What are Air Fryer Microwave Oven Combos?
Air fryer microwave oven combos, just like the name suggests, are major appliances specially designed by incorporating microwave oven and air fryer technologies into one kitchen appliance. As such, by compiling the best features from both gadgets, you will have an appliance capable of yielding the best outcomes from both worlds.
Reasons Why you should have an Air Fryer Microwave Oven
Heated debates among food enthusiasts have often been about which of the two kitchen appliances, the microwave, and the air fryer, offer the best services to users. This is because, despite offering nearly similar functions, they utilize variant technologies that also yield different outcomes in terms of speed, quality, and quantity/space, among others.
For instance, a microwave oven uses radiation emitted from the microwaves to cook/heat up food. This is usually super-fast but often limits the microwave oven’s functions to just heating or reheating foods quickly since cooking with it produces pale and least appetizing meal. On the other hand, an air fryer often utilizes incredibly hot air circulation inside the oven to cook and heat food. They usually yield brown, crispy, and surely appetizing food. Nevertheless, this is usually time-consuming.
Therefore, both appliances are usually useful in their own capacities. However, combining the two brings together the best features and eliminates most of the individual appliance shortcomings to provide you with an ultimate solution to most of your kitchen problems. This is because they offer;
Versatile cooking options
First, these appliances always offer the user an option either to use radiation, hot air, or a combination of both to cook/heat food. Therefore, the inconvenience of half-cooking food in different appliances to guarantee browning would be a thing of the past since a combination of both technologies allows you versatile functions from fast heating to proper cooking, among others.
Subsequently, with these oven combos, individuals can often achieve the functions of even other kitchen appliances like the regular oven and toaster ovens. As such, with the multiple functionalities, there are numerous cooking options, designs, and preferences you would attain using the air fryer microwave oven.
Saving kitchen space
Many of us at times wish to have some breathing space or even fit many appliances in the kitchen to make cooking easy, but the space may often be limited. Nevertheless, with the versatility in functions and cooking options presented by the air fryer microwave oven, many of the kitchen appliances will be replaced as their major functions become obsolete and compacted in one functional oven unit. You can always just position it on kitchen countertops, and thus great for small kitchens while also saving on available space.
Saving some money
Subsequently, considering you are buying one kitchen appliance in place of potentially numerous ones, it is safe to assume that you will save some money. Therefore, despite the price of a single combo unit possibly being higher than each of the separate building parent appliances, it is cheaper than purchasing both or even more of the emulated kitchen appliances at once.
Saving on energy
A decent number of air fryer microwave oven combos are usually designed with an optimal power consumption threshold that is usually lower compared to similar sized kitchen appliances like the air fryers. Furthermore, utilizing them saves on energy by avoiding the need to operate numerous appliances, thus also saving you some utility bills.
Saving time
The appliances are essentially designed to incorporate the best of both technologies. Therefore, they will save you time by heating/cooking your food much faster than other appliances like the air fryers. Subsequently, they also limit inter-appliance cooking, and thus, instead of back-and-forth cooking, you can microwave and air fry all in a single gadget.
The Best Air Fryer Microwave Combo Appliances
This new invention is still undergoing some engineering tweaking to increase perfection in performance. Nevertheless, the growing demand has prompted a huge surge in oven combo brands within the market, some of which are exceptional while others are substandard. We thus compiled a list of some of the best air fryer microwave combos in the market based on several factors making these appliances some of the best and most recommended for your kitchen.
This air fryer microwave oven combo model from the Galanz brand is among the popular and most recommended oven combos in the market. Its unique features guarantee the feel of a hybrid product at work. For instance, this air fryer microwave oven usually comes designed as a 3-in-1 multi-functional appliance. Thus, it incorporates the functions of microwave, convection, and air fryer ovens in one single appliance. This increases cooking versatility as individuals can cook their preferred delicacies in varied capacities.
The oven combo also boasts the new Totalfry 360 Technology, an enhanced air fry technology offering healthier alternatives for preparing your favorite crunchy foods instead of oil frying. The air fryer microwave oven also comes equipped with combi-speed technology for much faster and satisfactory heating, a true convection system which ensures even cooking of food, among others. These oven combos guarantee delicious outcomes with optimum flavor, texture, and taste.
It further offers 10 cooking programs like popcorn, defrost, sensor cook, and bake, among others, for versatility in functions and foods cooked. It is spacious, with the oven measuring 1.6 Cu Ft, enough for a descent size meal. Power consumption is always on the lower end at only 1000 watts energy use and with a real stainless-steel finish and look which encourages easy cleaning while also complementing your kitchen space.
Pros
Stylish and complementary
Fairly priced
Multi-functional
Sensor cooking
Ample cooking space
Easy to use controls
Countertop design
Energy saving
Cons
A little bit bigger than a regular microwave
The outside unit becomes hot
Opaque glass door
Click here to see today’s price for the Galanz 3-in-1 SpeedWave on Amazon
#2. GE 3-in-1 Countertop Microwave Convection Oven
The oven combos also come equipped with preset controls like for fries and nuggets. This will allow you to easily and quickly prepare your food and with guaranteed precision. Further included are several cooking programs and controls, from popcorn or pizza buttons to reheat, defrost or autocook, making cooking even more simplified and efficient. The convection microwave also occupies about 1.0 Cu. Ft., which is a decent capacity for sizable foods and only inconvenient for those cooking bulky foods. The 1050 watts power use capacity further ensures that you save on energy and utility bills.
Pros
Multiple functions
Versatile cooking options
Affordable
Saves on kitchen space
Easy to use
Energy saving
Cons
The exterior occasionally gets hot
Buttons not backlit
Click here to see today’s price for the GE 3-in-1 Countertop Microwave Convection Oven on Amazon
#3. Toshiba ML2-EC10SA(BS) Multifunctional Oven Combo
The model also has one-touch-specific program buttons such as popcorn, timer, bake, broil, and auto menu, among others, making use straightforward. Twenty-five preset menus are also installed to make your daily cooking easy, with 10 for air fry, 4 for low temperatures, and 11 for regular microwave utilization. The new Position Memory Turntable technology is also incorporated, minimizing risks of accidents as the turntable is usually reset to its initial position after use. You can also clearly see the oven’s interior while cooking due to the bright LED light allowing for sufficient dish monitoring.
Also unique is the energy-saving Eco mode incorporated in the air fryer microwave oven. These minimize standby power consumption by up to 50%, saving on energy and operation costs. The black stainless steel is also aesthetic and complements kitchen décor, while the stainless-steel finish on the inside makes it easy to clean.
Pros
Inexpensive
Stylish
Multi-functional
Eco-friendly
Safe to use
Saves on space
Cons
Limited cooking/frying space
A little challenging to use
Click here to see today’s price for the Toshiba ML2-EC10SA(BS) on Amazon
#4. Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 multi-Oven
Subsequently, the oven combo is also coated with a stainless-steel finish on the inside, limiting dust collection and making cleaning the interior easy. The stainless-steel finish on the outside also makes the oven sleek and appealing, thus complementary to most kitchen spaces. The microwave convection oven also boasts a sufficient cooking space of 1.2 Cu. Ft enough for moderate foods but not bulky cooking.
Pros
Multi-functional
Versatile cooking
Sleek and stylish
Easy to use
Easy to clean
Even heating
Cons
Requires own circuit
Quite pricey
Click here to see today’s price for the Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 multi-Oven on Amazon
#5. Breville Combi Wave 3 in 1 Convection Oven
The model also boasts a fast combi function which enables faster cooking than ordinary ovens, and a ‘cook from frozen function,’ which ensures your food is perfectly heated/cooked regardless of being frozen. These combine all the three, convection, grill, and microwave oven functionalities to achieve the above outcomes efficiently. The oven also comes with 19-built-in smart preset functions such as smart cook, reheat, and defrost options, among others, that allow you to cook easily. Unique to the appliance is the Power Smoothing Inverter Technology, which delivers heat evenly to all parts of the food, limiting cases of overheating and drying out while ensuring ease of cooking/heating.
Pros
Easy to use
Versatile functionality
Very quiet
Stylish and elegant
Even heating
Smart cooking
Cons
Very expensive
Challenging to clean
Click here to see today’s price for the Breville Combi Wave 3 in 1
#6. Galanz ToastWave 4-in-1 Multifunctional Oven
The true convection system spins the food at 360 degrees while circulating heated air throughout, guaranteeing even heat distribution and faster cooking with zero hot spots. The oven combos are also usually elegantly designed with a real stainless-steel finish for easy cleaning and beauty. The control panel is also often ergonomically designed with smooth touch controls for easy and efficient use by most individuals. And, to ensure faster and easy cooking, an express knob is installed to facilitate the entire process.
Pros
Stylish and elegant
Even heating
Energy saving
Easy to clean
Fast and efficient
Sensor cooking
Cons
Limited internal space
Occasional noise complaints
Click here to see today’s price for the Galanz ToastWave 4-in-1 Multifunctional Oven on Amazon
What to Look for When Buying Air Fryer Microwave Combo Ovens
The high demand for these kitchen appliances in the market has prompted the high influx of varying brands in the market. Nevertheless, these brands offer different product qualities, with some very satisfactory while others are substandard and thus disappointing to those who purchase them. As such, you should thoroughly research your appliance before confirming your purchase. Below are some of the factors to consider;
Functionality
This reflects to optimal performance capacity of these gadgets. As such, you should check and ensure that your oven combo has all the infused parts, such as the microwave and air fryer components, fully operational. Failure of one component limits full operational ability, thus accumulating negative implications like ineffective cooking.
Power usage
This is another vital feature t check before purchasing an oven combo. The appliances have varying power consumption ranges due to several factors. Therefore, you should make sure to opt for a fairly low to average power usage oven. Some of them even have eco-settings to ensure energy saving. This will save you a lot of utility bills.
Size
This is essentially important for those users with limited kitchen space. These air fryer microwave combos are usually larger in size than ordinary microwaves and come in varying sizes. Therefore, you should choose the most appropriate for your needs in terms of available kitchen space and the amount of food to be cooked/heated.
Design
Some of these kitchen appliances do not last even a month. As such, you should thoroughly check the design parameters from manufacturing materials to incorporated features and new technologies. These will surely influence the durability and efficiency of the convection microwave ovens.
Price
Always make sure that you receive the value for your price. As such, when buying on a budget, look for much cheaper products with significant functionality and features. Nevertheless, similarly, look for your money’s worth if you have the money. Take time and conduct thorough research to ensure you buy what you need at the right price.
Downsides to an Air Fryer Microwave Combo
These combo appliances are new in the market, and they boast new technologies. As such, many are not familiar with them as only a few are well acquitted. Some people have experienced minor complications when adopting these kitchen appliances. These include;
False promotion
Some of these air fryer microwave combos often fail to deliver to their description. As such, you will find a good number of these appliances just labeling an air fryer function but only delivering to convection oven capacity. This usually makes the final food product to taste or feel different from that prepared in a fully functional combo oven.
Challenging use
These gadgets are often designed with numerous features, including parts and controls. This makes straightforward use after the purchase difficult. In most cases, you will have to familiarize yourself with the operation manual even to glimpse how to work the kitchen appliance. This has discouraged many from using these convection microwave combos.
Small capacity
Comparing the combo ovens to other ovens like air fryer ovens, among others in the market, these are usually small in internal space. This makes cooking a largely decent food size a daunting and nearly impossible task. As such, it mostly favors small-size cooking/heating.
Expense
This is the number one downside to these kitchen appliances. Most of them are usually quite expensive, especially those with multiple functionalities. Essentially, they are usually more expensive than individual components, air fryers, or microwave ovens on the market.
Final Thoughts
Convection microwave ovens are a great invention and addition to the food industry, given the associated benefits they offer. Nevertheless, it is still a growing sector and, as such, faced with several challenges. However, if you take your time and go through this article, you will have the knowledge to purchase your most preferred oven combo or even select one from the above thoroughly researched list of user favorites.