An air fryer is, for all intents and purposes, a convenient countertop convection oven. It uses a fan to circulate hot air to cook, crisp, or caramelize food faster than the usual radiant heat in a regular toaster or traditional oven. Air fryers began with the reputation of being a “healthy” eating appliance thanks to the lack of oil needed to make classic comfort food like chicken wings and French fries. These days they’re present in plenty of home kitchens, including those looking to make quick and simple meals or those adding an option beyond the oven or the stove while cooking for a crowd. If you want a toaster oven that cooks quickly, this is a great toaster oven to have. Not only does it feature air fry technology, but it’ll also bake and crisp your food evenly and efficiently.
If you’d like to air fry, but you just don’t have the space (or budget) for an air frying toaster oven, then a pod-shaped air fryer might be best for you. Because their small capacity keeps your food close to the fan and the heating elements, pod air fryers can make food even crispier, and often do so more quickly, than their toaster oven-shaped cousins. 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. The nonstick coating in the baskets of pod-shaped air fryers are also likely to wear off within a few years, so you’ll need to replace either the basket or your entire machine. First, we toasted bread at every setting available and recorded how long it took and toasting progression between levels.
With so many to choose from, there are bound to be some over- and under-performers in the category. I hauled in 10 models — and more bags of bread than I care to admit — in a mission to find the best toaster oven in 2023. We tested a slew of top models to find the fastest, most even-cooking toasters in town. Our air fryer has become such a huge part of our daily meal routine. It’s really the perfect kitchen appliance and one of our most frequently used.
To test each toaster’s power and ability to cook more substantial foods, I baked three pizza bites placed on a rack in different parts of the oven. This was to test how accurately each toaster melts black decker toaster oven cheese and another test of how evenly the cooking is spread out across the oven. The box recommends baking a frozen pizza at 425 degrees F for 18 minutes, so that’s what I did in each toaster oven.
To keep grease from dripping on the lower heating element, use foil and a pan underneath whatever you’re cooking. If grease splatters inside the oven, clean the interior according to the manufacturer’s instructions or refer to the care and maintenance section in our guide to the best air fryer toaster ovens. Bread toasted on the medium setting came out beautifully golden brown, without any scorching or charring. Other models we tested toasted bread unevenly, with extreme light and dark patches. With every batch of toast made, most toaster ovens get hotter, which can leave you with charred pieces of toast if you’re not watching closely.
For my purposes, I toasted four slices of thin, white sandwich bread in each toaster oven on medium. The aim of this test was to see how evenly each oven toasts in all areas of the oven and how well-calibrated the medium toast setting is. Evenness is especially important when you’re making breakfast for a group. Ideally, you’ll want them all to come out looking as close to identical as possible. It also preheats extremely fast, holds the heat well and has intuitive controls.
Though we didn’t evaluate every smart feature since they varied widely, we did put special consideration for machines that had helpful presets and those that had app/Wi-Fi connectivity. Ultimately, the flashy additions don’t hold as much weight as the cooking results, but a helpful app is a welcome addition for those that performed well. This particular toaster oven is great for roasting chicken, baking pizza and so much more. It comes with a rotisserie function that helps ensure even cooking and juicy chicken every single time. If you’d like, you can also go ahead and use this for other large cuts of meat. As it comes with convection technology, it’ll also cook your meals quickly and evenly.
As it comes with unique technology, this particular toaster oven is 85% faster in delivering delicious food. If you’re hungry, you can even go ahead and cook your food without waiting for the oven to preheat, just pop your food in and your oven will calibrate to cook it perfectly. It comes with seven cooking modes that you can black decker toaster oven choose from and additional features such as a slide-out crumb tray, timer and adjustable rack. We started with toast for breakfast and kept using the toaster for everything from baking biscuits to reheating leftovers. This model comes with the most basic accessories, including an oven rack, a baking pan, and a crumb tray.
Some toaster ovens (ones with convection technology, like our larger pick) can even work with air frying recipes, though that may require some adjustments. But if you’re looking to do a lot of air frying in your toaster oven, you may want to check out our separate guide to air fryer toaster ovens. Knowing the volume of what you’ll want to cook in an air fryer is just as important as the type of food itself. If you’re slinging standard grocery store frozen fries, you can generally manage with 4 to 6 quarts, as long as you give them a good shake halfway through cooking. For more finicky recipes like homemade air fryer chicken wings and hand-cut fries, the more surface area inside your air fryer, the better. If the air isn’t circulating while it’s cooking, you’re not going to get the crispy, consistent results you’re looking for.