Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’ve most likely heard about a very handy kitchen gadget that claims to not only cut your bills by half, but also whip up healthy meals in the blink of an eye. We can, of course, only be referring to the air fryer.

Soaring in popularity last year, it’s estimated that some 9 million households in Britain already own one of these appliances, which are starting to become as indispensable as other kitchen mainstays such as the humble microwave.

If you’re looking to join this cooking revolution, or are already on the bandwagon and are considering upgrading your device, you need look no further, as we at IndyBest are now air fryer experts. We’ve been trialling everything, from market leaders such as Ninja, Tefal and Tower to the supermarket own brands – such as Asda’s £30 compact air fryer – to find you the best gadget in your price range.

Right now, it’s all about Ultenic. While the company is fairly young, having only launched in 2021, it’s wasted no time in producing a range of smart home devices to make everyday living easier. From its robot vacuums and cordless models to air fryers, it’s not shied away from taking on the giants straight out of the gates.

As such, we couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Ultenic’s K20 dual air fryer and Ninja’s range of dual zone foodi fryers. But despite the similar two-drawer system, intuitive touch display, and sleek black and chrome colourway, we wanted to see how the K20 really compared against what is, arguably, the best air fryer on the market right now. We’ve even been given a discount code to help you get your hands on Ultenic’s offering for less, but more on that in a moment.

How we tested

Switching out our current air fryer – the Russel Hobbs mini oven – for the K20, we spent just over five weeks putting it to the test. We’ve used it to cook everything from chicken nuggets and chips to butternut squash and burgers, to see if it could not only whip up meals in a fraction of the time but beat our oven at its own game. We also took note of how easy it was to operate, clean and fit into our daily lives. After all, we want our air fryer to make life easier, not harder.

Ultenic K20 dual air fryer

Capacity: 7.6l

Functions: Potatoes and fries, meat, fish, bake, vegetable, dehydrate

Dishwasher friendly: Yes, but only the drawers and crisper plate

Energy class: A+++

How do you set up the Ultenic K20 dual air fryer?

Set up of this air fryer is so simple, even our tech-phobic relative found it a cinch. All you need to do is plug it into the mains and you’re good to go. The drawers and crisper plates are all set up and ready to use – no assembly required – and the included instruction manual and recipe booklet are handy extras, so you can go from unboxing to chowing down in a matter of minutes.

We liked that the instruction manual was clear and concise in teaching us how to get the most from our air fryer. The images included made it quick to scan for the function we wanted to learn about, too.

As for the unit itself, with a 7.6l capacity, it’s a fairly decent size and did take up a bit of room on the counter. However, its matte black exterior, shiny digital display and chrome detailing make it look sleek and stylish on our counter top, so we were more than happy to forfeit the space to show it off.

The only thing to note is that, as well as being quite chunky, it’s also quite tall and you won’t be able to put anything on top or too close to it while it gets to work, as it has a tendency to get quite warm while in operation. It is also fairly loud – the first time we used it, it sounded like a plane taking off – but it’s not so noisy that it’s an issue and the beep at the end is quick and loud (like a microwave beep), so you’ll never miss when cooking time is up.

How do you use the Ultenic K20 dual air fryer?

Once you’re ready to get cooking, the Ultenic K20 is a quick piece of kit to work with. Simply start by pressing the power button and watch the digital display come to life. At the top are the images for the six different functions we mentioned earlier – potatoes and fries, meat, fish, bake, vegetable, dehydrate – and you should always start by selecting the most appropriate function for whatever MasterChef-worthy piece you’ll be cooking up.

Naturally, we tended to use some of these functions more than others. For chips, we (obviously) always opted for the chips function. Though it took a moment to get our heads around the best timing and temperature – which you can manually adjust up to 200C – once we had it nailed, our fries turned out beautifully golden and crisp on the outside, while being fluffy and restaurant-worthy on the inside. We even trialled butternut squash chips on the fries function and, honestly, they’ve never tasted better.

For things such as chicken breasts, nuggets, burgers and sausages, we always opted for the meat function, as we found this kept our meat juicy and flavourful. The best thing about this was that, if we’d coated our chicken breast in seasoning or were whipping up a quick snack in nugget shape, that coating would be as crisp as our chips too. And, yes, everything was cooked in a fraction of the time compared with the oven and, dare we say it, tasted better too. Our co-tester also said their fish fillets came out perfectly done, with heaps of flavour.

For best results on all functions, take it from us, it’s best to arrange things on as much of an even layer as you can. If you’re cooking things such as chips or nuggets, it’s probably best to pause cooking around the half way point – there is a pause function – and give it a good shake, to make sure everything is cooked evenly. We’d also say that, if you’re ever unsure what temperature to cook at, reduce the recommended oven temperature by 5C and adjust timings based on your own preferences – we promise not to judge if you’re a fan of almost burnt chips.

Other features

As well as its multiple functions, the thing we loved about the Ultenic K20 is that you can not only preheat your drawers to cut down further on cooking time, you can also cook multiple things on the go and with varying timings.

For example, if you’re cooking for one, you can absolutely just use one drawer – simply select your zone (be it L or R) and your function, adjust the time and temperature, and you’re off. If you’re cooking lots of the same thing, though, and spreading it out across two drawers – for example, when we wanted to whip up a lot of chips in one go – you can sync the settings with the press of a button, so both drawers are doing the exact same thing. Impressive!

Read more: Ninja AF100UK air fryer review

If you’re trying to get a whole meal done in one go – with chicken breast in one drawer and veg in the other, say – you can set the drawers up to cook with completely different settings. Like with single-drawer cooking, you’ll need to select your zone first and then adjust your settings accordingly. In all likelihood, this will mean there will be different timings, and it’s no good having your broccoli done before your chicken. In this instance, you’ll want to use the sync finish function, which will essentially begin cooking in the zone with the longest time and hold the other until the same amount of time remains. Then, voila, all your food will be finished together without you having to keep an eye on the clock.

How do you clean the Ultenic K20 dual air fryer?

We’re sorry to have to tell you that dishwashing is out of the question here. For obvious reasons, you should never immerse the main unit of the K20 in water or put it in the dishwasher. To keep your appliance looking shiny and new – and, more accurately, free from greasy finger marks, especially on the digital display – you’ll just want to give it a wipe with a damp cloth.

While the drawers and crisper plates are dishwasher safe, we’d personally recommend hand-washing them, to keep them at their best. Just remember to use a soft sponge or cloth rather than a harsh brush, as this will protect the coating for longer.

Read more: Tefal actifry genius+ review

How much does the Ultenic K20 dual air fryer cost?

The Ultenic K20 usually costs around £220, which isn’t extortionate for an air fryer – Ninja’s top-of-the-line models retail anywhere from £220 to £270 – but it’s not as cheap as some brands we’ve tested in the past. However, there are two pieces of good news if you’re an Amazon Prime member and reading this review…

Thanks to Amazon Prime Day savings, the Ultenic is currently reduced down to £179.99. But, as an added bonus, Ultenic has provided our readers with a 45 per cent discount code, which brings the K20 down to a much more palatable £99. This discount won’t last forever, however, as you’ll only be able to claim it by following our provided link and using code SUMMERIB by 31 July 2023.

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The verdict: Ultenic K20 dual air fryer

Considering the Ultenic K20 come from such an unknown player in the air fryer sphere, we were definitely pleasantly surprised. Not only does it look as good as bigger-name brands, it was quick to set up, easy to operate and produced restaurant-quality meat, chips and meals that had us forgoing our oven almost daily. With a much more pocket-friendly price compared with some of its competitors, we do think it’s hard to beat. Ultenic could be one to watch.

Just remember, to get our exclusive discount you’ll need to add the model at its RRP of £179.99 to your basket and then add code “SUMMERIB” to bring it down to that much more purse-friendly price of £98.99.

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