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Ultrean Air Fryer Review

An effective and inexpensive model that offers excellent temperature accuracy and overall performance in a compact size
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Ultrean Air Fryer Review
Credit: Laura Casner
Price:  $70 List
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Manufacturer:   Ultrean
By Michelle Powell, Mallory Paige, and Max Mutter  ⋅  Apr 22, 2024
74
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#4 of 14
  • Cooking Performance - 35% 7.3
  • User Friendliness - 25% 6.2
  • Ease of Cleaning - 20% 7.5
  • Temperature Accuracy - 20% 9.0

Our Verdict

The Ultrean Air Fryer offers a great cost to performance ratio. In our tests, it offered similar cooking results to many devices that cost significantly more. It also displayed excellent temperature accuracy and is reasonably easy to use. It scored high marks for being incredibly easy to clean, and we like that the tray is dishwasher safe. While the very top-rated air fryers had slightly better cooking outcomes, the Ultrean did well in our four cooking tests. If you're shopping on a budget, we think this air fryer is a good choice.
REASONS TO BUY
Inexpensive
Easy to clean
Small footprint
Great temperature accuracy
REASONS TO AVOID
No presets or additional features
Unpleasant beeping sound
Editor's Note: This review was updated on April 21, 2024 to include new testing data and product ranking.

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Editors' Choice Award
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Bottom Line Good cooking performance for a reasonable priceA high-performing and multi-functional device with an outstanding designIts versatility allows it to cook a wide variety of foods well and it's quite easy to useA small air fryer with average cooking performance and basic optionsA below average air fryer that is challenging to clean
Rating Categories Ultrean Air Fryer Instant Vortex Plus Ninja Air Fryer Dash Tasti-Crisp Instant Vortex Mini
Cooking Performance (35%)
7.3
8.5
7.5
5.6
5.8
User Friendliness (25%)
6.2
8.0
7.6
5.6
7.4
Ease of Cleaning (20%)
7.5
9.0
7.0
7.0
4.5
Temperature Accuracy (20%)
9.0
7.7
8.3
8.8
6.7
Specs Ultrean Air Fryer Instant Vortex Plus Ninja Air Fryer Dash Tasti-Crisp Instant Vortex Mini
Measured Dimensions 13.2"L x 11.3"W x 12.4"D 11.5"L x 13.3"W x 12.8"D 13.6"L x 11"W x 13.3"D 8.6"L x 11"W x 10.7"D 9"L x 11.3"W x 11.2"D
Capacity 4.2 qt 6 qt 4 qt 2.6 qt 2 qt
Accessories None None None None None
Power Consumption 1500 watt 1700 watt 1550 watt 1000 watt 1300 watt
Max Outside Temperature 154 146 160 164 129
Measured Cooking Area 59.2 sq in 87.8 sq in 53.5 sq in 49 sq in 45.6 sq in
Time to Preheat to 400F 2:37 2:31 4:25 3:13 1:55

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Ultrean Air Fryer is a top-performing, budget-friendly option. It has a 4.2-quart capacity and performs far above its reasonable price tag. It has an intuitive control panel, and it performed well during the cleaning tests. To top it off, this is one of the few air fryers that is available in a range of colors. If you're looking for a pop of color in the kitchen or simply just want an option that doesn't cost you hundreds of dollars, this air fryer is for you.

Performance Comparison


ultrean air fryer - the ultrean performs at or above average in all of our tests, yet...
The Ultrean performs at or above average in all of our tests, yet generally sells at a below-average price.
Credit: Laura Casner

Cooking Performance


While not the absolute best performer in our cooking tests, the Ultrean 4.2qt seated itself firmly in the lead group. There are more expensive units that cook slightly better, but nothing that competes in this price range. The best dish this fryer prepared was tater tots, which came out with a near-perfect crisp and very even cooking. We found the outside to be evenly browned and the interior to be soft but not mushy.


Like most air fryers, the Ultrean struggled a bit with the sweet potato fries. It was able to get a crisp exterior, but some of the skinny fry ends were overcooked. Most models have similar issues, which is why we use sweet potato fries in our testing. However, there are a select few models we've tested that made delectable sweet potato fries, and this was not one of them.

ultrean air fryer - the ultrean generally served up good air fried foods in our testing...
The Ultrean generally served up good air fried foods in our testing, with some minor inconsistencies.
Credit: Laura Casner

This air fryer struggled the most with chicken, with the results tending to be drier than other models we tested. It did okay with the donuts. Overall it is a solid performer, especially if you tend to use your air fryer for crisping frozen items.

ultrean air fryer - we cooked four different types of foods in the air fryers to test...
We cooked four different types of foods in the air fryers to test their cooking performance. Here are the results above (the longer the line, the better the overall performance).
Credit: Lesley Robinson

There aren't any presets or fancy settings with this unit. Some other air fryers have settings for baking, dehydrating, roasting, and more, but the Ultrean focuses solely on air frying. We still think this is a great choice if you're looking specifically for an air fryer. However, if you want an appliance that can do more, you'll need to look elsewhere.

The temperature can be adjusted from 180 to 400 degrees, and the maximum time is 30 minutes. We found this offered plenty of versatility for cooking a variety of items.

It's always recommended to fully preheat your air fryer before placing food inside.

User Friendliness


The interface is simple and sleek, with a digital LCD screen and simple, intuitive buttons. However, cycling through time and temperature settings takes a lot of scrolling, and the digital display is rather small. There are other models we tested that have a simpler, easier to use control panel if this is a top concern for you. We also found the beeping sound to be quite annoying, but there are ways to disable this.


The most significant ease of use aspect of any air fryer is how easy it is to remove and replace the fry basket. Since many recipes require that you shake the basket a few times during the cooking process, being able to do so easily and without fuss is essential. The Ultrean's fry basket has a handle that doesn't get hot during cooking, which means no need for potholders. However, we found that the basket stuck a bit when sliding it in and out of the device. Additionally, we found that the bottom of the fry basket tends to fall out when trying to dump food out of it. However, these are relatively minor annoyances and, in our opinion, far from deal-breakers.

ultrean air fryer - the ultrean has a simplistic design, as it only functions as a fryer.
The Ultrean has a simplistic design, as it only functions as a fryer.
Credit: Laura Casner

Lastly, we really like that the Ultrean has a small footprint and doesn't require an excessive amount of counter space. And while most air fryers only come in black, this unit is available in several colors.

Ease of Cleaning


The basket and rack of the Ultrean are dishwasher safe, but we felt that more significant messes required some hand scrubbing. In general, we found this hand scrubbing to be easy, though the fry basket did seem to hang on to grease just a bit more stubbornly than the baskets of some other models. If you really want to avoid cleaning, 8-inch parchment paper liners work great and fit perfectly in the Ultrean.


The non-stick coating on the interior of the unit made it easy to just wipe it down after each use, which we appreciated. The outside of the Ultrean showed some fingerprints, but not as easily as other stainless steel fryers. It's a simple manner of wiping down with a damp towel to clean the exterior of the unit.

Temperature Accuracy


The Ultrean proved to be very temperature accurate in our tests, generally staying within 10 degrees of the set temperature. As with most units, there was a larger variance of temperatures throughout the cooking time as the air fryer heats and cools to stay within the range. Overall, it cooked foods thoroughly without burning. We think the vast majority of people will be more than pleased with this level of accuracy.


ultrean air fryer - air fryers were heated to 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
Air Fryers were heated to 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
Credit: Lesley Robinson

The front of the Ultrean reached a temperature of 154 degrees during testing, which is above our ideal threshold of 140. While it felt hot to the touch and could potentially cause a burn with prolonged exposure, it was among the lowest outside temperature units.

Checking the exterior temperature of the Ultrean Air Fryer.
Credit: Matt Lighthart

Should You Buy the Ultrean Air Fryer?


The Ultrean is a great air fryer and has excellent value. It is priced well below other air fryers we've tested and performed very well across all testing metrics. There are air fryers that have slightly fancier control panels and some that clean up a bit easier, but for the price, this can't be beat. We recommend the Ultrean to anyone looking for an affordable air fryer with exceptional temperature accuracy.

We measured each and every aspect of all the air fryers we tested.
Credit: Matt Lighthart

What Other Air Fryers Should You Consider?


If you have a slightly higher budget and want to cook for the whole family, you should look into the Ninja Air Fryer. It has a large 4-quart capacity, excellent temperature accuracy, and excels in all of our tests. If you plan to create multiple dishes in your air fryer at once or entertain regularly, you should consider the dual-drawer Instant Vortex Plus XL. It has an 8-quart capacity, and each drawer can be set to individual temperatures and times. It even has clear-view drawers, which are helpful for keeping an eye on your food and pulling it as soon as you get the perfect browning.

Michelle Powell, Mallory Paige, and Max Mutter