Faqs About Air Fryer Vs Toaster Oven
How long does it take for an air fryer to cook food?
An Air Fryer cooks food faster than conventional ovens because it has a rapid air technology that circulates heat up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit higher than cooking temperatures of other ovens.
It also saves cooking time by having 30 minutes shut-off timer which is ideal for cooking tender meat from frozen. This will save you time and money by not overcooking or burning your food.
Can I roast vegetables in my air fryer? Will they taste good?
Of course! You can roast almost all kinds of veggies like broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc using an air fryer without any problem or hassle. Although roasting veggies are very healthy but do not expect them to taste very good.
Can an air fryer replace a toaster oven?
Absolutely! And this is coming from someone who used to own both a standard oven and a toaster oven. However, an air fryer wont replace your entire range or your oven.
Its just not big enough for that type of cooking. An air fryer vs toaster oven does, however, work wonders on smaller baking projects like fries and the above-mentioned meatballs.
Do I really need an air fryer?
People who love fried food and probably eat them most days of the week, they might be looking for healthier alternatives with fewer calories and less fat. An air fryer will help solve those problems by skirting around the fryer and producing crispy meals minus all the grease and oil used in deep frying.
Will it be okay to use my oven for frying?
What Are The Differences Between A Drawer
Quick Note: The mention of a specific brand name should not be viewed as an endorsement. If youre looking for individual reviews and recommendations, Americas Test Kitchen and Consumer Reports are our favorite places to start.
To compare and contrast the differences, well be cooking with the following:
- COSORI Air Fryer Max XL 5.8 QT
- Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer
- Ninja Foodi 13-in-1 Dual Heat Air Fry Oven
- Oster Countertop Oven with Air Fryer
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
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Flaws But Not Dealbreakers
Due to the Cuisinart TOB-260N1s large interior, this model took about five minutes longer to cook frozen french fries than some of the smaller air fryers we tested took. That said, its slightly slower cooking time often produced more evenly cooked food that was better tasting. We think thats a trade-off well worth the few extra minutes of your time. And the Cuisinart is still small enough that it can preheat and cook faster than a standard oven.
Since Cuisinart doesnt market the TOB-260N1 as an air fryer, it doesnt come with a cooking chart for commonly air-fried foods. However, we found that in most cases, the same temperatures youd use to cook in a standard oven can also be used in the Cuisinart, whereas smaller, pod-shaped air fryers require you to cook at lower temperatures. We also found that when youre air frying vegetables with lots of moisture, such as eggplant and zucchini, its best to chop them into 1-inch or smaller pieces to prevent them from getting mushy. We have more tips for cooking air-fryer recipes in the Cuisinart below.
The Cuisinarts baking pan may warp slightly when the oven is roasting at high temperatures, but this in no way affects its cooking performance the pan will return to its normal shape when it cools. If you want a better pan, we recommend that you get a Nordic Ware quarter-sheet pan, a smaller version of our favorite baking sheet, which fits perfectly inside the Cuisinart oven.
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.
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What Is A Convection Oven
A countertop convection oven is built like a standard toaster oven: rectangular in shape with a front door that opens on a hinge at the bottom. How it differs from an ordinary toaster oven is that a convection oven is equipped with a fan, which blows hot air around.
The motion of the air inside the oven is called a convection effect and it results in faster cooking by transferring higher temperatures to the surface of the food as compared with an ordinary oven. So it both accelerates cooking as well as enhances the browning and crisping of the surface of your food.
Like a toaster oven, a convection oven has an interior rack that will fit a sheet pan . Because it’s wide, it allows for the food to be spread out on the rack rather than stacked in layers.
This is crucial, since stacking or layering food impedes the flow of hot air. Arranging the food in a single layer allows for even cooking all around.
The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney
What’s The Difference Between Burr And Blade Grinders
Giorgio Milos, the U.S.-based master barista for Illy, swears by a flat or conical burr grinder, especially when it comes to brewing espresso. Compared to a blade grinder, which resembles the function of a blender and chops beans at an inconsistent rate, burr grinders run the beans through the two abrasive surfaces , easily controlling the coarseness of your grind and resulting in evenly-ground coffee beans. Blade grinders can be an affordable and fast way to grind your beans, but for beginners or anyone looking for precision, a burr grinder is a better option.
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Learn All About Air Fryer
Basically, an air fryer can be defined as a compact-sized convection oven. It was created to replace the deep fryer if you want to eat delicious fried foods but dont want a lot of fat.
Although air fryers are available in different types, they all have the same operation mechanism: using convection air currents with high hot air to cook food. These hot air flows are continuously circulated by fans placed inside the machine at high speed to cook food quickly.
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.
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And How About A Convection Toaster Oven
Well, the only difference between a convection toaster oven and a regular toaster oven is that convection models have been supercharged by fans. I know that could be confusing since I pointed out earlier that Air Fryers also essentially use the convection technique to cook their meals.
That said, Air Fryers fans are more powerful, which means the appliance will circulate the heat way more rapidly compared to convection toaster ovens.
In addition to that, an Air Fryer retails with a basket that will allow you to put in a small amount of food. And as you may know, a smaller space equals a more confined space, which means that an Air Fryers fan will only focus its heating in a small space.
Now that you clearly understand what the two products are, let us skip to the main section of the post and look at their main differences.
Is An Air Fryer The Same As A Small Convection Oven
When we refer to a small convection oven, we are talking about a countertop convection oven that has a heating element and a small fan to push hot air around the cooking compartment. This should not be treated the same as an air fryer, which is more like a convection oven on steroids. This is because the fan and heating element used is much more powerful than what you find in a typical convection oven, and therefore your french fries will be more crispy when they come out of an air fryer versus a regular convection oven.
The problem is that manufacturers will often label both convection style toaster ovens and air fryers with the same convection cooking label, leading to some consumers thinking they are the same. Dont be fooled.
This Black and Decker small convection oven is a prime example of this.
If you want something more like an air fryer, you need something with a more powerful heating element and fan. An air fryer oven would be your best bet.
Sorry if you are confused by all this talk of convection ovens, toaster ovens, convection toaster ovens and convection air fryers!! The modern smart oven technology market has turned into a mess! I wish the manufacturers would stick to a more sensible and uniform naming structure ha ha!!
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Temperature Accuracy And Consistency Test
This is low-key one of the most important functions for any oven, especially if you plan to do some light baking in it. If an oven can’t hold an accurate and consistent temperature, it makes following recipes far more difficult, and you’ll be forever adjusting and hawking your food to make sure it doesn’t burn. I used thermocouples to read the internal temperature of the oven while it baked for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. I was able to get an average temp reading for the duration of the bake, but I also watched the thermometer in real time to see how much fluctuation happened during the cook.
The KitchenAid won this test with an average reading of 350 F on the nose and with very little fluctuation. The Ninja , Cuisinart and Breville also did well, although the Breville started off very hot and then came back down. The two last-place finishers were the Crux, which ran hot and the Calpahlon, which ran cold . Both were also the most inconsistent throughout the bakes.
Air Fryer Vs Toaster Oven The Main Differences
Which should you buy, an air fryer or a toaster oven? Both have their pros and cons, but which one is the best for you? In this blog post, were going to break down the key differences between these two appliances so that you can make the best decision for your needs. Keep reading to learn more about Air Fryer vs Toaster Oven topic.
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The Term Air Fryer Is Just A Marketing Ploy For Technology That Has Existed For Decades
This is a plea, not in condescension, not out of derision or scorn, but for the sake of all things honest and decent in the worldwide web of consumerism. Don’t fall for marketing ploys that clutter your kitchen.
Convection cooking has been around since the early 1900s, and in home kitchens since at least 1945 in the form of your trusty ol’ toaster oven.
With the addition of a wire tray and a metal sheet pan, any decent convection toaster oven will achieve what an air “fryer” can and more. It can bake, roast, and broil, and it can even toast! Oh, the novelty! Further, thanks to the internal fan that prevents hot and cold spots, a convection toaster oven arguably works better than the regular oven.
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.
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Why You Should Trust Me
As a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, Ive researched, tested, and reviewed toasters, toaster ovens, and deep fryers, among other kitchen gear and gadgets, since 2016. Ive spent more than 250 hours over the past four years researching and testing air fryers for this guide. In that time, Im pretty sure Ive eaten more fish sticks and french fries than the Gortons Fisherman and Ronald McDonald combined.
Is A Toaster Oven Healthy
To be clear, no device is inherently healthy. You need to be responsible for the healthiness or unhealthiness of the food you cook yourself. Nothing will magically make unhealthy food healthy.
But toaster ovens can be perfectly healthy when they are used correctly. They can perform a variety of functions that make cooking, bake, broiling, and toasting as easy as turning the device on.
If you want to grill a piece of chicken, it is extremely easy with your toaster oven. You can simply turn it to the broil section and you will have excellent grilled chicken in a few minutes. This means that you can cook extremely healthy food in only a matter of minutes.
Of course, some dishes that you want to cook in your toaster oven may need you to use oil. Just like a regular oven can cause dishes to dry out or stick if you dont use oil, a toaster oven will make otherwise delicious food a bit unpalatable. You can avoid cooking food like this in your toaster oven, but it will mean having to rethink the way you use your device.
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When To Replace Your Toaster Oven
Toaster ovens have an average lifespan of five years, but there are reports of models lasting as long as 20 years. Most come with a one year warranty, although some brands can offer up to three year policies. To keep your toaster oven in good working condition, you must keep it clean especially on the inside. Dirty elements can catch fire or break easily. Another common problem is a handle or door that breaks off. Try to avoid pulling on your toaster ovens handle with excess force or letting the door bang shut to prevent damaging it. There are also things you should never put in an air fryer, which you will want to avoid.
If your machine stops heating and is no longer under warranty, your best bet is to buy a new one. If you do get a repair estimate, and its more than half the price of a new toaster oven, we recommend buying a replacement.
When you shop for a new toaster oven, youll find the latest models are made of stainless steel and will look good on display in your kitchen. They now come with a host of new features to expand their versatility, including air frying, multi-rack cooking, and even slow cooking. While in general more features are found on bigger ovens, even smaller models can now air fry.