Christmas Early: Upgrading to an Air Fryer

About a decade ago I bought us a toaster oven on Overstock. It was $35 and was awesome for cooking for the two of us without heating up the whole house with the oven. Once Emerson was on the scene, it was popular for toast and cooking up some chicken nuggets. Sadly, that lovely $35 toaster oven kicked the bucket in early November. I was sad, that toaster oven got the job done and considered getting another of the same. Karl suggested an air fryer. I hadn’t heard of air fryers before but after reading a bit about them I too was on board.

We got the Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven with Light. Though it looks huge it’s not any wider than our old tiny toaster over, just slightly deeper, and a bit taller. However, it’s so smartly designed we can fit an entire frozen pizza in it. You can use this just like a traditional toaster oven, but it also has an air frying feature where ultra-hot air “fries” food with almost no oil. We’ll cut up potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, or get whole green beans and spray them with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with seasoning and put in the basket that comes with the oven and get the tastiest fries – crispy on the outside, tender inside. The other night Karl made chicken thighs and put a slice of pineapple on each one; it cooked it so the pineapple was a bit crispy yet still soft, the chicken the same, the flavors all melded and amazing. And it’s so QUICK! No need for frozen snacks, you can make them just as fast from fresh ingredients and you don’t have to wait for the oven to preheat.

This is a good looking appliance, all metal and glass. I don’t mind it sitting on the counter, especially in contrast to our old stained black toaster oven. I love that there’s a light in it, and find it runs a bit hot but can be used for baking most anything you would otherwise cook up in your traditional oven.

I don’t really write about food and appliances on here, but it’s the holiday season and this could make for a really awesome gift or personal kitchen upgrade with the great holiday prices. We got ours on Amazon, at the time that is where I found the cheapest price. However, second cheapest price I found was at QVC, third cheapest was at Wayfair.  It’s also for sale most everywhere (Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, you name it) so if the retailer is having a promo or you received an early holiday gift card, you can likely score this for a nice deal. Without promos, the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven retails between $160-$200. To see my kid happily eat “fried” green beans for a snack makes it completely worth it!