Mueller 4 Slice Toaster Oven vs Cosori Air Fryer Toaster Oven Side-by-Side Comparison

For our Toast test, we started off by trying the Medium Toast setting which was around 3 minutes 5 seconds on the timer. The four pieces of bread on the upper tray level came out only lightly toasted on top except for one golden brown piece. We then cranked it up to the Dark Toast setting—around 4 minutes 50 seconds on the timer—which, unfortunately, burnt the toast a bit.

Finally, we opted for the middle ground which was 4 minutes on the timer—⅓ of the rotation from Medium to Dark. This setting was tricky to get right on the time dial, so we used an external timer. It gave us the best possible toast results from this oven scoring a 7.5/10 in total.

After 4 minutes of toasting, the four pieces of toast had pretty good surface color. However, the colors varied from light golden to golden brown on both the top and the bottom, so we could only give a 7/10.

Luckily, the varied colors partially meant varied textures which were all good and deserving an 8/10. The golden brown areas had a more crispy outside while the light golden areas had a softer inside. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined that it would go great with omelets, eggs benedict, and sandwiches but not so much with soup.

After taking out the first batch, we immediately put four more pieces inside to test the oven’s consecutive usability which ended up at 7/10. Also under the identical toasting time, the four pieces of bread became brown with an increased evenness from the first batch. While the color was a bit darker than ideal, the extra crispiness made the second batch more suitable for soups.

We started our Toast test with four pieces of white bread. We ran the toast function at level 3. The results were good, but the color was a bit too brown to be ideal. After examining the outcome on level 2, it was clear that was the best option, earning a score of 7.6/10 in total. We also tried toasting at level 1, which resulted in lightly toasted bread, for reference.

At level 2, which automatically set the timer for 5 minutes 49 seconds, the four pieces of toast mostly had a beautiful golden brown color. However, the existence of lighter areas, especially on the bottom side, kept it from being perfect. We considered it worthy of an 8/10 for even surface color.

The taste deserved another 8/10 thanks to the toast’s crispy surface and soft, moist interior. Our head chef, Tuyet Pham, determined the toast would complement pretty much anything, including sandwiches, omelets, eggs benedict, and soup.

After the first batch of toast, we immediately placed the second batch in the oven. The toast level 2 program automatically reduced the time to 3 minutes 50 seconds to account for the last batch’s residual heat.

However, this seemed like too much of a reduction, since the toast came out mostly lacking in color. It wasn’t very crispy either, so we could only give the oven a 6.8/10 for consecutive usability.

For its low power draw, the Mueller did pretty well in our Pizza test with a score of 7.6/10.

The oven took 9 minutes to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza which was slightly faster than the label’s recommended 10 minutes. However, compared to our tested toaster ovens, it could only be a 6/10.

The crust had a golden color all the way through and the inside was still moist. If only the crust was a bit more crispy, it would’ve gotten higher than an 8/10.

The toppings were also caramelized quite evenly from the meat and veggies to the cheese, worthy of another 8/10. The cheese was nicely melted but the areas closer to the back of the cooking chamber were more caramelized compared to the rest.

With both the crust and the toppings being 8/10, our chef had no reason to give the pizza one final 8/10 for taste.

The Cosori’s ability to maintain a high temperature really shined in our Pizza test, garnering a score of 7.6/10.

With a high power output and powerful convection system, it only took 3 minutes 30 seconds to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza placed on tray level 2. This was extremely fast and deserving of a 10/10, the same as the Cuisinart TOA-60 which has the current highest pizza score.

However, the short cooking time resulted in uneven heating in the pizza crust and toppings.

While the bottom right quarter of the crust was golden brown, the rest didn’t have much color. Only that well-cooked part was crispy while the rest was soft, so we gave the crust a 7/10.

The same happened to the toppings. The bottom right quarter had a lot of caramelization—to the point that the onions even charred—while the rest was only mildly caramelized. In addition, the cheese wasn’t very melty, so we gave the toppings a 7/10 as well.

Taste-wise, our chef said it would be better if it weren’t for the slight bitterness from the charred onions. She gave the pizza another 7/10.

The Mueller could barely fit a 3 lb chicken for our Whole Roasted Chicken test. Nonetheless, the result was quite decent at 7/10 in total. If you were to purchase this oven and use it to roast a whole chicken, we recommend cutting it open or chopping it into pieces beforehand.

We first placed the chicken backside down on the baking pan. When we slid the pan in, the top of the chicken breast grazed the upper heating element’s guard and was seared.

After the first 40 minutes, we flipped the chicken to find out that parts of the skin on the back got stuck to the baking pan. Then, when we reinsert the pan, the same problem with the breast happened to the back. Luckily, they weren’t burnt.

However, even after 1 hour and 20 minutes, most of the chicken skin still hasn’t reached a desirable color. The chicken, for the most part, looked like it was steamed and not roasted, so we gave the skin a 5.5/10.

Nonetheless, our chef decided to stop the roasting as the color wouldn’t improve anyway and to avoid overcooking the meat. This cooking time was the equivalent of a 6/10 according to our data.

With such a long cooking time, the meat had no pink spots. However, the chicken’s internal temperature was 185°F-192°F, higher than the USDA recommended 165°F-180°F. Thus, we gave it an 8.7/ for doneness.

While not the most appetizing looking, the meat was very juicy. That, combined with the slight caramelization on the skin, was enough for a 7.5/10 for taste from our chef.

We’ve conducted our Whole Roasted Chicken test a great many times, and the Cosori wasn’t the only one with a high power output and powerful convection system. What set it apart was its rotisserie kit and function.

In addition, the large cooking chamber had more than enough space for a 3 lb chicken to rotate smoothly with a baking pan below to catch the drippings, unlike the Instant Omni Plus 18L. Everything together scored a whopping 8.9/10.

The oven took only 40 minutes to roast the chicken to a beautiful color. That was the fastest time we’ve had so far, earning it a perfect 10/10. The skin was mostly golden with some appetizing golden-brown color at the wings and the tips.

However, it seemed like the skin cooked a bit too quickly and the fat wasn’t fully rendered, so the skin wasn’t very crispy. Nonetheless, the skin still deserved an 8.5/10.

What impressed us most was the near-perfect doneness—9.9/10—in such a short amount of time. The chicken had no pink spots and a consistent internal temperature of 178°F-181°F. It was basically spot-on to the USDA’s 165°F-180°F recommendation.

Unfortunately, for some reason, the meat wasn’t as juicy as we had expected. Combined with the less-than-crispy skin, our chef couldn’t give the chicken a higher score than 8/10 after tasting it.

Our Baked French Fries test brought out the Mueller’s weakness of not being able to maintain a high temperature due to its low power draw. Its even heat distribution couldn’t help much if the temperature wasn’t high enough, so the final score was 3.6/10.

We stopped the baking after 27 minutes as the fries weren’t getting any more colors. This, nonetheless, was over our time limit of 25 minutes, so it was a 0/10.

The fries had no significant color change and barely enough for a 4.5/10. We ended up with 12 oz of frozen fries that were more similar to being dried in an oven than being baked, so we gave them another 4.5/10 for texture.

Fortunately, the fries were cooked through and not soggy, so our chef could give them a 4.5/10 for taste and not a zero.

The Cosori took on our Baked French Fries test with its air fryer basket and scored an 8.1/10.

It took 17 minutes to bake 12 oz of frozen fries on tray level 2—quite fast compared to most. After comparing it with other units from our data, we gave it an 8.4/10 for cooking time.

The fries mostly had a great golden color with some of the thinner pieces looking the most appetizing. However, some thicker pieces weren’t as golden, so we gave the fries an 8/10 for color.

The same can be said about the texture of the fries, which earned another 8/10. Most of the fries were crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, but the thinner ones were a bit dry and the thicker ones weren’t crispy enough.

Overall, though imperfect, the fries were delicious enough to get one final 8/10 taste score from our chef.