go by, they seem to know what they are doing 🙂 And finally an air fryer/ indoor grill combo that has half decent design! Certainly more of a kitchen center piece than the first two, anyway!
The benefit you get from buying a lesser known brand is the fact that this unit is more competitively priced. You get a similar size to the Ninja above but at a price even cheaper than the first Cosori unit. If price is a major factor for you, take a look at this Geek Chef!
I also think they have done a great job for the control panel on this appliance. It is simply laid out and I like the way it is angled upwards for easy access.
It also has all the cooking functions you would expect from an air fryer, including a dehydrate function.
All in all, this air fryer grill impressed me greatly, and I hope it is a sign for what is to come from Geek Chef in the air fryer market. We certainly need more good brands to challenge the dominance of Ninja and keep innovation going and prices competitive 🙂
4. Bella Pro Series – 9-in-1 Indoor Grill with 5.8-qt Air Fryer
This Bella air fryer grill combo is the best option for those on a budget, as at the time of writing it comes in at around half the price of the Geek Chef grill above. Therefore, don’t expect it to have all the bells and whistles of those more expensive units. This is literally an air fryer in a better form factor for grilling, with little else to write home about 🙂
The design is bland and the control panel is not as well designed or ergonomically thought out as the more expensive competitors. And it really does come with the most basic of digital displays. But it does the job- it offers the ability to have an air fryer/ indoor grill combo at a much lower price point. Just be aware that it is one of the smaller appliances on this list and doesn’t come with any fancy smoke filters or features to reduce smoke from grilling.
Although Bella is a fairly unknown brand in the air fryer world, they do offer a 2 year parts and labor warranty with this air fryer, so that certainly helps build more confidence in the purchase.
I do think their marketing department needs to step up though, as their Amazon listing is pretty bare bones and doesn’t help improve my feeling about buying from this brand 🙂
5. BBday 10-in-1 Electric Indoor Grill Combo, with 6.5 QT Air Fryer
I don’t know who came up with this brand name BBday, I am assuming this is a generic Chinese brand or something, but ignoring that this unit offers quite a lot at one of the lower price points on this list.
I particularly like the stainless steel design of this unit and the well laid out and designed control panel. They have gone for a bigger and clearer control panel than you see on a lot of the competition and I like it a lot.
This BBday air fryer grill fits nicely between the Geek chef and the Bella. It is more in line with the size of the Bella, but has more of the features found in the higher priced competitors (such as the smokeless grill technology).
It does come with all the cooking functions you would expect from an air fryer/ grill combo unit and is one of the easier to clean on this list, so it does have a lot going for it.
If you want to buy something at the cheaper end of the market but don’t want to feel you are missing out on all of those more expensive features, this could be the air fryer for you 🙂
