The Air Fryer That Actually Fries?

by Barry Lewis

Homesmart 2-in-1 Air Fryer Review – Does This Air Fryer Actually Fry?

This Homesmart 2-in-1 Air Fryer review came about after spotting a pretty bold claim — that this gadget can actually fry food, not just air fry it. In the UK, we’d probably call that more of a griddle-style heat plate, but either way, it caught my eye.

I gave it a full test run with a range of dishes to see if it lives up to the hype. The video is embedded above, or you can watch it directly on YouTube here.

What I Cooked in the Homesmart 2-in-1 Air Fryer

To get a proper feel for this thing, I tried both functions — frying and air frying — with a variety of foods:

  • Egg – Started with a simple fried egg on the hot plate. It cooked evenly and didn’t stick, which is always a good sign.
  • Quesadilla – Used a pan lid to trap the heat and mimic an oven. Could’ve flipped it and finished it in the air fryer too, but it worked well as-is.
  • Mozzarella sticks – Used just the glass air fryer bowl for this one. Nice crisp finish, did the job!
  • Steak, chips, peas and peppercorn sauce – This was more of a full meal test. I part-cooked the chips first, then flipped the heating element to cook the steak on the fry plate. While the steak rested, I finished off the chips and warmed through the peas and sauce.
  • Dessert – Fried pineapple slices until caramelised, mixed with passion fruit, then topped with a quick crumble mix. Cooked it in the air fryer bowl until golden and warm. Turned out surprisingly good — had a slightly fizzy bite from the passion fruit.

Pros and Cons of the Homesmart 2-in-1 Air Fryer

As part of this Homesmart 2-in-1 Air Fryer review, I took note of the little wins and quirks:

What worked well:

  • Frying plate heats quickly and evenly
  • Air fryer function is fast and gives a good crisp
  • Can do a full meal in one appliance with a bit of planning
  • Decent size and build quality

What didn’t:

  • You can’t use both cooking modes at once (the heating element has to flip between them)
  • Design could be smoother — flipping the heating unit feels a bit clunky
  • The manual wasn’t very helpful — especially when it came to shut-down behaviour

Final Thoughts on This Air Fryer Review

All in all, this Homesmart 2-in-1 Air Fryer did better than expected. It has its limitations, especially with not being able to use both functions simultaneously, but it handled a full cook session (including dessert) quite well. If you’re after something a bit more versatile than a standard air fryer, this might be worth considering.

If you liked this review, check out the 3-ingredient air fryer recipe video I did as well — super simple stuff and always fun to test!

And if you’re into air fryer gadget tests, the full playlist is right here.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve used this one or if there’s a kitchen gadget you’d like me to try next.

Cheers,
Barry

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