I’ve been testing the Cosori Smart 5.8-Quart Air Fryer for about a month, during which I’ve used it to cook artichoke hearts, beets, corn on the cob, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and zucchini, all of which turned out delicious. I love how it browns veggies and vegan protein sources like chickpeas, tempeh, and tofu with minimal oil. It even reheats pizza like a dream, crisping up the bottom while simultaneously melting the cheese on top. At $119.99, the smart model carries a $30 premium over the Original version, and for the difference in price you get an LED touch screen with 11 presets for one-touch cooking, as well as connectivity with an app that lets you control cooking and browse recipes from your phone. The smart model also supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can automate the cooking process with your voice. Its bulky size makes it less than ideal for small kitchens, but if you have the space, it’s easy to recommend.
Simple to Set Up
For a countertop kitchen appliance, the Cosori Smart 5.8-Quart Air Fryer is quite bulky, measuring 14.3 by 11.8 by 12.6 inches (LWH). Given the amount of space it takes up, you probably won’t want to leave it out all the time, so be sure you have enough room to stow it away when it’s not in use. The good news is that it weighs just 11.7 pounds, so it’s easy to move around. Make sure you don’t accidentally get the Air Fryer Max XL model, which doesn’t feature Wi-Fi, but is oddly the same price as the smart version.
With a cooking temperature range of 170 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the machine is versatile enough that you can use it to make everything from steak and seafood to bread and brownies (though you’ll need to purchase Cosori’s $31.99 six-piece accessory kit to make things like cake and muffins). You can set it to run for up to 60 minutes at a time.
It features a black box design with a touch screen on top, a cooking basket below, an air inlet on the top, and an air outlet on the back. Its utilitarian design certainly favors function over form, another reason I hide it away when not in use.
The 5.8-quart basket is quite big, so this is the size to get if you have a family. It can easily fit a 15.5-ounce can of chickpeas in a single layer, with room to spare. Cosori says the basket is large enough to accommodate a whole 5-pound chicken.
The basket features an inner and outer later, both of which are aluminum with a nonstick coating, and free of BPA and PFOA. The inner layer, where you place your food, has vents that allow air to circulate so everything cooks evenly, while the outer layer is there to collect oils and other fats. A release button on the top of the basket handle lets you separate the two layers, and a sliding button guard ensures you won’t do so accidentally. Thanks to the nonstick coating, the baskets are a breeze to clean by hand, and they’re also dishwasher safe.
The touch screen features presets for bacon, bread, chicken, desserts, french fries, frozen foods, root vegetables, seafood, shrimp, steak, and vegetables. Several presets (including french fries, frozen foods, root vegetables, shrimp, and vegetables) have an automatic shake reminder, which will alert you with five beeps when it’s time to shake your food in the basket for even cooking and crisping.
Additional buttons on the display let you preheat the air fryer, turn it on and off, adjust the cooking time and temperature, start or pause cooking, or keep your food warm. When you press a button, it will turn blue to indicate it’s active.
The Cosori Smart Air Fryer is easy to set up and use. Just remove all the packaging, plug it in, wash and dry the baskets before use, and you’re good to go.
A quick start guide walks you through the process of connecting the air fryer to its companion VeSync app and your voice assistant of choice. To download the VeSync app (available for Android and iOS), use your phone to scan the QR code on the quick start guide, or search for VeSync in the Apple App Store or Google Play. From there, just follow the on-screen instructions to create an account, add your device to the app, and connect it to your Wi-Fi network, then download any firmware updates. In testing, the machine always connected to the app as soon as I plugged in.
During the setup process, the app will ask if you want to connect your device to Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. In testing, I was able to connect it to Alexa with just a few taps. If you want, you can navigate to Device Settings > Name in the VeSync app, and change the default name of the air fryer (“Smart Air Fryer”) to something simpler to remember, like “My Air Fryer,” to allow for easier voice control, as I did.
Using the Cosori Smart Air Fryer
You can control the Cosori Smart Air Fryer three different ways: with the buttons on the display, with the VeSync app, or by using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands.
At the bottom of the app is a big orange Start Cooking button. Tap that to set the temperature and time, either manually or by using the preset options at the top, and toggle the preheat option. When you’re ready, press Cook Now, and your selected settings will appear on the air fryer’s screen. The only annoyance is that when controlling the machine via app, you have to manually press the Start button on the air fryer for it to begin. Oddly, you don’t need to do this when controlling it via voice commands.
When connected to Alexa or Google Assistant, you can control the machine with your voice using commands and queries such as, “Air fry for 15 minutes at 400 degrees,” “Add 30 minutes to my air fryer,” “Pause my air fryer,” “What temperature is my air fryer set to,” and “When will the food in my air fryer be done.” In testing, the voice commands worked perfectly with Alexa.
Most of the time, I find it easiest to control the air fryer via the touch screen instead of using the app or voice commands. The smart features are nice, but I don’t always see a compelling use for them when I’m already in the kitchen. That said, the touch screen and preset buttons on the smart model are extremely useful, and alone justify the $30 premium over the original model, which is controlled by a dial.
Keep in mind that I only used the air fryer to make vegetables and plant-based proteins, which don’t take very long to cook. If you use it to make foods that take longer, like a full chicken, you may find the remote monitoring and control features more useful.
Cosori recommends placing the Smart Air Fryer at least five inches away from walls and cupboards, so they aren’t damaged by the steam it emits. For safety, the machine will automatically shut off after three minutes of inactivity, or if it starts to overheat.
Before your first use, Cosori recommends doing a test run to learn how to use the air fryer, make sure it’s working correctly, and clean off any residue. For the test run, the company says to press the Preheat button (which defaults to 400 degrees for 5 minutes), then remove the baskets and let them cool, put them back in the machine, press the Steak button (which defaults to 400 degrees for six minutes), and let it run until it’s done.
Instead, I went right in with a batch of potato wedges. I probably shouldn’t have skipped the test run, because the machine emitted a bit of smoke the first time I used it, which was slightly concerning. Fortunately, the user manual says it is normal for the air fryer to produce some white smoke when you use it for the first time. This can also happen if you’re cooking greasy foods or if the baskets haven’t been cleaned properly, which is also possible when cooking in an oven.
I followed a recipe I found on Pinterest, which had me air fry potato wedges at 400 degrees for 16 minutes, shaking them halfway through. I couldn’t believe how quickly they cooked, and how crispy they got with just one teaspoon of oil for a pound of potatoes.
Air fryer recipes are all over Pinterest, but if you need more inspiration, the machine comes with a book of 100 recipes. The recipe book includes options for breakfast (such as strawberry cream scones, french toast sticks, and breakfast pizza), entrees (steak sandwich, italian meatballs, and chicken parmesan), appetizers (dry-rubbed chicken wings, fried pickles, and teriyaki pork skewers), sides (homemade french fries, avocado fries, and garlic bread), and desserts (cinnamon rolls, lemon pound cake, and chocolate chip muffins). These recipes are also available in the app.
For thorough cooking and optimal browning, Cosori recommends always preheating the machine before placing food inside. Depending on your cooking temperature, it takes just two to five minutes to preheat.
I love using the air fryer for frozen foods because it preheats way faster than my actual oven, and in some cases yields superior results. I’ve made Gardein fishless filets in the oven before, and they come out fine, but air frying them is a game changer. A Reddit poster said to air fry them at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, flipping them once, so I did, and they came out way crispier than they get in the oven.
Meanwhile, I bought a frozen, gluten-free vegan pizza at a nearby bakery, which the instructions said to cook at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. I set the air fryer to 400 degrees and let it preheat for three minutes, then put the pizza in. After just seven minutes in the air fryer (checking once halfway through), it was cooked to perfection. With the preheating time, it took just 10 minutes to make using the air fryer—my full-size oven doesn’t even preheat to 400 degrees in 10 minutes.
I should note that after about a month of regular use, one of the screws connecting the handle to the basket came out and into my food. Fortunately, I noticed it before I accidentally ate it or chipped a tooth, and was able to easily screw it back in. To prevent this from happening, I recommend occasionally tightening the screws if you start to feel them come loose.
Quick and Easy Cooking
The Cosori Smart Air Fryer is easy to use, heats up much faster than an oven, crisps fresh and frozen foods with little to no added oil, and is easy to clean. It works with a companion app and Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, though we found these smart features to be more of an added bonus than essential. While the app and voice control features aren’t useful enough to justify the $30 markup over the original model, it’s worth paying extra for the touch screen and food presets that take the guesswork out of air frying common items like french fries and frozen foods. And at $119.99, it’s a lot more affordable than smart ovens like the Brava, making it a welcome addition to your kitchen.
