Amazon Prime Deals to Avoid (And What to Get Instead)

Skip: Ninja Crispi Pro 6-in-1 Glass Countertop Air Fryer, Cyberspace

We were intrigued by the glass drawer of this air fryer, which seemed to be a good alternative to typical plastic, nonstick-coated models. However, the glass material made the air fryer heavy and difficult to use. A few design features also caused issues, including the handles that got extremely hot during cooking. Compared to our winning models, this air fryer had a smaller capacity, fitting only two chicken cutlets.

Get Instead: Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer

Our winning air fryer is on sale for Prime Day. It has an extra-large capacity, large enough to fit four chicken cutlets or two 15-ounce bags of frozen french fries while still cooking everything to crispy, golden perfection. The drawer is easy to remove and insert—and your hands are safeguarded from the heating element. Our Upgrade Pick, the Instant Vortex Plus ClearCook + OdorErase 6-Quart, is also on sale; it’s a great option if you want to monitor cooking without losing the heat, thanks to the viewing window on its drawer.

Skip: Ninja CREAMi 7-in-1 Ice Cream Maker 

Despite its massive fanfare on social media, we weren’t impressed with this pricey ice cream machine. We had the best results when using recipes developed specifically for this machine, but we like having the ability to make other recipes. Its canisters were fairly small, so we could only make a pint of ice cream at a time. 

Get Instead: Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker

Our favorite canister-style ice cream maker offers a much better deal (it's on sale, too!) if you’re looking for a reliable ice cream machine. We love its simplicity and compact design. Just push one button and the machine will take care of the rest. It makes 1.5 quarts of ice cream at a time and produces consistently rich, creamy, delicious results.

Skip: Hamilton Beach Power Elite Blender 

This blender struggled at nearly every task, from making smoothies to crushing ice. We gave up making almond butter after 10 minutes of finagling. And the plastic lid didn’t close properly, so we had to press firmly to seal it.

Get Instead: Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ 

Despite its relatively low price, this blender performed most tasks well, making perfect mayo and crushed ice and evenly blending smoothies that were just a touch more frothy and fibrous than those made by our (more expensive) top choices. The blender itself was fairly quiet and had useful, intuitive settings and preset options. It has a few quirks that require getting used to, like handling the very sharp 6-point blade, but we think overall this blender is the best inexpensive choice on the market.

Skip: Panasonic Countertop Microwave Oven

Despite being powerful, this microwave disappointed us at most tasks. At 1,200 watts, the microwave quickly burned coconut flakes instead of toasting them and overheated the frozen mac and cheese. There were also some ease-of-use issues, such as the lack of automatic-start buttons and the glossy surface that showed every fingerprint. 

Get Instead: Breville The Compact Wave Soft Close Microwave

If you’re looking for a microwave that offers a smooth, intuitive experience, this is the one. It has a “soft-close” door, and the buttons and dial operate smoothly and distinctly, giving the user reassuring feedback. It melted both butter and chocolate smoothly, with less fuss than other models. The brushed metal surface shows no fingerprints.

Skip: Bella Classic Rotating Belgian Waffle Maker 

This waffle iron looked and felt cheaply made, and the results were underwhelming. Waffles were consistently pale, spongy, and undercooked. They were about an inch tall when fresh out of the machine (which we expect for Belgian waffles) but so soggy that they quickly shrunk in size. 

Get Instead: Presto Flipside Belgian Waffle Maker

This waffle maker isn’t much more expensive than the Bella, but it made well-browned waffles that were almost an inch and a half high. And it was incredibly simple to use, with just one button that lets you determine how long you want your waffle to cook by setting off a built-in timer. The timer gives an audible alert not only when the waffle is done but also a minute before—a smart feature that helps ensure that you’ll never overcook your waffle.

Skip: Chefman High-Heat Indoor Electric Pizza Oven

To achieve the desirable tender chew of a restaurant-quality pizza, temperature is key. Thin-crust pizzas, which cook at a lower temperature, turned out great in this oven. But because it didn’t break 700 degrees, Neapolitan-style pizzas took longer to achieve a properly blistered crust, closer to four to five minutes, instead of just two. As a result, pizzas weren’t quite as moist and pillowy. Another flaw: There were just 3 inches of vertical space inside the oven, so it was a little trickier to fit tall, voluminous foods, like broccoli rabe, making it a little less versatile.

Get Instead: Ooni Volt 2 or Current Backyard Model P Smart Pizza Oven

Our top-rated indoor pizza ovens ran much hotter than the Chefman, and they both featured ample space for turning the pies halfway through cooking. If you want a truly versatile indoor pizza oven that turns out pizzas quickly and beautifully, one of our winning models, the Current Backyard Model P Smart Pizza Oven, is on sale while supplies last.

Skip: Ninja Luxe Café Premier Series

This bulky espresso and coffee machine was overcomplicated. It promised to make espresso, drip, and cold-brew coffee but the latter two were both mediocre at best. Its built-in grinder was meant to automatically adjust the grind size based on brewing methods. In practice, the machine confused itself, kept on changing its mind about grind size, ultimately leading us to waste coffee.

Get Instead: Breville Barista Express

Our top choice espresso machine is a longtime favorite. It’s also marked down for Prime Day. It’s easy to use for both people who are new to making espresso at home and connoisseurs who are ready to tinker. The machine heats up quickly, taking less than a minute to be ready for brewing. The built-in grinder has a number of settings specific for espresso and can be adjusted based on personal preferences.

Skip: Vitamix Immersion Blender

We liked this model’s simple controls, but its blade guard’s vents caused it to splatter badly, and the blender was too heavy and too long, tiring our arms and making for awkward maneuvering. The blade guard was also very large, making it difficult to operate in smaller containers.

Get Instead: Braun MultiQuick 5 Hand Blender

We’ve recommended this immersion blender for more than a decade. It is easy to maneuver and didn’t make a mess when blending. It’s on sale for Prime Day, as is its sibling, the Braun MultiQuick 7 Hand Blender.