We Tested the Best Deep Fryers for Making Crispy Food at Home—and the Results Are Sizzling

Final Verdict

The Breville Smart Fryer is, well, smart, with lots of helpful features that make it easy to get great crispy, crunchy results, even for a deep frying beginner. A good budget option is the Secura Triple-Basket Deep Fryer, which has a nice large capacity and works well.

How We Tested Deep Fryers

Our Lab purchased 23 deep fryers—17 electric indoor models and six outdoor fryers—and put them all through their paces, testing their performance with potato chips, french fries, and frozen chicken tenders, plus 12- to 14-pound whole turkeys for fryers that claim to accommodate a whole turkey. Our testers also rated each deep fryer on ease of setup and cleanup, how well they retained heat, their size, and any special features. They then offered additional insights on each deep fryer's strengths and weaknesses.

Other Options We Tested

• Presto FryDaddy: This value-priced deep fryer heated up fast and made (very small batches of) tasty, crunchy foods in our tests, but its teeny-tiny size and lack of safety features (there's no temperature control, and the all-in-one unit doesn't have a removable basket) led us to leave it off the winners list.
  
• T-fal Deep Fryer With Basket: Though we liked the oil filtration system and the easy setup, the lack of timer was a let down. Additionally, during testing there was some trouble with heat retention and it never reached 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

What to Look for in a Deep Fryer

Safety

If you're going to have a tub full of extremely hot oil on your countertop or in your backyard, the most important thing to consider is safety whether you're a novice fryer or not. Rule No. 1 is to read the directions carefully. Any fryer should come with a manual on safe setup and usage instructions, including info on how to make sure you don't fill it with too much oil. Beyond that, look for a fryer that's stable and won't slide around or tip over. Spills and splatters can cause serious burns or even a fire, especially with an outdoor fryer, with which spilled oil can come into direct contact with an open flame.

For an electric model, look for safety features, such as a magnetic power cord that will detach if something bumps the fryer, an automatic shutoff that engages if the unit gets too hot, a splatter-guard lid that fits tightly over the top, and a cool-touch exterior or handles that make moving hot oil around easier. With an outdoor fryer fueled by propane, look for a strong base that can hold the pot easily, even when it's full of oil and food, ideally with a lip or other features that keep any spilled oil from dripping onto the burner.

Size and Capacity

The size of your deep fryer will determine how much food you can fry at once—even the best fryer will yield greasy results if you pack it too full. On the flip side, filling a huge fryer and waiting for it to heat up just to make dinner for two might be a waste of both time and cooking oil. Of course, a more compact fryer will take up less counter space. Another thing to consider is the size of the baskets. Multiple smaller baskets can be convenient to fry different foods at the same time, but are limited in how much they can hold. (It is also possible to cook multiple things in one large basket, if you use tongs or a slotted spoon to fish out each item as it's ready.)

An outdoor fryer is a whole other proposition; even the smallest of these will be larger than a big countertop model. If you're going to be frying whole turkeys, consider how many people you want to feed and the size of bird you plan to use, and buy accordingly: You can't fry a 25-pound turkey in a fryer that says its capacity is a 20-pounder. An outdoor fryer vessel can also serve as a steamer for seafood or boiling pot for home-brewed beer, but you'll have to store the enormous thing somewhere. Be sure to keep all the parts indoors or covered when not in use. If they get rained on, they can be ruined by rust.

Temperature Control 

Depending on exactly what you're frying and how you've prepared it, deep frying recipes might call for oil at anywhere from under 300 to over 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Electric fryers use a built-in thermostat to keep oil at a set temperature, though some models offer only a handful of individual settings and others let you dial in an exact number of degrees. The size and power of the fryer determine how long it takes to heat up, but nearly all the models we tested were able to measure oil temperature accurately using their internal thermostats. With an outdoor fryer, you'll need to use a manual thermometer—usually included in the kit—and adjust the flow of propane to control the temperature.

Cleanup

Even after it's cooled down, cooking oil can be precarious to get out of a fryer. Some models offer a spigot and filter to drain the grease, while others have an oil container that's removable by itself. The easiest electric models to clean can be completely disassembled, with most pieces able to go in the dishwasher. (The heating element usually isn't dishwasher safe, but can be wiped down with a sponge or soapy cloth; check your unit's directions for details.) Other deep fryers have many parts that need to be hand washed, which can make keeping them clean a pain.

Outdoor fryers' large tubs and baskets might be too large to fit in the dishwasher and will need to be hand washed, or even scrubbed and sprayed out with a garden hose if they won't fit in the sink.

Price

There is a surprisingly wide range of prices from one deep fryer model to the next. Cheaper ones tend to have less power and not hold heat as well, though that's less of a problem if you're making small batches of food and don't need a huge capacity. They also might skimp on safety features and washability, which could be a bigger issue. The main factor to consider is how often you'll be using the fryer. If you simply want an appliance to experiment with deep frying once every few months, something on the cheaper end of the spectrum would be a great place to start. If you plan to deep fry larger quantities of food on a more frequent basis, you’ll want a fryer that is powerful, sturdy, and performs reliably.

Frequency of Use

How often you plan on using a deep fryer should be a factor when looking for the best model for your needs. If you plan on deep frying only once or twice a year—say for a Thanksgiving turkey—then you can probably go with a larger unit and store it away most of the time. If you plan on using your fryer more frequently, a smaller one may be best to save on counter or cupboard space.

Serving size plays a role, too. A once-a-year type of deep fry is probably for a special occasion that warrants a feast...or at least a lot of leftovers. More everyday-type deep-frying may produce a smaller, more manageable yield, so you wouldn't need a super high-capacity fryer.

Types of Deep Fryers

Electric

Most indoor deep fryers simply plug into the wall and use heating elements submerged in the oil to heat it up. This allows for precise temperature control and increased safety, but limits capacity. Higher wattage means more heating power, but there's only so much power a fryer can pull from the outlet.

Propane 

To heat up the large oil vessel needed to deep-fry a turkey, you need some intense fire. Most outdoor fryers use the same propane tanks that gas grills use, with a universal valve that simply screws into place. Some burners have an automatic push-button starter, while others might need you to turn on the gas and then use a lighter to get it going. Gas-burner power is measured in BTUs—British thermal units. In general, more BTUs means more power.

While most deep fryers come with baskets, you might want to purchase additional ones to have more options. If you don’t want to pull all your food out of the fryer at once in a large basket, look for smaller baskets, which will allow you to cook multiple things at once.

Most fryers have a built-in thermometer that can adjust and maintain temperature. It’s not a bad idea to keep a backup thermometer on hand to make sure your machine is reading temperatures correctly. If your machine doesn’t have a built-in thermometer, buying a separate one is highly recommended.

Some fryers are not designed with cleaning in mind, so if that’s the case, you might need to look for an oil pump to carefully and safely drain dirty cooking oil. This will make the process of transferring oil to a storage container much easier.

If you opted for a propane burner, you’re going to need some propane to get it going. Sometimes the first tank is included. However, after that, you’ll need to stay on top of keeping it stocked.

FAQs

How do you use a deep fryer?

You follow the directions included with your product. We cannot emphasize enough that you need to be familiar with how your particular deep fryer works before you turn it on. That said, the general process looks something like this: Pour in oil to the maximum fill line, plug it in, turn it on, set the temperature, and wait for it to heat up. Some models beep or have lights to indicate that the oil is ready, while others might require you to monitor the temperature more closely. Once the oil's hot, put the food in the basket and carefully lower the basket into the oil. If your fryer has a timer and lid, set the timer and close the lid, then remove and drain the food when it's done cooking.

What type of oil can you use in a deep fryer?

The important thing to consider when choosing a frying oil is smoke point. You want an oil that can heat to 400 degrees or higher without starting to break down. In general, that means a refined oil like canola, soybean, peanut, or vegetable is best. You don't want to use extra-virgin olive oil or other flavorful oils, as the impurities that contribute to flavor also burn at deep-frying temperatures. (Butter is a bad choice for the same reason.) Some old-fashioned recipes call for shortening or lard, which can work for deep frying if you monitor the temperature carefully.

Can you reuse fryer oil?

Yes! If you filter out any burnt bits or other debris soon after use, you can even store the oil right in the fryer. Kept covered (like by the fryer's included lid), frying oil can stay in the fryer for as long as a month and can be reused at least eight times. That said, if you're using breaded or battered ingredients, it's recommended to replace the oil after three or four times. If the oil starts to smell bad or has a dark color, it's time to toss it.

Frying oil can also pick up flavors from certain spices, so if you've just fried spicy Nashville hot chicken, you might want to change the oil before you make funnel cake. To increase shelf life to as long as three months, pour the oil into a separate container and keep it covered in a cool, dark place.

How do you dispose of deep fryer oil? 

Do not pour oil down the drain. Not only is this bad for your pipes, but some areas also have legal ordinances against it, and you could be fined. To dispose of used oil in the trash, pour it in a sealable bag or other well-sealed container, and throw it in the trash. There are also many organizations that recycle cooking oil, including some cities and counties around the country. Try this locator search to find a cooking oil recycler near you.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Donna Currie is a cookbook author and writer for The Spruce Eats. She knows her way around frying. In addition to our top picks for deep fryers, Donna's also written roundups on the best turkey fryers, Instant Pots, and toaster ovens.

Jason Horn is a staff commerce writer for The Spruce Eats who updated this story with our testing results. In more than 15 years as a food writer, he's deep-fried everything from tofu to artichokes to pound cake and is proud to say he's never started even a single grease fire.