Cuisinart TOA-70 Air Fryer Toaster Oven Review: Exactly Who Gets Their Money’s Worth (and Who Should Skip It)

The Cuisinart TOA-70 is best for households that cook frequently and want one countertop appliance to handle air frying, toasting, baking, and grilling without sacrificing too much counter space. It delivers consistent results across most cooking modes, particularly air frying and broiling. Where it falls short is for anyone who needs large-batch cooking or already owns a dedicated air fryer they love.

Safety First: The TOA-70 runs hot — exterior surfaces including the door and sides can reach temperatures that cause burns during and after use. Always use oven mitts when handling the drip tray or grill grate, keep the unit at least four inches from walls and cabinets, never place it under overhead cabinetry, and unplug it after each use. Grease buildup on the grill grate is a real fire risk if not cleaned after every grill session.

Quick Facts: Cuisinart TOA-70

• Eight cooking functions: air fry, convection bake, convection broil, bake, broil, toast, bagel, and warm
• Temperature range: 150°F to 450°F, with a dedicated toast/bagel cycle
• Interior capacity holds a 12-inch pizza or up to six slices of toast
• Wattage: 1800W — noticeably faster preheat than most 1500W competitors
• Comes with an air fryer basket, baking pan, grill grate, and oven rack

I’ve had the TOA-70 on my counter for about five months now, and I want to be honest with you about both what it does well and where it’s genuinely annoying to use. Let’s get into it.

What Actually Comes in the Box (and What You’ll Probably Buy Anyway)

Cuisinart includes a reasonable accessory set out of the box: the air fry basket, a flat baking pan, a grill grate, and a standard wire rack. The grill grate is a genuinely nice touch that most competitors at this price tier skip entirely. The baking pan is fine but thin — I burned the bottom of a batch of roasted potatoes the first time I used it at 425°F for 25 minutes, which in hindsight I should have expected from a pan that light.

If you’re planning to bake anything serious, grab a heavier toaster oven baking pan with a heavier gauge. Costs maybe $15. Worth every cent. And the included wire rack is perfectly serviceable for reheating or toasting, though you might want a second one if you do a lot of multi-level cooking — Cuisinart sells them separately, or you can find compatible toaster oven wire racks in the 12-inch size on Amazon.

How It Performs: Function by Function

Air Frying

This is the function most people buy the TOA-70 for, and it mostly delivers. Frozen fries at 400°F for 18 minutes came out crispy and evenly browned — I didn’t shake the basket halfway through the first time, and they were still fine, which I appreciated. Chicken wings at 400°F for 22 minutes had genuinely crispy skin, not the pale-and-slightly-soft result I’ve gotten from some countertop convection ovens trying to pass as air fryers.

The basket holds enough for two servings comfortably. Three gets crowded. If you’re cooking for four people regularly, plan on doing two batches, which takes some of the shine off the convenience factor. This is probably the single biggest practical limitation for larger households.

Toasting and Bagels

Toast is solid. The six-slice capacity is real — I’ve fit six standard sandwich bread slices across both rack positions. The bagel mode, which cuts the top heating element intensity and focuses heat on the cut side, works well. I’ve never had to go above shade 4 out of 7 for regular sandwich bread, which might be a sign the heating elements run slightly warm. Something to calibrate for on your first use.

Baking and Convection Bake

Convection bake at 350°F for 22 minutes on a batch of chocolate chip cookies worked well, though the back row browned a little faster than the front. Rotating the pan halfway through fixed it. Standard bake without convection is slower and I don’t find much reason to use it — the convection mode is just better for almost everything. For things like reheating casseroles or keeping food warm, the 150°F warm setting is surprisingly useful. More detail on getting the most out of reheating food in a toaster oven if that’s part of your use case.

Grilling (The Function Most Reviews Undercover)

Here’s where the TOA-70 actually separates itself from most of the competition. The grill grate, paired with the convection broil setting at 450°F, will give you real grill marks on chicken thighs or a thin-cut steak. I did two bone-in chicken thighs for 12 minutes per side at 450°F and got genuinely satisfying char. Not outdoor-grill-level smokiness, obviously — but the texture and crust were legitimately good.

The catch: the drip tray under the grill grate collects grease, and it will smoke if you don’t clean it between uses. Not a design flaw exactly, but something to know going in. The Serious Eats team has written extensively about what separates good countertop ovens from great ones, and this grease management issue comes up across several models.

How It Compares to the Main Alternatives

I know some of you are deciding between this and two or three other models. Here’s a direct comparison across the factors that actually matter day-to-day.

Model	Capacity	Key Functions	Wattage	Footprint	Price Tier
Cuisinart TOA-70	12″ pizza / 6 slices	Air fry, grill, bake, broil, toast	1800W	Medium	Mid-range
Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer	13″ pizza / 9 slices	13 functions including dehydrate	1800W	Larger	Premium
Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Oven	XL, up to 2 sheet pans	Air fry, roast, bake, dehydrate	1800W	Large	Mid-range/Upper
Cuisinart TOA-60	12″ pizza / 6 slices	Air fry, bake, broil, toast (no grill)	1800W	Medium	Budget/Mid

The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer is genuinely better if money isn’t the constraint — more even heating, better build quality, and that extra capacity matters for families. The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer runs meaningfully more expensive though, and for a lot of people the TOA-70 does 90% of what it does at a lower price.

The Ninja Foodi XL Pro has more raw capacity but takes up significantly more counter space and doesn’t have a grill function in the same way the TOA-70 does. If grill marks and that broil-plus-grate setup matter to you, the Ninja doesn’t compete there.

The TOA-60 is the TOA-70’s predecessor, essentially the same oven minus the grill grate. If grilling isn’t something you’ll actually use, the TOA-60 usually costs less and performs identically on the other functions. No reason to pay the premium for features that’ll sit unused.

Who Should Actually Buy the TOA-70

The TOA-70 earns its place for people cooking for one to three people who want an oven that air fries, toasts, bakes, and grills without owning four separate appliances. If you’re in a smaller kitchen and the idea of having a dedicated air fryer basket AND a toaster AND a grill pan feels excessive, this consolidates all of that into one reasonably sized unit.

It’s also a solid choice for apartment dwellers or anyone without a great oven situation — I’ve used it to bake a 9×5 loaf pan of banana bread (at 325°F for 55 minutes, checking at 50), and it came out well. Not something every toaster oven handles gracefully.

Skip it if you’re regularly cooking for four or more people, because the capacity genuinely isn’t there for batch cooking. Also skip it if you already own a compact toaster oven that you’re happy with and only want an air fryer — a dedicated basket-style air fryer will outperform the TOA-70 for pure air frying capacity at a lower price point.

One edge case most reviews miss: it’s an unusually good option for people who do a lot of weekend meal prep. The combination of air fry, convection bake, and the grill function means you can cycle through proteins, vegetables, and reheated grains across one or two hours without switching appliances. That workflow actually works, and it’s one of the genuine pleasures of owning this oven that doesn’t show up in spec comparisons.

A Few Complaints Worth Knowing About

The control dials feel a little cheap. They’re functional, but there’s some wobble that makes me think this oven won’t feel as solid in year three as it does out of the box. The interior light is dim and positioned in a way that makes it hard to see dark foods clearly through the door. And the exterior door handle gets hot. Like, actually hot. Not quite burn-your-hand hot, but hot enough that I reach for an oven mitt more often than I’d like.

Cleaning the air fry basket is annoying but manageable. Soak it for 10 minutes in warm soapy water and most residue comes right off. The grill grate is harder — if you let grease bake onto it after a high-heat session, you’re in for some scrubbing. I clean it while it’s still slightly warm now, which helps a lot. For more on toaster oven temperatures in general, our piece on how hot a toaster gets has useful context on what these heating elements are actually doing.

Final Verdict

The TOA-70 is a genuinely capable, slightly imperfect countertop oven that earns its price for the right buyer. For a one-to-three-person household that wants air frying, grilling, and real baking capability without buying multiple appliances, it’s a clear recommendation. The grill function is legitimately useful and under-discussed. The capacity limitations are real and worth taking seriously before you buy.

If you’re cooking for a larger household or want the absolute best performance without worrying about cost, step up to the Breville. But for most people reading this? The TOA-70 will do exactly what you need, without taking over your entire counter. That’s not a small thing.

?Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Cuisinart TOA-70 best used for?

The TOA-70 performs best as an air fryer and convection oven for one to three people. It handles air frying, grilling, toasting, and baking well, making it practical as a primary countertop cooking appliance rather than a supplement to a full-size oven. The grill function, in particular, is a genuine differentiator from most competitors at this price.

How does the Cuisinart TOA-70 compare to the TOA-60?

The TOA-70 adds a grill grate and a convection broil/grill function that the TOA-60 doesn’t have — everything else is essentially the same oven. If you won’t use the grill function regularly, the TOA-60 typically costs less and delivers identical performance on the shared cooking modes. Buy the TOA-70 specifically if the grill marks and high-heat grill broiling are part of how you actually cook.

Is the Cuisinart TOA-70 good for a family of four?

It’s a stretch for a family of four cooking main dishes, especially with air frying, where the basket fits a comfortable two servings. For a family that mostly uses it for toast, reheating, and occasional smaller batches, it can work. If you’re regularly cooking proteins or large side dishes for four people, look at larger-capacity ovens like the Ninja Foodi XL or Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer instead.

What temperature does the Cuisinart TOA-70 air fry at?

The air fry function operates across the oven’s full temperature range of 150°F to 450°F. For most air frying tasks — frozen foods, vegetables, chicken — 375°F to 400°F is the practical sweet spot, with cook times ranging from about 12 to 25 minutes depending on what you’re making. The 1800W heating element means it reaches target temperature faster than many 1500W competitors.

Is the Cuisinart TOA-70 worth the money?

For someone replacing both a toaster and a separate air fryer, the TOA-70 delivers solid value at its mid-range price point — especially given the added grill capability. It’s not worth the price if you already own appliances that cover most of its functions, or if you need to cook large batches regularly. Compared to the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer, it’s a reasonable trade-off between price and performance for most households.