Other Air Fryer Toaster Ovens We Reviewed
The handsome, brushed stainless steel Breville Smart Oven Air commands top dollar, but delivers a state-of-the-art toaster oven and a consistently excellent air fryer. Its large enough that it could truly replace your ovenBreville claims it can roast a 14-pound turkey. It can also proof bread, dehydrate and slow cook.
The digital controls are intuitive to program and theres a bright oven light, but I do have one major quibble. The manual doesnt have any recommendations for what, how much, or how long to cook various foods. This may not be a problem for baking or roasting, but if youre new to air frying, youre on your own for getting started. Also, all of the parts require hand washing.
Pros
What Were Looking For
Single- or multifunctional: Perhaps the most important matter to decide on is whether you want an air fryer that is just an air fryer or one that also does a lot of other things. Some on this list are one-trick ponies, while others have settings that allow you to broil, dehydrate, proof, and more.
Capacity: How you intend to use your air fryer should, of course, affect what size you buy. Are you planning to use it mostly for yourself to bake off the occasional single cookie or to reheat leftovers? Or is the idea to use it for regular family dinners? For this category, Ive listed the capacity of each model. But it should be noted: Basket-style air fryers are measured in terms of how many quarts they hold, while ones with rack inserts are measured in terms of their interior cubic inches.
How Does An Air Fryer Work
Air fryers don’t fry food in the traditional sense. Instead of oil, air fryers use hot air to crisp and brown foods. All air fryers contain a heating mechanism and fan that keeps the heated air circulating around the food. The process is similar to a convection oven.
Air fryers contain a perforated or mesh basket that allows air to move around the food for even cooking. The only downside to this design is you can only air fry breaded foods since battered foods would drip through the perforated air fryer basket.
You May Like: Reviews On Ninja Air Fryer
Ninja Air Fryer Max Xl
This multifunctional air fryer earned the Best Overall spot in our wider air fryer testing processand right now, its being offered with an unbelievable savings . The model comes with our highest recommendation: It heats up quickly, crisps all sorts of foods to perfection , bakes up the dreamiest chocolate chip cookies and stands out from the competition when it came to heating up soggy leftovers. Its also easy to pull out the basket, which just so happens to be dishwasher-safe. A win all around.
A Few Thoughts On The Hybrid Ovens That Didn’t Make The Cut
The Cuisinart Digital Air Fryer Toaster Oven: This hybrid convection oven and air fryer wasn’t terrible and it certainly had one of, if not the most powerful, air fry functions. That proved to be a blessing and curse since some of the food I cooked burned on the edges and cooked unevenly — I think due in part to the high-octane super convection fan. This air fryer oven also had my least favorite interface, and I found myself mashing my fingers on the dials and buttons in frustration at times just hoping I’d get to the right setting since it never seemed to do what I wanted with ease. It’s also not cheap and thus not an oven I’d recommend.
Calphalon Precision Air Fry Oven: The Calphalon scored high marks in the toast test with an even browning, but that’s about where the accolades ended. This oven was slow to preheat, had trouble holding a consistent temperature and the air fry function was among the weakest. It also has no internal light, which most of them do. I admittedly do like the look of it and the interface is elegant and simple to use. This oven can also be had for about $150, so it is among the more budget-friendly options.
Don’t Miss: Meals To Make With Air Fryer
And That’s Where I Made A Mistake
Since we’re still waiting for our oven situation to be sorted out, and because my roommates thought toaster oven-style air fryers were definitively better . A friend said it’s served her family well, so I thought, “well, time to jump into a years-old cooking trend!”
When I got it in, everything looked great. I was a little surprised by the number of different inserts for all the different kinds of cooking, but it’s a multi-function device made to convection bake, convection broil, grill, roast, toast, reheat, defrost and more. Also, I did admire how nice and premium it looked and felt.
Then came the dishes.
As our Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven review says “This model didnt score well for ease of cleaning none of the accessories are coated with a nonstick finish and Cuisinart doesnt recommend popping them in the dishwasher.” I don’t know what it is about the included baking pan / drip tray, but it is damn hard to clean.
And this is the specific line I shouldn’t have not taken so lightly “It can take a bit of elbow grease to scrub off bits and pieces from the air fryer basket and burnt-on grease from the baking pan.” This is 100% correct, as I learned when I made my own air fried wings. They tasted great, the crisp was perfect, but the air fryer basket seen below took way more effort than I expected. Mostly that’s because of how tiny the holes in the wiring are, so it requires a detail-oriented attack.
How To Choose The Bestnespresso Coffee Machine For You
First, Nespresso coffee machines are divided into two categories: Original and Vertuo. The Original line only makes espresso-based drinks, but their variety expands with the complexity and price of the machine. The Vertuo line can make a wider range of drink sizes, including espressos, double espressos and lungos , in addition to regular cups of drip-style coffee in both eight-ounce and 12-ounce sizes.
Where you’d like to buy capsules also makes a difference. The Original line is compatible with Nespresso-brand capsules, plus other lines like Williams Sonoma and illy. The Vertuo series machines are only compatible with Nespresso-brand capsules. All capsules are recyclable through Nespresso.
Recommended Reading: Tri Star Power Air Fryer
Ninja Pro Air Fry Digital Countertop Convection Toaster Oven
If you want to get air fryer healthy meals, then you are at the right place because it can give you food with 75% less fat. It uses the air fryer function other than traditional deep frying. Ninja air fryer toaster oven is all in one digital countertop convection toaster oven. I like its high-quality stainless steel finish with easy-to-use features.
Ultimate Versatility
Most conveniently, you can do any cooking in this Ninja air fryer toaster oven such as air roast, broil, toast, bake, bagel, pizza, and reheat.
30% faster cooking
Ninja air fryer toaster oven is 30% faster as compared to a traditional full-size convection oven. Moreover, it can also help in quick family meals with a 90-second oven preheat time. It is extra-large, so it covers more area on the countertop. It gives you two levels, even cooking with no rotation required.
TruSurround convection
This toaster oven also has the TruSurround convection feature that will give you up to 10 times the Convection power compared to a traditional full-size Convection oven. Therefore, you will get crispier, faster, as well juicy results.
Specifications
Should You Get An Air Fryer Toaster Oven Or Something Else
Overall, we think air fryer toaster ovens are far more versatile than pod-shaped air fryersespecially if you have a larger household. Chichi Uguru, creator of the Air Fryer Yum blog, told us, If you have a large family, youre better off using an air fryer toaster oven because it can cook more food at once. Not only can these ovens air fry food, but they can also bake 12- or 13-inch pizzas , 9-inch cakes, pies, and more. The models we recommend can roast a whole 5- to 6-pound chicken, and even squeeze in a 5.5- or 6-quart Dutch oven , which makes them more akin to a full-size oven. Since they take only a few minutes to preheat, theyre ideal for cooking in warmer months and dont use as much energy as a full-size oven. Air fryer toaster ovens also allow you to turn off the convection fan, which is ideal when baking. The main drawbacks: Theyre often bigger and more expensive than most pod-shaped models, they require a brief preheating period, and they take a bit longer to cook food.
You May Like: Power Xl Air Fryer 7qt Reviews
How Does An Air Fryer Oven Work
Its like a convection oven that sits on your countertop. It has an electric fan that circulates inside to help crisp food at a rapid pace. The results are very similar to deep frying. You can get things like crispy and crunchy fries in minutes.
How is an air fryer oven different from an oven? Conventional ovens work by producing heat from gas or electric. The heat is slowly dispersed through the oven over time. With an air fryer oven, that time is sped up by the use of a fan.
Our Pick: Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro
*At the time of publishing, the price was $320.
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is the best air fryer toaster oven weve tested . Some air fryer toaster ovens perform better as an air fryer or as a toaster oven, but the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is the perfect marriage of those two appliances. Its convection fan is strong enough to crisp up food quickly, but since you can reduce its speed or turn it off, you can really fine-tune the settings for what youre cooking. It was also remarkably good at maintaining a set temperature, and toasted almost as evenly as our runner-up pick, the Cuisinart Chefs Convection Toaster Oven TOB-260N1. It produced crispy fries with creamy interiors and fish sticks that were crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. It also made a beautifully golden-brown roasted chicken and evenly baked cookies.
This oven also has a phase cook feature, which allows you to program two cooking cycles back to back . Lets say youre baking a pumpkin pie. Using the phase-cook mode, you could, for instance, bake the pie at 425 °F for 15 minutes, then program the oven to automatically reduce the temperature to 350 °F for the remaining 30 to 40 minutes.
Recommended Reading: Lowes Frigidaire Stove With Air Fryer
What’s The Difference Between The Cuisinart Toa
The major design difference between the TOA-60 and TOA-65 is the interface. The TOA-60 model is a completely manual interface with four knobs that toggle temperature, time, presets and function. The TOA-65 is a digital interface with buttons that allow you to set the temperature, toggle the presets and functions and set the timer.
When it comes to functionality, the TOA-65 allows for more precise cooking than the TOA-60. We prefer having the ability to set an exact temperature in five-degree incriments on the TOA-65, rather than using the TOA-60 knob that can only toggle in 50-degree incriments.
Plus, when we tested the cooking functionality, the TOA-65 outperformed the TOA-60 on practically every single test. The TOA-65 made golden-brown toast, perfectly cooked chicken, well-baked cookies and easily air fried frozen fries. The TOA-60, on the other hand, we found cooked on the hotter side. Fries, cookies and chicken all experienced some burning before the cooking times completed. And we found the toast settings did not churn out well-cooked toast as we would have expected.
The TOA-65 is a more expensive model than the TOA-60, but we feel that the higher price is worth the better performance. The TOA-60 runs about $230 and the TOA-65 costs about $300.
Bottom line: The Cuisinart TOA-65 is our top pick for Cuisinart air fryer toaster ovens. Here’s our complete review of the unit below.
Air Fryer Oven Vs A Pod
Convenience Why have a toaster oven AND an air fryer pod taking up counter space when you can have one appliance that does both?
Heating Elements While both appliances use a fan to circulate hot air, toaster oven air fryers have heating elements both above & below the food . Pod shaped air fryers have only a one heating element.
Capacity & Cooking Air fryer ovens can accommodate larger quantities of food than a pod. This larger capacity affords space to spread out food so it cooks evenly, is more uniformly browned & crispier. Furthermore, the ability to cook larger servings is more practical for families.
Functionality Air fryer ovens offer more settings than pods for better cooking options. Plus, the ability to change rack positions give you flexibility & improves cooking results.
Visibility Air fryer ovens have a glass window so you can see the cooking progress. With a pod, you need to open the lid.
Versatility Both appliances take up a fair amount of counter space but only a hybrid appliance like an air fryer toaster oven can also toast, bake, broil, etc. Some also have a dehydrating function & come with a rotisserie for roasting a whole chicken.
Don’t Miss: Crisper Tray For Air Fryer
Flaws But Not Dealbreakers
This oven is significantly more expensive than our runner-up pick, and we realize the cost may be prohibitive for some people. Heres our advice: If you have high demands for this appliance to be both your air fryer and a great toaster oven, and if you can afford it, we think youll be happiest with the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro. But if you plan to air fry only every so often, or if you want to spend less money, we think the Cuisinart TOB-260N1s turbo fan speed achieves similar results for far less money. It just may take a bit longer to get your fries extra crispy.
Also, on the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pros super convection fan speed, the fan is noticeably louder than on the slower setting, but its still quieter than a hair dryer, and its not as noisy as some models we tested, like the Ninja DT201 Foodi 10-in-1 XL Pro Air Fryer Toaster Oven. If you think the noise might bother you, wed recommend getting our runner-up pick, the Cuisinart Chefs Convection Toaster Oven TOB-260N1, which is very quiet on both its high and low settings.
The Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro didnt toast bread quite as evenly as our runner-up pick, but it excelled at cooking just about everything else we prepared in it. We also prefer the Cuisinart TOB-260N1s ceramic pizza stone over the Brevilles nonstick pizza pan, since the coating will wear down over time .
This Is The Air Fryer I Wish I Bought
As noted above, I’m a victim of circumstance. We really need the Cuisinart AirFryer Toaster Oven as a makeshift oven right now. Were it not for that, I’d have filed for Amazon’s return policy, as I’m within the 30 days. I’m gonna try and find new and faster ways to clean this thing, and I’ll get used to it.
So, readers, learn from my mistake. If you want an air fryer, and you don’t need it to be an oven? Don’t get a toaster oven-style model. Check out our Cosori Smart Wifi Air Fryer review, and see why it’s our top air fryer. I also wish my Cuisinart model had its digital timer. Using dials feels like I’m back in the 1990s. And not in a fun way, either.
Read Also: Air Fryer And Air Fryer Oven
Final Thoughts And Recommendations
If you want an all in one machine, this is for you! There are so many things this device is capable of doing. It is much more than just an air fryer or a toaster!
If you have a large family, this is definitely the move for you! One of the most common questions I get from my readers is whether or not an air fryer will work for their family size. An oven is almost always the best solution.
If you have a small air fryer already and you are frustrated, make the move and upgrade!
I have multiple Cosori products, Cosori Air Fryer,Cosori Food Dehydrator, and the Cosori Vacuum Sealer. This company does not disappoint. They make products and appliances that are affordable and get the job done.
How We Tested The Cuisinart Toa
Each feature was given a specific task and evaluated for attributes like color and texture: I toasted slices of white bread, air fried frozen French fries, baked slice-and-bake sugar cookies and a frozen pizza, roasted bone-in and skin-on chicken breasts, broiled a salmon filet, dehydrated tomatoes and proofed bread dough. And then I cleaned it, inside and out. I made notes throughout and documented with photos.
Leah Brickley
Read Also: Air Fryer Attachment Instant Pot
Why Trust The Spruce Eats
This roundup was written by Sharon Lehman, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who happily makes space for any gadget that makes cooking faster and easier. She has tested and reviewed several air fryers for The Spruce Eats, including the Chefman TurboFry Air Fryer and Emeril Lagasse Power Air Fryer 360.
The Spruce Eats Editor Siobhan Wallace compiled testing data from our official Lab as well as insights from our home tester’s full product reviews to update this roundup.
This roundup was updated by Katya Weiss-Andersson, a writer and editor who has nearly a decade of experience as a professional chef. Katya started out as an air fryer skeptic, but it is now the most beloved appliance in her kitchen.
