The FlashXpress made crispy-yet-melty Bagel Bites that were more consistently browned from one edge of the pan to the other. Some ovens’ results weren’t dark enough; others were overdone or unevenly cooked. This was also one of the only models in this price range that could bake chicken thighs with a golden brown, crispy skin. Up against bigger, more expensive toaster ovens, the FlashXpress more than held its own. Air fryer toaster oven combo ovens can have up to 13 different functions, which is great if you plan on using this for many different purposes, like roasting, baking or even bread proofing. If you really want a toaster oven with an air fryer function you’ll use on occasion, we recommend choosing a top toaster oven model with a couple extra bells and whistles.
We also used an AI-powered analysis tool to scan 6,500-plus customer reviews across nine toaster ovens to identify what made some models better or worse than others. I liked the simple and straightforward cooking programs — not too few and not too many. The cuisinart air fryer oven Cosori is also a smart air fryer so you can control it from your phone via an app. This wasn’t something I found particularly useful, but it’s there if you want it. The app also has more than 100 recipes to try, which is great for air fryer inspiration.
And fish oil promotes heart health and may help you live longer. You can either choose Kirkland Signature Vitamin D3 ($2.50 off in warehouses and online) or fish oil ($3 off in warehouses and online) or Nature Made Vitamin D3 ($3.50 off in warehouses and online). Most of Costco’s supplements—including these—are third-party verified, which is important since most supplements aren’t regulated. Some ovens print which level to use right on the oven for ease of use. Some ovens have the information in the manual, and a few left us guessing. As just one idea, members can score the Cuisinart Digital Air Fryer Toaster Oven for only $159.99 (regularly $199.99)!
Cook according to rotisserie manufacturer’s instructions (for my Cuisinart rotisserie, it’s one hour on the “Rotisserie” setting). Cook according to rotisserie manufacturer’s instructions (for my Cuisinart rotisserie, it’s one hour on the “Rotisserie” setting). They have nearly a decade of professional cooking experience and have spent many years of hands-on experience with nearly every appliance imaginable. Our professional product testers are dedicated culinarians with an eye for function and detail. They prioritize unbiased and rigorous testing to give the most precise and thorough results. Unfortunately, while we monitored the temperature readout in the settings, we noticed it was as much as 70 degrees off at some points.
Katie Briggs, chef and founder of West Philly Bunny Hop, a mutual aid group providing free food to the community of West Philly, even favors their air fryer toaster oven over their traditional oven. “I disconnected my gas stove because it was more expensive to run, and now I do everything in my toaster oven,” says Briggs. If you’d like to air fry, but you just don’t have the cuisinart air fryer oven space for an air frying toaster oven, then a pod-shaped air fryer might be best for you. Their cooking baskets can also be a little safer or simpler to maneuver than a hot pan for children, new cooks, or those with mobility concerns. Just keep in mind that the pods tend to cook a little less evenly, and in most cases you’ll only be able to make a couple servings at a time.
Size is an essential factor to consider — both in capacity and footprint. For kitchens with minimal counter or cabinet space, a model with a smaller footprint is ideal. If you’re cooking for one or two, a larger capacity oven will be unnecessary. That said, a larger oven is a better investment if you have a large family or anticipate cooking for a crowd. Since the dials are analog, it can be hard to tell exactly what you’re setting the knob to.
We also tested the Cuisinart TOA-60 model and found its performance underwhelming. The model cooked hot and burned food during our tests and we found the manual interface difficult to use for precise cooking. The KitchenAid KCO211BM Digital Countertop Toaster Oven didn’t toast as evenly as our picks, and several slices of bread were burned in patches on the bottom. Some of the Bagel Bites we baked were also undercooked and pale. In every round of testing we conducted for this guide, we started by filling each toaster with as many slices of basic white bread as we could, then set each machine to toast at medium shade. The results gave us a heat map of each oven, showing us how evenly each model toasted and whether there were any hot spots.
That said, the controls are clearly labeled and straightforward to use, so we’re willing to overlook this drawback. We’d also prefer dial controls over the FlashXpress’s blister-push buttons, but they’re perfectly usable and not as glitchy or mushy as others we tested. The Panasonic was the only toaster we tested in this price range that could create an evenly golden brown chicken thigh with a crispy skin.
Pod air fryers, on the other hand, take very little effort to get clean. Both types can be removed to soak in the sink and some can be run through the dishwasher. The same can’t be said for the inside walls of a countertop oven. One thing I don’t love about this model cuisinart toa60 is the steel air fryer basket, which is trickier to clean than the pod-shaped models, most of which feature nonstick cooking baskets. If you’re eyeing an air fryer but also an Instant Pot or another multicooker, let me save you some money and kitchen space.
My issue with the toaster was that it couldn’t lift the bread up after it was toasted. Air fryers use convection heat similar to a standard oven but moving at a faster rate. There are no magnetic waves or experimental heat sources to worry about.