Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501 review: a top pick for families

Cosori’s new Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501 wows with smart features, a sleek look, tactile controls, and an easy-to-clean design. What’s more, it is also one of the most budget-friendly air fryers on the maket. While it is one of the most popular air fryer brands on the market, Cosori sells its air fryers exclusively on Amazon, and they can regularly go on sale for as little as £100. For an air fryer of this quality, that’s a bargain.

I’ve reviewed each and every one of the best air fryers in our guide, so I’m able to compare them all directly with the same recipes every time I review one. The Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501 sat in my kitchen for over two weeks while I made chips, chicken, fishcakes, bacon, and cauliflower bites. It impressed me with its versatility and the selection of cooking modes, and the 4.7 litre capacity is ideal for families.

Ideal Home’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Reasons to buy: 

• Ideal size for families
• Speeds cooking times along
• Removable air frying insert 
• Sleek design
• A range of great cooking modes
• Dishwasher-safe drawer

Reasons to avoid:

• Not all of the cooking modes are timed perfectly
• The glass controls mark easily

Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501

Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501: specs

• Material: Plastic
• Colour: Black
• Capacity: 4.7 litres
• Modes: Chicken, chips, frozen, steak, seafood, veggies, bacon
• Weight: 4.54kg
• Power: 1500 watts
• Size: 27.2 x 27.4 x 30.2 centimetres

Unboxing the Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501

The Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501 comes in quite a large box, but don’t let this fool you, it is a neat and compact air fryer. In the box, you’ll also get a book filled with 30 recipes from Cosori, which are designed to work with their cooking modes and are a helpful introduction to air frying. You can also download the VeSync app to get more recipes from your phone.

Using the Cosori Pro LE

The controls on the Cosori Pro LE are at the top of the air fryer, so it won’t require you to bend down. The drawer locks cleanly into place when pushed in, but you will need to press the button on the handle to pull the drawer back out.

One of the things I enjoy about the Cosori Pro LE is how sleek it looks, especially with the glass control panel on top. It works like a regular touchscreen and you can increase the temperature up to 200 degrees and the timer up to one hour, which is great for slower cooking.

Another big win with the Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501 is the removable insert. This means you can crisp up foods with a more liquid base, which may have fallen through the slots on the insert. The difference between the Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501 and the Cosori Classic is the drawer, because while the regular Cosori requires you to lift the air fry basket away from the drawer with the handle, you can simply pull out the insert and put it through the dishwasher to clean it.

While an air fryer insert has its advantages and disadvantages, I prefer it to one that is attached to the handle of the drawer. It is far more versatile, and easier to clean. It does, however, make it hard to pour out things from the basket without oil dripping out with it.

Cooking chips in the Cosori Pro LE

I followed my regular chip recipe when testing the Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501, and used the chip preset. It estimates 30 minutes to cook chips, and at 190 degrees. While you do not need to use a preset you can adjust the time and temperature very easily while using one. I did this to lower the timings, because in my experience chips will only take half an hour if cooked from frozen.

It will give you a reminder to shake your chips halfway, too, which is important to cook the chips evenly. The chips were ready in just under 20 minutes, and came out rather crispy, so I may have cooked them for even less time in future.

If you enjoy making chips from scratch, I would recommend the Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501, although its presets may take some fiddling.

Cooking meat in the Cosori Pro

I cook bacon in every air fryer I test, because once you’ve air fried bacon, there is no going back. For a start you will not have to deal with the spitting fat, and because the fat will drain away from the bacon as it renders, it will leave only crispy rashers with the fat captured underneath the insert.

The Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501 preset for bacon is 165 degrees, and eight minutes. I agree that only eight minutes is enough time to cook bacon perfectly, but I found that the temperature was a little low so after my first attempt I bumped it up to 180 degrees. I didn’t even need to turn the bacon halfway through because it was crisp on both sides after the eight minute timer finished.

Cleaning the Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501

One of the best bits about this air fryer is how easy it is to clean. The insert slots in with plates in the dishwasher, and the drawer can also go through it. The trickier thing is cleaning the top, because the glass can streak quite easily if your fingers are oily when touching it. To clean this I used a microfibre cloth which buffed away any streaks.

Should you buy the Philips Essential Air Fryer? 

With a decent capacity and sleek design, I think the Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501 is the perfect middle ground of any air fryer. It’s average in price and size, but above-average when it comes to performance. If you do want something larger I would recommend trying the Ninja AF300UK Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer, and take a look at our Instant Vortex Mini Air Fryer review for a smaller and cheaper air fryer that punches well above its weight.

About this review, and the reviewer

Millie Fender heads up all things small appliances at Ideal Home. There’s nothing she loves more than testing out the latest and greatest cooking gadgets, for indoor and outdoor use, from toasters to air fryers. She reviewed the Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501 from her own kitchen, testing it rigorously for nearly a month before writing this review.

Millie lives in South London and is constantly squeezing more appliances into her modest kitchen.  If it makes it onto the kitchen counters full time, you know an appliance is worth the hype.

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