Breville Halo 5.5L digital air fryer review

• Read our full guide to the best air fryers

How easy is the Breville Halo digital air fryer to use?

When we switched the air fryer on, it made the usual whir but wasn't noticeably noisy. We loved the touchscreen controls: they're bright, clear and simple to use, and we could identify all the presets without having to consult the instructions.

The manual is well written and includes air fryer cooking charts and four recipes, plus a troubleshooting guide. Using the timer was straightforward, and the temperature controls go up and down in increments of five.

The divider comes with silicone grips around the outside, so it's easy to insert and keep secure inside the basket. That said, the grips have a tendency to slip off so may be at risk of getting lost.

The basket itself is quite heavy so would be difficult for some people to lift, particularly if you're plating up dishes. As it's also fairly bulky, you'd also need a decent amount of space – either in your sink or dishwasher – to clean it. We had no trouble wiping off grease and other cooking residue, however, and washed the basket in hot, soapy water.

It has some good safety features, too, including an auto shut-off function that kicks in once the timer has sounded. The body stayed relatively cool during use, and its non-slip feet kept it steady on the worktop.

Cooking results

The first recipe we tested was air-fried chips, which we cooked for 25 minutes at 200C using the fries preset. The air fryer cooking chart suggests shaking halfway through, which we did, though there was no prompt from the air fryer.

The results were mixed – the chips were slightly overdone by about five minutes, but were evenly browned and well sealed.

Our air fryer chicken breast was more uneven, with one end browner and crispier than the other. The browner end was more flavourful and had a juicy texture, though was a bit drier than we'd hoped. We cooked this for 22 minutes at 180C on the chicken preset.

We used the vegetable setting for aubergine slices, which had a default time and temperature of 10 minutes at 180C. This didn't prove to be long enough as there were no grill marks, and our aubergine was pale with just one or two brown spots. A longer cooking time or more thinly cut slices may produce better results.

For air fryer halloumi, we used the manual setting and cooked for 10 minutes at 180C, which gave us even browning and a stretchy texture with visible grill marks.

Air fryer salmon fillets were more successful, too. Using the default fish preset (12 minutes at 180C), our fillets were consistently cooked with a crisp top and flaky texture.

How sustainable is the Breville Halo digital air fryer?

To calculate the Breville Halo's energy efficiency, we conducted a simple test to calculate the average cost per kWh (based on a standard variable tariff of 31.8p/kWh) and ran the air fryer for 10 minutes on the manual setting. The cost totalled 3.85p, which is about average versus the other models we tested; not the cheapest, but not the most expensive either.

When it came to packaging, there was some non-recyclable plastic but not an excessive amount. The downside is it has a guarantee of just one year, which is short versus other air fryers on the market.

Spare parts are available to buy if you contact Breville's customer service team (free of charge if under warranty, at a cost if outside warranty), though we struggled to find information about this on Breville's website – and there's nothing in the manual. We also couldn't find any details on how to recycle the air fryer after use.

Conclusion

If you want size and versatility from your air fryer, the Breville Halo has plenty to offer. Its 5.5-litre capacity offers ample space for a variety of ingredients, and the divider is a handy bonus that aids with cooking two dishes at once. We also liked the sleek black design, though is boxy shape means it's best suited to those with deeper countertops.

We liked that it comes with common presets including fries, fish, veggies and chicken, and its auto shut-off feature is also a win. It may take some trial and error to begin with, but once you've mastered it this model is capable of producing impressive results.

Breville Halo digital air fryer specifications

Made in: China
Food capacity: 5.5L
Wattage: 1700W
Dimensions: 13.7 x 15.2 x 11.4cm
Guarantee: 1 year
Presets: 5

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All costs-to-run calculations were done against the variable tariff at the time of testing (31.8p/kWh), which may have since changed – read more on the current energy price guarantee rates.