Instant Vortex Plus 6 qt ClearCook

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Analysis

Ideal for: Anyone cooking for 3 or 4 people who wants room for a whole chicken and likes to watch the cooking without opening the basket.

What buyers say

A 4.6 average across nearly 43,000 ratings. People like the room for a whole chicken, how fast it cooks and how direct the controls are. The most repeated negative, by far, is a "plastic smell" the first few times: buyers recommend running it empty with the window open a couple of times before cooking.

• Sanyuse5 de 5 estrellasVerified purchaseCalificado en Estados Unidos el 5 de julio de 2026

  This has made cooking so much easier for me. I mainly use the roast function, and it does an amazing job. I’ve roasted chicken, potatoes, and corn on the cob, and everything comes out perfectly cooked and delicious every time. It’s extra-large, so I hardly ever need to use my stove or grill anymore. It also has air fry, bake, and dehydrate functions, making it incredibly versatile. I’m extremely pleased with this purchase and highly recommend it!

• VintageDiva5 de 5 estrellasVerified purchaseCalificado en Estados Unidos el 29 de junio de 2026

  I'm single, so five years ago I grabbed the Instant Vortex 2-quart during a Prime Day sale. That little thing has been an absolute workhorse. I've made toast, salmon, baked potatoes, roasted vegetables, chicken...you name it. It still works great. The only downside? You can only cook one thing at a time. Now that the dog days of summer are here, I keep hearing my mom's voice in my head saying, "Don't heat up the kitchen!" I used to laugh...now I completely understand. Running the oven turns my kitchen and living room into a sauna, and then the air conditioner has to work overtime just to cool the house back down. So I decided it was time to retire my oven until September and upgrade to the 6-quart Vortex Plus. What a difference! The larger basket means I can finally cook a salmon fillet and asparagus at the same time instead of playing musical chairs with dinner. It's just as easy to use as my old one since the controls are very similar, and it's surprisingly quiet. I honestly thought the viewing window was a gimmick, but I was wrong. It's incredibly handy. Being able to peek in without pulling the basket out and letting all the heat escape is something I didn't realize I'd appreciate so much. If you're cooking for one or two people and wondering if it's worth upgrading from a smaller air fryer, I'd say yes. My little 2-quart is headed to my office to keep making lunches, and this 6-quart has officially taken over dinner duty at home. No regrets. My oven is about to enjoy a nice long summer vacation.

• Robert5 de 5 estrellasVerified purchaseCalificado en Estados Unidos el 20 de diciembre de 2021

  I have had this for about ten days now and made five items. I dont usually leave reviews but thought I would for this air fryer. Its pretty great as far as I am concerned. Pro and Cons. Let me start with the cons. CONS 1. Complaints about plastic smell. Not really a con for me but I see others complaining so I will mention it. I had no problem. I ran the machine through several air fry cycles (400 degrees for 15 minutes) before I cooked any food and noticed the oft complained about plastic smell the first time. It then decreased each time I ran it through another cycle until I could barely notice it. Some reviews say to remove the silicon food grade tabs on the grate insert but note that the grate will then easily fall out when you try to empty the pan by tipping it over. It might eventually fall out with the tabs in place but I used a tongs to prevent the grate from falling out any time I tipped the pan over to empty it. 2. My big complaint is the instructions. They are sparse. It took me awhile to realize I can pull out the pan anytime I want to flip my food and the machine will simply start where it left off when the pan is replaced. If you already flipped your food you can just leave the machine be for the ten seconds it tells you to flip your food and resumes air frying. My learning consisted of trial and error (still doing that learning cook times and when to flip the food) and looking at air fryer demonstration videos and recipes online. The intstant website appears to have no recipes for the air fryer and the recipe page only has recipes for their insta pot. PROS The food!! From left to right I first did french fries then chicken thighs, steak, fish and grilled ham and cheese. FRENCH FRIES - Came out crispy and delicious. The picture is actually my second batch. The first batch went in, then I realized the machine was preheating. I just left the fries in. The machine then went to its 15 minute standard time at 400 degrees. The fries were OK but some were overcooked probably due to going in during the preheat cycle. The second batch went in after the machine preheated and used 12 minutes (after I learned how to adjust the time). This batch was much much improved. I used store bought frozen fries which seem to work really well. For fresh potatoes I learned I had to soak the fries first in water to get rid of some of the starch and dry them with paper towels otherwise the fries didnt turn out as crispy as the store bought frozen fries. My only slight complaint is the cooking grate would eventually fall out when I tipped the pan over to empty the fries onto a plate. I learned to hold the grate with tongs to keep it from falling out. Chicken - I love fried chicken so this was the real test. I made four bone in thighs. Two were egg wash and then panko bread crumbs (on the left of the picture) and two (on the right of the picture) were eggwash and seasoned flour. All four thighs were sprayed with cooking oil (PAM). I learned this is a must to get a good fry. As you can see some of the panko came off during the cook from the fan. The panko also tended to burn. Many recipes use panko so the food gets crispy but for me it was just OK. On the other hand the chicken with the eggwash and then flour was GREAT. Crispy, juicy, as good as when I deep fry with oil. STEAK - This is my go to method of making a steak when its too cold outside to grill. It took me awhile to get the time down but the steak turned out really good. I used the broil cycle at 380 degrees. I used an instant read thermometer to get a perfect medium-medium well of 140 inside. I first had the steak on 17 minutes (flipped half way) but it the internal temp was only 120. I then did another 5 minutes. The steak was juicy and perfectly cooked for me. FISH - This was my one "Its OK" dish that I have work on. I did cod loins at 400 degrees air fry for 8 minutes (flipping half way). I used eggwash and seasoned flour with a spray of cooking oil. The coating wasnt as crispy when I deep fried with oil. Next time I will try increasing the time to see if that improves it. I didnt want to overcook the fish which it wasnt. GRILLED HAM AND CHEESE - This was the last item prepared. It was probably one of the best grilled sandwiches I have had in a long time. Crispy on the outside with hot gooey cheese and ham on the inside. My go to way to make a grilled cheese from now on. I buttered the outside of the bread and put the machine 6 minutes on air fry at 400 flipping halfway. Like the french fries, the picture was my second sandwich. The first I had at 8 minutes and that was too long, the sandwich was overcooked. But when I got the time down it made a GREAT grilled ham and cheese. Easy to clean. I just washed the grate in warm soapy water and wiped the pan out with a paper towel after each use. So that its. I hope this helps other people looking at this machine or other air fryers. I am happy with mine so far. Its just a matter of trial and error until you learn the temps and cooking times that work for you.

• Chris5 de 5 estrellasVerified purchaseCalificado en Estados Unidos el 2 de junio de 2026

  We've been using this for about a month now with zero complaints. I will, however, echo what other reviewers have said in that there is a distinctive plastic smell for the first few times you use it. It's just the nature of the construction and does not affect the food. I absolutely love this air fryer and wish we bought it sooner. Never had chicken wings, fries, nuggets, etc. come out so crispy. Use this long enough and you'll find out you're making better food than some restaurants, which will save you money in the long run. Easy to use, easy to set up, and one thing of note is that (for the size) it is pretty lightweight. We don't have the counter space to keep it out all the time, so moving it in and out of the cabinet has not been a problem.

Reviews as shown on the product's Amazon page at the time of consultation. We do not alter their content.

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