Buying an air fryer in India seems really simple. Pick a size, match it to the number of people in your family, and you’re done. At least that’s how it is supposed to work. In reality, that single number on the box is the reason why most buyers end up confused, cooking in multiple batches, or wondering why their food doesn’t look as good as in the ads.
Now that we have spent enough time testing out air fryers, we have noticed an obvious pattern. While a “4L air fryer, perfect for a family of four”, sounds logical, it doesn’t really translate into real life. Fun fact: Most budget air fryers that are available in the market have a capacity of 4 to 5L.
So you might think that they are enough, but it is only after purchasing one that you may realise it after you load food in the basket the way an air fryer’s meant to be used- laid flat, and not stacked on top of each other. If you’re using a 4L air fryer, you might be able to fit 4-5 samosas, depending on size; anything else will need to wait for a second round.
This gap between what the size label promises and what an appliance can realistically fit in is where most buying regret begins. And that’s why you need to understand the air fryer capacity, away from how it is marketed.
Why Litres Aren’t the Right Metric
This is as basic as it gets- litres measure volume. It would make sense if you were buying a bottle of water, maybe a pressure cooker, or a mixer grinder. But air fryers don’t really cook food by filling a container. It cooks food by blasting hot air around exposed surfaces. So, what matters here isn’t how much food you can stack up in that basket, but how much food can lie flat in a single layer, without blocking the airflow. Basically, the surface area, instead of the volume.
If you were to fill your air fryer basket to capacity by stacking food, two things will happen. Hot air can’t circulate properly, so some pieces will get brown too fast while others will get soggy. Secondly, moisture will be trapped between layers, so you won’t get that crispness. You can shake the basket halfway or flip the pieces, but the air fryer won’t yield results as expected.
And that’s why “litres” don’t translate as soon as you start cooking. In reality, two 4L air fryers can accommodate different quantities of food depending on their basket shape. One might be wide and shallow, allowing you to spread food evenly. Another might be narrow and deep, forcing you to stack whether you want to or not. On paper, both have a capacity of 4L, but with one, you can cook quickly, while with the other, you have to cook in batches.
The Samosa Test: A Better Way to Judge Size
I think that to solve this problem, we can use samosas. So, samosas are bulky, have a unique shape, and also need airflow on all sides to crisp properly. It is also one of the most common snacks that people cook in their air fryers. That makes them a far more honest way to judge size than frozen fries or nuggets, which are easier to stack and far more forgiving.
When you look at air fryers through this lens, the limitations of litre-based sizing become obvious.
For example, most 4L air fryers can fit four samosas comfortably in a single layer; you can add a fifth one too, depending on the basket size and width. Now, for a family of four, four-five samosas might not be enough, and you might have to go for another round. This works better for two people.
If you upgrade to a 5.5L or 6L air fryer, you can fit approximately seven to nine samosas laid flat. If you have a family of four, this is more realistic and would not require you to cook in multiple rounds.
At 7L, most basket-style air fryers can fit ten to twelve samosas in one layer. This is better suited for bigger families with more than 4 people that don’t want to cook in batches.
P.S. The exact number will always vary depending on basket shape and samosa size, and that is precisely the point. When capacity is measured in litres, even a simple question like “how many samosas fit” doesn’t have a consistent answer.
What This Means for Choosing the Right Size
Once you stop taking the litres at face value, choosing the right air fryer becomes much easier. If you are cooking for one or two people, a 4L air fryer is usually enough, as long as you are comfortable cooking smaller batches. For families of three to four, the more practical starting point is 5.5L, with 7L offering the most flexibility for one-batch cooking. Anything smaller than that almost always involves stacking, which compromises both texture and consistency.
So, to sum it all up, the air fryers aren’t the problem themselves. They are efficient, convenient, and genuinely useful appliances when used correctly. The confusion only comes from how their capacity is marketed. And the real capacity of an air fryer isn’t defined by a number on the box. It’s defined by how much food you can cook properly in one layer.
