Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven Review
Cuisinart TOA-60 Specifications
Overall Verdict
The Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Toaster Oven Air Fryer shines in simplicity. Its powerful convection fan and heating elements allowed it to produce some of the best foods we tested.
It’s suitable for seasoned home cooks who are willing to spend a bit more on a robust, effective, and lasting toaster oven. All things considered, we ranked it as the number one choice in the best convection toaster ovens category, the second-best option in the best toaster ovens category, and the third-best choice among best air fryer toaster ovens.
Correctly-sized accessories are proof of a good design as they minimize inconvenience and the danger of electric shocks. The oven comes complete with an air fryer basket and a user manual that includes a variety of recipes.
The only thing to be nitpicky about this oven is that it doesn’t offer many convenient features.
Things We Like
- Simple and straight-to-the-point control knobs
- Sturdy design and durable material
- Convection fan is all-applicable
- Electrical safety feature for the door
- Convenient slide-out crumb tray
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- Plenty of recipes included in the user manual
Things We Don’t Like
- Opening the door also turns off the light
- A bit heavier and taller than other same-type ovens
- Not very budget-friendly
Our first impression of the Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven is that it’s 100% analog, which means it should be as straightforward as can be to use. Moreover, it has a brush stainless steel aesthetic which fits well in any kitchen.
Even though the oven has convection and an air fryer basket, we were curious about the price of $299.95 (at the time of writing). Nonetheless, it’s featured as one of the best products on the homepage of the Cuisinart Store. So naturally, we had to purchase it and check out its cooking performance.
The Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven was introduced in 2016. It’s the current #3 best seller in convection ovens with over 27 thousand ratings on Amazon, 74% of which are 5-star.
On a side note, this model also comes in white or black. Cuisinart is an all-too-familiar brand that specializes in basically everything in the kitchen that you can think of.
Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven Review Video
Cuisinart TOA-60 Performance: Benefits of Powerful Convection and Heating
All of the Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Toaster Oven Air Fryer’s results are in the top tier among our collected data. A big win for the oven’s performance is its steady and stable temperature. Combined with the fact that the convection fan is always deployed, it consistently produced excellent test dishes. Even though it doesn’t have a rotisserie kit for our Whole Roasted Chicken test, it still performed in a splendid manner.
8.1Toast
During our Toast test, the Light toast level—around 2 minutes 30 seconds on the timer—gave no color and the Medium one—around 5 minutes on the timer—was too brown even though the color was even. We determined that right in the middle of Medium and Light toast level—around 4 minutes on the timer—was the best option scoring an 8.1/10.
Toasting bread for 4 minutes with the Cuisinart produced 4 pieces with a beautiful golden color throughout thanks to the deployment of the convection fan. This oven was the first one to score a 9/10 for even toast surface color.
The first batch of toast was quite crispy yet very soft inside, worthy of a 9/10. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined they would be great to go with sandwiches, omelet, and eggs benedict. For soup, however, they didn’t cut the mustard but that could be rectified with the extra crispiness of a second batch.
While the second batch had a brown color, it had a few dark spots so it got a 6/10 for consecutive usability. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, remember to lower it down to Light—around 2 minutes 30 seconds.
9.6Pizza
The Cuisinart baked a very appetizing 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza scoring a 9.6/10 despite using only the included baking pan.
Compared to the recommended 10 minutes on the label, it only took 3m 30s to bake the pizza which was extremely fast. In comparison to other toaster ovens in our Pizza test, it deserved a whopping 10/10.
The crust came out a tempting golden brown with some nicely charred spots—if a little soft due to the short cooking time. Thus, it got a 9.2/10.
The pizza itself also had excellent even coloring all over from the good convection system. Thanks to the high and steady temperature, the melted cheese was also perfectly caramelized earning it a 9.8/10.
After tasting, our chef gave the pizza a 9.5/10.
8.6Whole Roasted Chicken
Following our Whole Roasted Chicken test, we placed a 3 lb chicken inside an air fryer basket on top of a baking pan and it fit without a problem. Although the air fryer basket had plenty of space, the pan was quite rigid so we had to be extra careful when taking it out to flip the chicken.
Unfortunately, while cooking the chicken, fat splashed everywhere inside the oven leading to some smoking. All things considered, the Cuisinart earned an 8.5/10 for this test—on par with a good toaster oven that uses a rotisserie kit like the Instant Omni Plus 18L.
After the first 40 minutes, we flipped the chicken to ensure even roasting. Looking at the color, we decided the chicken only needed 5 more minutes to reach perfection. 45 minutes is shorter than average and deserving of a 9.5/10.
Despite not having a rotisserie kit, we were able to achieve adequately crispy skin with an even golden brown color scoring a 9.5/10. We did it by spreading the chicken out and flipping it after the first 40 minutes of cooking.
High convection and flipping helped the chicken to be thoroughly cooked without any pink spots in just 50 minutes. However, the internal temperature was a little too high at 205-207°F compared to the USDA recommended 165°F-180°F, so it got an 8/10.
Due to being spread out, the wings were extremely crispy and deliciously fall-off-the-bone. The best part was the drumstick, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. However, the wings and the breast ended up a little dry so our chef gave the chicken an 8/10 for taste.
9.2Baked French Fries
The Cuisinart was excellent at air-frying french fries, scoring a 9.2/10.
After the first 9 minutes, we give the fries a toss to make sure they brown evenly. It took only 12 minutes to cook 12 oz of french fries which was very fast. In fact, it’s the fastest one throughout our Baked French Fries test so far so it scored a perfect 10/10.
Due to the shorter cooking time than ideal, the color wasn’t entirely even but was good enough for a 9.5/10.
The fries were crispy and golden on the outside while moist on the inside thanks to the strong convection and the air fryer basket. Thus, we gave it a 9.2/10 for texture.
Our chef gave it an 8.7/10 for taste.
Cuisinart Air Fryer TOA-60 Design Review: Simple but Effective
Where the Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven shines most is in its simplistic design. Even though it only offers a few features, it does them all justice.
The oven features a powerful top-mounted convection fan and six nichrome heating elements, all powered with 1800 W. From our understanding, these two are the main factors behind the oven’s excellent performance.
In the Box
- Model: TOA-60
- Warranty: 3 years (US and Canada only)
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
- Air Fryer Basket
The user manual provides numerous recipes with all the ingredient measurements, specific cooking functions, temperatures, and times. The package also comes with a simple instruction to register your Cuisinart for premium customer service, special offers, and more. Within the warranty period, the manufacturer has their own satisfaction guarantee policy.
9.0Exterior
The Cuisinart’s casing has air ventilation slats on the sides, the rear, and the bottom to accommodate its convection system (+2). With its simple design, its slide-out crumb tray really stands out (+1).
The Cuisinart has a cool-touch door handle for safety (+2). Its side handles make it easy to carry (+2). The oven also has two buffers on the back to prevent it from being too close to the wall (+2).
Our measurements of the oven’s footprint of 16.34" x 15.16" x 13.58" pretty much coincided with the manufacturer’s 16" x 15.5" x 14" with marginal differences being less than an inch.
Cuisinart TOA-60 Control Panel
The control panel is completely analog with four control knobs and a light toggle
Cooking Functions
- Toast (Light - Medium - Dark)
- Air fry
- Bake with low / high convection
- Broil with low / high convection
- Warm (200°F)
If you know your way around the kitchen, the bake and broil functions with low or high convection will be all you need.
9.5Interior
The Cuisinart’s convection fan is top-mounted as opposed to the more common side-mounted design (+3). According to the results of our tests, especially from our Best Convection Toaster Ovens list, we have reasons to believe this feature helped better increase heat circulation. Although, it does make the oven a bit taller than other same-sized units.
The oven has two heating elements at the bottom and four at the top which allows for more even heat distribution (+3). It also has an interior light that you can turn on and off with a switch (+2).
The Cuisinart only has two tray levels but you can make use of the rack-up and down positions (+0.5). It has an interior coating for easy cleaning but it’s not completely non-stick (+1).
Capacity of the Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Toaster Oven
Besides a 12-inch pizza or a 4-pound chicken, the TOA-60 is one of the few that actually fits 6 pieces of toast even though just barely. We measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be roughly 17 liters which coincided with the manufacturer’s provided capacity.
Power Cord
Even though the power cord length is enough for household use—roughly 29.52", it doesn’t fully wrap around the two back buffers.
Accessories: Baking Rack
The rack fits perfectly with the guide, which helps prevent accidents when placing your food in the oven.
Accessories: Baking Pan
The baking pan has a coating but is not completely non-stick so you may end up with some stubborn stains after a hefty roast. It does, however, easily catch any meat juice and drippings from the air fryer basket. Thus, it prevents mess and avoids any danger of fire from dirty heating elements.
Accessories: Air Fryer Basket
The air fryer basket’s decent elevation really helps to circulate heat around the bottom of the food.
9.0Build Quality
The build of the Cuisinart TOA-60 nails simplicity and durability from the materials to the user controls (+5). The thicker casing makes it a little heavier than some of the same-sized ones we’ve tested including the Toshiba AC25CEW-BS and Instant Omni Plus 18L, but not increase its footprint (+2). It has a safety switch that turns the oven off when you open the door (+2).
Cuisinart TOA-60 Usability: Limited, but Not Problematic
Due to its simplistic approach, the Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven doesn’t offer many usability features. However, it also doesn’t pose any problems.
For example, the oven lacks the automatic features and the ability to precisely adjust time and temperature that most digital units otherwise have. Nonetheless, its cooking performance is more than worth these minor inconveniences.
7.0User Control
The Cuisinart has seven functions to choose from including both Broil and Bake with high and low convection (+2). The four control knobs for Time, Temperature, Functions, and Toast are as straightforward as possible (+4). The light turns on with a simple push of a button (+1).
For the Cuisinart, its convection fan runs as standard with most cooking functions except for Warm. It runs on the low setting for Non-Convection settings and on a high setting for Convection settings.
7.0Ease of Use
Since the Cuisinart is completely analog, you can simply readjust the timer and temperature at any time by turning the dials (+1). its safety hook for tray level 2 allows you to partially slide out the baking rack or tray to reposition the food during cooking (+2). However, this feature makes it quite tricky to remove the tray or rack (-1).
Although the oven has good heat insulation, the casing can still get quite hot to the touch after 400°F, especially after a long cooking time (+1). After the oven finishes cooking, you will hear a very clear ding (+2).
Opening the oven door stops it from cooking while also turning off the light but doesn’t stop the timer (+1). Having no digital display, you can freely leave this oven plugged in and not worry about power consumption(+1).
7.5Cleanability
We cleaned the Cuisinart following our toaster oven cleaning guide. The internal and external coating of the oven made it easy to clean (+2). It does have some tricky nooks and crannies but all in all, they’re not too difficult (+2).
Cleaning up the crumbs was extremely easy thanks to the slide-out crumb tray but we still had to tilt the oven to remove all the crumbs (+1). We thought the fishnet design of the air fryer basket might make it difficult to clean any caramelized bits of food but that didn’t happen (+2).
During the roasting of a whole chicken, fat splattered everywhere inside the oven. It left some stubborn stains on the insulators at the ends of the heating elements. Even with a paste of baking soda and water, we weren’t able to remove them (-1.5).
Fortunately, there were no drippings on the crumb tray so no worries of oxidation. In addition, we’re happy to report that the gaps between the heating elements and internal walls were large enough to clean (+2).
About your guide
Alan Nguyen is a writer and product reviewer at HealthyKitchen101. His major in English language teaching taught him to present concise information. In addition to his cooking hobby, he values the practical aspects of household appliances.
Tuyet Pham is an award-winning Saigonese chef passionate about delicious and healthful foods. At HealthyKitchen101, she develops recipes and collaborates with our Research, Testing, and Review lab to evaluate the performance of cooking appliances. Her assessments add a strong authoritative voice to our product scoring process.
Lap is Head of the Research, Testing, and Review Team (RTR Team) at HealthyKitchen101.com, where he directs and supervises the testing of kitchen gadgets and appliances.