Also Great: Philips Premium Airfryer Hd9741/96
*At the time of publishing, the price was $250.
The Philips Premium Airfryer HD9741/96 is the best pod-shaped air fryer weve tested. Its a far less versatile appliance than the Cuisinart convection toaster oven, but its smaller footprint may make it ideal for tiny kitchens with limited counter space. Smaller households that plan to make only one or two portions of food at a time may also prefer this model. Compared with other pod-shaped air fryers we tested, the Philips cooked food the most evenly, aside from the occasional soggy french fry on average, it cooked faster than most other models we tried and with better results. Like all pod-shaped air fryers, this Philips model isnt good for baking or making toastits fan is too powerful and produces overcooked, irregularly shaped cakes and wonky, unevenly browned toast. But if you dont plan to bake in it, we think its a suitable choice for cooking frozen snacks, smaller portions of meat and vegetables, or certain dishes you want extra crispy, like chicken wings or flautas.
Budget Pick: Cosori Pro Air Fryer
*At the time of publishing, the price was $85.
The Cosori Pro Air Fryer was the best pod-shaped model we tested for under $100. Although the Cosoris 3.7-quart capacity is slightly larger than that of the Philips Premium Airfryer HD9741/96, it doesnt cook as evenly, but considering its relatively low price, we think its results were good enough. The Cosoris many preprogrammed settings werent as accurate as those of the Philips, eitherwe preferred using the manual controls for selecting the time and temperature instead. Like the Philips, the Cosori has a square-shaped basket that fits more food than the round baskets in other models. The Cosori also comes with a recipe booklet, which is helpful if youre new to cooking with convection technology.
Like the Philips, the Cosori has a removable basket to hold your food while it cooks. We prefer this design to the removable trays of a lot of newer models, because trays tend to fall out when you flip the bucket upside down to transfer food to a platethis was the case with the Ninja AF101 Air Fryer we testedand when the tray comes flying out, it could potentially cause burns. We also like that the Cosori has a plastic guard that covers the baskets release button , which prevents you from inadvertently pressing it while shaking your food. Without the guard, its easier to accidentally press the button, which would release the bucket and send it crashing onto the floor.
Page : Oven Rack And Pan Position Diagrams
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Breville Smart Oven Air
Quick Specs: 1800 Watt | 1 Cubic Ft. Interior | 13 Functions | 21.4″ x 17.2″ x 12.8″ | Weight: 43 lbs. | 2-Year Warranty
Best For: The do-it-all superhero in the kitchen. If you love to cook, the Breville Smart Oven Air will have a function for you – dehydrate, air fry, proof bread, toast, and more all in the same smart oven.
Pros:
- Air Fry 4 Times as Much Food – Purchase extra cooking racks to air fry up to 4 baskets of food at once
- Biggest Cooking Space – The Breville has 1 cubic foot of space to cook in – that’ll fit a 5qt Dutch oven or a 14lb turkey
- Easy to Use – Breville’s signature LCD makes it easy to select time, temperature, and function. The glass door also has suggested oven rack positioning for each function
- Super Convection – The two-speed convection fan quickly and evenly cook everything. Perfectly air fry sweet potato fries or evenly dehydrate apple slices
- Multicooking – Not only air frys, but has 13 built-in presets to dehydrate, proof, broil, toast, slow cook, and more
Cons:
- The Breville Smart Oven Air is very large and very heavy – this unit would benefit from a permanent spot on the counter
- The price is higher than other air fryers and countertop oven combos
Chef Austin’s Thoughts:
One cubic foot of space is large enough to fit a 5qt Dutch oven – slow cook on a low or high setting just like in a slow cooker.
Top Selling Breville Air Fryer
Philips Avance XL Air Fryer
Pros:
Cons:
Chef Austin’s Thoughts:
Design: Sleek But Needs Dedicated Space
The Cuisinart Digital AirFryer Toaster Oven isnt compact by any means, but it is sleek enough to be left on the counter if you have the space. It looks like a countertop oven, and that works in its favor in the looks department. It is tall, which makes it easy to roast a 4-pound whole chicken. The oven fits underneath the cabinets without blocking airflow. It has a single door that drops down on the counter, which wasnt my favorite feature in the oven. Taking out the tray from the bottom rack position after cooking is tricky. There isnt much space to grab the tray with mittens on. I found pinch mittens worked better, but I had to pay complete attention to not scrape my hand against the hot door. The construction is lightweight and is easy to move around for cleaning inside and around the oven.
If you are sitting on the fence about whether or not you need an air fryer and toaster oven, this one is worthy of a shot.
Recommended Reading: Built In Air Fryer Oven
How To Adjust Air
You dont need to seek out air-fryer recipes to get great results in a convection toaster ovenany recipe written for a standard oven works. However, if you have your eye on a recipe written specifically for an air fryer but want to prepare it in a convection toaster oven, you have to make some minor adjustments for the best results.
Generally, if youre following an air-fryer recipe but plan to cook it in a convection toaster oven, you need to increase the cooking time and temperature to compensate for the toaster ovens larger cavity. You dont need to buy an air-frying basketa regular quarter-sheet pan will give you similar air-frying results in a convection oven . Here are some tips for cooking some common dishes in a convection toaster oven.
Vegetables:
- Roasted vegetables: Roast at 425 °F with speed convection for 12 to 20 minutes, tossing halfway through cooking time.
- Air-fryer pickles: Bake at 425 °F with speed convection for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time.
- Hand-cut fries: Bake at 425 °F with speed convection for 40 to 45 minutes, tossing occasionally.
- Frozen fries: Bake with speed convection at the temperature indicated on the package. You may need to cook them longer than the instructions recommend .
Meat, poultry, and fish:
Baking:
What To Look Forward To
Were conducting a new round of testing to expand our coverage of pod-shaped air fryers. In addition to new models, were also testing a wider range of sizes, and special features like dual baskets and smart app connectivity. Were trying out larger air fryers, like the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Basket Air Fryer and the Ninja Foodi DZ201 Dual Basket Air Fryer, and more models from popular brands, including the Dash Deluxe Electric Air Fryer, the Ultrean Air Fryer AF01, and the new Cosori Air Fryer. While well be looking at more versatile and accessible features this time around, our foundational criteria for a great air fryer remain the same: an intuitive user experience, even cooking, and consistent temperatures.
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What Is Air Frying Anyway And How Does It Work
Despite what it sounds like, air frying doesnt actually fry your food. Instead, air fryers are mini convection ovens that use fans to rapidly circulate hot air, cooking food faster and more evenly than a standard oven does.
Convection has been around for more than a century. The first commercially sold convection ovens were developed by the W. L. Maxson Corporation in the 1940s as a way to reheat frozen food for airplanes. And they worked much the same as todays air fryers and convection toaster ovens do: As the fan circulates hot air around the food, it crisps the outside in a way that mimics deep frying. But your tastebuds will tell you that air-fried food isnt anything like traditionally deep-fried food in flavor and texture.
Cuisinart : Air Fryers
Enjoy your favorite fried food when you have an Air fryer at home. An Air fryer is a kitchen appliance that cooks by circulating hot air around food. They do a fantastic job cooking up frozen foods that are meant to taste deep-fried. You can air fry french fries, crispy chicken wings, mozzarella sticks and more. Air frying gives you the crunchy texture of fried foods without the extra grease and fat. Most fryers are easy to clean, have dishwasher-safe containers and occupy less space than convection ovens. An Air fryer can function like convection ovens, deep-fat fryers, and multi-cookers they combine benefits of multiple appliances. At Target we have a wide range of Airfryers with different functions and styles. You can choose a fryer that has features to fit your needs. Whether it is a toaster-oven, convection oven or a traditional pot style cooker, you can find one at Target. In the range, you can find cookers that can be pre-programmed if you are someone who is always on the move. We also have different brands to choose from like Chefman, Cusinart, Ninja Foodi, Philips and more. Pick an Air fryer from our superb range and switch to oil-free, oil-less and quick frying.
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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.
Cuisinart Digital Air Fryer Toaster Oven Wrap Up
The Cuisinart convection toaster air fryer is one of the best units on the market, putting other ovens and air fryers to shame! It can do pretty much everything you need it to do, basically a second oven for side dishes, leftovers, chicken wings. If you like to bake bread, it acts as a dough proofer, and it even dehydrates fruits and veggies for tasty snacks on the go. Despite the large price tag, its a fantastic appliance that is well worth the investment.
Also Check: Bake Chicken Legs In The Oven
What To Know Before Buying Air Fryer Toaster Ovens
A good air fryer toaster oven fits more food than a single-function air fryer, but your food may not turn out as crispy.
Toaster ovens can handle a whole range of tasks, from toasting four or more slices of toast to broiling, baking, and reheating. Toaster oven air fryers expand on that versatility.
Adding an air fry function gives you the abilities of a pop-up toaster, toaster oven, and more in one appliance. Some models can also roast on a rotisserie, slow cook, or dehydrate, making them even more useful.
What About Using A Full
For the record, you can get similar air-fried results when cooking food in a full-size oven with convection. But because a full-size oven is so much larger than a toaster oven or an air fryer, it takes much longer to preheat and can take longer to cook food. The Cuisinart TOB-260N1 toaster oven preheats almost immediately, making it the better choice if speed is part of what appeals to you about an air fryer.
Read Also: Ge Profile Microwave Convection Oven Manual
Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven Review: Cooking Performance
On test, the Cuisinart scored relatively well across the board, with the exception of frozen French fries. It stood out for its performance on breaded chicken, for which it scored full marks. However, when it came to baking, the Cuisinart performed poorly, overcooking in all our tests. In fact, our initial results were so bad that we tried a second sample to be sure. However, we got only marginally better results in the second oven.
Theres no preheat setting on the Cuisinart and no suggestions that you preheat the oven before air frying. For some air fried foods, cooking times were on the long side, which suggests preheating is incorporated. To set the oven, you turn one dial to the cooking function and another to your desired temperature. You then either set the timer or, if you want to make toast, turn a dial to a toast setting.
Cuisinart gives a very practical assessment of the ovens capacity, stating that it can accommodate 3 pounds, toast 4 slices of bread, roast a 4-pound chicken, or bake a 12-inch pizza.
Using the manufacturers recommendations, we roasted a 3-pound chicken in the baking pan and were rewarded with a moist and tender bird with crackling skin everywhere, but on the bottom. Weve cooked dozens of chickens in pans and ovens of all kinds and its rare to wind up with a browned and crispy bottom skin. Unlike in an air fryer, there was spattering to wipe off the wall of the oven.
Price: A Worthy Investment
The Cuisinart Digital AirFryer Toaster Oven Retails for around $300. Though it looks like it is steeply-priced, it is worthy of its price tag. There are other air fryers available for a cheaper price, however, the Cuisinart outshines a lot of them in its quiet functioning, versatility, and looks. If you have the means to invest and the space for it on the counter, go for it.
The Spruce Eats / Renu Dhar
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Cuisinart Digital Airfryer Toaster Oven Vs Instant Vortex Plus 10
The Cuisinart Digital AirFryer is a toaster oven and an air fryer with multiple other functions like proof dough, dehydrate, and reheat. Meanwhile, the Instant Vortex Plus contains all the bells and whistles as far as air-fryers go. It cooks fast and has multiple features like roast, bake, broil, air fry, and dehydrate. The best feature about it is the rotisserie basket, so you dont have to turn the food around. Even better, it retails for less than the Cuisinart option. If you really want a toaster oven, though, that doubles as an air fryer, the Cuisinart is a contender that we found worthy of its price tag.
Make space for it.
Yes, the Cuisinart Digital AirFryer Toaster Oven will sit on the counter and take space, but it saves a lot of time with fast cooking and easy-to-clean features. If you are sitting on the fence about whether or not you need an air fryer and toaster oven, this one is worthy of a shot.
- Product Name Digital AirFryer Toaster Oven
- Product Brand Cuisinart
- Product Dimensions 21.73 x 15.75 x 17 in.
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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