Plus, when stored upright, the bottom of the oven can be released for cleaning so you can easily wipe it down. Baking them in the oven just never gets that full crisp you get when deep frying, and don’t even get me started about the microwave. In truth, I don’t find toaster oven cooking programs very helpful, and I rarely use them. Since every brand, be it frozen pizza, waffles or mozzarella sticks, vary in size and density, it’s generally best to follow the instructions on the box.
She has worked in test kitchens for small kitchen appliance brands and national magazines, including Family Circle and Ladies’ Home Journal. This is the perfect way to cook chicken thighs for that extra crispy skin and no need to hamilton beach heat up the oven. I ran each toaster oven for 15 minutes at 300 degrees F to measure the temperature accuracy and consistency. With so many to choose from, there are bound to be some over- and under-performers in the category.
Some smart models, like the Cosori Pro Smart Air Fryer, even come with apps that pair with your phone to make the appliance accessible via voice controls (video), though we haven’t tested those features yet. 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.
This air fryer also isn’t as much of an eyesore as some machines we’ve tried over the years, so it won’t look like an alien spaceship has landed on your kitchen counter. Air fryer toaster ovens tend to look like larger versions of your classic toaster oven, but come with all the functionality of a toaster oven, air fryer and even roaster combined. If your countertop already houses a toaster oven and you’re wishing you had space for an air fryer, consider this the ideal more-than-2-for-1 upgrade. This under-$125 model impressed us during testing, especially when it came to air frying. It has a basic control panel with three knobs that are easy to operate and a small footprint that’s still large enough to fit a 12-inch frozen pizza. In our tests, it was one of the few that was able to bake an evenly melted pizza in addition to making evenly colored toast.
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. In our air fryer toaster oven test, the Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro made mostly even toast and a gorgeous, golden cake. The air fryer setting took longer to crisp wings than other air fryer toaster ovens we tested, but the results were similar to the results we saw in the Smart Oven Air that consumers love. It was amongst the easiest to use with an intuitive control panel; plus, the ability to follow along on the app.
These are even more inexpensive than convection toaster ovens and more suitable for small spaces. We recommend the Panasonic FlashXpress (a top pick in our guide to toaster ovens). It won’t blast food with hot air, but it can still bake relatively quickly and provide crispy results due to its small oven cavity, which is similar in size to a pod-shaped air fryer. On the flip side, one of the biggest pitfalls of pod-shaped air fryers is that their compact size really limits not only the amount of food you can cook at once but also the kind of food you can cook. Air fryers can’t fit larger items like casseroles, whole pizzas, or whole chickens.