The Finest Air Fryer Toaster Ovens of 2023, Examined and Reviewed

More and more, it’s simpler than ever to prepare dinner a meal from scratch with out touching your stovetop or oven. Stress cookers, induction burners, air fryers, and toaster ovens are all taking a slice of the home-cooking pie. These gadgety countertop home equipment recommend the revolution will likely be electrical (and include a flashy LCD touchscreen). However even probably the most spacious kitchens solely have a lot countertop actual property. In an effort to consolidate home equipment, many kitchen manufacturers now make countertop toaster ovens with air frying capabilities.

However can home equipment that declare to do all of it truly ship? A latest month-long take a look at of Breville’s new Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro confirmed promising outcomes, with some minor irritations and shortcomings. In an effort to judge the more and more busy twin air fryer-toaster oven area, we examined eight fashions from well-liked manufacturers. With costs that vary from $180 to $500, these aren’t informal purchases. And in contrast to some fundamental toaster ovens, they’re not petite, both.

We selected fashions from manufacturers that have been well-known and trusted in both the toaster oven or air fryer market. Though lots of the items we examined can do extra than simply toast and air fry, we targeted our checks on these features, as a result of that’s sometimes how they’ll most frequently be used. (Though the dehydrator function on some could also be helpful for DIY-ers).

The Winners, at a Look

This unit is good-looking and refined, with a traditional aesthetic that doesn’t really feel overly fashionable. It produced wonderful toast and had minimal scorching spots—an necessary consideration for baking and roasting. We appreciated that its fry basket was in a position to stand alone within the unit by sliding into grooves on the facet partitions; another fashions required the basket to take a seat on a tray, which made maneuvering tough and inhibited browning. All in all, this can be a nicely-sized toaster oven with a beneficiant cooking chamber that excelled in nearly each cooking activity.

A detailed runner-up to the Calphalon, this unit had the entire similar successful substances, together with a standalone fry basket; a easy, intuitive interface with guide knobs and dials; and a formidable air fry perform. It’s no shock this was a prime performer; it’s the “air fryer included” model of our favorite under $250 toaster oven.

Boasting a very spectacular variety of features—together with proofing dough—this do-it-all air fryer toaster oven comes with a excessive price ticket however has the products to again it up. It additionally stands out from the group with an app that permits you to management the unit out of your cellphone and presents useful ideas and recipes.

The Checks

• Toast Check: We positioned one piece of white sandwich bread within the heart of every oven, then toasted it on the medium–darkish setting. We evaluated evenness of toasting on each the highest and backside of the bread, in addition to how lengthy it took to realize the specified outcomes.
• Scorching Spots Check: We examined the fundamental baking functionality by preheating the ovens to 350˚F with out their convection perform. Utilizing the identical model of white bread, we stuffed every oven with as many slices because it may maintain with out overlapping, then baked for 10 minutes with out flipping or turning. We recorded the amount every oven may match. By observing darker and lighter shades of toast, we have been in a position to decide the oven’s cold and warm spots (if any).
• Frozen Pizza Check: Toaster ovens are nice at reheating leftover pizza, however how do they deal with frozen pies? We used the identical model in every oven to judge. After preheating the oven to 400˚F with out convection, we baked the pies on the supplied sheet tray for 14 minutes, then evaluated for crust crispiness and evenness of cheese soften.
• Frozen French Fries Check: Then it was time to air-fry. We used the identical model of frozen fries in 16-ounce batches. The model we selected didn’t embrace preparation instructions for air fryers; as a substitute, we used the method outlined in our original air fryer test: 400˚F for 20 minutes, shaking the fries solely as soon as, halfway via cooking. If the oven included a “fries” setting on the air fryer (some did), we used that.
• Rooster Wings Check: We examined the oven’s potential to air fry meat by cooking two kilos of rooster wings in each. We used one tablespoon of oil, one teaspoon of salt, and a half-teaspoon of pepper, then air-fried at 360˚F for 12 minutes, flipped the wings, and air-fried for an additional 12 minutes. To complete, we flipped the wings a second time and air-fried for six minutes at 390˚F. After evaluating for crispiness and evenness of cooking, we cleaned the unit and washed the fry basket by hand.
• Consumer Expertise and Cleanup Checks: With most cooking take a look at outcomes offering minor variations with which to match fashions, our prime picks relied closely on consumer expertise. We evaluated how intuitive it was to make use of the fashions straight from the field earlier than studying instructions, and regarded the simplicity and effectivity of the controls (LCD touchscreen vs. toggle wheel vs. and many others.) Lastly, we thought of how simple (or not) it was to manually set the temperature and time, as in contrast with the unit’s presets.

What We Discovered

Air Fryer Toaster Ovens Didn’t Make Nice Toast

Many older fashions of toaster ovens are fairly compact. They’ve a small countertop footprint and petite cooking chambers. However to accommodate the area wanted for baking, roasting, and air frying, these new hybrid fashions have giant, cavernous chambers. (There was one exception: the Ninja Foodi, which was a bit wider than our different fashions, however way more squat.) The big chamber is important for wonderful air frying: ample room for a fry basket permits meals to be organized in a single layer, which leads to crispier, golden brown meals.

Sadly, the extra-large chamber means there’s a better distance between the racks and the heating items. We discovered that toasting on the center rack (when out there) took an nearly comically very long time—nearing 10 minutes for darker shades. When you may ameliorate this subject by shifting a rack nearer to the heating rods on the prime or backside of the oven, which will lead to burning or uneven toasting, and also you’ll definitely must flip the toast midway via. We’ll admit that ready a number of additional minutes for correctly cooked toast is hardly an imposition, but it surely’s value taking into account when you plan on frequently utilizing your unit to make toast.

In the event you’re hoping to make use of your air fryer toaster oven to roast and bake, you’ll discover it helpful to know not each mannequin might be dialed in to a particular temperature. Some function temperature modifications in 5- and even 25-degree intervals (corresponding to having choices for 325F˚, 350˚F, 375˚F, and so forth).

Air Frying In a Toaster Oven Was Messier than Utilizing an Air Fryer

Air frying is totally much less messy than conventional deep frying, even when you use a self-contained deep fryer. However our take a look at rapidly revealed one draw back of utilizing a toaster oven to air fry: the fats causes splatters when the tray is eliminated, which makes cleanup annoying. Throughout our rooster wing checks, the rendered fats from the wings and oil splattered all around the glass door once we pulled out the basket to flip the meat. (The crumb or drip tray doesn’t mechanically come out when the door is opened, so the fry basket will hover over the door as you pull it out.) We both needed to stability the tray precariously over the door to flip and switch the wings, or set it on a trivet on our counter: Both manner, it was a messy, oily enterprise that required us to scrub our oven mitts, kitchen towels, and naturally, the oven door after every use.

By comparability, self-contained air fryers are extra effectively designed to comprise oil and fats inside the unit, even when eradicating the basket (most conventional air fryers have a dealt with basket, relatively than the handle-less sq. or rectangular ones discovered within the air fryer toaster ovens we examined). Whereas the completed wings have been crispy and golden, the cleanup was laborious. The hampers required vigorous scrubbing with a bristle brush, and the inside of the unit needed to be cleaned with a vinegar-based answer to wipe away grease.

Fitted Baskets and Trays Made A Large Distinction in Usability

Most fashions we examined had easy tray baskets, which needed to be located on the wire rack or baking tray. The baking tray possibility is a much less messy method to fry, though it is going to hinder the 360-degree airflow wanted for ample crisping. Nonetheless, a handful of items—the Ninja Foodi, the Breville, and the Calphalon—had a basket with a large lip meant to slip into the oven’s facet grooves, identical to its oven racks. Not solely did it permit for higher airflow, it additionally made pulling the basket out simpler.

Some fashions, like the Toshiba, had so many facet grooves, it was tough to slip a rack or tray in evenly on the primary attempt. However typically talking, we most popular fashions that allowed for a number of tray positions, which meant we may situate meals on the highest, backside, or in the midst of the oven. The Ninja solely permits for meals to be positioned on the very prime or backside of the unit: there’s no center floor.

Fan Placement Mattered

The fashions we examined had followers both on one facet of the unit or put in within the prime. Overwhelmingly, the highest followers resulted in darker, extra completely cooked meals, due to direct, intense warmth—however not in a great way. Whereas this can be a nice design in principle, in follow it generally resulted in burning or blackening. The most important prime followers, as in the GE and Cuisinart, usually yielded overdone meals.

Aspect-installed followers, as within the Breville and Calphalon, resulted in meals that was extra reasonably cooked. These items tended to have extra scorching spots when convection was not used, however this downside might be solved by rotating the meals midway via cooking. (It’s not vital for toast.) Equally necessary, they made extra environment friendly use of their area: the followers are put in behind the management panel. We discovered these items to be the least imposing when left on a counter, regardless of having related footprints—many of the top-fan items regarded hulking, due to their top-heavy design.

A number of Dials and Knobs Had been Simpler to Navigate than Minimalist Interfaces

Whereas each air fryer toaster oven we examined got here with an in depth instruction guide, we first tried to make use of the items with out studying it, to gauge how intuitive the interfaces have been. Overwhelmingly, we most popular fashions with multiple dial or knob. The better the guide choices, the simpler it was to make use of. In distinction, the Instant Pot Omni Plus has a wholly touchscreen interface, which was extra complicated to function (and rapidly bought greasy when adjusted throughout cooking).

We didn’t like that some fashions had fussy interfaces that required a variety of babysitting. The Toshiba requires a preheat cycle, but it surely doesn’t mechanically start cooking as soon as the chosen temperature is reached. Throughout a number of checks within the Toshiba, we overcooked meals as a result of we didn’t notice it had been sitting at temperature for a handful of minutes. (One in every of our prime picks, the Sensible Oven from Breville, additionally has that undesirable function, however we appreciated sufficient of its different qualities to nonetheless suggest it.)

The Calphalon and Breville techniques have been our favourite, with a number of clearly-labeled buttons and dials that made selecting a setting simple. It was additionally simple to regulate the controls whereas the unit was in use.

Noise, Steam, and Odor Variations

All the items made some noise throughout their cooking cycles. However we discovered a few of them to be offensively loud. The Immediate Pot was probably the most intrusive, significantly when air frying. The Ninja Foodi had an irritating “calm down” interval that brought about the fan to whirr noisily lengthy after it had stopped cooking. The Calphalon and Breville have been the quietest on all settings, however barely perceptible when toasting or just baking with out convection.

One other consideration when shopping for an air fryer toaster oven: steam. Each unit we examined emitted some steam when air frying, however some turned our kitchen right into a meat-and-potato-scented sauna. The Cuisinart was significantly offensive right here, with clouds of steam escaping via the highest of the machine. Each it and the Immediate produced a lot steam, it collected on the glass door and finally leaked onto the counter. The foggy kitchen home windows and lingering “fried meals” scent are annoying, however we see one other, extra significant issue with heavy steam emitters: they will harm wooden cabinetry over time. We examined the items on a countertop instantly beneath cupboards containing packaged meals. After a day of testing, there was condensation on the within of the cupboard doorways and on the cabinets.

Are Air Fryer Toaster Ovens Value It? And How Do They Examine to an Air Fryer?

Our analysis was primarily based on efficiency and consumer expertise, though after 4 rounds of testing throughout the items’ numerous capabilities, we famous that each one fashions produced sufficiently crispy meals with the air fry perform. Nonetheless, they have been all, to various levels, messier to make use of than traditional air fryers, and a few have been a ache to scrub up. Disappointingly, a handful of the toaster ovens struggled to make evenly toasted bread. So, are any value shopping for?

Finally, air fryer toaster ovens are satisfactory in any respect duties, however not higher than their single-function rivals. Nonetheless, they’re bigger than many air fryers and may accommodate extra meals, for these frequently cooking for 4 individuals or extra.

With this in thoughts, we decided that consumer expertise trumps all when shopping for an air fryer toaster oven. When you’ve got the room in your kitchen and can frequently use each home equipment, we advise investing in each an air fryer and an air fryer toaster oven or toaster oven. That stated, funds and area could dictate your determination. Three of the fashions we examined outshone the competitors, with better-than-average efficiency, in addition to interfaces that have been really pleasurable to make use of.

The Standards: What to Search for In an Air Fryer Toaster Oven

The most effective air fryer toaster ovens have spacious chambers with loads of choices for situating racks, trays, and fry baskets. Interfaces that weigh closely on guide knobs are preferable for ease of use—and to reduce grease on touchscreens. Search for doorways that open and shut easily, with out snapping or spring-back, which can lengthen the longevity of your unit, and work to maintain steam inside. Lastly, contemplate the footprint versus usable area. Some items are very giant however have comparatively small cooking chambers. Overwhelmingly, items that had convection followers on the highest of the unit have been bulkier and took up more room. Our prime winners made environment friendly use of their dimension with giant chambers and had facet followers.

What we appreciated: A beautiful, charcoal-colored mannequin that doesn’t purchase into fashionable designs, this mannequin excelled at each cooking take a look at; it even re-crisped day-old rooster wings to close perfection. Though the messier air frying course of was nonetheless current, it was such a excessive performer within the different duties (toasting and baking), we really feel it’s value shopping for for these capabilities alone. It measures barely taller than the Breville, however is 5 kilos lighter, and has a transparent, unobstructed glass door for straightforward monitoring. The timer is exact—it contains seconds—and the sunshine is brilliant and useful, particularly for monitoring doneness whereas air frying. It’s tops at preserving steam and cooking smells (comparatively) contained contained in the unit. The fan is put in within the facet of the unit, behind the management panel. The air fry basket is standalone, that means you don’t must relaxation it on one other rack or tray.

What we didn’t like: The temperature can solely be adjusted in 25-degree increments (like 325˚F, 350˚F, and 375˚F), so it’s not a sensible choice for precision baking. The preheat cycle, whereas speedy, doesn’t mechanically kick into prepare dinner mode. Though that’s not a deal breaker, you’ll need to both add your meals as quickly as you set the timer and begin the machine—or keep shut by till the countdown has begun. The fry basket is smaller than the Breville’s, which can lead to overcrowding (or require a number of batches). The dials have small grooves, which may gather crumbs or grease over time.

Value at time of publish: $288.

Key Specs

• Weight: 22.5 kilos
• Dimensions: 11.6 x 18.7 x 15.8 inches
• Sort and dimensions of air fry basket: Standalone wire basket, 12 x 9 inches
• Interface sort: Guide, with two dials and 5 push-buttons whole, together with turbo convection
• Capabilities: Air Fry, Bagel, Bake, Broil, Defrost, Dehydrate, Hold Heat, Pizza, Roast, Toast
• Minimal temperature: 150˚F
• Max temperature: 450˚F

What we appreciated: A sensible choice for counter tops brief on actual property, the Breville has one of many smallest footprints of any of the fashions we examined, due to its side-installed fan behind the controls. Fortunately, it doesn’t really feel missing in cooking area. We appreciated the easy-to-use interface that was intuitive, due to a number of dials and buttons (and a high-contrast LCD display screen). The fry basket is large and roomy, which implies you may prepare dinner a big quantity of meals with out sacrificing crispiness. It additionally suits instantly into the grooves of the facet partitions, making it extra environment friendly to maneuver out and in. It’s a hardworking multitasker, with maintain heat, dehydrate, and sluggish prepare dinner features. And whereas aesthetics aren’t all the things, they do depend in an equipment that can stay in your countertop. The Breville is accessible in a handful of neutral-adjacent shades, together with a deep blue and a creamy white.

What we didn’t like: At $350, it’s one of many priciest fashions we examined. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless inexpensive than shopping for a standalone toaster oven and an air fryer (the highest two from our opinions are round $469 collectively). The person parts—together with the wire fry basket—have to be hand-washed, which is cumbersome after messy cooking duties, like frying rooster. It does all the things speedily, together with making toast and preheating, however its efficiency generally fell behind different fashions consequently. Condensation and steam might be overwhelming throughout high-heat, high-convection cooking duties.

Value at time of publish: $350.

Key Specs

• Weight: 28 kilos, 12 kilos
• Dimensions: 18.5 x 15.75 x 11 inches
• Sort and dimensions of air fry basket: Standalone wire basket; 11 x 12.75 inches
• Interface sort: Guide, with 3 dials and 5 push-buttons, together with turbo convection
• Capabilities: Air Fry, Bagel, Bake, Broil, Cookies, Dehydrate, Reheat, Roast, Sluggish Cook dinner, Toast, Heat
• Minimal temperature: 120˚F
• Max temperature: 450˚F

What we appreciated: The air fry perform was top-notch, with fries and wings popping out crispy, golden, and juicy. The big cooking chamber makes this swap for conventional oven cooking, permitting the consumer to roast and bake for a (small) crowd. The power to prepare dinner with convection (even when not air frying) is a large time saver, and we appreciated the really expansive record of features.

What we didn’t like: A good quantity of condensation collects on the door throughout sure cooking duties. The app generally is a little glitchy and we want to see additional developments and oven-app integration. It’s undeniably expensive.

Value at time of publish: $500.

Key Specs

• Weight: 23 kilos
• Dimensions: 21.5 x 17.3 x 12.8 inches
• Sort and dimensions of air fry basket: Standalone wire basket; 11.75 x 15 inches
• Interface sort: Guide, with three dials and 6 push-buttons, together with an “A bit extra” button so as to add just a little additional cooking time
• Capabilities: Air Fry, Bagel, Bake, Broil, Cookies, Dehydrate, Pizza, Proof, Reheat, Roast, Sluggish Cook dinner, Toast, Heat
• Minimal temperature: 80˚F
• Max temperature: 480˚F

The Competitors

• Cuisinart Digital Air Fryer Toaster Oven: This air fryer runs aggressively scorching, largely as a result of XL fan on the highest; each take a look at produced darkish, almost-burnt outcomes. In high-fat meals, just like the rooster wings, this resulted in a considerable amount of rendered fats to scrub up. The cooking chamber is small in comparison with most different fashions.
• GE Digital Air Fryer Toaster Oven: This stainless-steel equipment has the sensible look of a “chef’s kitchen.” The big top-of-unit fan produced extra-dark, extra-crispy outcomes, which is probably not to everybody’s style. It’s loud, and the timer begins mechanically, with out accounting for preheating. That resulted in over- and under-done meals. There are not any presets for issues like fries and wings, however the consumer guide presents useful pointers.
• Instant Pot Omni Plus Air Fryer Toaster Oven: With a wholly touchscreen interface, this techy mannequin was a ache to maintain clear and grease-free. It was additionally the loudest and largest of the fashions we examined, with a hulking overhang that doubled as a door. The temperature might be set to particular levels, however each button pressed sounds in an irritating beep.
• Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fryer Oven: This mannequin initially caught our eye because of its smaller footprint; it’s very brief. However with solely room for “prime” and “backside” rack positions, meals bought too darkish regardless of the place it was located. Its small chamber is hard to scrub nicely, and the side-handle door was awkward to make use of. We did just like the standalone fry basket, that slid neatly into the facet grooves.
• Toshiba Air Fryer Toaster Oven Combo: Whereas this mannequin has the potential to toast, bake, and air-fry nicely, we discovered it irritating to make use of. A complicated interface, and the shortcoming to regulate settings whereas it was in preheat mode resulted in overcooked meals in most of our checks. Of us who plan on air frying usually will respect the 11 settings beneath that perform, together with rooster nuggets, squid rings, and spring rolls.

FAQs

Can an air fryer change a toaster oven?

Though air fryers carry out some cooking duties very nicely, they don’t seem to be a 1:1 alternative for a toaster oven. The design of standalone air fryers is just not ultimate for cooking in giant batches; we found that XL air fryers lagged in efficiency and function. Air fryers are greatest for approximating fried meals with minimal oil and simpler cleanup. Toaster ovens excel at conventional baking and cooking duties on a smaller (and faster) scale. They’re each fairly nice at heating up leftovers, although.

Is a toaster oven the identical as an air fryer?

Toaster ovens and air fryers work otherwise. A toaster oven features like a miniature oven that cooks meals by heating a chamber to a set temperature. An air fryer makes use of a built-in high-speed fan to extra effectively flow into air round that chamber. Meals that has been roasted or baked in an air fryer can have a really crispy texture, just like deep fried meals. Toaster ovens with air fryer capabilities embrace a convection fan. Cooks can manually flip the fan on and off for cooking features like bake and roast, though it mechanically activates when the air fry perform is chosen..

What’s the greatest air fryer toaster oven?

Our checks revealed the Calphalon Air Fryer Oven,Breville Sensible Oven Air Fryer, and the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Professional are one of the best air fryer toaster ovens in all classes, together with consumer expertise. They carried out fundamental toasting features nicely, with minimal scorching spots, and air fried sufficiently. And, lastly, they have been probably the most intuitive to set, regulate, and use.

Are you able to toast bread in an air fryer oven?

First, a clarification: air fryers and air fryer toaster ovens use related know-how, however are usually not interchangeable. You may completely toast bread in a twin air fryer-toaster oven unit; simply use the “toast” perform. Whereas standalone air fryers do have further features, like bake and roast, they’re not one of the best equipment for making toast (although with some jiggering and watching you would make toast in a single).