Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven Review: Is It the Ultimate Counter Space Savior?
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Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven – The modern kitchen counter is a battlefield. It’s a fight for real estate between the toaster, the air fryer, the toaster oven, the convection oven, and the panini press. Wouldn’t it be nice if one appliance could do it all?
The Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven (often the TOA-65 model) promises exactly that. It’s a 7-in-1 appliance that claims to be an air fryer, a convection oven, a traditional oven, a toast-er, a warmer, and more. But does combining all these functions into one unit mean you get a master of none? Or is this the space-saving hero your kitchen has been waiting for?
I’ve been using it to replace my old toaster, cheap air fryer, and even my big oven for small meals. Here’s my honest, in-depth review.
First Impressions: Sleek, Substantial, and Smartly Designed
Right out of the box, this Cuisinart feels like a premium product. It has a sleek stainless steel finish that fits into most kitchen decors. While it’s certainly larger than a simple slot toaster, its vertical design is a smart use of space compared to the wide, squat footprint of many basket-style air fryers.
It comes with two racks, an air fryer basket, a baking pan, and even a crumb tray for easy cleaning. The dials and buttons are intuitive and clearly labeled. It feels sturdy and well-built, not flimsy or cheap.
Performance Testing: How Does It Handle Each Job?
I put its seven functions to the test to see if it could truly replace my other appliances.
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Air Frying: This was the main event. I made french fries, chicken wings, and frozen snacks. The result? Excellent. The top-mounted fan and heating element circulated heat powerfully, creating a crispy, golden-brown exterior that was indistinguishable from my dedicated basket air fryer. The large rectangular basket was actually better for cooking a full batch of wings in a single layer.
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Toasting: This is where many combo units fail. Not this one. It has dedicated “Toast” buttons with a shade selector. It produced evenly browned, consistent toast across all four slices of the bread. No more pale centers or burnt edges.
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Baking & Convection Baking: I baked a small batch of chocolate chip cookies. The convection feature worked beautifully, circulating heat evenly and resulting in cookies that baked perfectly without needing to rotate the tray. It’s ideal for small-batch baking, heating frozen pizzas, or reheating leftovers without heating up your giant oven.
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Broiling: The “Broil” function got intensely hot, perfectly melting cheese on top of nachos and giving a beautiful sear to a piece of salmon in minutes.
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Keeping Warm: A simple but useful feature for keeping a plate of food warm without continuing to cook it.
The Space-Saving Verdict: What Can It Replace?
This is the core of the review. Here’s what you can realistically put away in your cupboard:
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Your Dedicated Toaster: It toasts just as well, if not better.
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Your Basket Air Fryer: It air fries just as effectively, with a often more usable basket shape.
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Your Toaster Oven: It is a toaster oven, but a much better one.
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Your Full-Sized Oven: For about 80% of daily tasks, yes. For roasting a whole chicken, baking a tray of cookies, or reheating a casserole, it’s more efficient and won’t heat up your kitchen. For a large Thanksgiving turkey or a full-sized sheet pan, you’ll still need your big oven.
Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven – Who Is This For?
This appliance is a perfect solution for:
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Small Households & Apartment Dwellers: For those with small kitchens or inefficient built-in ovens, this can be your primary cooking appliance.
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Anyone with Limited Counter Space: If you can only have one “big” appliance, this is the most versatile choice.
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Meal Preppers & Busy Families: The speed and versatility make it ideal for quickly preparing a wide variety of foods without creating a sink full of dishes.
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Summer Cooks: Anyone who wants to avoid turning on their big oven and heating up the whole house.
The Honest Downsides
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Learning Curve: Cooking times and temperatures can differ from your old appliances or standard oven recipes. You’ll need to experiment and adjust, though it comes with a helpful guide.
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Exterior Heat: Like any good oven, the exterior gets hot during use, so you need clearance on all sides.
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Not a True “1:1” Space Save: You still have to store the extra racks and baskets inside the unit or in a drawer.
Final Verdict: Is It the Counter Space Savior?
Yes, absolutely.
The Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven isn’t a gimmick; it’s a brilliantly designed, highly versatile workhorse. It successfully consolidates the functions of three separate appliances into one sleek unit without sacrificing performance.
It won’t completely eliminate your need for a full-sized oven for very large tasks, but it will drastically reduce how often you use it. For daily cooking—toasting bagels, air frying snacks, baking small meals, reheating pizza—it is not just a replacement; it’s an upgrade.
If counter space is your nemesis, this appliance is your hero.
Ready to Declutter Your Countertop?
If the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven sounds like the solution you’ve been searching for, I’ve found the best place to get it.
(This link takes you to the official listing where you can often find special bundle deals and see the full range of customer reviews.)
Contributors
Emily Johnson
Emily specializes in reviewing cooking tools, air fryers, and small kitchen appliances. With a background in culinary arts, she focuses on how products perform in real-world cooking scenarios.