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Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer: 30-second review
The Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer is an air fryer and then some.
Sure it does a great job at being an air fryer, and so it should for the premium price tag it comes in at. The sizable 9.5L basket offers plenty of space for family-sized portions, while the handy divider allows you to cook two different foods, at differing durations and temperatures, simultaneously. It’s pretty par for the course these days, but the 5000 Series Megabasket is only just getting started.
Things are turned up a notch with the steam functionality Philips has built in. Being able to perfectly steam vegetables, fish and dumplings without the need for a separate appliance saves on counter and cupboard space, and the results here are just as good as the air fryer.
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However, the versatility is kicked into overdrive with the streamfry function, allowing you to bring the best of both worlds to your food. The crispy finish of an air fryer combined with the moisture locking abilities of steam. The result? Some of the best chicken wings I’ve ever made.
All this functionality not only comes at a cost to your wallet, but also your counter top. This is a wide, tall air fryer that requires plenty of space — especially when using the steam or steamfry function, as the water vapor vents from the rear.
I’m a big fan of Philips’ controls though. The touch buttons are intuitively laid out, with easily recognizable icons that require little reference to the manual to work out – that can’t be said of all air fryer brands.
The basket, trays and divider are dishwasher safe, and you can also use the steam function to give the appliance its own steam clean. You will need to give the top a wipe every now and then, as the glossy finish attracts grime — but it’s a minor point in what is an overwise excellent appliance.
Whether you’re looking to make cakes, cookies, sausages, chicken wings, fish, vegetables, fries, dumplings or pretty much anything else, the Philips 5000 Series Megabasket delivers consistently great results.
Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer price and availability
- At £259.99 (about $350 / AU$490), it’s at the premium end of the air fryer market
- Available in the UK, but not in the US or Australia
The Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer price is £259.99 (about $350 / AU$490), putting it at the premium end of the market, and pits it against the Ninja Foodi FlexBasket in the larger-basket arena.
There are cheaper, big-basket air fryers on the market that also perform well, with the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket and Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer both coming in at around half the price of the 5000 Series.
This exact model (the NA465) isn’t available in the US and Australia, with these regions instead getting the $349.99 / AU$499 5000 Series Dual-Basket Airfryer with Steam (NA551) with two separate drawers, rather than one large one.
Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer: specifications
|
Review Model |
NA465/92 |
|
Number of baskets |
1 |
|
Number of cooking programs |
8 |
|
Cooking programs |
Frozen fries, mixed vegetables, chicken drumsticks, tray bakes, fish, dumplings, reheat, favorite |
|
Extra functions |
Steam, Steamfry, Shake reminder, SteamClean, Adjustable basket size |
|
Smart control |
No |
|
Wattage |
2750W |
|
Capacity |
9.5L |
|
Temperature range |
40-200 degrees C |
|
Time range |
1-180 minutes |
|
Dimensions |
496mm (L) x 329mm (W) x 355mm (H) |
|
Dishwasher-safe |
Yes |
|
Weight |
8.2kg |
Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer: design
- Wide and tall, but for good reason
- Set of tongs included in the box is a nice touch
- Touch controls are easy to understand and well laid out
The Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer is big, it’s almost as if a UFO has landed on your worktop. Wide and tall, it dominates the kitchen counter — but for good reason.
The spacious 9.5L basket provides great flexibility as one large cooking space big enough for 2.5kg of fries, 1.9kg of ribs, or whole chicken, but can easily be split into 3L and 6L baskets with the included divider. This allows you to cook two separate things, at different temperatures and durations, at the same time.
You can even just choose to use one of the sides only, saving on power consumption when cooking smaller portions.
The only small issue with the basket is its handles, which consist of two small protrusions on either side. It means you have to use two hands to open the drawer, and to lift and carry it.
When the basket is fully loaded with food, it’s heavy so you’ll be using two hands anyway, but for times when you want to quickly check on cooking progress, you can’t open it with just one.
The additional height of this air fryer is down to the inclusion of Philips’ clever steam function, giving you more ways to cook from a single machine. You can steam food in this air fryer, as well as ‘Steamfry’, which combines both cooking methods.
What this means is you’ll need to consider where you want the air fryer to go, and whether you have suitable space for this 496mm x 329mm x 355mm model to fit – especially if you have low-hung wall cabinets over your worktops.
Hot air vents from the rear of the machine, so you need to leave space between it and the wall, and when using the steam function water vapor will also rise from the back of the machine.
The one meter power cable will be long enough for most kitchen setups, and the Philips 5000 Series comes with a clip-on cable tidy for the rear to keep things neat if you like to store your air fryer in a cupboard when not in use. Although, it’ll need to be a sizable cupboard.
A nice inclusion in the box was a set of tongs, a particularly useful addition when cooking with an air fryer, as it makes tossing food and removing it from the basket much easier.
There’s also a paper manual in the box that covers all the basics, mainly via pictorial guides, but for those who want a more detailed breakdown of functionality you’ll need to download the free HomeID app on your phone.
What isn’t made obvious out of the box is the need to run the air fryer empty initially to burn off the protective shipping coating.
Diving into the app deeper, Philips advises to wash the basket and accessories with a soft sponge, water and washing up liquid, dry them, and then run the air fryer empty, a 200C, for the maximum cook time (which for this model is 180 minutes).
That seemed excessive to me. I did an initial four minute cycle at 180C, allowed the basket to cool down, and then washed it, the divider, and the crisp trays, and set the machine at 200C for 50 minutes. The smell did get very strong during this time, but it did the trick.
When I came to cook with the air fryer for the first time, there was a slight smell during cooking, but it didn’t transfer to the food.
The controls here are excellent, just as they are on the Philips 4000 Series Stacked Dual Basket Air Fryer. The illuminated touch buttons on the top of the machine make it really easy to select the basket size you wish to cook with, and to set the temperature and time.
The only slight negative against this design is the glossy black surface quickly gets dirty, and shows up finger smudges. Plus, if your hands aren’t clean it can sometimes struggle to pick up your presses.
There are a number of presets to pick from too (frozen fries, mixed vegetables, chicken drumsticks, tray bakes, fish, dumplings, reheat), if you want to just press and play.
While the presets are useful, I did find during my weeks of testing they sometimes needed to be fine tuned to my preferred cook level. It’s all part of the early trial and error of using a new air fryer to work out the times and temps that work best for the food you’re cooking regularly.
When it comes to cleaning, the good news is the basket, trays and divider are all dishwasher safe. If you don’t have access to one, hand washing also works – although the sheer size of the basket means it can be tricky to clean in smaller sinks.
Another nice feature is the steam cleaning function. Simple to enact – just make sure the water reservoir is full and select the steam clean mode – it does a good job of loosening grease and marks in the basket. It means you can just run a cloth or paper towel round the basket and it’s pretty much clean. No need for hard scrubbing. It’s not going to remove stubborn marks or pieces of food debris, but it’s a handy option when only lightly used.
Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer: performance
Performance
- Steam and SteamFry functions are excellent
- Quiet operation
- Great all-round cooking performance
The Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer is one of the quieter models I’ve tested, making it an excellent cooking companion, especially in smaller kitchens as the noise doesn’t dominate the room.
As well as the presets, there are a couple of other useful features here. First is the shake reminder, where the 5000 Series will work out how many shake intervals are required based on the cook duration you’ve set, and will beep at set times to alert you to the fact you need to shake or turn the food in the basket.
This allows you to ensure an even cook, be it fries, chicken wings, vegetables, or pretty much anything else you’re cooking. If you’re not using a preset, you will need to manually enable the shake reminder by pressing the icon on the control panel.
The second handy feature is sync, allowing you to utilize the dual basket setup, and cook two different foods, at different temperatures, for different lengths of time, but have them finish at the same time.
The air fryer delays the start of the side with the shorter cook time, starting it when its duration matches that left on the other side. It’s simple to set up, and works really nicely.
The 5000 Series Megabasket is certainly well equipped, but how does it actually perform when it comes to cooking food?
As this is a large basket air fryer, and given my penchant for consuming pizza, I decided to kick things off with a simple, store-bought margarita. When I reviewed the Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer, I was able to fit a whole round (admittedly small) pizza into the basket.
With the Philips, the basket isn’t as deep, which meant I had to slice my circular pizza in half and lay the two halves at an angle in the basket. It worked fine, but if this pizza was frozen rather than fresh, I would be forced to use the oven.
After warming up the air fryer for a couple of minutes first, I cooked the pizza at 190C for nine minutes. It turned out this was a minute or so too long, as the topping came out a little overdone. It was still fine to eat, but a glass window on the basket would have allowed me to keep a better eye on the progress being made. Alas, there’s no window on the basket.
I returned a few days later however with an oval shaped pizza. This easily sat in the basket, and having learned my lesson I cooked it for seven minutes at 180C.
The final cook was much better, with a crisp base and juicy toppings, although I noticed the part of the pizza towards the back of the basket was slightly more cooked than that at the front.
You don’t always get a completely even cook from this air fryer, but it wasn’t a problem during the weeks of cooking I did.
Fries came out great with this air fryer, whether they were frozen or fresh. Crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle, and using the frozen fries setting I got automatic reminders to shake the basket a few times during the 24 minute cook at 200C.
For the fresh fries I had to set the temperature (200C) and time (21 minutes) manually, as well as enable the shake reminder. Still, the results were great.
Baking is another highlight when using the Philips 5000 air fryer, with a simple banana bread recipe producing a moist inside, crunchy-topped loaf with an excellent texture. I cooked it at 160C for 25 minutes, and then 20 minutes at 140C.
I also produced delicious, gooey-centered chocolate cookies, with an eight minute bake at 175C doing the job nicely. The chicken breasts, mixed green vegetables and sausages I also cooked using the air fryer mode all came out well.
But air frying is only part of the story. The reservoir atop this device is the signal this device has more tricks up its sleeve. The Steamfry function, that utilizes both the air frying components along with generating steam, aims to lock in moisture and enhance tenderness, creating juicy and golden textures. Basically, the best of air frying and steaming in one.
And it works really well. I used the entire basket to Streamfry large, hand-seasoned chicken wings on the chicken preset (32 minutes at 200C).
During the cook there are periods of air frying and periods of steaming, the latter of which are obvious as you can hear the steam being produced, and see it vent out the rear of the machine. If you have it up close to a wall, or under a kitchen cabinet, expect significant condensation. I’d recommend giving it plenty of breathing room when using a steam function.
The results were superb. Wonderfully crisp skin, and juicy meat made for a delicious dinner, and had me returning the next day for lunch to cook the rest of the wings I didn’t need the night before.
And when it comes to solely steaming, the 5000 Megabasket performs well yet again. Popping a selection of Japanese chicken and vegetable gyoza into the right side of the basket (steam and steamfry are available in the whole basket, or the right side only) and using the preset dumpling mode produced perfectly steamed, silky pillows.
A word of warning on the presets though, they aren’t a sure-fire win every time. When I cooked some green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, I split the batch between the two compartments. The veg I put in the smaller side I air fried, while I opted for steam on the larger side.
I selected the vegetables preset for both, which gave me settings of 200C for 30 minutes for the air fried veg, and 100C for 14 minutes for the steamed side. I also selected the sync option, so both sides would finish at the same time. However, at the first shake reminder for the air fried side (after 15 minutes) it was clear my veg was already overcooked.
I completed the full cycle for both sides, and the air fried veg was cremated. Thankfully, the steamed side had cooked very well, with tender broccoli stems, beans and peas.
Put bigger, chunkier pieces of veg in the air fry side (such as roughly chopped carrots and parsnips) and the preset is closer to what you need. It’s a good reminder that you need to spend time with your air fryer in the initial weeks to find out which settings work best for the food you cook – even with premium models such as the 5000 series.
Should you buy the Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer?
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Rating |
|
Value |
There’s a premium price tag, but you’re getting a premium product. The 5000 Series Megabasket is packed full with features, includes a set of tongs in the box, and is well built. |
4/5 |
|
Design |
If you have the space, this is a premium air fryer with excellent controls and plenty of features. The set of tongs included in the box is a nice touch, but the handles on the basket can be a little awkward. |
4.5/5 |
|
Performance |
Whether you air fry, steamfry or steam, you’ll get excellent results from the 5000 series. Its easy operation and impressive versatility delivers consistently great cooks. |
4.5/5 |
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Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer: also consider
How I tested the Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer
- I used the Philips 5000 Series air fryer for multiple weeks in my kitchen
- I cooked a wide variety of food with it, including fries, cakes, vegetables, pizza and meat
- I tested the various cooking functions, and the cleaning process
I spent multiple weeks using the Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer in my kitchen. During that time I cooked using the air fry, steamfry and steam settings, and used the various preset modes, along with manual setting.
I cooked a wide variety of food, including baking cakes and cookies, air frying chips, pizzas, sausages and chicken, steaming vegetables and dumplings, and steam frying chicken wings.
I also tested the steam cleaning function, and cleaned the basket, trays and divider both by hand, and with the dishwasher.
First reviewed August 2026
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