HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer Oven review − great with meat, but missed the mark with carbs and veg

This isn't the quickest or the most versatile countertop cooker I've tried, but it's certainly one of the largest. The HYSapientia Air Fryer Oven boasts a 15L capacity. That's enough room to roast an entire chicken. There are multiple slots inside the machine to fit a grill basket, an oven rack, and a crumb tray, all at once. 

It's easy to be overawed by large machines and their powerful motors. But I'm a professional product tester: I won't sacrifice functionality for form. When I tested the HYSapientia Air Fryer Oven, I found that it cooked bacon and nuggets to perfection, but left a lot to be desired when it comes to carbs and vegetables. 

I'm part of a product testing team here at H&G. Together, we've tried and tested the best air fryers on the market. I know what makes a good machine, and I can spot a flaw in design from a mile away. I put this machine through its paces, cooking French fries, Quorn nuggets, Mediterranean vegetables, and rashers of bacon. I also documented the unboxing and cleaning process to give you the fullest possible picture of what it might be like to use this product. 

HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer Oven Specifications

Unboxing the HYSapientia 15L Large Air Fryer Oven

The HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer came double-wrapped in two cardboard boxes, presumably to protect the machine from knocks and bumps in transit. When I opened the second, interior box, I found reams of polyethylene, polystyrene, and other plastic packaging. This is always disappointing to see, especially when so many of HYSapientia's competitors are using more sustainable materials. Each part of the HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer appeared to be individually wrapped, which meant more waste, and I still managed to cut my hand on the wire rack.

This machine came with a user manual, designed for first-time fryers; a recipe inspiration guide for more accomplished cooks; a plastic oven mitt; and a warranty certificate, protecting your purchase for one year. As for accessories, HYSapientia provided a crumb tray; a bake tray; an oven rack; an air fryer basket; and a rotisserie kit. Optional accessories include a rolling grill basket; a kebab rotary rack; a pizza baking sieve; and kitchen tongs. These might help you get the most out of your machine, but each piece costs extra, and HYSapientia didn't send over any of these add-ons for me to test. 

This multifunctional machine has 10 cooking modes: air fry; rotisserie; broil; steak; fish; pizza; bake; toast; unfreeze; and even dehydrate, so that you can make your own dried fruit or beef jerky. When you select a cooking mode, the HYSapientia Air Fryer automatically switches to the recommended cook time and temperatures, though it is possible to adjust the settings. 

It's worth flicking through the user guide and playing around with the machine before you start to cook, especially if you're new to air frying. At the back of the manual, there's a troubleshooting guide that aims to solve the most common problems new users might face, as well as a safety guide. The most useful section is buried in the middle of the manual: a double-spread that identifies the function of each accessory, suggests an installation method, offers cooking advice, and points out the ideal position for the accessory within the oven. 

Test 1: Fries

When I test air fryers, I like to start with a simple dish of nuggets and fries. It's not the most ambitious meal, nor the most nutritious, but cooking protein and carbohydrates at the same time is a good test of a machine's versatility. As soon as I realized that the HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer came with a single basket, and no option to sync finish, I decided to cook my nuggets and fries separately. It's always better to cook foods separately, at their optimum cook time and temperature, than to throw them in together and hope for the best.

I took a large handful of frozen fries and dropped them into the basket. I selected the air fry function and adjusted the settings to cook at 375°F for 15 minutes. Whenever I turned the time and temperature dials, the HYSapientia made a high-pitched beep. This wasn't too irritating when I turned a notch or two, but it soon got old when I had to make bigger adjustments. 

Still, the interface was intuitive to use, and before long my fries were cooking away. At the 10-minute mark, I opened the door and gave the fries a good shake to help them cook evenly. This is where the plastic mitt came in handy. Even as I felt the heat  of the machine on my face, I couldn't feel a thing through the oven mitt. I could, however, hear the air fryer whirring as it worked. I measured a maximum volume of 79 dB, which is about as loud as a washing machine. With that said, the noise subsided as soon as I pressed pause and the fan ground to a halt. 

When my fries were finished, the HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer beeped to get my attention. I handled the basket through the oven mitt and poured the fries into a sharing bowl. I had intended to save the fries to eat alongside the nuggets, but I couldn't resist sneaking a few before lunch. From the outside, they seemed thoroughly cooked, and made a satisfying crunch as I bit down. The inside wasn't as fluffy as I would have liked, and still had some of the grainy texture of undercooked potatoes. I shared a few fries with Alex and Laura, two of our air fryer experts who happened to be in the test kitchen, and they agreed: these fries weren't a disaster, but they weren't a roaring success, either. 

Test 2: Quorn Nuggets

 I selected the air fry function again and set my nuggets to cook at 375°F, for just 10 minutes this time. I had learned my lesson from the excessive crunch of the fries. Around the seven-minute mark, I pulled down the door to see how my nuggets were getting on. That's when I learned that the HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer door hinges once before opening all the way. This keeps the heat inside the machine and away from your face and fingers. It's a good safety feature, and makes for more even cooking, too.

When the time was up, I poured my nuggets from the air fryer basket and offered them to Alex and Laura. They were impressed: the nuggets were moist and flaky inside, with just the right level of crisp crunch on the outside. I concluded that the HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer was more effective at cooking protein than carbohydrates. If you like to make oven fries, either for the kids' dinner or an evening snack, you might need to play around with the time and temperature settings of your machine before you can cook with confidence.  

Test 3: Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables

After I polished off my nuggets and fries, it was time to test vegetables. I was interested to see how the air fryer contended with tougher textures, so I poured a mixture of tomato, zucchini, and eggplant pieces into the basket. I slotted a crumb tray underneath to catch any smaller chunks that might slip through the cracks. I set the HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer to cook at − you guessed it – 375°F for 10 minutes. When the time was up, the vegetables didn't look quite done, and I left them to cook for a few more minutes. 

Then it was time for the taste test. The vegetables were well-hydrated but they weren't quite as charred as I would have liked, or expected, after almost 15 minutes in the air fryer. Laura tried a sample and liked it, but Alex agreed that the vegetables could have done with more crunch. Ultimately, it's a matter of personal preference. If you like your vegetables bursting with juice and flavor, you'll be pleased with the HYSapientia Air Fryer. If you prefer them thoroughly cooked, you might be disappointed.

Test 4: Bacon

When I test air fryers, I always like to lay out a few strips of bacon to see how well the fat renders and how evenly the meat cooks. Following the success of the Quorn nuggets, I was feeling optimistic about the bacon test. I set the HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer to cook at 355°F for eight minutes and slotted the crumb tray beneath the basket to collect any grease.

The bacon came out just the way I like it. The fat had rendered beautifully into a golden crisp. The meat was neither undercooked and stringy, nor overcooked and crumbly, but just the right texture for chewing. If I were at home, I'd whip up some pancake batter and leave a few rashers to roast in the HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer, confident that they would cook to perfection. My earlier assumption had proven true: this air fryer is much more effective with meats and proteins than with vegetables and carbohydrates. 

Cleaning the HYSapientia 15L Large Air Fryer Oven

While each accessory is technically dishwasher-safe, I always like to wash my air fryer attachments by hand. That way, you can scrub out every stain and food spill for a quick, deep clean. Washing by hand is much quicker than throwing pieces in the dishwasher, and means you'll be ready to fry again in a matter of moments. If you need to cook multiple components of a meal, one after another, it's always best to wash by hand. 

It proved much harder to clean inside the machine. When vegetable chunks slipped through the cracks in the air fryer basket and skidded off the crumb tray, they ended up on the oven floor. I had to wait for the machine to cool before I went in with a kitchen wipe and I still struggled to clean up the mess. A few crumbs slipped into the cracks and crevices between parts of the machine and it took a while to get them out.

How does the HYSapientia 15L Large Air Fryer Oven rate online?

The HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer has a whole host of five-star reviews on Amazon, praising its versatility and intuitive design. Customers seem particularly impressed with the rotisserie function, which cooks chicken in a fraction of the time it would need in an ordinary oven. As the only meat-eater in our test kitchen, I couldn't justify roasting and eating an entire chicken by myself, but I'll update this review if I ever do. A few less favorable reviews note the difficulty of cleaning fats and juice from meat and fish off the walls and floor of the oven. If you're cooking protein in the HYSapientia 15L Air Fryer, I'd recommend laying down a crumb tray to catch grease, and cleaning any spills as stains as soon as the machine cools.

How does the HYSapientia 15L compare to other air fryers?

The HYSapientia 15L isn't the best air fryer around, but it's a good option for meat-eaters who want help making meals from scratch. It boasts a larger capacity than many air fryers on the market, but it lacks the versatility of a dual-basket air fryer. If you're keen to cook foods at different times and temperatures in the same machine, I'd recommend the Ultenic K20 Air Fryer. It comes with two baskets, each of which can be independently controlled, with an option to sync the finish time of different foods for easy plating and serving. The Ultenic K20 happened to make some of the best Mediterranean vegetables I've ever tasted, as well as crisp and crunchy fries.

Should I buy the HYSapientia 15L Large Air Fryer Oven?

This air fryer retails for around $179 on the HYSapientia site, and a little less if you shop on Amazon. That's a lot to spend on a small appliance, and I'd only advise you to invest if you're keen to cook meat or meat substitutes. This machine does have a large capacity, and I feel confident it could roast a whole chicken, but it's just not as versatile as other countertop cookers. When it comes to carbs and vegetables, you'd be better off roasting them in an oven or steaming them in a saucepan.