GoWISE USA 4.6 Quart Air Fryer Review

Multi-function air fryers are what’s hot in the kitchen these days (ha!). These air fryers tout all the different ways you can use them, even promoting how they can replace some of your other appliances. It’s a compelling argument, especially for those of us with limited countertop and cabinet space. So when we were given a free GoWISE USA 4.6 Quart Air Fryer in exchange for an honest and unbiased review, we were excited to test out its multi-function abilities.

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Specifications of the GoWISE USA 4.6 Quart Air Fryer

• 12.5 inches x 10.5 inches x 13 inches
• 1500 watts of power
• 4.6-quart capacity
• 8 preset functions (air fry, toast, reheat, keep warm, roast, grill, bake, dehydrate)
• Included accessories:
  • Recipe book includes 50 recipes with color photos

Getting Started

I always appreciate a good quick reference guide and the GoWISE USA air fryer offers one:

GoWISE USA 4.6 quart air fryer quick reference guide

Operating the unit is pretty self-explanatory but reading through the user manual taught me a few important things that you want to know before using (note that it’s not a quick START guide they offer but a quick REFERENCE guide – there’s a difference!)

GoWISE USA 4.6 quart air fryer user manual

The most important thing to get the hang of with this air fryer is also one of my favorite features: the alarm. After you pick your cooking function then set your time and temperature (if you need to adjust from the preset time/temp), you can also set an alarm function. It will alert you to check your food 5, 10, or 15 minutes into the cooking time. And it’s not a one-time alarm – if you’re air frying for 20 minutes and set the alarm function to 5 minutes, it will beep every 5 minutes within the 20-minute cooking cycle. It’s easier to get great results air frying bulk foods like french fries and tater tots when you’re shaking/stirring throughout the cooking time. This alarm function makes it super easy to do that and I really like the function.

GoWISE USA 4.6 quart air fryer control display

Performance

Much like the Emeril Lagasse Power AirFryer 360 that we just reviewed, this GoWise USA air fryer model boasts multiple functions (eight to be exact: air fry, toast, reheat, keep warm, roast, grill, bake, dehydrate). But unlike the Power AirFryer 360, I can’t detect a difference between the functions other than intensity of the fan for two of them. (The keep warm and dehydrate presets are for lower temps so the fan noise from the unit is diminished when these are on compared to the other six functions.) But toggling between the other six functions yields no noticeable difference. Of course, the preset time and temperature for each are different, but you’re likely to adjust those to suit your recipe anyway. With the Power AirFryer 360, it’s clear that various heating elements are used with different functions and the air frying fan can be turned off and on for some. I think the actual multi-function capability of this GoWISE USA resides in its lowest temperature setting being 170 degrees Fahrenheit (and 90 degrees F for dehydrating). There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s just not on the same level of multi-function air fryer as the Power AirFryer 360.

Air frying tofu in the GoWISE USA 4.6 quart air fryer

We air-fried a number of recipes with it, including our air fryer butternut squash (the sweet option), frozen tater tots, tofu, Brussels sprouts, frozen egg rolls, and homemade sweet potato fries. Everything turned out great, yet our absolute favorite thing we air fried in this GoWise USA air fryer was 4.5-pound chicken. The original plan for the chicken was to rotisserie it in the Emeril Lagasse Power AirFryer 360 but user error messed that up (ha ha boo hoo). Instead we air-fried the whole dry-rubbed chicken in the GoWise USA air fryer per our recipe instructions. It was perfection – my husband even said it was the best chicken he’d ever had.

We have since successfully rotisseried a chicken in the Power AirFryer 360, but I can’t say I will do it again. Since the results in the GoWISE USA air fryer took less time, were just as delicious, and without the extra hassle and clean up of the rotisserie (much less clean up!), I plan to prepare any future birds in the GoWISE USA air fryer and call it a day.

I also made air fryer cupcakes and while they tasted delicious, they definitely were browner and the air fryer peaks on them were more pronounced than the ones I made at the same time in the Emeril Lagasse Power AirFryer 360. Not a problem but something to be aware of when cupcake baking in any air fryer.

I also used the GoWISE USA to make toast. I put in two slices of a smaller loaf bread and used the toast preset (300 degrees Fahrenheit for four minutes). I pushed Start/Pause then prepped the avocado (one of my go-to breakfasts). Almost four minutes later, I heard a small thud within the unit then the beep sounded indicating the cooking time had ended. I opened the basket to find both pieces of bread standing up against the side of the basket. I guess the air frying fan was so strong that the smallish pieces of bread flew around inside the unit while cooking? I didn’t hear them thudding around the whole time, so maybe it was just at the very end when the slices had lost their moisture and they were at their lightest? I made toast in it again and while the bread wasn’t standing up at the end, one piece was partially laying on top of the other so it had toasted a bend in it. Ultimately not a big deal, but worth noting.

Quality

As soon as we took it out of the box, my husband exclaimed how good looking it is. He loves the stainless steel finish (that goes all the way around, not just on the front) and I have to agree it’s attractive. Alas, like other stainless steel appliances, it can and will show fingerprints but it doesn’t take much to wipe them off.

Admittedly I didn’t carefully read through the user manual prior to operating (as is my nature). So I was surprised the first time I stopped a cooking cycle to shake/mix the food. I hit Start/Pause, pulled the handle to remove the basket and the control display screen went dark, almost as if I’d unplugged it. After shaking the food, I slid the basket back into place and the control display lit back up, remembering where it was in the cooking and ready for me to push start. The user manual explains that is normal operating procedure (and an important safety feature, I would guess). So while this happened each time we paused cooking to check the food, one time the unit did not remember the cooking settings and returned to default as if we hadn’t just been using it. This happened just once in the many times we’ve used it, but it’s a bit of a hassle to start up the time and temp again.

Ease of Use

Unlike a lot of similarly sized air fryers, this GoWISE USA air fryer does not have a separate basket that nestles within the removable portion of the unit. Instead, it has a removable non-stick crisper tray that sits in the fry basket. This is similar to the functionality of the smaller 1.6L Chefman we’ve reviewed. I really like this feature because it maximizes the capacity within the unit. Additionally, I know air fryers with nested baskets can have latches that break. This unit doesn’t have any moving locking parts that could break and make the air fryer inoperable, which is a plus in my book.

GoWISE USA 4.6 quart air fryer basket and crisper tray

As we’ve written before, we often travel with our air fryers, taking one with us to family get-togethers to provide additional cooking power. The GoWISE USA air fryer traveled with us twice and was a great help each time. It is big around, but light enough to easily carry. Don’t think your air fryer needs to be homebound!

Taking the GoWISE USA air fryer on the road (can you tell what we cooked in it that day?)

It’s worth noting the 50 recipe cookbook that comes with this GoWISE USA air fryer. The color photos for each recipe are enticing and the recipes look very doable and delicious, but every recipe says “air fry for X minutes at Y degrees.” This seems to be a standard recipe book for all GoWISE USA air fryers. Since it isn’t specific to this air fryer, it doesn’t help you take advantage of the other promoted functions of this unit. This compares unfavorably with the cookbook included with the Emeril Lagasse Power AirFryer 360. Its recipes use different settings/functions of the unit to help showcase the various ways it can be used.

GoWISE USA recipe book

Ease of Cleaning

Having a crisper tray nestled inside the fry basket makes for very easy clean up because there’s just less surface area to address. Rinsing off the crisper tray under warm water is often all it needs considering its slick non-stick surface. There is the matter of fingerprints on the stainless steel on the outside of the unit, but if you touch it in the right places (on the bottom on each side are indented for picking it up/moving it around), the need for outside clean up can be minimized.

Meal Size

I really like the size of this GoWise USA 4.6 quart air fryer. Its basket (8.5 inches round) is big enough for most foods (including a 4.5-pound chicken) but it’s not too big to live on the countertop (at least in our kitchen, which doesn’t have a lot of countertop space). I think this air fryer lives in that sweet spot of not too small and not too big (Goldilocks would love it!). But if you’re cooking for five or more people regularly, I’d recommend sizing up.

Summary

It’s a bit unfortunate that we reviewed the GoWISE USA 4.6 quart air fryer at the same time as we did the Emeril Lagasse Power AirFryer 360. The GoWISE USA stands well on its own as an air fryer but doesn’t live up to the multi-function hype like the Power AirFryer 360 does. So while this unit won’t replace eight different appliances (like the Amazon listing touts), it’s a great air fryer that does have some versatility.

Other Airfrying.net air fryer reviews:

• Cosori 5.8 quart
• Emeril Lagasse Power Air Fryer 360
• Power Air Fryer XL 5.3 quart
• Chefman Air Fryer 1.7 quart
• French May 3.7 quart

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