Breville BDF500XL Smart Fryer - Fry Food with Precision and Ease

Via: It arrived the next day after I ordered it. I tried calling Breville Customer Support and no one is answering. Even chat is offline.

I asked for replacement to give it a second chance. I’ll update this review very soon.

I love Breville I do have Barista pro coffee machine. It’s been years and it’s 10 stars for me!!! That’s why I bought the same brand with deep fryer so Im expecting the replacement will be good.

I’ve been using it since it got replaced. I’m gonna keep using it until the day that I can return it. Im scared it will stop working. So far working for a week straight.

Will update soon!

Canada on Nov 22, 2023

Jo-Ann M.: Good size fryer , love the smart timer ( per food type) and not having to worry if your food is cooked.
Did wings and them were done perfectly crispy !
I would recommend this product !

Canada on Mar 05, 2023

RoseAnn GibbonsRoseAnn Gibbons: Through the years I have used several different electric deep fryer models. I have also used multiple Dutch ovens from cast iron to stainless steel on my stovetop. This Breville compact deep fryer beats them all.

I can fry with no lid and because it's so deep the oil doesn't spatter. I can set it to twice fry the fries and it works flawlessly. I can add time and/or change the temperature while it's in the process of frying. I can see the temperature of the oil and the timer counts down so I can time the food being fried to coordinate with other parts of the dinner being prepared.

It is very lightweight so I can easily lift it filled with oil and carry it to my sink. The oil pours out via either back corner next to the heating element notch without spilling everywhere. Cleanup is very fast and easy. I rinse and wipe the frying basket after it cools and then let it air dry. I wipe down the heating element to remove any oil after it cools. I strain the oil after it cools and the empty oil tub fits nicely inside my dishwasher. It's also very easy to store when not in use.

One tip I will pass along. When frying with a wet batter, never put the wet battered food...

United States on Dec 17, 2022

Dave L: First of the pros. It heats up extremely fast and maintains temperature while frying with absolutely zero issue. The preset frying modes work pretty well and programming a custom mode is easy enough. Cleanup isn't too hard either.

But the con. Seriously, whoever designed the cord needs their head examined. It's not that its a magnetic tear away cord, but that the electrical contacts are super finnicky and the magnets are so bloody weak. Combine that with a short, relatively inflexible cord and this thing has to be perfectly positioned relative to the outlet in order to keep the cord from bending and disconnecting itself. If you even look at the cord funny it will disconnect for an instant, resetting the whole appliance. It is at a point where the cord is actually unsafe to use because it so easily pops out, exposing a pair of live contacts. Couple that with the fact that a person spends more time fretting about the cord than they do about the vat of hot oil they're cooking with and I seriously question what Breville was doing when they designed this thing.

Because it was nearly two hundred dollars and I otherwise like everything other than the cord I'm trying to sort...

Canada on May 02, 2022

Geoffrey: I love this fryer. It is the best one on the market. I like it has the current temperature of the oil. I used to wonder when the oil is at and used a thermometer in the oil to know what is its current temperature.

Many great features and it gets the oil hotter than other fryers. I do not use hotter temperatures because I learned that food have temperature zones. I typically fry most food between 325 to 375 degrees F as recommended by food experts and chefs. I may set it at first at 400, put the food in which results in a temperature drop then reset the temperature to what I really want say 375.

The double frying option was great however I added time to the 2nd stage. I like my fries more crispy on the outside. That is a personal preference. Next time, I may try a higher temperature using the recommended time.

The worst issue for me is the terrible plug. The magnet is a joke for the plug's heavy weight. Once the plug is in and you start frying do not move the fryer or the plug most likely will come out. I am going to see if there is something I can do to get a more secure connection for the plug. That is the only bad design on this model that Breville needs to...

Canada on Feb 20, 2020

Joe Istead: The safety cord unplugs itself at the most inconvenient of times. Otherwise the unit works great.

Edit: after several years of use... overall I'm happy with the unit. I'm not a fan of wire baskets because they're difficult to clean properly, but I've found the following steps helpful. Soak the basket in sudsy water for a few minutes, then go at it with a kitchen hand towel in the soapy water. As long as you don't let the basket get too dirty (e.g., by overcooking things that want to bond with the basket, or deep-frying too many batches between cleaning), you should be fine. Don't use a scotchbrite pad since this will leave a thousand plastic hairs embedded into the wire mesh, to be cooked into your oil and food later.

This brings me to another topic, though. If you do too many batches, the build up of crud gets up into the "vertical part" of the heating element and this is VERY DIFFICULT to clean. The problem is that when you change the oil, the little bits of crud can drop into your fresh oil. Rule of thumb: don't let the oil get too dirty between cleans.

Overall: there are several design issues with cleaning the device, but these can be navigated with care....

Canada on Jun 23, 2018

Steve: Bought this fryer a bit before Christmas and waited before posting my review to make sure I used it enough times to give an accurate review.
I researched a lot before making a decision and at the end what made me go with Breville smart fryer, was how well it holds the temp (if you buy a fryer that doesn't your food becomes soggy and drenched in oil), and how fast it heats and reheats to temp (about 9min or less)before cooking and in between batches (because who want to wait 15min just for the oil to heat and then if you have a second batch wait again...that's just not practical). This fryer is wonderful! The preSettings are a little intimidating when you first read the instructions however my advice to you is, turn it on and explore and I assure you right then and there the instructions will all make sense. The fries twice fried alone makes it worth to buy this fryer, crispy on the outside soooo moist on the inside...don't expect to be able to stop at just a few, keep that gym membership going ;)
Now so nobody goes thru what I did because the booklet and Breville customer service couldn't answer my question, when you choose fries fried twice there is a temp heating...

United States on Jan 27, 2017