With so many of us wanting to reduce our fat intake and cook heart-healthy meals more efficiently, we couldn't wait to find out if the Ultenic K20 Dual Basket Air Fryer was something we needed in our lives.
If you're anything like us, you may be skeptical about whether the best air fryers are worth the hype. As a nation, we've become somewhat obsessed with this kitchen gadget over recent years - no surprise, given their compact size and versatility - so we turned to a bunch of hungry university students to see if an air fryer is something you need on your countertop.
It turns out that the Ultenic K20 Dual Basket Air Fryer may well be the one appliance you want to invest in this year. With 360° rapid air circulation technology creating food that's crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, this little gem will cook your food 60% faster than a traditional oven and could save you money on your energy bills into the bargain.
Using 90% less fat than deep frying, the Ultenic K20 Dual Basket Air Fryer is the perfect size for creating meals for the whole family. It features two 3.8L baskets with independent cooking controls so you can cook main courses and side dishes all at the same time. And with six one-touch cooking presets, you can make everything from breakfast to dessert.
The Ultenic K20 Dual Basket Air Fryer is ideal if you're living in a student flatshare or have a large family, as it has a large 7.6L dual basket capacity split into two 3.8L baskets with independent cooking controls. Cook main dishes and side dishes at the same time and take advantage of the 'SYNC' finish function that lets everything emerge piping hot at the same time.
Price and availability
The Ultenic K20 Dual Basket Air Fryer retails for £109.99 on Amazon making it affordably priced if you're after an air fryer with two drawers.
Granted, it's not a top-of-the-range brand name air fryer, so it doesn't have that same expensive look and feel to it, but our tester was really impressed with both its ease of use and its versatility.
If you're looking for a budget-friendly and intuitive air fryer that will allow you to cook a range of different meals to suit all dietary requirements, this one from Ultenic is well worth considering.
Design and features
Dimensions: 36.5D x 26.7W x 31H centimetres | Capacity: 7.6 litres | Noise level: 60 dB
We didn't have to look far to find someone willing to test out the Ultenic K20 Dual Basket Air Fryer, with our Consumer Editor, Heidi Scrimgeour, being only too happy to take this one on.
"I jumped at the chance to review the Ultenic K20 Smart Air Fryer because my son had just started University and moved into his first flatshare with a communal kitchen," she told us. "He’s a pretty confident cook and had put our air fryer at home to good use so getting him one for his student kitchen was a priority."
When it came to what appealed to her about the Ultenic K20, Heidi said that the dual drawer was what sold it for her. "It's a practical choice for a shared kitchen where people may be cooking several different items at once," she explained.
The air fryer comes with six one-touch pre-set buttons including broil, bake, and dehydrate (which we have to admit may be a few too many for the tech-averse among us), but a bunch of university students had no problems figuring it out.
"My 19-year-old got to grips with the pre-set options effortlessly and reports that they make it easy to cook everything from potato wedges to frozen chips. You literally just choose your food type and press the button, but you can adjust the temperature and the cooking time if you wish, too," Heidi said.
The Ultenic K20 is the perfect size for feeding a family (or a group of friends), with two 3.8L baskets offering a total of 7.6L of cooking space, and my son reports that the air fryer capacity is ‘decent’ when cooking for a houseful of hungry students," Heidi added.
Plus, the air fryer has a 'SYNC' finish function which means you can prepare different meals side by side and have them come out hot at the same time — something that Heidi's son found super useful living in student accommodation where multiple dishes are often needing to be prepared.
We also love that the Ultenic comes with an app that features more than 100 recipes that you can whip up in your new air fryer. And the best part? It lets you save and customise them, which is a really handy feature for those of us who grew up doing everything on our phones, or for anyone who likes having their recipes portable and quickly accessible.
Were there any drawbacks? Not a whole lot to be honest, but Heidi did note that the air fryer wasn't always the easiest to keep clean. "The ergonomic touchscreen control panel is easy to use but greasy fingerprints do show up easily — not an issue if you’re adept with a bottle of anticbac and a kitchen cloth. Just don’t expect it to look pristine while cooking."
How we tested
- The Ultenic K20 Dual Basket Air Fryer was tested out by a group of hungry university students
- It was (and continues to be) put through its paces daily to whip up a range of meals to suit different dietary requirements
- The air fryer was assessed based on its versatility, how easy it was to operate, its capacity, and how well it fared cooking separate meals at the same time
Things you won't find on the box
There are a few minor drawbacks you'll want to be aware of too. The drawers don't glide in and out as easily as they do on some of the other air fryers we've tested in the past and while the crisper baskets can be popped in the dishwasher, we found it a little fiddly to keep clean without one. At 36.5D x 26.7W x 31H centimetres, the size of this air fryer is another thing you'll want to be mindful of.
"Kitchens are typically crowded in student accommodation, with everyone vying for worktop space, so size is an important consideration if you’re buying an air fryer for a student. The K10 isn’t the smallest air fryer we’ve tested but we certainly don’t think the size of the K10 is an issue for the average household. If you want to feed five people using an air fryer then you’re obviously going to dedicate some worktop space to it," Heidi said.
Who's it best for?
If affordability is a priority for you and you're looking to be able to cook different food items at the same time, the Ultenic K20 Dual Basket Air Fryer is a kitchen appliance we'd highly recommend.
It's easy and intuitive to use, plus it has a generous capacity, and the fact that you can cook separately and finish together is a real advantage for busy homes or living situations where you all have different dietary requirements.
Need an alternative?
The Ultenic K20 Dual Basket Air Fryer is a brilliant option if you're looking for an intuitive and affordable two-drawer air fryer that can cook different meals at the same time. However, we understand that it's not the smallest air fryer on the market, so if you're really short on space, you might be better off choosing an alternative.
For a more compact design, the COSORI Lite Smart 3.8L Air Fryer is available for £99.99 at Amazon is perfect for households that lack counter space. Ideal for smaller families, it has a digital display panel and Wi-Fi smartphone control option that makes it a breeze to use.
Looking for air fryer meal inspiration? You'll find a ton of it in our guide to the best air fryer cookbooks.
