I tested the Breville Halo Flexi Air Fryer and it's the thing to upgrade to if you need more cooking space - here's why

After testing out many air fryers in the last few years, I can be more than a bit sceptical of new designs that claim to change everything about how we use these appliances. My inital thoughts on the Breville Halo Flexi Air Fryer were along the lines of 'so what? there's plenty of oven-style air fryers out there.'

But there's more to this particular appliance than first meets the eye. It's an oven style version of one of the best air fryers, yes, but it also features pull-down windows on either side, as well as space for large air fryer baskets alongside smaller baking trays. It's also kitted out with lots of functions (Grill and Turbo Crisp being my long-time favourites).

Here's how I got on with this air fryer when I put it to the test for several months at home, and why I think it's an excellent air fryer to upgrade to, if you're looking for more versatility.

Breville Halo Flexi Air Fryer specs

• Capacity: 11 litres
• Cooking modes: Air fry, turbo crisp, roast, grill, bake, reheat
• Weight: 10kg
• Size: ‎(H) 41.2 x (W)40.5 x (D)41.2 cm

Unboxing and first impressions

The Breville Halo Flexi air fryer has quite a busy box and Amazon listing, so I'll try and simplify what this appliance is about in this section. The first thing you need to know is that it's a fairly big model, and might be just too tall to fit under your countertops. It features a touch screen up top and has two pull down doors in the central part.

The central part of the air fryer has a capacity of 11 litres which is pretty sizable. In the middle, there's a removable divider, which you can use to create two zones or take out to create one large zone. It's the kind of design that we've been seeing with a new generation of multi-zone air fryers.

There are many possible cooking configurations that revolve around the included accessories: one large baking tray, two small baking trays, two small mesh trays and two cooking baskets. You can use all four of the smaller trays at once, which ended up being a real gamechanger for me. If you're using the large baking tray, then your smaller trays won't fit in, as they need to be slotted into the central column.

I think the best bit might just be the pullout drawer at the bottom where you can store all of those accessories stress-free.

Cooking

I was intrigued to see how the smaller trays would perform on either side of the divider in this air fryer, so I started out with an all in one air fryer meal. Chicken breasts and roasted veggies went into either side of the air fryer, with the added bonus that you can set each side to separate timings but still have them sync up to finish at the same time.

The controls with this air fryer are very self explanatory, and easy to get a hang of. Just make sure to firmly press down on the touch screen buttons.

The chicken I cooked in the right hand side was perfect. In my months of testing this air fryer, I've opted for a 10 minute air fry of chicken before a couple of minutes of grilling for a really great flavour and crisp.

In the other side of the air fryer, I used the basket to saute some med veg. Syncing up these two foods meant that when both timers were done, I had an easy dinner on my hands.

This air fryer isn't quite as speedy with cooking times as other brands I've tried such as Ninja, but that's probably down to its sizeable capacity, and when it has such great functionality, I find I don't mind too much.

Next I moved onto the ultimate air fryer test: chips. I can confidently say I've made the best chips of my life in this air fryer, and it's all down to the clever design.

I start by parboiling my chips and seasoning them, and then I pop them onto the mesh trays that come with this air fryer which are going to be your secret weapon. They are amazing at promoting air flow, so you get a 360 degree crisp on whatever is inside.

In about 20 minutes, you'll be left with the most golden delicious chips possible.

Another real perk of this air fryer is using two (or four!) trays at once. I love doing this when I cook chicken or any other meat with chips in the air fryer, as I'll use the mesh basket for the meat and allow the excess oils from cooking to drip onto the chips.

Once you try it you won't look back!

The other great setting on this air fryer is bake, which I love to use for pasta bakes and the like. Once you've taken out the central divider you've got so much space to work with, so my baking dishes fit in easily.

The grill function, as I mentioned earlier, is also fantastic. I use it on a regular basis, as with grilling these quesadillas.

One slight strange quirk to this air fryer is the removable handle you need to manoeuvre the baskets. It's quite fiddly and doesn't always feel that sturdy to use, and replacing it appears difficult if you lose it. But it does allow for the two-door design which I'm ultimately a fan of, so it's a small quibble.

How does it compare to similar air fryers?

In our Breville Halo Rotisserie Air Fryer review, which is a previous model by the same brand, our reviewer Millie found that if you want the most straightforward air fryer out there, you're better off looking elsewhere.

I feel that the Halo Flexi goes a long way to simplifying things whilst also making the functions more versatile, so as successors go it's a good one.

If you're looking for an oven-style air fryer that has even more functionality, our expert reviewer Helen was won over in her Ninja Combi review, which can be used to cook pasta and air fry protein at the same time.

Should you buy the Breville Halo Flexi air fryer?

The Breville Halo Flexi air fryer gets a big tick from me in every department. It's versatile, produces excellent cooking results and the many configurations are a real gamechanger. If you're finding your current air fryer a little limited, or need more space, you won't regret investing in this innovative appliance.