The oven racks and air fryer basket can be cleaned in the dishwasher, though. Ninja includes an extremely thorough owner’s guide, plus a cookbook that includes charts, recipes, and detailed instructions for multi-rack cooking. I also tried air frying frozen breaded fish fillets cuisinart choppers which is usually my preferred way of cooking these. The crumb was hard and overly crisped, it tasted like it had been under a broiler and the fish inside was drier than usual. Overall the air fryer function just didn’t produce the same results as the best air fryers I’ve tried.
Even at this low price, you get a digital control panel with automatic programs. All of the accessories are dishwasher-safe but the aluminum baking pan and crumb tray may discolor. Gourmia also includes a recipe book with comprehensive cooking charts.
Generally, the rest of the inside of the oven just requires a quick wipe with a damp cloth to remove any splatters. I followed the recipe in the instruction manual for classic roast chicken. I was skeptical about the 45 minute cook time, as my chicken packaging advised almost two hours in a normal oven for a 4lb chicken. Nevertheless, I stuck to the recipe and cooked it on convection bake without preheating for 25 minutes at 400oF, turning it down to 350oF for the final 20 minutes. This is fine for french fries and chicken strips, but bone-in chicken pieces will not fit and hit the top heating elements.
Compared to stand-alone air fryers, air fryer toaster ovens can be used for more cooking tasks and differ in design, making them more versatile. The Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven offers something a little different from the competition, with seven cooking functions including air frying. It’s more mini-oven than air fryer by design, even down to its aesthetic and analog controls – which, while quirky, might not be to everyone’s taste. You lose some of the value-adding features found in dedicated air fryers, such as shake timers and air frying presets. Nevertheless, in our tests, we achieved crispy, delicious air-fried chicken wings and golden fries, as well as some great results using the other settings, too.
On test, we were impressed by all of the cooking settings we tried – the huge caveat being that cooking times and the temperature will likely need adjusting to achieve the best results. For non-meat dishes, we needed to set the temperature to about 25°F lower (roughly 10°C) than the recipe or Cuisinart’s own information booklet recommended. Helen McCue is a freelance contributor who trained as a Home Economist. Helen McCue is a freelance contributor who trained as a home economist. I also used the bake setting to bake up a small batch of my favorite granola recipe.