If you’re looking for an indoor option, we recommend the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo Pizza Oven. It offers versatile temperature control and simple-to-use settings and produced excellent results in both Lab and home testing. Setup is easy, but because of the multi-fuel feature, there are a few more components to keep track of than other models. The body is stainless steel with ceramic fiber insulation, so it holds in the heat, while the included Ooni baking stone retains heat for a perfect crust every time.
Air fryers have become popular in part because they allow people to eat snack-type foods but with far less fat, cholesterol and fewer calories. Beyond cooking performance, how easy an air fryer is to operate and how cuisinart air fryer oven intuitive the buttons and controls were something we observed closely during testing. Overly complicated settings, controls and presets didn’t generally result in high marks, but certain features were appreciated.
The massive capacity is an asset, and the price for all the features included is a no-brainer as the best air fryer option for any household planning to cook for a crowd. 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.
Since most modern slot toasters aren’t repairable, they’re destined for a landfill once they give out. Toaster ovens, on the other hand, typically last longer, which may be in part because the heating elements are enclosed or better protected by metal guards to prevent damage. They’re also not moved or banged around as much as slot toasters, making their electrical components less susceptible to failure. We like the Breville Air Fryer Pro’s sleek design and easy-to-navigate interface. The Breville also has a Phase Cook feature (similar to the Cuisinart’s Dual Cook Mode), which allows you to program two back-to-back cooking functions.
Anything that’s cooked in a cast iron or ceramic skillet is ideal for cooking in a pizza oven, too, as these heavy-duty pans are good at maintaining high heat. You don’t want to put foods with lots of oil or fat directly on the surface of the oven to avoid grease seeping into the stone or potentially catching fire. Instant Brands has moved beyond the famous rice cooker in leaps and bounds, and its air fryers are truly formidable in the kitchen appliance game. Rivaled only by Ninja for accessible, top-performing tools at an affordable price, Instant has our most current best air fryer pick in the Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart. It hits the sweet spot of ideal (but not oversized) capacity with the wider square-shaped basket accommodating fries and wings without overcrowding. It has just the right number of presets for a useful but manageable user experience.
Also, we found the middle shade setting for toasting (setting 4) to be a bit dark. We recommend using setting 3 for making perfect golden-brown toast. Also, the FlashXpress has a somewhat flimsy, stamped-metal crumb tray (versus the sturdier trays that come with our other picks).