3 Best Air Fryers for Meat & Chicken in the UK (2026)

Most air fryer guides treat meat as just another thing you drop in the basket. It isn’t. Chicken breasts brown before they cook through, a whole chicken needs a basket that is the right shape rather than just the right number of litres, and steak wants something hot to press against. Those jobs pull in different directions, which is why the best air fryer for meat and chicken depends heavily on what you cook most often.

The Bosch Series 6 MAF671B1GB is my overall pick. It is a conventional single-drawer air fryer, but it has been built with savoury cooking in mind: dedicated Meat and Poultry programmes, a 7.2L drawer that Bosch says will take a 1.8kg whole chicken, a grill rack that gives you a second level for wings and thighs, five skewers for kebabs, and a lit viewing window so you can watch browning without pulling the drawer out. For the mix of chicken pieces, sausages, burgers and the occasional roast bird that most households actually cook, it covers more ground than anything else here.

The Ninja Foodi MAX PRO AG651UK is the one to buy if steak is the reason you are shopping. Its powered grill plate gives you direct contact heat that no basket air fryer can match, and the leave-in digital probe lets you cook to a doneness setting instead of a timer. The catch is that it is a health grill first and an air fryer second: the crisper basket is only 3.78L, so it is not the machine for a big tray of wings.

The Tefal Easy Fry Mega EY855D40 is the value choice and the one for volume. A 7.5L basket with no divider gives bulky food room to sit in a single layer, and Tefal rates it for a 2kg roast chicken. There is no probe and no grill accessory, but it usually costs less than the other two and it is the simplest of the three to live with.

Best Air Fryers for Meat & Chicken: Comparison

Model	Best for	Score	Capacity and format	Meat-specific features	Typical UK price
Bosch Series 6 MAF671B1GB	Best overall for meat and chicken	9.2/10	7.2L single drawer	Meat and Poultry programmes, grill rack, 5 skewers, lit window	Around £140
Ninja Foodi MAX PRO AG651UK	Best for steak, burgers and chargrilled chicken	9.0/10	740cm² grill plate plus 3.78L crisper basket	Powered grill plate, flat plate, leave-in digital probe	Around £170 to £230
Tefal Easy Fry Mega EY855D40	Best value for large batches	8.6/10	7.5L single basket	Chicken, meat and fish presets, undivided basket	Around £100 to £140

All three carry a two-year guarantee, though Ninja’s requires registration. The Ninja is a health grill with an air fry function rather than a conventional litre-rated drawer, so its cooking area is quoted differently. Prices move around, particularly in sales, so treat them as a guide rather than a fixed figure.

How I picked these three

Every specification in this guide comes from the manufacturer or current UK retailer listings, and where a figure is a manufacturer claim rather than a proven result, I have said so. Beyond that, I started with models that are properly available from established UK retailers and have a decent volume of owner feedback behind them. That rules out short-run models and imports with no support, but ratings on their own did not decide the order.

What did the most work was cooking suitability. I looked at usable basket dimensions rather than headline litres, whether the design lets you spread pieces out or stack them, how you check doneness, how easy it is to turn or shake food part way through, what the machine is like to clean after something fatty, and how much it costs to run. Manufacturer information was used to confirm specifications and functions. Marketing claims about speed, crispness and energy savings are reported as claims, not as evidence.

The three are deliberately different from each other. One specialises in high, direct heat. One is a large, simple basket. One sits in the middle and does the most jobs. If all three were near-identical drawer air fryers, this list would not help you choose.

1. Bosch Series 6 MAF671B1GB: best overall for meat and chicken

Score: 9.2/10

Bosch sells this as the Series 6 Air Fryer XXL, and some retailers list it as a 9-in-1 Air Fryer and Grill. Whatever the name on the box, it takes first place here because the meat-related features are the ones you would actually use rather than entries on a specification sheet.

The grilling set matters most. You get a raised grill rack and five skewers, which turns a deep drawer into two usable levels. That is the difference between cooking eight drumsticks in one go with air moving around them and cooking four in a single layer, then doing it again. For chicken kebabs it is more useful still, because skewered pieces hang in the airflow rather than sitting in whatever fat has rendered out.

Bosch quotes the 7.2L drawer as enough for five portions or a whole chicken up to 1.8kg, which covers most supermarket birds but not the big ones. Dedicated Meat and Poultry programmes sit alongside chicken, chips, fish, vegetables and bread settings, and there is a keep-warm mode. The temperature range runs from 40°C to 200°C in 5°C steps, so you have fine control at the top end where browning happens and a genuinely low setting for holding food.

The lit viewing window is more valuable with meat than with chips. Skin and marinades can go from golden to dark quickly, and being able to look rather than open the drawer means you are not dropping the temperature every time you check. A shake reminder prompts you part way through, which helps with wings and smaller pieces.

What it does not have is a probe. The Meat and Poultry programmes are sensible starting points, but they cannot know how thick your chicken breast is, so a separate food thermometer is still the reliable way to check thicker cuts. It is also a single zone, so a main and a side have to share a temperature.

Key specifications

Capacity	7.2L single drawer, up to 5 portions or a 1.8kg whole chicken (Bosch)
Power	1800W
Temperature	40°C to 200°C, 5°C increments
Programmes	7 presets including Meat, Poultry, Fish, French Fries, Vegetables, Bread and Small Pastries, plus Keep Warm
Included	Grill rack and five skewers
Dimensions	Approx. W30.9 × D38.8 × H31.4cm
Cleaning	Dishwasher-safe removable drawer and cooking plate
Guarantee	2 years

Pros and cons

• Grill rack and skewers give you two usable levels for wings, thighs and kebabs
• Rated by Bosch for a 1.8kg whole chicken, which most single drawers this size are not
• Lit window lets you watch skin and marinades brown without opening the drawer
• Fine 5°C temperature control from 40°C to 200°C
• Compact footprint for the capacity, and the drawer and plate go in the dishwasher

• No integrated meat probe, so thicker cuts still need a separate thermometer
• Single zone, so you cannot run a main and a side at different temperatures
• 1.8kg is a real ceiling for whole birds, not a soft guideline
• No direct-contact grilling surface, so it will not sear a steak the way the Ninja does

2. Ninja Foodi MAX PRO AG651UK: best for steak, burgers and chargrilled chicken

Score: 9.0/10

This is the most capable machine here for one specific job, and it is worth being clear about what that job is. The AG651UK is a health grill with air frying built in, not an air fryer with a grill setting. If your shopping list is steak, burgers, chops, sausages and marinated chicken breasts, that distinction works in your favour.

The powered grill plate is independently heated and gives you direct contact with a hot surface, which is what produces sear marks and a proper crust. Hot air alone browns food but it does not press it against metal at high heat. Ninja quotes a 740cm² grill plate that takes up to six steaks, burgers or chicken breasts, and a Cyclonic Air system reaching up to 260°C, so you are not waiting for it to get properly hot.

The leave-in digital probe is the other reason to consider it. You choose a doneness level, the probe tracks internal temperature as the food cooks, and the machine tells you when to take it out and rest it. On a thick sirloin or a chicken breast that is fatter at one end, that is more reliable than any timer. It is the single most useful meat feature on any of these three.

Beyond grilling there are seven functions in total, covering flat plate, air fry, bake, roast, reheat and dehydrate, and you can cook with the lid open or closed. The flat plate is genuinely useful for things a grill plate cannot hold, such as prawns, thin fish and a full breakfast.

The compromises are real. The crisper basket is 3.78L, which is small once you are cooking wings or chips for four, so treat air frying as a secondary function rather than the main event. It weighs around 12kg and takes roughly 40cm of worktop depth. The grill plate is not dishwasher safe even though most other parts are, and the flat plate needs several minutes of preheating before use. Fatty food on an open grill plate also means more splatter, which is why a guard is included.

Key specifications

Format	Health grill, flat plate and air fryer
Cooking area	740cm² grill plate, fits up to 6 steaks, burgers or chicken breasts (Ninja); 3.78L crisper basket
Power	2460W
Functions	Grill, Flat Plate, Air Fry, Bake, Roast, Reheat, Dehydrate
Dimensions	Approx. H28 to 29.5 × W39 to 44 × D40 to 42cm depending on the retailer listing
Weight	Approx. 12kg
Included	Grill plate, flat plate, crisper basket, splatter guard, digital cooking probe
Cleaning	Dishwasher-safe parts, not including the grill plate
Guarantee	2 years on registration with Ninja

Pros and cons

• Leave-in digital probe lets you cook to a doneness level rather than a timer
• Powered grill plate gives direct contact heat that basket air fryers cannot replicate
• Room for up to six steaks, burgers or chicken breasts at once
• Flat plate covers prawns, thin fish and breakfasts the grill plate cannot hold
• Seven functions, so it is not a single-purpose appliance

• 3.78L crisper basket is small for family batches of wings or chips
• Around 12kg and roughly 40cm deep, so it is not easy to move or store
• Grill plate has to be washed by hand
• Not designed for a whole chicken
• Usually the most expensive of the three

3. Tefal Easy Fry Mega EY855D40: best value for large batches

Score: 8.6/10

The Easy Fry Mega earns its place on usable space and price rather than clever features. The 7.5L basket has no divider, so bulky food gets one uninterrupted area to sit in, and that is what a whole chicken or a full batch of drumsticks actually needs. Tefal rates it for a 2kg roast chicken and says it serves up to eight, which is the largest single-basket claim of the three.

Eight presets cover chips, meat and steak, chicken, prawns, fish, pizza, vegetables and dessert, with a manual mode that runs from 80°C to 200°C in 5°C steps. There is a slatted tray in the basket that lifts food clear of rendered fat, which matters more with chicken thighs and sausages than with chips. The basket and tray go in the dishwasher.

Two limitations are worth knowing before you buy. The timer maxes out at 60 minutes, so a large bird may need the timer restarting part way through, which is not a fault but is worth expecting. And the unit is tall and narrow at roughly 39.5cm high, so it is unlikely to slide under standard wall cabinets, unlike the shorter Bosch.

There is no probe, no grill rack and no second zone. What you get instead is the most cooking space per pound of any model here. Owner feedback in the UK is consistently positive on capacity and how easy the basket is to clean, and it is regularly discounted well below its list price.

Key specifications

Capacity	7.5L single basket, serves up to 8 and takes a 2kg roast chicken (Tefal)
Power	1700W
Temperature	80°C to 200°C, 5°C increments
Timer	Up to 60 minutes
Presets	8: chips, meat/steak, chicken, prawns, fish, pizza, vegetables, dessert, plus manual mode
Dimensions	Approx. W31 × H39.5 × D31.5cm
Weight	Approx. 5.7kg
Cleaning	Dishwasher-safe non-stick basket and tray
Guarantee	2 years

Pros and cons

• Largest undivided basket here, rated by Tefal for a 2kg chicken
• Slatted tray keeps chicken and sausages out of rendered fat
• Chicken, meat, fish and prawn presets plus full manual control
• Light at around 5.7kg and easy to move or put away
• Usually the cheapest of the three, often by a wide margin

• 60-minute maximum timer can be short for a large whole chicken
• No probe, so doneness is down to you and a thermometer
• No grill rack or skewers, so everything cooks on one level
• Tall design will not tuck under most wall units
• Single zone only

One more to consider: Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone AF451UK

It did not make the top three because it is a different shape of answer, but it is worth knowing about if you want a probe without buying a grill. The AF451UK is a 9.5L dual-drawer air fryer with the same Smart Cook System and leave-in digital probe as the Ninja above, and Ninja says each 4.75L drawer will take a 2kg chicken or 1.4kg of chips. That means chicken in one drawer and potatoes in the other, finishing together, with the probe watching the bird. It costs roughly £170 to £230 depending on where you buy it. If two zones appeal, our guide to the best dual air fryers in the UK goes into more detail.

How to choose an air fryer for meat and chicken

Litres tell you less than you think

Advertised capacity is the volume of the basket, not the amount of food you can cook well in it. Meat needs air moving around it, so a 7.5L basket filled to the brim will brown less evenly than the same basket half full. Shape matters as much as volume: a tall, narrow basket holds plenty of litres but gives a chicken breast nowhere to lie flat, while a wide, shallow one spreads six thighs out properly. Before you buy, check the internal dimensions against what you actually cook, and remember that a dual-drawer machine splits its total capacity in two. If sheer size is the priority, our guide to the best large air fryers covers models built around it.

Whole chicken: check the weight limit, not the litres

Manufacturers who intend a machine to roast a whole bird usually publish a maximum weight, and that number is more useful than the capacity figure. Bosch quotes 1.8kg for the Series 6, Tefal quotes 2kg for the Easy Fry Mega, and Ninja quotes 2kg per drawer for the AF451UK. Supermarket medium chickens are commonly around 1.5kg and large ones can reach 2kg or more, so this is a genuine constraint rather than a technicality. Height matters too, because the lid or heating element has to clear the top of the bird.

Presets are a starting point, a probe is a check

A Chicken or Meat programme is a preconfigured time and temperature. It has no way of knowing the thickness of your cut, whether it is bone-in, or whether it came straight out of the fridge. All of those change the cooking time considerably. An integrated probe measures the food rather than the clock, which is why it is the feature most worth paying for if you cook thick cuts. If your machine does not have one, a separate digital food thermometer costs very little and does the same job.

Browning needs heat and contact, not just a high number

Most air fryers top out at 200°C, and a few go higher on a max crisp setting. That is enough to brown chicken skin well. Steak is the exception, because a proper crust comes from pressing the meat against something hot rather than surrounding it with hot air. That is the practical argument for a grill plate, and it is the reason the Ninja sits where it does in this list rather than the reason it should sit at the top.

One basket or two

A single large basket is better for one bulky item, because there is no divider stealing space. Two drawers are better when you want a main and a side at different temperatures, finishing at the same time. Neither is better for meat as a category, so the answer depends on whether you are more often cooking one big thing or a whole meal.

Cleaning after fatty food

Meat leaves more behind than chips do. Look for a dishwasher-safe basket and plate, and check what is excluded, because on the Ninja the grill plate has to be done by hand. A raised rack or slatted tray keeps food out of the fat that collects underneath, which makes the drawer easier to clean and stops the underside of your chicken from stewing. It is also worth checking how easy it is to reach the area around the heating element, since that is where splatter ends up.

What they cost to run

Air fryers are cheaper to run than a full-size oven mostly because they heat a much smaller space and skip most of the preheat. The figures below use the Ofgem price cap electricity rate for October to December 2026 of 26.32p per kWh, and assume the machine draws its full rated power for the whole time. In practice the element cycles on and off once it is up to temperature, so real costs will be lower. Treat these as a ceiling rather than a prediction.

Model	Rated power	20 minutes	1 hour
Bosch Series 6 MAF671B1GB	1800W	Up to 16p	Up to 47p
Ninja Foodi MAX PRO AG651UK	2460W	Up to 22p	Up to 65p
Tefal Easy Fry Mega EY855D40	1700W	Up to 15p	Up to 45p

The gap between them over a year is smaller than it looks, because the higher-powered machine also tends to finish sooner. Manufacturer speed and saving claims vary in how they are measured: Bosch quotes up to 65% faster cooking and up to 70% energy savings, Tefal quotes up to 37% faster and up to 65% less energy based on 2024 tests on frozen chips, and Ninja quotes up to 45% off energy bills based on cooking sausages against a conventional oven. Those are all manufacturer figures against their own test conditions. For a fuller comparison, see our piece on air fryer vs oven running costs.

Budget

You do not need to spend a lot to cook chicken well. What you lose at the cheaper end is usually capacity, build quality and features like probes and windows rather than the ability to brown food. If your budget is tighter than the models here, our roundup of the best air fryers under £100 in the UK is the better starting point.

Cooking chicken and meat safely in an air fryer

Poultry and pork can carry bacteria all the way through, so they need cooking right through rather than just searing. The Food Standards Agency’s standard advice is that the middle of the food should reach 70°C for two minutes, or an equivalent combination such as 75°C for 30 seconds or 80°C for six seconds.

To check it properly, put a clean thermometer probe into the centre or thickest part of the meat, keeping it away from bone, since bone conducts heat differently and will give you a misleading reading. If a piece is not there yet, put it back in rather than relying on the fact that the programme has finished. Full guidance is on the Food Standards Agency website.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best air fryer for meat and chicken in the UK?

The Bosch Series 6 MAF671B1GB is my overall pick. It combines a 7.2L drawer rated for a 1.8kg whole chicken with dedicated Meat and Poultry programmes, a grill rack and skewers for wings and kebabs, and a lit window for watching browning. That covers more of what people actually cook than either a specialist grill or a plain large basket.

Which air fryer is best for chicken breasts and thighs?

For pieces, the Bosch is the most practical of the three because the grill rack gives you a second level, so more thighs or drumsticks fit with air still moving around them. If you cook chicken breasts often and want them cooked to a set internal temperature rather than a timer, the Ninja AG651UK’s probe is the stronger feature.

Which air fryer is best for a whole chicken?

The Tefal Easy Fry Mega EY855D40, which Tefal rates for a 2kg bird in its undivided 7.5L basket. The Bosch will take a chicken up to 1.8kg, which suits most medium supermarket birds. The Ninja AG651UK is not designed for whole chickens.

Which air fryer is best for steak?

The Ninja Foodi MAX PRO AG651UK. Its powered grill plate puts the meat in direct contact with a hot surface, which is how you get a crust, and the leave-in probe lets you pick a doneness level instead of guessing at a time. Neither the Bosch nor the Tefal can do the first part.

Do I need a meat probe in an air fryer?

Not necessarily, but it helps with thick cuts and poultry because it measures the food rather than counting down a timer. If your air fryer does not have one built in, a separate digital food thermometer does the same job for a few pounds and works with any machine.

Is a single basket or a dual drawer better for meat?

A single large basket is better for bulky items such as a whole chicken, because nothing divides the space. Dual drawers are better when you want a main and a side cooked at different temperatures and finishing together. Neither wins outright, so it comes down to how you cook.

Can you cook raw chicken in an air fryer?

Yes, as long as it is cooked all the way through. Poultry can carry bacteria throughout the meat, and Food Standards Agency guidance is for the middle of the food to reach 70°C for two minutes or an equivalent time and temperature combination. Check with a thermometer in the thickest part rather than against the bone.

Are air fryers good for burgers and sausages?

They handle both well, and a raised rack or slatted tray helps by keeping them clear of the fat that renders out. A grill-style machine like the Ninja adds direct contact heat, which browns burgers more like a pan would. Fatty food does produce more splatter, so expect a little more cleaning afterwards.

Should I choose the Bosch or the Ninja?

Take the Bosch if you want one appliance for chicken pieces, roasts, sides and everyday cooking in a normal amount of worktop space. Take the Ninja if steak and grilling are the point and you are happy for air frying to be the secondary function.

Final verdict

The Bosch Series 6 MAF671B1GB is the best air fryer for meat and chicken for most people. It is not the most exciting machine here, but the grill rack, skewers, Meat and Poultry programmes and 1.8kg chicken rating add up to something that handles the full range of everyday meat cooking in a footprint you can actually live with.

The Ninja Foodi MAX PRO AG651UK is the better buy for a narrower brief. If steak, burgers and chargrilled chicken are the reason you are shopping, the powered grill plate and leave-in probe do things no basket air fryer can, and they justify the extra size and cost. Just go in knowing the 3.78L crisper basket is not a family-sized air fryer.

The Tefal Easy Fry Mega EY855D40 is the one to buy if volume and value matter more than features. Nothing here gives you more usable cooking space for the money, and for a whole chicken or a full batch of drumsticks that is exactly the right trade.

The honest summary is that the right pick follows the meat you cook most. Buy the grill for steak, the Bosch for everything, and the Tefal for quantity.

How we checked this guide

Specifications, capacities, cooking functions, dimensions and guarantee terms were checked against official manufacturer information from Bosch UK, SharkNinja UK and Tefal UK, and cross-checked against current listings at UK retailers including Argos, Currys and John Lewis. Owner feedback was used to understand common practical experiences, not as a substitute for cooking tests. Running-cost figures are our own calculations using the Ofgem price cap electricity unit rate for October to December 2026. Food safety guidance follows current Food Standards Agency advice. Prices and availability change frequently, so check before you buy.