Is Tefal's new air fryer Ninja's biggest threat so far? My thoughts on the Multicook Actifry

Tefal is a household name, famous for its magic non-stick coatings. I'd bet a lot of money that you've cooked with one of their saucepans, but have you tried their Multicook Actify Air Fryer?

Most of the best air fryers rely on some impressive nonstick coating so it doesn’t surprise me that Tefal has ventured into this market. The Tefal Multicook Actify promises to deliver 14 functions in one relatively compact appliance. If it can do that, it’s a serious competitor to some of the best Ninja air fryers. And that's saying something.

For your benefit — and to settle my own curiosity — I put it through its paces. In the months that I tested this, I found my oven and hob started to gather dust. This speedy, versatile machine is a godsend for busy homes. If you're a lazy cook, listen closely.

Specifications

Unboxing

The Tefal Multicook Actify arrived in a relatively large box. From the pictures, I imagined that it was going to be a small air fryer. However, is actually pretty hefty. If you’ve ever used a multi-cooker before it looks and feels more like one of those. And that's no surprise because this isn't a plain air fryer. It really is more of a multicooker that just happens to have air frying on its repertoire.

On the counter, the Tefal Multicook Actify looks good. The curved edges and shiny black lid are attractive, making this an intriguing gadget that will no doubt garner the attention of house guests. The only thing to note is the height. If you have wall cupboards, it's touch-and-go as to whether this'll clear them. You shouldn't really air fry under your cupboards anyway, but if you plan on storing yours by tucking it under a cupboard, you'll need to triple-check measurements.

Alongside the air fryer, Tefal sends some useful scoops and spatulas to help you lift out your bakes and dishes without damaging the non-stick. You'll also get a handy rack (for increasing the capacity of the Multicook Actify) and an instruction manual. You're really set up for success.

What is it like to use?

The Tefal Multicook Actify has a menu of different functions. Tefal hasn't overcomplicated any of this. They're very clearly laid out, so you can tap the arrows to navigate through air frying, grilling, roasting, crisping, steaming, baking, and pasta cooking.

There are fourteen different settings in total. Some are quite niche, the combi functions in particular take some familiarity before you'll be able to make the most of them. An example of one of these is the setting that air fries and steams. It's great for crisping up food without drying it out, but you probably won't have used anything like it before. I'll talk you through all the main settings, so you'll be an expert by the end of this review anyway.

Test 1: chips

My favourite air fryer test and possibly one of the most telling is how well a model cooks chips. I added normal chips and sweet potato chips into the base of the Tefal Multicook Actify Air Fryer. Tefal provides an extra tray that gives you two layers of cooking so if you wanted to do fish fingers and chips, you could put one on one layer and one on another. This is actually what I did, but I’ll talk about the fish fingers in a different section because I don’t want to complicate things.

Tefal reckoned that the chips needed half an hour to cook. This is quite long for an air fryer: I normally expect air fryers to take 20 minutes. With this in mind, I kept a close eye on my chips and, after 15 minutes, I lifted the lid to see that my chips were already looking nice and golden.

After another three minutes, I lifted the lid again and decided that the chips were done. They had a really beautiful, even colour and they were nice and crispy. I can't fault them. The chips that I had cooked in the very base of the air fryer were soggier than the ones that had gone on the rack, but that’s to be expected because the rack had more circulation, which is one of the key aspects of how an air fryer works. Luckily, I don't mind a soggy or soft chip.

Test 2: fish fingers

I mentioned that I cooked fish fingers with the chips, because I thought that was more representative of a speedy, mid-week meal. I put two of the fish fingers on the base of the Tefal and two of these on the higher rack. As with the chips, the fish fingers that had been on the lower base were a little more soggy than the crispy ones which had been on the upper part. I took these out of the air fryer at 18 minute mark, with the chips, and found that they were perfectly cooked.

It's worth noting that I had put these in from frozen and the Tefal Multicook Actify Air Fryer had still managed to get heat right through them, a crispy outside crumb, and a tender inside. It's a speedy result that gets the frozen functionality a big tick.

Test 3: grilled vegetables

Not every air fryer has a grill setting, so I wanted to see what this would do with my grilled vegetables. I chopped up a range of different textures, including onion, pepper, courgette, tomatoes, and aubergine. Normally, air fryers take about 10-15 minutes to cook these, but I knew that the Tefal over-performs time-wise, so I checked after ten minutes.

The vegetables had some nice bubbling, but I gave them another three minutes to get a gorgeous golden colour on the tips and some good tenderness through the vegetables. They ended up tasting like the perfect selection of grilled vegetables. My only note is that some of the smaller pieces of pepper ended up shrinking when they grilled and so they fell through the top rack. If you stack your vegetables carefully, this won't be a problem.

Test 4: reheating pizza

There’s also a reheat function which is particularly useful for pizzas and leftovers. To give this a proper test, I cooked a whole pizza, left it overnight, and then tried warming it up for my lunch the next day. Luckily for me, the base of the Tefal Multicook Actify Air Fryer is the perfect size for my whole pizza. This is quite rare for modern air fryers, since most brands are opting for drawers and compact models, so I had a lot of love for the fact that I could lower a full pizza into the base.

I gave it five minutes on the reheat setting and then lifted out my pizza to give it a test. It was warm all over, crispy in the right places, but still doughy and moist where I wanted it to be. I'd go to this for warm waffles, pizzas, and any meal re-heat, especially in preference to my oven.

Test 5: cookies

I wanted to test out the baking function because that takes the Tefal Multicook Actify Air Fryer into mini oven territory, making it even more valuable. A great way to test the heat transfer and speed of cooking is by making cookies.

I followed my signature recipe which is the one that I use to test stand mixers. It's a classic. Once my dough had chilled for thirty minutes, I placed six cookies onto the tray with the temperature setting on at 180 for 12 minutes. The Tefal Multicook Actify Air Fryer stopped itself when the time was up and I raced over to pop open the lid.

The results were flawless. My cookies were brown and the edges were gooey in the middle and cooked right through. I've tested out some different bakes in the Tefal Multicook Actify Air Fryer and they've all turned out really well. I’m wondering whether I even need to touch my oven now that I have this on the counter.

Test 6: sauté

There is also a sauté function which sounds very fancy for an air fryer, but it’s also something that I would expect to see in a multi-cooker. I have a simple task for the sauté which involves chopping and onion and sautéing it for a couple of minutes. It's an easy way to check how even and speedy the heat transfer is across the base of the Tefal Multicook Actify Air Fryer.

I added my chopped onion to the base of the Tefal with a drizzle of olive oil. With the shut the lid, I let it do it work for a few minutes. When I lifted the lid, my onions had browned perfectly across the whole base. They had a lovely colour and had cooked right through. It's an easy, low-maintenance way to prep your onions for soups, stews, and slow cooks, which leads me on to my cooking test.

Test 7: stew and slow cooks

Tefal promises that this isn't limited to air frying, so I wanted to test out just how versatile this could be. After sautéing the onions, I thought I could make a nice chicken stew using the slow cook function and (spoiler alert) I did.

I used the slow cook function to make a chicken stock from some chicken leftovers that I had from a roast dinner. I added my stock to the onions with some chopped vegetables and pieces of chicken. With the lid on, I let my stew simmer for an hour.

I could smell the beautiful aromas drifting across the kitchen from the stew, so I had high hopes that this would turn out well. When I lifted the lid, it looked gorgeous. It had cleverly mediated the steam, so that it didn't explode or puff into my face. The chicken was succulent, the sauce was rich, and my vegetables were tender. Most importantly, the non-stick had done a wonderful job at keeping all the stew from sticking to the pan.

Test 8: steaming

If you're beginning to settle with the idea that the Tefal is versatile, I've got another treat for you. The Multicook Actify comes with a steam function that it would be easy to overlook, but I urge you not to. I tested this out when I wanted to use up some cooking apples, but I ended up steaming all my fruit and vegetables in this for months. It's quicker than any other steaming method that I used.

It's all very simple. In my case, I added chopped vegetables and apples into the bowl with water. Then, I closed the lid and let it work. Five to ten minutes later (depending on the foods that I put in), out came some tender, delicious fruit and vegetables.

It's a very low-maintenance task. The Tefal heats up quickly on its own and the non-stick works a treat. You'll shave a lot of effort and time off your normal vegetable steaming method, which can make all the difference to your weekday meals.

Test 9: pasta

There is no end to the different functions that you can use on the Multicook Actify. One of the things I was really interested in doing was making pasta.

Cooking plain pasta felt like an important part of the test, but it's almost too easy. For that reason, I also cooked lentil pasta (which needs a little longer) and I ended up making a pasta bake too.

The whole pasta process is really simple. All I had to do was add some water and pasta, select the setting and the machine did the rest. Obviously you'll need to keep an eye on the time and I'd recommend taste-testing yourself at five-minute intervals because every pasta will need a different amount of cooking time

My lentil pasta took 17 minutes to cook but my white normal pasta only took 10. It’s really a matter of testing out the products that you use and learning to tune in how long yours needs to cook for.

I had some pasta left over, so I decided to test out the combi function to steam and crisp up a pasta bake. If you've owned any of the Ninja air fryers that come with Combi settings, you'll breeze through adjusting to this kind of cooking. If not, you'll be fine, but it's just a little to get your head around.

I mixed my pasta with some sauce, vegetables, and then I put a breadcrumb and cheese topping over the dish. The pasta had brown on top and warmed right through giving me a lovely pasta bake within 15 minutes. It’s a really easy way to mix up the meals that you make and it can all be done in the Tefal.

Cleaning

The clean up is just the icing on the cake of an already incredibly convenient machine. The air fryer itself doesn’t really get dirty, except for a few greasy fingerprints on the outside. These wipe away really easily with a damp, clean cloth.

Then, the accessories and the inside of the Tefal lift out and can be popped into the dishwasher. That's all you need to do. Of course, you can wash by hand if you want to. It's actually really easy, because the non-stick means you won't be battling with any burns. Just make sure not to use an abrasive cleaner, because this could scratch the non-stick.

How does it compare?

This reminds me a lot of the Ninja Combi Air Fryer. The silhouette of the two looks quite different: the Tefal is tall and almost egg shaped, whereas the Ninja Combi is blocky and wide. Both come with a range of different settings (the Tefal just has the edge, thanks to a couple of extras), but you could cover all the same dishes in both.

The Combi is cheaper and it can cook food in 12 minutes. It claims to be one of Ninja's fastest air fryers and I really think that it is. When I tested the Combi, I managed to cook a full roast dinner in it and it was all ready to go in 45 minutes. I loved lots of little extras on the Ninja Combi too. For example, it has a glass viewing window, so you can keep an eye on your food to make sure that it doesn't overcook. With the speed and versatility, it fully replaced my oven. The only downside of the Combi is that it is bigger than the Tefal and possibly less attractive.

Should you buy it?

If you often find yourself running out of time to cook in the evenings and you want a simple, speedy appliance to help you out, the Tefal Multicook Actifry is perfect. It’s well-priced and versatile, but you’ll need to make some room in your kitchen for it. The space is worth the sacrifice.