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If you are here, it means you are looking for a multi-functional air fryer. Lucky for you, this guide will review the features and operations of the best air fryer toaster oven combo Consumer Reports for 2021.
The air fryer isn’t just a healthy lifestyle choice; it also makes your cooking super easy. It’s efficient and cooks food in comparatively lesser time than the conventional toaster ovens.
An air fryer toaster oven is a smart investment for your kitchen. Why? Because of its one-for-all and all-for-one functionalities to air fry, dehydrate, toast, bake and broil the food.
5 Best Air Fryer Toaster Oven Combo Consumer Reports for 2021 Reviews
The following reviews will give you insightful information about the features and performance of different air fryer toaster ovens designed by the most reputed manufacturers.
Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Toaster Oven Air fryer
If you are looking for a high-performing versatile air fryer, then the Cuisinart TOA-60 convection toaster oven air fryer is an apt choice for you. The best part about this air fryer is that it comes with a total of seven cooking functions to make your dinner prep more convenient.
Founded in 1971, the US-based Cuisinart has established its reputation as one of the most reliable kitchen appliance brands.
Design
It comes with a stainless steel body similar to a regular toaster oven. The overall design may seem to be old-fashioned to some of you. However, on the brighter side, the sturdy design makes it durable and high-performer.
The overall dimensions of 15.5 x 16 x 14 inches occupy significant kitchen countertop space than the regular ones.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a touchscreen control panel or an LED to display the timer. Like we mentioned earlier, the four knobs available at the top compliment the overall old-school design.
Lastly, the inside contains an oven rack and a fryer basket, which, by the way, are dishwasher safe.
You can easily remove the fryer basket and wipe the interior with a clean damped cloth.
Capacity
You can air fry three lbs of fried food like fries, wings, chicken nuggets, and tenders. Moreover, you can utilize its toaster oven functionality to toast six slices of bread, bake four lbs, chicken, or a 12-inches pizza.
Performance
The five air fry functions, bake, broil, warm, and toast, make this air fryer stand out among the competitive models. You can find two more convection modes of bake and broil in addition to the regular bake and broil. It makes a total of seven pre-set features to assist you in your daily cooking.
Control Panel
The first dial on the top left is the timer ranging from OFF to 60 minutes. Once you set the timer, the knob will automatically turn OFF and shut off the air fryer.
The second knob allows you to adjust the temperature between warm-up and 450F degrees.
The third knob selects one of seven preset cooking functions. Finally, the fourth knob is dedicated to the toast function, allowing you to choose any light, medium, or dark shade.
Specifications
- 1800 Watts
- 0.6 Cubic feet capacity
- 15.5 L x 16 W x 14 H inches
- 21 lbs. weight
Pros
- Seven multi-functional features
- Automatic shut off
- Recommended for large families
Cons
- No touchscreen
- Old-fashioned design
- Bulky
Ninja Foodi Digital Fry Convection Oven Toaster Air Fryer
The next item on our list is the Ninja Foodi digital fry convection oven toaster air fryer, perfect for a small or a medium-size family. It’s quite a sleek and stylish air fryer to complement your kitchen interior, unlike the previously reviewed item. Ninja is known for incorporating innovation and technology in its kitchen products for decades.
Design
It comes in a brushed stainless steel exterior finish with the overall dimensions of 20 x 15 x 7.5 inches. Its height is almost half the height of the Cuisinart TOA-60, meaning you can’t insert any taller container inside.
However, it comes with a digital control pad on the right side, allowing you to operate it with great ease.
Unlike the traditional toaster ovens, the handlebar is present on one side of the door. It’s quite unusual, and you may take some time to get used to the new design.
The best thing is that you can quickly flip it up and store it in an upright position inside the cabinet.
Another exciting feature is its crumb-release feature. All you need is to flip down the oven’s bottom section to remove the crumbs from the corners.
It comes with an air fry basket, a nonstick sheet pan, a crumb tray, and a cooking rack. These additional accessories complement the entire package and make it one of the best air fryer toaster ovens.
Capacity
It can air fry around four pounds of fried food in its capacious air fryer basket. Additionally, it can toast a total of nine bread slices simultaneously without any overlap.
You can air fry approximately three pounds of proteins and vegetables in 22 minutes.
With a total height of 7.5 inches, it can’t hold an entire chicken inside, which is sad.
Performance
In addition to the regular air frying functionality, it can roast, broil, bake, dehydrate, warm, and toast.
Dehydration is an additional feature other than the regular air frying and toasting. It can run for ten hours straight to dehydrate a small portion of fruit and vegetables, but not meat.
You can keep your macaroni and casseroles warm at a serving temperature for almost two hours without sucking any moisture out of them.
It comes with an automatic preheat feature which preheats it in just one minute.
Control Panel
The digital control panel displays both timer and temperature making it easy for you to monitor. The knob operates smoothly, allowing you to select the desired crisp control, time, and temperature.
Additionally, you can manually switch on the interior light to check the meal progress.
Specifications
- 20 x 15 x 7.5 inches
- 15.72 pounds
- 1800 Watts
Pros
- Stylish
- Multi-functional
- Even cooking
- Instant pre-heating
- Easy storage
- One-year limited warranty
Cons
- Not recommended for large families
- Can’t accommodate taller items
- Expensive
Breville Smart Oven Air Convection and Air Fry Countertop Oven
If you are looking for a smart multi-functional air fryer, then the Breville smart oven air convection and air fryer countertop oven is the best choice for you. It comes with 13 pre-programmed cooking settings, the highest number of settings among the air fryers discussed so far.
Since 1932, Australia-based Breville has successfully established its reputation as one of the reliable kitchen appliance manufacturers.
Design
It comes in a brushed stainless steel finish similar to the air fryers discussed above.
With a weight of 38.9 pounds, it’s the heaviest air fryer on our list. However, the dimensions of 21.4 x 17.2 x 12.8 inches make it a medium-sized and compact air fryer.
The additional accessories include a 13-inches pizza pan, broil rack, enamel roasting pan, two oven racks, and mesh basket rack.
Features
Besides the 13 pre-set features, it comes with a PID temperature control, two-speed fan, and LCD. To guarantee a secured investment, it comes with a two year manufacturer’s warranty.
Capacity
The internal capacity is one-cubic feet, which is enough to hold nice bread slices, a 13-inch pizza pan, and a 14 lbs turkey. This multi-purpose air fryer is perfect for all types of meal preparation, all the way from breakfast to dinner.
Performance
Element IQ is an innovative technology by Breville, making it outshine the rest of the air fryers. It combines heat sensing and PID temperature technology to control the fan speed.
A total of six independent quartz heating elements automatically adjust the power around the food, thus ensuring even heating. The objective is to provide a 360-degree stable temperature around the food.
The 13 cooking functions allow you to select the settings: air fry, proof, pizza, cookies, slow cook, warm, reheat, bake, bagel, broil, toast, roast, and dehydrate.
You can stack multiple racks inside to utilize the internal capacity. The six heating elements combined with the dual-speed fan guarantee even cooking within all the shelves.
Control Panel
This modern air fryer comes with a user-friendly LCD featuring built-in smart buttons to select the desired features.
The interior light turns on automatically at the end of the cooking cycle. Conversely, you can turn it on yourself with a dedicated button to check the food’s progress.
Specifications
- 21.4 x 17.2 x 12.8 inches
- 38.9 pounds of weight
- 1800 Watts
- 13 cooking functions
- Two-speed convection fan
Pros
- Easy-to-use controls
- Adjustable temperature settings
- Pull-out fryer basket.
- Audible alert
- Two years’ warranty
Cons
- Loud fan
- Absence of recipe book
- Heavyweight
COSORI CO130-AO 12-in-1 Air Fryer Toaster Oven Combo
Next up is the COSORI CO130-AO 12-in-1 air fryer toaster oven combo with its 30L capacity at 1800 watts. It’s the only air fryer on our list, which can make a complete rotisserie chicken.
Based in the US, Cosori is a well-reputed brand designing robust kitchen appliances for decades.
Design
It comes in a stylish stainless steel finish with a hybrid control panel available on the right side.
The air fryer is equipped with all the necessary accessories so you don’t need to spend additional money. The package includes a crumb tray, air fryer basket, food tray, wire rack fork set and handle, and a recipe book.
You can easily clean the interior of the air fryer and other accessories with a mild cleanser. Unfortunately, the oven accessories and trays aren’t dishwasher safe, but you can always wash them manually in the sink.
Capacity
Its 30L capacity can easily fit six slices of toast, a 13 inches pizza pan, and 5 lbs chicken.
Performance
It allows you to select the desired temperature ranging from 80F to 450F. You can easily adjust the time up to 24 hours, depending upon the meal you are preparing.
It comes with five heating elements, which is one less than the Breville smart oven.
The same is the case with its 12 cooking options: toast, bagel, pizza, bake, roast, air fry, broil, cookies, rotisserie, dehydrate, ferment and keep warm. You can find some cooking settings, which are unique to COSORI CO130-AO, like ferment or rotisserie.
You can fry crispy chicken thighs in just 28 minutes at 400F degrees. You can also use its dehydrate function to prepare kale chips and zucchini fries. The cookies function allows you to make delicious chocolate chip cookies and s’ mores.
Control Panel
The control panel comprises an LCD that allows you to set and monitor the time, temperature, and cooking settings. The two huge knobs adjust the temperature and cooking functions.
Specifications
- 1800 Watts
- 30L
- 20.1 x 16.5 x 12.1 inches
- 80F – 450F degrees
Pros
- Rotisserie and ferment functions
- Sleek design
- Spacious interior
- Includes accessories
- Even cooking
Cons
- Requires additional cleaning
- Longer cooking time for bagel/toast
Cuisinart TOA-65 Digital Convection Toaster Oven Airfryer
The last one on our list is the Cuisinart TOA-65 digital convection toaster oven air fryer. Cuisinart is known for designing larger-than-life air fryers allowing you to host big family gatherings.
Design
The exterior is made with stainless steel giving it a universal look to make it compatible with any kitchen design. It comes with a 0.6 cubic feet internal capacity allowing you to cook multiple dishes simultaneously.
You can switch on the interior light to view the cooking progress through its large transparent window.
You can easily remove the drip pan to wipe the non-stick interior with a clean damped cloth.
The accessories include two oven racks, a baking tray, and a basket.
Capacity
It’s one of the largest air fryers in our review list with its 15.75 inches height and can accommodate a three lb. chicken.
Performance
With a wide temperature range of 80-450F degrees, you can bake, roast, proof dough, defrost, toast, and dehydrate various food items. The low-temperature setting allows you to slow cook and braise the meat keeping it juicy and tender from the inside with a crispy layer at the outside.
Even with an 1800 watt motor fan, it operates relatively smoothly and quietly.
You can cook a complete batch of chicken thighs with even cooking throughout the tray. Not only that, you can bake muffins, cookies, and medium-size pizza.
Control Panel
The control panel is relatively modern with digital buttons, analog dials, and an LCD.
You may notice a difference in the positioning of the control panel available at the top. In comparison, other air fryers brands have a control panel on the right side in a vertical direction.
The built-in timer automatically shuts off at the end of the cooking cycle. However, you can adjust the timer between one to sixty minutes only.
Specifications
- 0.6-cubic feet
- 17 x 21.7 x 15.7 inches
- 20.3 pounds
- 1800 Watts
- 80F – 450F degrees
Pros
- Useful settings
- Quiet operations
- Large digital LED display
- Recommended for large families
Cons
- May overheat
- Large size
- Expensive
➥ Read more: The best air fryers for 2020
Is It Worth Buying an Air Fryer Toaster Oven?
Absolutely! If you don’t already own a toaster oven, then a multi-purpose air fryer will be a perfect addition to your kitchen countertop.
The kitchen appliances have evolved during the past couple of years, with a significant focus on making everyday meals more healthy and delicious. Recently, the manufacturers have incorporated the toaster oven functionality into the air fryer to increase their cooking efficiency.
Honestly, an air fryer toaster oven is a match made in heaven for the people who want to prepare healthy meals with less prepping effort. It not only allows you to air-fry your food but bake, dehydrate, roast, broil, and toast it.
It’s a universal fact that we love fried food, but on the other hand, we also know that it’s unhealthy. An air fryer toaster oven allows you to enjoy the same food but with less oil.
For the people who often cook their food in the microwave oven, an air fryer can be a life-changing shift. An air fryer toaster oven is for the health-conscious people who don’t want radiations to alter their meal profile or flavors.
How to Choose the Best Air Fryer Toaster Oven?
That’s a real challenge. You often find yourself confused with too many options available in the market.
Size and Capacity
We first need to figure out our meal requirements to decide its desired size and internal capacity. Once we know that, it becomes easy to look for a suitable size in different renowned kitchen appliance brands.
For instance, an air fryer toaster oven of seven quarters not only has a bigger internal capacity but can also occupy more of your kitchen counter space.
You need to weigh down the trade-off between the size and your kitchen countertop space.
Watts
You need to check your kitchen outlet supports the watt requirement for the selected air fryer. For instance, the wattage level can go up to a maximum of 1800 watts or even more for specific models.
Budget
The budget plays a vital role in deciding the brand type as well as the in-built features.
Many air fryers come with a manufacturers’ warranty ranging from one year up to five years. Sometimes, you can make a significant one-time investment in a high-end model depending upon the features and extended warranty.
Presets
Many air fryer toaster ovens come with pre-programmed meal preparation settings making your life stress-free. You can save a lot of your time and energy by manually adjusting the desired temperature and timer.
Additional Features
The air fryers discussed in this review come with different cooking settings ranging from a minimum of seven up to thirteen.
How Does Air Fryer Toaster Oven Work?
Don’t take the “fryer” in the name for its literal meaning. An air fryer toaster oven doesn’t fry your food. Instead, it works more like a conventional oven in which hot air circulates the food.
The traditional oven toaster and an air fryer toaster oven look precisely the same. So, you must be wondering about the different workings of an air fryer toaster oven.
A coil serves as the fundamental heating source. On top of the heating source is a powerful fan that circulates the air fryer’s hot air to keep the temperature consistent.
The combination of the heating source and the fan makes an air fryer toaster oven capable of cooking food faster than the regular ovens. Consequently, the exterior of the food becomes more crispy, even in the absence of oil.
However, in the case of battered food, you only need to brush or spray the oil to coat the food’s surface.
Conclusion
Air fryer toaster oven has simplified our daily cooking with automation and pre-programmed cooking settings. Not only that, it helps you to maintain a healthy lifestyle for you and your family.
You can compare the features and functionality of the reviewed air fryers to make a well-informed decision.
The best thing about the air fryer is the minimalistic usage of oil in your daily meals. Imagine the money you are going to save from your monthly groceries.
Consider the cost of an air fryer as a one-time investment, which is essential for your families’ healthy future.
