I used Drew Barrymore's Beautiful 9-Quart TriZone Air Fryer for months - it's not perfect

If you’ve ever wanted to cook two foods simultaneously in your air fryer, a dual-zone model like the Beautiful TriZone Air Fryer is just what you need. A new release from Beautiful, a budget-friendly brand fronted by actress Drew Barrymore, this large air fryer offers more versatility than many other single-basket designs. 

The 9-quart basket of this air fryer can be split into two individual cooking zones, and you can set each side to cook at a different temperature. This makes it possible to cook protein on one side of the basket and a side dish on the other, and they’ll finish cooking at the same time. That's similar to lots of air fryers. However, this model contains an innovation we're starting to see more and more. The basket divider can also be removed for cooking large meals. The brand even claims that the air fryer is big enough to accommodate a 10-pound turkey. 

While it sounds great in theory, I wanted to see if this dual-zone air fryer could earn a spot among the best air fryers. I loved the smaller 6-quart version of this air fryer, so I thought this model stood a good chance. I put it to the test for several weeks and found that while the affordable air fryer does a great job crisping up food, its oversized design can be a little awkward.

Product specifications

Who would it suit?

If you’re looking for a large air fryer that can cook in two zones simultaneously, the Beautiful TriZone is a budget-friendly option to consider. Thanks to its removable divider, you can split its basket into two 4.5-quart sections and cook foods at separate temperatures. It’s a useful feature if you like to cook a main dish and side dish at the same time, and it works pretty well.

However, the caveat is that this air fryer is big and bulky and it takes up a lot of space in the kitchen. If you’re short on space, it’s probably not the best choice, and it’s also awkward to empty due to its extra-large basket. 

Unboxing and set up

The Beautiful TriZone Air Fryer arrived in a large box with Drew Barrymore’s smiling face on the side. It was packaged in molded cardboard and wrapped in a protective layer of styrofoam, and its basket was taped in place to prevent it from shifting around during shipping. I received the appliance in the color 'White Icing,' a pretty off-white hue with a matte finish and gold accents on the handles. There are several other colors available too.

As you might expect from a 9-quart air fryer, the Beautiful TriZone is quite large; in fact, it’s easily the largest air fryer I’ve ever tested. More specifically, this appliance is very wide, spanning almost 20 inches. You'll need to give up more than a foot of countertop real estate. The basket spans the entire length of the appliance, and it has two large handles. You generally need to use both handles to pull the basket out. Otherwise, it tends to pull out crookedly and often gets stuck. 

Once you plug in this air fryer, it has a large touchscreen display across the front. The buttons light up when you turn the appliance on, but they can be a bit hard to see on the light background, though this may not be an issue if you choose a darker color. There are buttons for air fry, roast, broil, bake, reheat, and dehydrate, as well as a 'Dual Cook' button that lets you program the two baskets separately. All the buttons responded reliably to my touch, but it did take me a little while to figure out how to program in my desired settings.

Test 1: Salmon

The first food I cooked in the TriZone air fryer was two thin salmon filets for dinner. The slices of fish were small enough that they both fit on one side of the basket, so I left the divider in while cooking. I make this recipe often, and I typically bake the fish for around 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

This air fryer doesn’t have a preheat setting, so you have to add on a few extra minutes. I gave the unit two minutes to preheat, then popped the filets into the basket for 10 minutes on its 'Bake' setting. To my surprise, the fish wasn’t cooked after 10 minutes. Most of the middle was still raw. I ended up putting the filets back in for another five minutes, after which they were cooked through. 

I think the problem was that I didn’t let the air fryer preheat for long enough. Going forward, I gave it five minutes of preheat time, which made for perfect salmon.

Test 2: Drumsticks and Fries

I wanted to try cooking on both sides of the air fryer simultaneously, so I decided to make air fried chicken drumsticks and frozen French fries for dinner. I put the drumsticks on one side of the basket at 400 degrees and the fries on the other at 425.

Even though I was only cooking for two people, the food was crowded in the 4.5-quart baskets. The five drumsticks were touching, and the French fries were layered on top of each other, which isn’t ideal when you want food to crisp up.

It took me a little while to figure out how to program the air fryer to cook in two zones—there’s a “Dual Cook” button on the touchscreen, and then you have to select each basket and input your desired settings. After selecting the temperature for each basket, I set the drumsticks to cook for 25 minutes and the fries to cook for 20, and I started them at the same time.

However, I didn’t realize I needed to press the 'Sync' button to ensure my food finished cooking at the same time, so the fries were done before the chicken was fully cooked. I opted to leave them in the basket for the extra five minutes instead of interrupting the cooking cycle to remove them, so they were more browned than usual. It was also hard to 'shake' the basket to move the fries around. The basket is so big that it’s hard to shake, and doing so also messed up the arrangement of the drumsticks. I ended up stirring the fries around with a spatula instead to ensure they were browned evenly.

Even though I ran into a few bumps while cooking this meal, the food still turned out well. The chicken was super moist and cooked throughout, though it wasn’t as crispy as I would have liked because the basket was crowded. The fries were also well-cooked but they were crispier brown because I left them in for a few extra minutes. 

Test 3: Chicken Bites and Fries

After testing out the Beautiful TriZone air fryer with a variety of different foods, I discovered that one of the best ways to use it is to cook quick, single-serving lunches. In particular, I found that it’s perfect for whipping up a single serving of frozen chicken bites with a side of French fries.

The chicken bites that I like need to be cooked for around 15 minutes at 400 degrees, while the French fries generally need around 20 minutes. Once I figured out how to program the baskets individually, I could put both foods in at once and hit the 'Sync' button. When this setting is activated, the air fryer doesn’t start cooking the chicken right away—instead, it waits until the French fries have 15 minutes left on their timer so both baskets end at the same time.

When I cook this meal, I use the 'Reminder' setting to alert me halfway through the cooking cycle, and I stir up both sides of the baskets to ensure everything cooks evenly. The chicken and fries always come out perfectly crispy when I cook them this way, and it’s much more convenient than having to cook them separately. 

My only complaint is that you can’t just dump the food out of the basket when it’s done cooking. The basket is too large and the divider gets in the way. Plus, the crisper plates tend to fall out if you invert the basket. Instead, it’s easier to pull everything out with a spatula or tongs.

Cleaning

The air fryer basket, divider, and crisper trays are all dishwasher-safe, but the basket is so big that it would take up half the lower rack inside my dishwasher. I found it was more convenient to hand-wash the basket. The inside of the basket has a nonstick coating, so even baked-on food and grease are easy to wipe off with soap and warm water. 

The crisper trays were a bit harder to wash by hand, as they have lots of nooks and crannies that are hard to get into with a sponge. However, they’re small enough that they fit on the top rack of the dishwasher, and they come out of the cycle looking nice and clean. 

How does it rate online?

The Beautiful TriZone Air Fryer is exclusive to Walmart, and well-reviewed by the site’s customers. It has an average rating of 4.3 stars from more than 1,300 reviews, and many people love its reasonable price point and stylish exterior. It also gets positive reviews from people with large families, who say the spacious basket is ideal for cooking in big batches. 

Among negative reviews, people say that the rubber pieces on the basket divider and crisper plates are prone to falling off after several months. Others dislike that the basket doesn’t pull out smoothly, and some say that the finish chips and dents easily.   

How does it compare?

 There are several other dual-zone air fryers you should consider as you shop. The Ninja Foodi DZ401 6-in-1 XL 2-Basket Air Fryer is our top-rated dual-zone model, and unlike the Beautiful TriZone, the Ninja Foodi has two individual 5-quart baskets that are easier to empty. It’s also made with better quality materials and has an easy-to-use control panel, but it’s more expensive, retailing for around $180.

The Instant Vortex VersaZone is another option with a similar design to the Beautiful. It has a large 9-quart basket that can be separated into two sections with a removable divider, and we like that it has one full-basket crisper plate instead of two individual ones. However, it’s significantly more expensive than the Beautiful TriZone, retailing for $200. 

Should you buy it?

If you’re looking for a dual-zone air fryer and don’t want to spend a lot, the Beautiful 9-Quart TriZone Air Fryer is one of the more affordable options out there. It does a good job cooking most foods, and despite its low price point, it’s quite stylish thanks to its colorful matte finish. 

However, it’s not perfect by any means. It takes a while to get used to the controls, and both the appliance and basket are bulky and unwieldy. We found the basket was awkward to empty, and we also don’t like that there’s no preheat function. If you’re willing to spend a little more, you might be better off with a dual-zone air fryer like the Ninja Foodi DZ401, which has two separate baskets that are easier to handle.