Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer review: small footprint but large capacity

Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer review in a sentence: Lots of capacity and plenty of modes makes this sizeable offering great for families.

Just when I thought I’d seen a slowing up of the constant stream of these things, the new Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer looks like yet another contender for our best air fryer listings. It’s pretty much just off the production line too and is a step up from the Breville VDF126 5.5-litre air fryer so offers 65% more cooking capacity compared to that model.

If you’ve already got an air fryer and have since realised that it’s not quite as capacious as you’d hoped for then the Breville Halo Air Fryer, complete with XL status, will make a solid replacement or upgrade option. There’s 9-litres of cooking space, albeit via a single frying basket. That’s not such a big deal if you’re only needing to cook one thing, but if it’s versatility you’re after you might want to check out dual basket air fryer models instead.

• A big alternative with more modes: Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2in1 review

Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer review: price and availability

The Breville Halo XL 9L digital air fryer is available now and, as you’d expect from this brand, proves to be a good quality product that still comes in at a reasonable price. Currently, it costs £149 but doubtless many online outlets will have it discounted at some point, such is the competitive nature of the air fryer market. If you need something with less capacity and like this brand, then lookout for the Breville VDF126 5.5-litre air fryer model mentioned above.

Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer review: what is it?

The Breville Halo Air is an air frying oven appliance that follows the same theme as countless other models on the market. It’s designed to allow you to cook all sorts of food quickly and efficiently. In fact, Breville states that it is 50% more efficient than a built-in 70-litre electric fan oven for cooking 300 grams of frozen chips, which gives you a rough idea of its potential. Of course, that can vary depending on the amount of time and heat you use, but air fryers are noted for their quick and easy potency.

This isn’t anything radically different to other models out there, but it is sizeable – at least in the inside, with a 9-litre frying basket that’s certainly generous. At the same, time, the design fits around the basket quite tightly, which means that the overall footprint with this model isn’t too big at all. If you’re stretched for countertop space you should find it fits, and possibly have space to spare too so it’s not hanging over the edge proving dangerous as a result.

Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer review: is it any good?

There’s much to suggest that the Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer will be more than up to the task as it comes with a digital LED display and a panel with six cooking presets included. You can scroll through these by pressing a small, lined icon to the left of them. I found the appliance to be very easy to use and wonderfully straightforward to set up. I only needed to look at the manual once in order to work out how to scroll through the presets, but once I’d done that all of the icons are self-explanatory.

There are many plus and minus button options if you wish to adjust cooking times and control the heat on the fly too. That’s an added bonus if you’d rather not risk using presents. They can be mighty handy if you want to press and go, but in my experience, I find being sparing with the heat and making regular visual checks is the best way to ensure evenly cooked food that doesn’t end up scorched. There’s no window on the front of the basket either, so you’ll need to slide that out midway through just to check on progress.

Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer review: performance

Solid air fryer performance is always dependent on having enough heat and then having a design that helps to distribute it effectively. I’ve found that the Breville Halo is able to both very effectively, with 1700 Watts of available power and the ability to set the heat right up to 200 degrees when needed. The manual controls can be tweaked to lower the heat if you don’t need so much, which can often be the case when you’re halfway through cooking more delicate foods.

I did the usual thing and tried frozen chips to begin with, which is generally what everyone does. This is a great first test for any air fryer and my chips emerged from a high heat after 20 minutes looking crisp and tasty. I did pull the drawer out at about the ten-minute mark and shake the contents around, which is always wise for more even cooking. Usefully, the depth of the basket means you can do this without worrying about the contents spilling all over the kitchen floor – unless you’ve overfilled that is.

Next, I used the adjustable 90-minute timer to cook a couple of burgers, which ended up being done to perfection. All the grease and juices dripped down through the internal grill at the bottom of the basket leaving a ready-to-go patty that worked a treat in a fresh bun. The presets are neat for things like chicken wings and fish fillets, but it’s worth checking progress as a couple of times I felt like the Breville was getting a little too hot. As a result, I just ended the cooking process slightly earlier – no great shakes.

Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer review: verdict

I’ve found the Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer to be pretty good at just about everything, with the presets making it super easy if you can’t be bothered to go manual. It’s got the potential to overcook things if you don’t keep tabs on it, and the lack of a window means you have to pull the drawer out to check progress. That’s not a big deal though. 

Elsewhere, the design and build quality seems very good and I especially like the brushed stainless steel exterior flourishes. There’s plenty of power, lots of capacity and it’s not enormous to store either.

Breville Halo XL 9L Air Fryer review: Alternatives to consider

If you’re keen on a sizeable air fryer then the options are plentiful. Have a look at the Tower 9 litre Dual Basket Digital Air Fryer, or the Tower T17076 Xpress Pro Combo 10-in-1 Air Fryer, which comes complete with a rotisserie that can handle a whole chicken.

Alternatively, and if Breville is not your go-to brand and you want an all-in-one offering we like the Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 SmartLid, or the Ninja Foodi 11-in-1, which is a multi-faceted machine with brilliant air and steam-fry features. It’s bigger and more expensive than the Ninja Speedi and doesn’t come with the Rapid Cooker option, but it can cook a variety of meals in a variety of different ways.

Meanwhile, at £189.99, the Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer is cheaper and simpler than the Ninja Speedi, although its standout feature is its air fryer function which some people might not want.